Chiral phosphorus by catalyst design

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 05 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01594-9Phosphorothioate modifications are central to oligonucleotide medicines, but their stereocontrolled syntheses has proven challenging. A catalyst-controlled loading strategy now delivers stereodefined building blocks for oligonucleotides and cyclic dinucleotides.

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Multifunctional chiral bis(amidine) organocatalysts enable stereoselective synthesis of phosphorothioate oligonucleotides

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 05 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01557-0Existing methodologies for the stereocontrolled synthesis of phosphorothioate oligonucleotides and cyclic dinucleotides generally rely on chiral auxiliaries and are not catalytic. This study reports a catalytic asymmetric P(V)-based strategy, enabled by a C2-symmetric multifunctional chiral bis(amidine) organocatalyst, for the stereoselective synthesis of these classes of compounds.

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The active site and its environment

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 03 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01575-yUnderstanding catalysis at its core requires more than the concept of the active site: it demands situating the active site within the reaction environment that ultimately governs its behaviour. Progress in catalysis science and engineering will increasingly depend on treating the active site and its environment as inseparable components, enabling a holistic and predictive framework for designing catalytic technologies.

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Uncovering the source of uncertainty

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 31 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01572-1Constructing reliable models for the discovery of heterogeneous catalysts requires high-quality data. This round-robin study reveals the need for rigorous assessment of uncertainty when selecting the input and output features of data-driven models.

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Protein-confined imidazolium intermediates enable diverse biocatalytic C–C and C–N bond formations

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 31 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01587-8Small catalytic nucleophiles can promote allylic transfer processes, but achieving regio- and stereocontrol is challenging. Here the authors develop a family of allylic transferase enzymes to mediate diverse C–C and C–N bond formations through the confinement of key intermediates within proteins.

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Quantifying uncertainty in catalyst activity and deactivation during CO2 hydrogenation via round-robin testing for data-driven modelling

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 31 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01559-yThis Analysis presents a round-robin study of Rh/TiO2 catalysts for CO2 hydrogenation across four laboratories, quantifying both intralaboratory and interlaboratory variability and discussing the implications of this uncertainty for machine learning predictions.

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Evidence of Eley–Rideal mechanism in Cu-catalysed CO2 electroreduction in flow cells with a protective layer

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 30 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01584-xThe roles of cell architecture and mass transport on the selectivity of electrocatalytic CO2 reduction have been challenging to decipher. Here a porous protective layer is used to study the copper-catalysed carbon–carbon coupling step in flow cells, supporting an Eley–Rideal mechanism.

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Nickel nanoparticles encapsulated inside mesoporous MoO2 for industrially stable anion-exchange membrane water electrolysis

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 30 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01585-wNiMo-based catalysts exhibit excellent activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline electrolytes, but achieving high stability remains a challenge. Now a synthetic strategy is presented to prepare highly active and stable Ni/MoO2 cathode catalysts for anion-exchange membrane water electrolysis.

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Industrial waste reformed

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 23 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01586-9Industrial waste reformed

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When aggregation induces photocatalysis

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 23 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01592-xWhen aggregation induces photocatalysis

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Defining screening of peptide-functionalizing biocatalysts

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 23 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01577-wChemoenzymatic peptide functionalization requires potent biocatalysts. Now, a rapid screening platform is developed to expand the underexplored diversity of the enzyme family of prenyltransferases, providing a broadly feasible approach to facilitating the discovery of biocatalysts.

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The interphase behind lithium-mediated ammonia

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 23 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01570-3Lithium-mediated nitrogen reduction offers a unique route to ammonia synthesis, but its performance depends strongly on the reactive solid-electrolyte interphase. Operando Raman spectroscopy now reveals how salt chemistry and ethanol can construct this interphase to control nitrogen transport, lithium reactivity and ammonia formation.

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A tailored CoA ligase–N-acyltransferase cascade for on-DNA amide bond formation gives access to broad substrate scope

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 17 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01576-xDNA-encoded library (DEL) synthesis can be constrained by DNA damage and limited reaction scope under conventional chemistry. Here a complementary CoA ligase–N-acyltransferase cascade is engineered to enable high yield, DNA-compatible amide formation, expanding substrate scope and DEL quality.

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Atomic-layer titration reveals optimal SrO termination for oxygen incorporation in perovskite oxides

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 15 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01582-zSurface strontium (Sr) enrichment in perovskite oxides has long been associated with degraded oxygen electrocatalysis. Now, atomically precise control of SrO coverage under operating conditions shows a volcano-shaped structure–activity relationship, revealing that a single SrO surface layer maximizes oxygen incorporation, with further analysis showing how surface termination influences the mechanism.

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Author Correction: Bifunctional molecular additives enable efficient oxygen reduction reaction on platinum electrodes in the presence of strongly binding anions

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 13 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01591-yAuthor Correction: Bifunctional molecular additives enable efficient oxygen reduction reaction on platinum electrodes in the presence of strongly binding anions

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Unlocking ketene–Heck coupling via activation energy modulation in Pd catalysis

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 13 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01579-8The Heck reaction is one of the most widely utilized in organic chemistry. Now the authors present a Heck-type transformation for the direct conversion of saturated acid chlorides into α,β-unsaturated ketones with iodoarenes via ketenes.

