Aldol-condensation-derived organic functional materials have exerted a profound influence on n-type organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs), organic photovoltaics (OPVs), organic thermoelectrics (OTEs), and NIR-II photothermal conversion. This all-encompassing Review highlights the recent decade's developments, charting the course for progress in this growing and multidisciplinary domain.

This Minireview highlights the fundamental aspects and the recent progress made in the emerging field of the formation of electrolyte interphases (EIs) in aqueous electrolytes.

In this minireview, we provide a concise overview of the unique properties exhibited by DNA nanostructures. Then we delve into the principles behind using DNA nanostructures as self-adjuvant carriers and review the latest advancements in efficient subunit vaccines construction, and propose potential directions for future development in this field.

Despite three decades of intensive investigation of single-molecule magnets (SMMs) there are still unexplored roads towards increasing their magnetization blocking temperature. In this Review, after short overview of key SMM compounds, the basic strategies for further enhancement of SMM performance for mononuclear and polynuclear complexes are presented.

Molecular imaging is a rapidly growing platform for studying molecular and cellular events in living organisms. This review highlights recent advances in the chemical design of molecular probes with various imaging modalities such as PET, MRI, and optical imaging for early, real-time assessment of immune responses and prediction of therapeutic outcome in cancer immunotherapy by detecting expression and functional states of specific targets.

The aim of converging multiple stereocenters in asymmetric catalysis brings exciting avenues for expanding the ‘chiral pool’. With this aim, a dual-cooperative ligand system was developed for controlling two distinct stereo-environment in an atropselective C−H allylation of biaryls. The system leverages a chiral amino acid as a transient-ligand source and chiral phosphoric acid for the early C−H activation step. The DFT studies present a rich mechanistic model, authenticating the extensive experimental findings.

A dual-targeting biomimetic semiconducting polymer nanocomposite is developed for amplified theranostics of bone metastasis. The nanocomposite enables efficient tumor homing after dual-targeting effect towards both cancer cells and osteoclasts, and thus achieves bone metastasis diagnosis and effective inhibition of tumor growth via mediating dual-model imaging at bone metastasis sites and a combined therapy against cancer cells and osteoclasts.

A reversible water-based electrostatic adhesive has been developed through conventional emulsion polymerization using commodity materials. It is made of two formulations, one containing a polycation, and other a polyanion. Detachment is only promoted in highly acidic or alkaline solutions as polyelectrolytes show distinctive charged states. This kind of adhesive would be useful for the recycling and dismantling of products.

We report a new class of activity-based protease sensors, termed DNA-barcoded plasmonic nanostructures. These probes afford over 100-fold increase in sensitivity compared to conventional fluorophore-quencher-based probes, allow for multiplexed detection of disease-relevant proteases, and enable the monitoring of active proteases in cancer cells obtained from colorectal cancer patients.

Joint experimental and theoretical techniques highlighted three main catalytic events in an electrochemically driven nickel-catalyzed halogen exchange reaction of aryl halides: Oxidative addition of Ar−X to a Ni(0) species first delivers a Ni(II)ArX, which undergoes salt metathesis with chloride to afford Ni(II)ArCl. The latter is electrochemically oxidized to a Ni(III) species, enabling the formation of the product upon reductive elimination.

This work extends an interesting empirical electrolyte design law (ring-chain coupling law) to the lithium-mediated ammonia electrochemical synthesis system, which succeeds in improving the nitrogen fixation performance. Systematic theoretical calculation and experimental evidence jointly decipher the potential correlation between such strategy and enhanced performance from the angle of thermodynamics and mass transfer dynamics.

A generic SAXS model for polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) formulations has been developed by applying the law of conservation of mass. Time-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data are analyzed to determine the kinetics of polymerization directly during the synthesis of spherical nanoparticles. This new analytical approach enables calculation of the mass transport of monomer and solvent in and out of the growing nanoparticles.

