Author Archive

A nitro boost for solid oxides

Scientists in Germany have made tetranitratoethane (C2H2N4O12), a solid oxidiser with one of the highest oxygen contents ever synthesised. This research is part of an international search for new oxidisers to replace toxic ammonium perchlorate (NH4ClO4). Read the full article in Chemistry World»


Read the original journal article in ChemComm – it’s free to read until 29 February 2016:
Tetranitratoethane
Dennis Fischer, Thomas M. Klapötke and Jörg Stierstorfer 
Chem. Commun., 2016,52, 916-918, DOI: 10.1039/C5CC09010E, Communication

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Ethanol to butanol conversion shows sustainable potential

Scientists in the US have come up with a simple way to convert ethanol into 1-butanol, in what could be an important step forward for renewable energy.

Ethanol can be made by fermenting biomass. However, ethanol presents problems as a fuel, such as low energy density compared to petrol, corrosiveness towards engine technology and fuel pipelines, and since it reacts with water, it can separate out from fuel blends over time. Read the full article in Chemistry World»


Read the original journal article in ChemComm:
Upgrading ethanol to 1-butanol with a homogeneous air-stable ruthenium catalyst
K T Tseng et al, Chem. Commun., 2016, DOI: 10.1039/c5cc09913g

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Hot ChemComm articles for December

Take a look at this selection of recently published referee-recommended articles – all are free to read* until 23 January.

Highly sensitive and selective bioluminescence based ozone probes and their applications to detect ambient ozone
Younseok Nam, Beom Seok Kim and Injae Shin
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC08622A, Communication

C5CC08622A GA


Transient electrochemistry: beyond simply temporal resolution
X.-S. Zhou, B.-W. Mao, C. Amatore, R. G. Compton, J.-L. Marignier, M. Mostafavi, J.-F. Nierengarten and E. Maisonhaute
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC07953E, Feature Article

C5CC07953E GA


Robust molecular representations for modelling and design derived from atomic partial charges
A. R. Finkelmann, A. H. Göller and G. Schneider
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC07887C, Communication

C5CC07887C GA


A novel multi-stimuli responsive gelator based on D-gluconic acetal and its potential applications
Xidong Guan, Kaiqi Fan, Tongyang Gao, Anping Ma, Bao Zhang and Jian Song
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC08615A, Communication

C5CC08615A GA


Enzyme encapsulation in zeolitic imidazolate frameworks: a comparison between controlled co-precipitation and biomimetic mineralisation
Kang Liang, Campbell J. Coghlan, Stephen G. Bell, Christian Doonan and Paolo Falcaro
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC07577G, Communication

C5CC07577G GA


Spotting and designing promiscuous ligands for drug discovery
P. Schneider, M. Röthlisberger, D. Reker and G. Schneider
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC07506H, Communication

C5CC07506H GA

*Access is free through a registered RSC account

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H2-free route to actinide hydrides

Scientists in the US have shown that phenylsilane is a safer and more convenient replacement for hydrogen gas when synthesising uranium and thorium hydrides.

Thorium and uranium are the most abundant actinoid elements. Although many stable thorium and uranium oxides and minerals are found in nature, the other actinoids are almost exclusively found in nuclear waste. Understanding actinoid chemistry has important practical applications in the nuclear industry but it is also fundamentally fascinating as the actinoid f electrons are so unlike those of the lanthanoids. Scientists need to make and study actinoid complexes with different oxidation states and with different ligands to understand their chemistry. Unfortunately, organometallic actinide chemistry can be quite challenging as organoactinide complexes will react – sometimes violently – with air or water, meaning that specialist equipment is needed to make and store them safely. Read the full article in Chemistry World»


Read the original journal article in ChemComm – it’s free to access until 23 December 2015:
Phenylsilane as a safe, versatile alternative to hydrogen for the synthesis of actinide hydrides
Justin K. Pagano, Jacquelyn M. Dorhout, Rory Waterman, Kenneth R. Czerwinski and Jaqueline L. Kiplinger 
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC06856H, Communication

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Oral delivery of anticancer drug

Scientists in China have unveiled a way to deliver a platinum-based anticancer drug orally. The system, which works by protecting a prodrug from activation until it reaches the cancer cells, could help avoid the drug’s side effects.

