From polymerization to polymer backbone editing

Rather than creating new polymers, Hill et al. report the chemical editing of existing polyesters. Their carbonyl-to-thiocarbonyl strategy converts polycaprolactone into poly(thionocaprolactone), enabling selective backbone modification, tunable material properties, and altered degradation behavior. The study positions polymer backbone editing as a complementary strategy to polymer synthesis for designing sustainable materials.

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Engineering functional perovskite and pyrochlore complex oxide catalysts

Perovskite and pyrochlore compounds exhibit excellent thermal stability and open structures, which meet most of the active site requirements for the oxidative coupling of methane reaction, making them an important class of widely studied catalysts. These two types of composite oxides not only share similar structures but also possess unique characteristics. This review systematically compares their crystal phase structures and the effects of coordination environment, lattice parameters, subphase structures, oxygen mobility/vacancies, and surface alkalinity on the active sites, as well as the reaction performance. By summarizing current modification strategies for the two types of compounds, effective methods to tune and optimize their catalytic properties are proposed, and future prospects are presented.

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Photoisomerization-driven smart polymer adhesives: mechanisms and latest applications

Smart polymer adhesives (SPAs) that respond to light enable precise, noncontact, and dynamic control over interfacial adhesion. This review focuses on a key subset, photoisomerization-driven SPAs, which operate via three fundamental strategies: solid–liquid transitions for rapid debonding, macroscopic shape deformation for clean detachment, and the in situ generation of noncovalent crosslinks for robust adhesion enhancement. By integrating molecular photoswitches—namely azobenzenes, spiropyrans, and hydrazones—into macromolecular architectures, these materials unlock cutting-edge applications in soft robotics, dynamic microfabrication, stretchable electronics, and nondestructive biomedical interfaces. Finally, we evaluate current structural and mechanistic limitations and outline future directions toward visible-light actuation and diversified photoswitch platforms, aiming to guide the design of next-generation programmable smart adhesives.

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Current trends in chemical recycling of polymers based on selective bond cleavage

Chemical recycling through selective bond cleavage is advancing toward milder conditions and broader polymer applicability. This forum highlights recent progress in reactive solvent–catalyst systems, dynamic covalent chemistries, and enzymatic recycling for depolymerizing thermoplastics, thermosets, and composites, and outlines challenges currently limiting the translation of these strategies into practical recycling technologies.

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A Dual-Use Design Logic for chemical and biochemical engineering

In chemical and biochemical engineering, core research outputs, such as advanced polymers, process intensification, and energy storage systems, often have potential relevance to civilian and defence applications. Yet researchers are largely unprepared to recognise or responsibly develop this potential, and many avoid the topic for fear of bureaucratic burden. Based on recent European Commission reports and university guidelines, we propose the Dual-Use Design Logic (DUDL), a four-phase framework to advance civil–defence synergies in scientific research. DUDL helps researchers integrate dual-use considerations from the project ideation stage, identify legitimate application pathways, and design proportionate safeguards without imposing unnecessary administrative burden. Its effective implementation, however, will require institutions to build compliance capacity. We illustrate DUDL using our research on silicone elastomers for extreme environments.

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Mechanistic principles of photosystem II-inspired water oxidation

Catalytic water oxidation is the central challenge in photosynthesis and artificial solar fuel production, yet the mechanistic basis of O–O bond formation remains unresolved. In photosystem II, the Mn4CaO5 oxygen evolving complex (OEC) performs four-electron/four-proton water oxidation, but whether O–O bond formation proceeds via water nucleophilic attack or metal oxo/oxyl radical coupling remains debated. Here, we argue that recent structural and spectroscopic advances in the native OEC, together with bioinspired studies, are redefining this problem. We highlight high-valent metal oxygen intermediates as mechanistic fingerprints and show how redox-inactive Ca2+ and its surrogates tune Lewis acidity and the secondary sphere to balance O–O bond formation with O2 release. Finally, plastoquinone-inspired platforms reveal design principles for next-generation bioinspired water oxidation catalysts.

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Boronic-ester-based vitrimers for next-generation sustainable materials

Plastics are essential materials in our daily lives. Designing circular polymer materials with sustainable end-of-life processes is an important and rapidly growing research field. Athanassiou and colleagues developed dynamic boronic-ester vitrimers with excellent mechanical properties and biodegradability, representing a significant achievement in the field of dynamic polymers toward this goal.