A novel class of GX fluorophores have been designed and synthesized as activatable NIR-II PA dyes, in which the absorption/emission wavelength of GX-5 extends up to 1082/1360 nm. Furthermore, to demonstrate the applicability of GX dyes, the first NIR-II probe GX-5-CO activated by CO was engineered and employed to reveal the enhancement of the CO levels in hypertensive mice by high-contrast NIR-II PA and FL imaging.

Gold nanoclusters were found to show a dual catalysis toward photocatalytic cross-dehydrogenative coupling reactions between aliphatic tertiary amines and terminal alkynes to produce propargylamine products. The dual catalysis was enabled by the cooperation of the superatomic core and staple moieties for the photooxidation of amines and the carbon-carbon bond formation.

Bulky alkylphosphines (PtBu₃) can switch the roles from actor to spectator ligands to promote the FeCl₂-catalyzed N-amidation reaction of arylamines with dioxazolones leading to hydrazides in high efficiency and chemoselectivity. The new ligand-promoted N-amidation protocols offer a convenient way to access various challenging triazane compounds via double or sequential N-amidation of primary arylamines.

A non-aqueous Mg−CO₂ battery with high reversibility and enhanced kinetics is utilized using an amine molecular mediator that tunes the CO₂ reduction pathways as well as the Mg anode. It not only modifies the reactant state of CO₂ and Mg²⁺ to promote CO₂ cathodic reaction kinetics but also facilitates Mg²⁺-conducting interphase formation to enable the reversible cycling of Mg anode.

The developed nitrogen-bridged Fe-Cu atomic pair sites exhibit excellent electrocatalytic activity for producing ammonia from nitrite electroreduction. The constructed Zn-nitrite battery can generate electricity and manufacture ammonia directly and simultaneously.

The first regioselective selenocarbonylation of alkenes is reported. This general protocol provides a variety of branched and linear selenoesters with wide functional group compatibility and tunable regioselectivity.

Polymer modification electrodes with a super-hydrophobic microenvironment show outstanding performance for electroreduction of CO₂ with enhancing activity, selectivity and stability simultaneously.

In this study, benzo[c][1,2,5] thiadiazole/phenyl(pyridin-2-yl)methanone (BT/PPO)-doped long-wavelength (600 nm) room-temperature phosphorescent (RTP) material has been synthesized. The BT/PPO nanoparticles exhibit long-wavelength afterglow luminescence of 120 s, with a maximum penetration depth of 10 mm. Additionally, the potential of BT/PPO nanoparticles for detecting atherosclerotic plaques has been demonstrated.

A modified donor has been developed for the glycosylation of 3-deoxy-d-manno-2-octulosonic acid (Kdo). The high reactivity and wide substrate scope of the donor enabled the synthesis of a range of Kdo-containing glycosides with complete α-stereoselectivity without the formation of 2,3-ene by-products. Several natural oligosaccharides were synthesized by a stepwise or one-pot process, including a highly branched Kdo pentasaccharide.

Zn^δ+/ZnO/CeO₂ with hollow core–shell structure was demonstrated as CO₂ reduction catalyst by making use of the CeO₂ nanotube confinement effect to stabilize Zn^δ+ species, achieving enhanced performance and highly CO selectivity of 76.9 %.

A new sodium superionic conducting glass, 0.5Na₂O₂-TaCl₅, based on an oxychloride anionic lattice is developed for all-solid-state sodium-ion batteries. The appealing features of ultrahigh ionic conductivity (4.6 mS cm⁻¹), good formability, and high oxidative stability (≈3.92 V) of 0.5Na₂O₂-TaCl₅ contribute to the superior cycling stability of all-solid-state sodium-ion batteries at room temperature.

A ZnCo bimetal-triazole framework has been developed as high-efficiency 2e⁻ ORR electrocatalysts. The unique ligand effect of 1,2,3-triazole optimizes the electronic structure of Co sites and enables an asymmetric “side-on” adsorption mode of O₂ molecule, resulting in an excellent 2e⁻ ORR performance with a selectivity of ≈100 % and an H₂O₂ production rate of 5.55 mol g_cat⁻¹ h⁻¹.