The researchers incoporated an asplatin-cholesterol complex into biocompatible nanoparticles, which protect the drug from degrading before reaching the cancer cells

Platinum(IV)-based drugs are used to treat a range of cancers, often combined with other drugs. They are only reduced to the active platinum(II) drug once inside a cancer cell. Currently, healthcare workers administer platinum anticancer drugs through intravenous injections, which results in uncontrolled levels of the drug in the body and associated side effects. Administrating these drugs orally, however, would sustain an optimum concentration of the drug whilst boosting patient comfort and compliance. However, a downside is the prodrugs would be vulnerable to premature reduction into the active drug in the gastrointestinal tract. Read the full article in Chemistry World»


Read the original journal article in ChemComm – it’s free to read until 16 December:
Oral delivery of a platinum anticancer drug using lipid assisted polymeric nanoparticles
Qinqin Cheng, Hongdong Shi, Hai Huang, Zhiting Cao, Jun Wang and Yangzhong Liu 
Chem. Commun., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC07853A, Communication

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Top 25 ChemComm articles July–September 2015

The 25 most-downloaded ChemComm articles in the third quarter of 2015 were as follows:

Copper-catalyzed oxidative decarboxylative C–H arylation of benzoxazoles with 2-nitrobenzoic acids
Lijun Chen, Lin Ju, Katelyn A. Bustin and Jessica M. Hoover
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC06645J, Communication

Unactivated C(sp3)–H hydroxylation through palladium catalysis with H2O as the oxygen source
Jiantao Hu, Tianlong Lan, Yihua Sun, Hui Chen, Jiannian Yao and Yu Rao
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC04952K, Communication

TMSBr/InBr3-promoted Prins cyclization/homobromination of dienyl alcohol with aldehyde to construct cis-THP containing an exocyclic E-alkene
Linjie Li, Xianwei Sun, Yanyang He, Lu Gao and Zhenlei Song
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC06270E, Communication

Organocatalytic amination of alkyl ethers via n-Bu4NI/t-BuOOH-mediated intermolecular oxidative C(sp3)–N bond formation: novel synthesis of hemiaminal ethers
Longyang Dian, Sisi Wang, Daisy Zhang-Negrerie, Yunfei Du and Kang Zhao
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC05758A, Communication

Visible light-driven water oxidation catalyzed by a highly efficient dinuclear ruthenium complex
Yunhua Xu, Lele Duan, Lianpeng Tong, Björn Åkermark and Licheng Sun
DOI: 10.1039/C0CC01250E, Communication

Multifunctional catalysis by Pd-polyoxometalate: one-step conversion of acetone to methyl isobutyl ketone
Robert D. Hetterley, Elena F. Kozhevnikova and Ivan V. Kozhevnikov
DOI: 10.1039/B515325E, Communication

A facile solvothermal growth of single crystal mixed halide perovskite CH3NH3Pb(Br1−xClx)3
Taiyang Zhang, Mengjin Yang, Eric E. Benson, Zijian Li, Jao van de Lagemaat, Joseph M. Luther, Yanfa Yan, Kai Zhu and Yixin Zhao
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC01835H, Communication

Nanostructured electrochromic smart windows: traditional materials and NIR-selective plasmonic nanocrystals
Evan L. Runnerstrom, Anna Llordés, Sebastien D. Lounis and Delia J. Milliron
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC03109A, Feature Article

Surface modification of MoS2 nanoparticles with ionic liquid–ligands: towards highly dispersed nanoparticles
Wilton Osim, Anja Stojanovic, Johanna Akbarzadeh, Herwig Peterlik and Wolfgang H. Binder
DOI: 10.1039/C3CC45305G, Communication

The surface chemistry of metal–organic frameworks
Christina V. McGuire and Ross S. Forgan
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC04458D, Feature Article

Catalytic meta-selective C–H functionalization to construct quaternary carbon centres
Andrew J. Paterson, Sahra St John-Campbell, Mary F. Mahon, Neil J. Press and Christopher G. Frost
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC03951G, Communication

Production of few-layer phosphorene by liquid exfoliation of black phosphorus
Jack R. Brent, Nicky Savjani, Edward A. Lewis, Sarah J. Haigh, David J. Lewis and Paul O’Brien
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC05752J, Communication