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High-entropy ruthenium oxides for acidic water oxidation

The acidic oxygen evolution reaction is a cornerstone of Power-to-X conversion technologies, such as proton exchange membrane water electrolysis. However, the practical use of active ruthenium (Ru)-based oxides is limited by electrochemical instability. High-entropy oxides (HEOs) have emerged as promising candidates to overcome these durability challenges. This review provides an incisive analysis of Ru-based HEO design strategies, focusing on how multi-elemental integration modulates the physicochemical environment to suppress Ru dissolution and regulate lattice oxygen participation. We systematically examine the synergy between compositional diversity and structural integrity, evaluating diverse Ru-based HEO architectures. By categorizing stabilization strategies such as lattice distortion and coordination tuning, this review aims to bridge high-entropy theory with the design of robust, high-performance electrocatalysts for next-generation energy systems.

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Enantioselective contrathermodynamic olefin isomerization

Catalytic asymmetric olefin isomerization is a powerful strategy for the synthesis of allylic stereocenters from simple olefin precursors. Conventional thermal methods generally favor the formation of the thermodynamically more stable olefin isomer, while access to less stable positional isomers is limited by microscopic reversibility. As a result, enantioselective contrathermodynamic isomerization requires a mechanism that can distinguish the starting alkene from the higher-energy product while also enforcing stereocontrol.

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Rewriting N-terminal cysteine chemistry for peptide-bicycle evolution

New strategies to access peptide bicycles are in demand for peptide engineering. Recent work from Liu et al. presents a thiol-retaining N-terminal cysteine chemistry approach, providing a programmable platform for peptide bicycle construction and phage-display-compatible drug discovery.

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Alkylidene polyhydroxyalkanoates close the loop

Polyhydroxyalkanoates are promising sustainable polyesters, but thermal degradation and decarboxylative carbon loss hinder selective recycling. In a recent study published in Science, Zhou et al. demonstrated that β-alkylidene functionalization suppresses these pathways, enabling near-quantitative monomer recovery and hydrogenation-tunable performance across fibers, thermoplastics, and hot-melt adhesives.

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Tweaking regiochemistry in single-atom insertion

Late-stage diversification of aza-heterocycles emphasizes precise control of nitrogen location, which has a profound impact on pharmaceutical activity. Single-atom insertion into indoles has largely been limited to the 1,3-relationship between the newly added atom and the indole nitrogen through the participation of the enamine-like C2–C3 bond. However, a rare 1,4-relationship has now been achieved by exploiting NO as an internal nitrogen source. Its unusual 1,3-transposition enables activation of the formerly inaccessible C3–C9 bond.

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Rieske oxygenases: Promising biocatalysts for bioremediation and synthesis

Rieske oxygenases (ROs) can catalyze a wide array of oxidative transformations, encompassing hydroxylation, demethylation, carbocyclization, desaturation, N-oxygenation, C–C, C–N, and C–S bond cleavage, C–H amination, sulfoxidation, and epoxidation. This extensive reaction scope, combined with broad substrate tolerance, underscores their potential for development into promising biocatalysts. ROs have demonstrated pivotal roles in the bioremediation of environmental pollutants and offer a sustainable alternative to traditional chemical catalysts for producing value-added compounds. While previous reviews have covered their catalytic diversity, mechanisms, and engineering, this review focuses on the current applications, challenges, and future prospects of employing ROs in bioremediation and chemoenzymatic synthesis. Our goal is to provide insights that will guide the development of ROs into efficient, stable, and broadly applicable biocatalysts.

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Chemical in vitro models: assessing antibody quality attributes

Therapeutic antibody development traditionally relies on costly, time-consuming animal studies. This review examines how defined chemical models—including phosphate-buffered saline and continuous-flow dialysis systems—reliably predict antibody degradation, potentially reducing animal testing. By controlling physiological variables (pH, temperature, and redox potential), these models accurately predict pathways: deamidation, isomerization, pyroglutamate formation, thiol-disulfide exchange, and glycation. They are particularly valuable during early development with limited clinical material. Chemical in vitro approaches outperform traditional serum-based systems through superior control and reproducibility. We identify gaps, notably the lack of predictive oxidation models, and propose next-generation systems incorporating trace metals and antioxidants to simulate in vivo catalytic pathways. These advances align with the 3Rs principles (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement) while accelerating development timelines and improving quality assurance.

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Intrinsic plasticization: a molecular design strategy for bioplastics

Intrinsic plasticization enables flexibility in bioplastics through molecular modification rather than using external plasticizers. By modifying polymer architecture, this approach can improve performance and stability. However, challenges in scalability, trade-offs in property performance, and sustainability remain, highlighting the need for integrated design approaches that link chemistry, processing, and real-world applications.

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Entropy-driven chemically recyclable polymers from strained monomers

Depolymerization-based chemical recycling offers a promising route to a circular plastic economy but faces a trade-off between polymerization and depolymerization. Sun and colleagues recently addressed this challenge with strained bridged bicyclic monomers for metathesis polymerization, using entropy as a powerful and effective design principle.