A mild and efficient protocol is developed to convert simple aromatic substrates into value-added and structurally complex bridged benzazepines via a photocatalytic dearomatization. The switchable diastereoselectivity could be furnished by the manipulation of base-promoted or photoinduced intramolecular hydroamination.

A photochemical strategy was applied to fabricate the defects on MOFs. And the defects further induced the anchoring of Ru single atoms. The photocatalytic activity in N₂ reduction to produce ammonia has been greatly improved to 53.28 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ on Ru₁/d-UiO-66 with an apparent quantum efficiency of 0.34 % at 300 nm and 0.04 % at 420 nm.

In this manuscript, we investigate sets of both closely related and widely diverging quorum sensing (QS) ligand structures to identify orthogonal signalling systems. Our results suggest that structural diversity in QS ligands can be used as a starting point to predict non-cognate receptor-ligand binding in intercellular signalling systems.

Highly dispersed single-crystal NCM90 cubic particles were prepared through a three-section-sintering strategy with the presence of grain-growth inhibitor, which show improved cycling stability, superior rate performance and enhanced safety performance.

A robust organocatalyzed photo-controlled radical alternating copolymerization was established, enabling facile access to binary and ternary fluorinated copolymers with predefined ultrahigh molecular weights (UHMWs), well-defined structures and functional pendants. The UHMW fluoropolymers presented clearly improved physical properties, and furnished anticorrosive, (super)hydrophobic attributes as protective coatings on diverse substrates.

A tandem electrothermo-catalytic system that couples overall CO₂ electroreduction with thermocatalytic oxidative aminocarbonylation was reported to produce various value-added amides.

We report the first one-pot synthesis of methacrylic and acrylic polymers from benzylic alcohols (R−OH) via reversible complexation mediated polymerization (RCMP), namely organocatalyzed living radical polymerization. This method enabled direct initiation from benzylic alcohols of lignin to yield polymer-grafted lignin in one pot as a practically useful application.

Multi-enzyme-loaded uniform hollow organic nanoparticles (NPs) can be prepared by enzymatic dimerization-induced self-assembly (e-DISA) by employing horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and short alanine-tyramine conjugates. These NPs allowed efficient detection of salivary glucose levels through s fluorimetry assay of dichlorofluorescein diacetate. Surface modification of these NPs by using different phenolic additives (tyramine/tannic acid) was also possible.

An empirical model was developed to predict organic solvophobic effects based on the measurements of a series of N-phenylimide molecular balances. This model can predict organic solvophobic effects for alkyl-alkyl interactions or varying lengths in a wide range of solvents.

The modulation of the outer-sphere microenvironment around catalytic metal sites in covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with diverse functional groups turns on the activity of ¹O₂-mediated photocatalytic oxidation of thioether with the increased electron-donating ability of the groups. The yields boost from nearly zero in the cyano-functionalized COF to 98 % in the methoxy-functionalized counterpart.

A directed evolution strategy called corner engineering was developed to tailor enzyme resistance towards deep eutectic solvents (DESs) and high temperatures.

Four multi-pocket isostructural M₈Pd₆ supramolecular cages were assembled that display distinct metal-center lability and distinguishable stereochemical dynamics leading to chiral transitions and differential guest induction. These results offer insights for the design of chiral metal-organic cages and applications in chiral sensing and asymmetric transformation.

Iridium-photocatalysed generation of triplet trifluoromethyl nitrene from CF₃N₃ is reported. The nitrene adds to alkenes to form N-CF₃-aziridines. Their acid-mediated [3+2] cycloaddition with nitriles to N-CF₃-imidazolines and rearrangement to N-CF₃-imines is investigated.

A promising rigid and stable multiple-resonance thermally activated delayed fluorescence lasing core CzBN was proposed. Benefitting from the enhanced molecular rigidity, photo-, thermal-stability, and effective separation of excited-state absorptions, its derivative CzBNPh demonstrated a low lasing threshold of 0.68 μJ cm⁻² in distributed feedback resonators. Furthermore, CzBNPh exhibited much improved stability in electroluminescent and lasing performance.