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Ligand-mediated radical orientation enables asymmetric cyanation of unstabilized alkyl C-radicals

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 10 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01573-0Reactions involving transient, unstabilized alkyl C-radicals generally suffer from poor enantioselectivity. Here the authors describe a method for the highly enantioselective cyanation of C-radicals via copper catalysis, enabled by a ligand-mediated radical orientation strategy.

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Direct copper-catalysed deaminative cyanation of aliphatic primary amines

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 10 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01578-9Direct deaminative cyanation of aliphatic amines is hampered by inert C–N bonds and oxidative instability. Now a copper-catalysed, preactivation-free approach enabled by anomeric amide activation is reported that also includes an asymmetric variant.

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Publisher Correction: Atomically precise layer-by-layer titration of perovskite oxides reveals the termination-specific reactivity in oxygen electrocatalysis

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 09 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01590-zPublisher Correction: Atomically precise layer-by-layer titration of perovskite oxides reveals the termination-specific reactivity in oxygen electrocatalysis

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Triple energy transfer-enabled dearomative cycloaddition/rearrangement cascade of bicyclic azaarenes to structurally complex products

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 09 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01566-zEnergy transfer (EnT) catalysed dearomative cycloadditions of bicyclic azaarenes are largely limited to [4+2] pathways, with higher-order cycloadditions being difficult to achieve. Now, the authors circumvent this limitation by establishing a higher-order cycloaddition followed by cascades. This triple EnT-enabled [5+4]/[3,3]/[2+2] cascade with vinyl cyclopropanes enables one-pot access to complex pyridine-fused, bridged pentacycles scaffolds that are widely embedded in bioactive molecules, but whose synthesis has remained challenging owing to scarcity of efficient strategies.

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Copper-catalysed carbon monoxide electrolysis under dynamic operation

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 08 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01574-zThe intermittent production of renewable electricity can have practical implications for renewable-driven electrocatalytic reactions. Here electrocatalytic CO reduction on Cu-based cathodes is investigated under power-on/power-off cycles, exposing mechanisms of deactivation and suggesting strategies to improve stability under these conditions.

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Alkali metal cation impurities stabilize Cu+ in oxide-derived copper for CO2 electrolysis

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 06 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01571-2Oxide-derived copper is known to display high activity in electrocatalytic CO2 reduction to multicarbon products; however, the mechanism behind this remains unresolved. Here cryogenic atom probe tomography reveals the formation of microstructures containing alkali cations from the electrolyte that correlate with activity.

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Bifunctional molecular additives enable efficient oxygen reduction reaction on platinum electrodes in the presence of strongly binding anions

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 02 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01569-wThe specific binding of anions, including those present in ionomer binders, to the Pt surface imposes substantial limitations on performance in electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reactions. Here organic additives are shown to improve reaction kinetics on single-crystalline Pt surfaces, translating into improved performance in fuel cells when using commercial Pt/C catalysts.

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Rapid screening platform for peptide prenyltransferases to diversify pseudo-natural prenylated peptides

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 01 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01560-5Late-stage peptide lipidation remains limited by the scarcity of broadly useful late-stage biocatalysts. Now a rapid screening platform reveals 14 cyanobactin prenyltransferases with diverse reaction patterns, prenyl donor scope and structures that support combinatorial peptide lipidation.

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Unveiling solid electrolyte interphase dynamics in electrochemical lithium-mediated ammonia synthesis via operando Raman spectroscopy

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 30 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01562-3Understanding the role of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) under reaction conditions is crucial to improving the efficiency of electrochemical lithium-mediated N2 reduction. Here, operando Raman spectroscopy is used to investigate the effect of electrolyte, proton donor and gas environments on SEI composition and its resultant performance and stability.

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Unlocking the Cu-catalysed asymmetric radical azidation of N-heterobenzylic sites through rational ligand design

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 30 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01563-2Current effective methods for the transition-metal-catalysed asymmetric radical functionalization of N-heteroarene derivatives remain scarce. Here the authors present a Cu/PyAP catalytic system that realizes the asymmetric azido difunctionalization of N-heteroaryl ethylenes and the azidation of N-heterobenzyl halides.

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Atomically precise layer-by-layer titration of perovskite oxides reveals the termination-specific reactivity in oxygen electrocatalysis

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 26 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01561-4Surface composition governs the catalytic performance of any given material but in mixed oxides it can be particularly challenging to determine this with atomic precision. Now by means of in situ layer-by-layer titration it is shown that single-layer SrO termination maximizes oxygen incorporation on (La0.5Sr0.5)FeO3−δ perovskite.

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Dual protection

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 25 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01567-yDual protection

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Unravelling copper dynamics

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 25 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01565-0Unravelling copper dynamics

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A resolving assembly

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 25 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01568-xA resolving assembly

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