The disulfide-based poly(ether-b-amide) copolymer with polyamide hard segment and polyether soft segment is a new developed material that can be easily repaired under moderate conditions. The amorphous aggregated structure facilitates the diffusion of segments as well as the recombination of disulfide bonds and H-bonds. Due to the excellent low-temperature flexibility, rapid self-healing capability and convenient recyclability, the material shows great potential application in the fields of low-temperature packaging, sealing and solid propellants. More details are discussed in the article by Dong et al. on page 943—950.

Perovskite nanocrystals have shown tremendous potential in the field of optoelectronics, finding numerous applications. Rare-earth elements serve as excellent alternatives to lead in perovskite nanocrystals owing to their abundant 4f energy level and distinct electronic arrangement. By partially or completely replacing lead, these elements not only reduce the environmental impact, but also introduce a range of unique effects and applications. More details are discussed in the review article by Zhang et al. on page 1032—1056.

A disulfide-based poly(ether-b-amide) copolymer with rapid self-healing capability under moderate conditions was successfully prepared by employing polyamide synthesized from 4,4’-dithiodibutyric acid and isophorondiamine as hard segment and PTMO as soft segment, which showed great potential in the fields of low-temperature packaging, sealing and propellants.

We report a label-free deoxyribozyme (DNAzyme) biosensor for m⁶A demethylase activity detection. The nucleic acid probes consist of a methylation-blocked DNAzyme strand and a designed substrate strand. When demethylase is present, the m⁶A group is specifically demethylated, and the cleavage activity of DNAzyme is restored. This allows the cleavage product encoded with G-quadruplex binding to thioflavin T (ThT) to generate fluorescence output signals.

Herein, we describe a redox-neutral three-component 1,2-dialkylation from malonates, styrenes, and aldehydes through the synergistic Brønsted base/photoredox catalyzed radical-polar crossover process, providing an efficient and clean approach to a broad variety of δ-hydroxy esters. This developed protocol features exceptionally mild and transition-metal-free conditions, broad compatibility of substrate scope and functional groups, and high atomic economy. Importantly, photocatalytic three-component 1,2-alkylacylation towards valuable intermediate δ-keto esters was also achieved through the combination of the RPC process and following two-electron oxidation from the same starting materials.

The ring-opening copolymerizations of racemic-β-butyrolactone (rac-β-BL) and β-propiolactone (β-PL) were performed using the syndio-selective amino-alkoxy-bis(phenolate)-yttrium catalyst, resulting in polyhydroxyalkanoates with tunable properties comparable to traditional fossil-based plastics. Moreover, through one-pot synthesis, we transformed the copolymers into soft and ductile thermoplastic elastomers by utilizing monomers' different copolymerization rates and a bifunctional initiator.

A one-step pyrolysis method was employed to load Ru₁Co single atom alloy onto a nitrogen-doped ultra-thin carbon sheet, resulting in an electrocatalytic oxygen evolution catalyst suitable for use in an acidic environment. The catalyst exhibited excellent activity and stability in oxygen evolution, with an overpotential of only 238 mV at a current density of 10 mA·cm^–2. The structure of the single atom alloy was characterized using synchrotron radiation, which confirmed the involvement of Ru in the oxygen evolution process. Moreover, this approach maximized the utilization efficiency of Ru atomic sites and effectively reduced catalytic costs.

An electrochemical dearomative spirocyclization of N-acyl sulfonamides in a continuous-flow cell was reported. This reaction is simple and efficient, and 10 g scale-up synthesis can be readily achieved without external catalysts or supporting electrolytes.

We used Ru(II)-catalyst to perform ortho C—H allylation of N-aryl-7-azaindole with 2-methylenecyclic carbonate. The range of reactions is quite wide, and reactions can also be carried out on other heterocyclic compounds, and different carbonates can be used.

A visible-light-driven four-component radical relay aminocarbonylation reaction of unactivated alkenes using 4CzIPN as an organic photocatalyst is developed, providing robust access to β-fluoroalkyl amides with good yields and selectivity under metal-free conditions. Importantly, this strategy also shows good compatibility with tertiary carbon radicals.

Indandione-terminated quinoidal compound Q-4F was doped using two n-dopants N-DMBI and LCV through solution process. N-DMBI exhibited a higher doping ability for Q-4F than LCV. However, unperturbed molecular packing and favorable morphology can be realized after LCV doping, thereby leading to a high thermoelectrics performance.

Strong metal-support interactions (SMSI) are a key concept in heterogeneous catalysis, which govern the catalytic performance in various processes. We here provide a brief summary of the recent progress utilizing in situ TEM to study the SMSI phenomenon and the relationship between structure and performance of the supported catalyst under reaction conditions. Meanwhile, a brief perspective about the use of in situ TEM for further study of SMSI is also presented, showing prospects in this field that will stimulate upsurging research in promoting the catalytic efficiency of supported catalysts.

In lead-based perovskite nanocrystals, a fraction of lead is substituted with rare earth elements for the purpose of doping. Given the adverse effects of lead on human health and the environment, the complete substitution of lead with rare earth ions to achieve lead-free characteristics has emerged as a prominent trend.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates with tunable properties can be readily prepared through stereoselective ring-opening copolymerization of rac-β-butyrolactone and β-propiolactone. By simply adjusting the polymerization conditions, such as the type of initiators and polymerization time, a variety of biodegradable copolyesters spanning from plastics to elastomers can be effectively produced in a one-pot process. Further insights and details can be found in the article by Tang et al. on page 963—972.

Radical/polar crossover (RPC) is a rapidly growing subset of photoredox reactions in which the newly formed radical intermediates preferentially undergo the single-electron reduction or oxidation to re-enter the ionic reaction space. It should be noted that there is only one report on photoredox-catalyzed RPC-type difunctionalizations of alkenes with malonates as radical precursors, namely alkene hydroalkylation. Based on the above well-established RPC-type strategy, aldehydes are employed as new electrophiles for exploring a new three-component dicarbofunctionalizations of alkenes. More details are discussed in the article by Yi et al. on page 957—962.