We present a unique way to preserve structurally labile nanosheets after conjugation of a variety of molecules to the self-assembling peptides. The sheet-forming peptides afford a staggered alignment for simultaneous separation of external molecules from each other and from the underlying assembly motifs. This strategy allows the functionalization of historically challenging fragile assemblies while maintaining their overall morphology.

Chiral isochalcogenoureas (IChU) were successfully established as powerful organocatalysts for the activation and control of allenoates. This unprecedented strategy allows for unique reactivities and high levels of stereocontrol, facilitating reaction pathways that are not possible with the existing methods.

A polymer-matrixed zeolite separator (SZ) was designed to tackle the challenges posed by dissolved vanadium (V) ions and dendrite growth in the traditional Zn/V cell system. It effectively immobilizes the dissolved V species from the cathode, thereby preventing continuous dissolution and diffusion of the V-based compounds and side reactions. Simultaneously, the SZ optimizes the Zn²⁺ flux, achieving dendrite-proof capacity.

The first alkaline earth metal NLO malonic Mg(C₃O₄H₂)(H₂O)₂ was synthesized by taking KBe₂BO₃F₂ (KBBF) as parent structure. It has a unique two-dimensional NLO-favorable electroneutral [Mg(C₃O₄H₂)₃(H₂O)₂]_∞ layer, resulting in the rare coexistence of a strong SHG response of 3×KDP (@1064 nm) and short phase-matching wavelength of 200 nm. More importantly, it has excellent water resistance, which is rare in ionic organic NLO crystals.

Click-chemistry-mediated cell membrane glycopolymer engineering is used to potentiate dendritic cell vaccines (DCV). The glycopolymer-engineering facilitates the adhesion of dendritic cells to T cells, thereby augmenting T cell activation and improving tumor immunotherapy, providing a new strategy for designing enhanced dendritic cell-based therapeutics.

The total synthesis of two polycyclic norcembranoid diterpenoids is described. Key transformations developed for the synthesis are an intramolecular double Michael addition to construct the [7,6,5,5] tetracyclic skeleton, a Lewis acid/Brønsted acid mediated transannular oxa-Michael addition to introduce the strained ether bridge linking two quaternary carbon atoms, and bio-inspired conversion of sinulochmodin C into scabrolide A.

A family of versatile 3 : 2 host/guest complexes has been prepared by combining cucurbit[n]urils with symmetric, linear diviologens. These assemblies have properties typical of 1 : 1 complexes, but also show a new type of supramolecular translational-rotational coupling, peripheral complexation amenable to proximal or distal binding, and controllable peripheral ring translocation.

Platinum-doped positively charged carbon dots (Pt-CDs) act as nanoscavengers of cell-free DNA and reactive oxygen species, inhibiting the cGAS-STING pathway-mediated secretion of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, which forms a positive feedback loop between macrophages and keratinocytes and amplifies the inflammatory response in psoriasis.

An electrochemical system for the paired electrosynthesis of formaldehyde derivatives through cathodic CO₂ reduction and anodic methanol oxidation was constructed. At the cathode, the non-reducible formic acid was activated by esterification to methyl formate, which was then reduced again to form stable formaldehyde derivatives.

Vinyl-derived polymers are notoriously challenging to recycle chemically. Herein, we report free-radical copolymerization of a cyclic allyl sulfide with several monomers, generating dynamic linkages for closed-loop cyclability. Scission via radical addition-fragmentation-transfer (AFT) dramatically reduces molar mass and preserves oligomer reactivity. Recycling by oligomer extension imparts tunable recovery molar mass and fosters upcycling.

Single-crystal and solution conformations have been engineered for right-handed and left-handed β-double helices derived from a concatenation of achiral (E)-α,β-unsaturated γ-amino acids and chiral (E)-α,β-unsaturated γ-amino acids. The structural analogy of these new β-double helices with natural peptide double helices, and their ion-transport activities are also discussed.