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The red-light revolution in organic photochemistry

Over the last decade, organic photochemistry has pushed its frontiers toward the red-light end of the electromagnetic spectrum. Driven by breakthroughs in molecular engineering and photophysical understanding, red-light photocatalysis and photoswitching have emerged as two interconnected pillars of modern synthetic chemistry.

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Closing the alkene–alkyne gap

A recent study by Meng et al. reports the direct desaturation of alkenes to alkynes, addressing a century-old synthetic challenge. Utilizing a recyclable selenanthrene reagent, this methodology operates under mild conditions with high selectivity. Broad functional group tolerance enables late-stage transformation of complex molecules, providing sustainable routes to versatile alkynes.

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Synthesis of bisphenols from lignin and their applications

Bisphenols are crucial building blocks for the production of diverse plastics and resins. Conventional bisphenol compounds, such as bisphenol A (BPA), have raised sustainability and health concerns. As a renewable solution, the conversion of lignin into bio-based bisphenols for synthesizing polymeric materials with comparable or even superior properties to conventional BPA-derived polymers represents a sustainable and promising approach. Here, recent advances in the valorization of lignin into sustainable bisphenols and their applications in thermosetting and thermoplastic polymers are summarized. The key pathways for synthesizing lignin-derived bisphenols and their corresponding polymers, along with the properties of these polymers, are discussed.

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Click chemistry in natural product drug discovery and development

Natural products are vital to drug discovery but are often limited by poor solubility, stability, and target specificity. Click chemistry, with its efficient and bioorthogonal reactions, enables precise modification of these compounds. It is instrumental in key discovery stages: chiral separation, high-throughput screening library construction, target identification using activity-based probes, and prodrug structural optimization. Under mild conditions, modular click reactions markedly improve the druggability of natural products. This review surveys these applications and discusses future directions, including integration with artificial intelligence, positioning click chemistry as a key platform for developing next-generation natural product-based therapeutics.

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Single-molecule protein studies using scanning tunneling microscope break junction technique

Important short-lived states are often obscured by signals from more stable conformations in ensemble-averaged experiments analyzing protein interactions and catalytic reactions. To address this challenge, the single-molecule junction (SMJ) technique has been increasingly employed to elucidate intricate dynamic changes by monitoring intermediate states at the single-molecule level. This review outlines the creation of SMJs and the subsequent data processing steps. Furthermore, it discusses the broad applications of this technique in analyzing biomolecular interactions and enzyme catalysis mechanisms. Finally, the advantages and challenges of this technique are summarized, and its prospective development, promising applications, and the boundless potential for single-molecule protein studies are highlighted, serving as a key driver for the field’s advancement.

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Sulfidated single-atom sites in metal–organic frameworks for catalytic reactions

The strategic integration of metal–sulfur active sites into metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) has emerged as a pivotal advancement in catalyst design. This forum highlights these key developments, underscoring their significance in advancing MOF-based catalysis and offering a roadmap for the future rational design of high-performance heterogeneous catalysts.

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Biofabrication processes as fresh inspiration for nanocomposite manufacturing

Biological composite fabrication offers inspiration for the advancement of synthetic nanocomposites. Organisms rely on the integrated design of molecular interactions, building block topology, and mechanical processing to achieve programmable hierarchical structure and function. Herein, we outline how the translation of these principles could provide fresh approaches to scalable nanocomposites for enhanced properties and new applications.

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α-Ammonio radicals for aminomethylation of alkenes

The α-ammonio radical, an electrophilic species, has long been an overlooked intermediate in organic synthesis for over 2 decades. In contrast to nucleophilic α-amino radicals, it exhibits complementary reactivity and preferentially reacts with electron-rich, alkyl-substituted alkenes. Previous studies by the groups of Gevorgyan, Zhao, and Murakami independently demonstrated its addition to styrene derivatives. However, intermolecular reactions with unactivated alkyl-substituted alkenes have remained elusive.

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Fourier transform infrared quantification of acid sites in solids: probe molecules in action

Heterogeneous catalysis plays a crucial role in enabling cleaner and more efficient chemical processes; its performance is largely governed by the nature and strength of active sites. Among these, Brønsted acid sites (BAS) in zeolites are especially important for industrial and emerging sustainable applications. This review discusses recent advances in using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with probe molecules to quantitatively assess BAS in zeolites. We highlight a practical and updated workflow emphasizing the determination of reliable molar extinction coefficients for adsorbed probe molecules (carbon monoxide, acetonitrile, ammonia, and pyridine), a key factor often overlooked in acidity measurements. By consolidating methodological developments and best practices, this review provides guidance for improving the accuracy and comparability of acidity quantification in zeolites.

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