The cover picture shows a short and efficient synthesis of clionamine D. Steroidal α-methylene-γ-lactones are versatile intermediates for synthesizing related natural products such as clionamines A–D, a family of marine natural alkaloids with potent autophagy bioactivities and unprecedented chemical structures. Employing single oxygen to break the C22-C23 double bond via a [2+2]/retro-[2+2] process, Shi and Tian et al. have developed a scalable, four-step procedure to prepare α-methylene-γ-lactone directly from steroidal sapogenin–needn't prepare dinorcholanic lactone first. A synthesis of clionamine D was therefore achieved in eight steps with an overall yield of 31%. More details are discussed in the article by Tian et al. on page 1235–1238.

A new crystal form of diammonium 5,5′-bistetrazole-1,1′-diolate (1) was prepared by two different novel methods and found as monoclinic and space group of P21/c (14). The thermal decomposition analysis and sensitivities test towards impact, friction of 1 indicated that 1 has much lower sensitivities than those of RDX/HMX and comparable to those of TNT, which suggested that 1 could be used as a good candidate of new insensitive energetic compound.

A convenient preparation of α-methylene-γ-lactone 3 from tigogenin was developed, which enabled an efficient synthesis of clionamine D, a natural aminosteroid with the autophagy bioactivity and anunprecedented spirobislactone structure.

Organocatalytic oxidative amidation of aldehydes with tetrazoles to deliver 1,3,4-oxadiazoles via one-pot fashion using TBAI/TBHP system is developed.

A wide range of functionalized 2,9-dihydrothiopyrano[2,3-b]indoles were realized in good to high yields. Interestingly, these compounds have shown large Stokes shift values ranging from 5750–6081 cm⁻¹.

In air atmosphere, photosensitizer B-3 can generate superoxide anion radical more rapidly as a consequence of enhanced photoinduced electron transfer process. As expected, the conversion rate of 1,4-DHP can reach to 98.2% within 28 min.

A novel functionalized silica nanocomposite (F-SiO₂), with 5-isocyanato-1-isocyanatomethyl-1,3,3-trimethylcyclohexane (IPDI) acting as a linking agent to connect hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) and silica, was prepared to modify the bisphenol A dicyanate ester (BADCy). The incorporation of appropriate content of modified F-SiO₂ can enhance the mechanical properties of BADCy resin. In addition, the thermal stability of BADCy/F-SiO₂ nanocomposties is also superior to that of pure BADCy resin.

A series of (R)-2-phenyl-4,5-dihydrothiazole-4-carboxylic acid derivatives were designed, synthesized, and tested for their antifungal activities.

A base-catalyzed ring-opening of 1-benzylisochromans 1 firstly produced 2-alkenylstilbenes 2, which then underwent a mild acid-catalyzed intramolecular cyclization to furnish 1,2-disubstituted indenes 3 in high yields. Subsequently, a base-catalyzed isomerization of the 1,2-disubstituted indenes 3 afforded the more stable 2,3-disubstituted indenes 4 in almost quantitative yields.

The first total synthesis of (±)-latifolin has been accomplished in six steps and 47.8% overall yield. Based on DPPH-scavenging assay and density functional theory (DFT) studies, the H-atom abstraction of latifolin should take place in the phenolic 5-OH rather than benzhydryl 7-CH.

A porous nitrogen-doped carbon material was fabricated by using nitrogen containing gelatin as the carbon source and nano-silica obtained by a simple flame synthesis approach as the template. The as-prepared carbons (especially the HNC-700) delivered optimal reversible capacities of 1084 mAh·g⁻¹ at the current density of 37.2 mA·g⁻¹ (0.1 C) and 309 mAh·g⁻¹ even at 3.72 A·g⁻¹ (10 C). These results suggest that the as-obtained carbon materials would be promising anode materials for lithium ion batteries.

The porous Li[Ni_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3]O₂ has been synthesized via a facile carbonate co-precipitation method using Li₂CO₃ as template and lithium-source. The porous structure of Li[Ni_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3]O₂ can offer more Li⁺ location and shorten the distance of Li⁺ ion and electron, resulting in excellent electrochemical performance.

Diarylethene 1 can undergo photochromism when irradiated with 297 nm UV light and visible light while its photochromism could be blocked after addition of Cu²⁺.

A new one-pot two-step procedure was developed to prepare 1-aryl-1,2,3-triazoles in good to excellent yields from arylboronic acids in water under mild and operationally simple conditions.