A piezocatalyst for H₂O₂ production gives a yield of 120.21 μmol ⋅ g⁻¹ ⋅ h⁻¹ in pure water and air. The metal-organic cage (MOC) component enhances substrate (O₂) and product (H₂O₂) adsorption via host–guest interaction and hinder the rapid H₂O₂ decomposition. The gold nanoparticle (AuNP) component affords a strong interfacial electric field that significantly promotes the migration of electrons from Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) component for O₂ reduction reaction.

A high-yielding radiofluorination of unprotected α-tertiary haloamides is described. This method provides a new strategy for radiochemists to install fluorine-18 into sterically protected environments for positron emission tomography imaging. Preliminary mechanistic studies were leveraged to develop a novel C−H radiofluorination reaction of N-sulphonyloxyamides.

An unusual temporary photoluminescence (PL) quenching effect is herein reported for the first time, namely the thermodynamic phase transition of (DMML)₂MnBr₄ (DMML=N,N-dimethylmorpholinium) couples highly with PL response. Notably, the intriguing phenomenon will make an important contribution to the further in-depth exploration of responsive photoluminescence and optical encryption.

Electrocatalytic and spectroscopic characterizations of cobalt phthalocyanine on carbon nanotubes (CoPc/CNT) and its catalyst analogs are reported. The results help us understand the nature of the active site for the electrochemical CO₂ reduction to methanol.

An electrochemical reduction of Ni(II) salts to make Ni(COD)₂ on preparative scales is reported. The method was extended to other useful precatalyst complexes such as Ni(COD)(DQ), Ni(^tBustb)₃, Ni(COD)(DPPF), and Ni(PPh₃)₄. A 38 mmol scale-up was demonstrated with recirculating flow, and the electrochemical platform could be used to reduce a catalytic amount of Ni(II) to initiate a nickel(0)-catalyzed organic transformation.

The first enantioselective total synthesis of (+)-incargranine A has been completed in nine steps. An enantioselective, organocatalysed dienone desymmetrising Michael addition and an iridium-catalysed reductive cyclisation were developed to access a key hemiaminal intermediate that was used to initiate a biomimetic cascade towards the natural product.

Lithiation and trapping at convenient temperatures (0/−10 °C) of five cyclic sulfides such as tetrahydrothiophene, tetrahydrothiopyrans and a thiomorpholine enables straightforward α-functionalisation. Trapping with a wide range of electrophiles generates more than 50 diverse α-substituted saturated sulfur heterocycles that are not easily synthesised by the currently available methods. TMEDA=N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylethylenediamine

The use of a rigid PSP ligand based on sulfonium cation enables a straightforward access to a stable tris-cationic Pt(II) complex featuring a remarkably short S⁺−Pt²⁺ bond. The presence of a positively charged sulfonium moiety in this complex enhances the electrophilicity of the Pt(II) center (compared to its thioether-based analog), which leads to an excellent performance as a π-acid catalyst for alkyne cycloisomerization.

A nanographene with a tri-N-doped cavity was synthesized by photo-induced cyclization. In comparison with nitrogen-doping at the edge, this tri-N-doped holey nanographene exhibited markedly reduced basicity and selective affinity toward Ag⁺. This nanographene with a N-doped cavity provides a precise model for understanding the binding in the nano-confined defects of graphenic materials.

We report a vitamin B₁₂-photocatalyzed strategy for the cyclopropanation of electron-deficient alkenes using dichloromethane (CH₂Cl₂) as the methylene source. The reaction has excellent functional group tolerance, is highly chemoselective, and the scope can be extended to other 1,1-dichloroalkanes for the preparation of D₂-cyclopropyl and methyl-substituted cyclopropyl adducts, all of which are important isosteres in medical chemistry.

A mild, catalytic method for the intermolecular reductive coupling of feedstock dienes and styrenes with ketones and imines is reported. Applications of this straightforward approach include the efficient synthesis of drug molecules and site-selective late-stage functionalisation.