Graphene quantum dots: emergent nanolights for bioimaging, sensors, catalysis and photovoltaic devices
Jianhua Shen, Yihua Zhu, Xiaoling Yang and Chunzhong Li
DOI: 10.1039/C2CC00110A, Feature Article

Reduction of graphene oxide via L-ascorbic acid
Jiali Zhang, Haijun Yang, Guangxia Shen, Ping Cheng, Jingyan Zhang and Shouwu Guo
DOI: 10.1039/B917705A, Communication

Few-layer, large-area, 2D covalent organic framework semiconductor thin films
Jeremy I. Feldblyum, Clara H. McCreery, Sean C. Andrews, Tadanori Kurosawa, Elton J. G. Santos, Vincent Duong, Lei Fang, Alexander L. Ayzner and Zhenan Bao
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC04679C, Communication

Copper-catalyzed oxidative C–H/C–H cross-coupling of benzamides and thiophenes
Sheng Zhao, Jun Yuan, Yi-Chen Li and Bing-Feng Shi
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC05058H, Communication

Interview with Ben L. Feringa
DOI: 10.1039/C4CC90068E, Profile

Aggregation-induced emission: phenomenon, mechanism and applications
Yuning Hong, Jacky W. Y. Lam and Ben Zhong Tang
DOI: 10.1039/B904665H, Feature Article

Asymmetric synthesis of pyrazoles and pyrazolones employing the reactivity of pyrazolin-5-one derivatives
Pankaj Chauhan, Suruchi Mahajan and Dieter Enders
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC04930J, Feature Article

A MOF platform for incorporation of complementary organic motifs for CO2 binding
Pravas Deria, Song Li, Hongda Zhang, Randall Q. Snurr, Joseph T. Hupp and Omar K. Farha
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC04808G, Communication

Strongly green-photoluminescent graphene quantum dots for bioimaging applications
Shoujun Zhu, Junhu Zhang, Chunyan Qiao, Shijia Tang, Yunfeng Li, Wenjing Yuan, Bo Li, Lu Tian, Fang Liu, Rui Hu, Hainan Gao, Haotong Wei, Hao Zhang, Hongchen Sun and Bai Yang
DOI: 10.1039/C1CC11122A, Communication

Cerium-based metal organic frameworks with UiO-66 architecture: synthesis, properties and redox catalytic activity
Martin Lammert, Michael T. Wharmby, Simon Smolders, Bart Bueken, Alexandra Lieb, Kirill A. Lomachenko, Dirk De Vos and Norbert Stock
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC02606G, Communication

A facile synthesis of UiO-66, UiO-67 and their derivatives
Michael J. Katz, Zachary J. Brown, Yamil J. Colón, Paul W. Siu, Karl A. Scheidt, Randall Q. Snurr, Joseph T. Hupp and Omar K. Farha
DOI: 10.1039/C3CC46105J, Communication

Red, far-red, and near infrared photoswitches based on azonium ions
M. Dong, A. Babalhavaeji, M. J. Hansen, L. Kálmán and G. A. Woolley
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC02804C, Communication

A ratiometric fluorescent system for carboxylesterase detection with AIE dots as FRET donors
Yinglong Wu, Shuailing Huang, Fang Zeng, Jun Wang, Changmin Yu, Jing Huang, Huiting Xie and Shuizhu Wu
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC04771D, Communication


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Hot ChemComm articles for October

Take a look at this selection of recently published referee-recommended articles – all are free to read* until 23 November.

Paper-based plasticizer-free sodium ion-selective sensor with camera phone as a detector
Xuewei Wang, Yu Qin and Mark E. Meyerhoff
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC06770G, Communication

C5CC06770G GA


Soil as an inexhaustible and high-performance anode material for Li-ion batteries
Xiaofei Hu, Kai Zhang, Liang Cong, Fangyi Cheng and Jun Chen
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC06394A, Communication

C5CC06394A GA


Spontaneous mirror symmetry breaking in a re-entrant isotropic liquid
Christian Dressel, Wolfgang Weissflog and Carsten Tschierske
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC06843F, Communication

C5CC06843F GA


Highly-efficient dye-sensitized solar cells with collaborative sensitization by silyl-anchor and carboxy-anchor dyes
Kenji Kakiage, Yohei Aoyama, Toru Yano, Keiji Oya, Jun-ichi Fujisawa and Minoru Hanaya
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC06759F, Communication

C5CC06759F GA


Catalytic C–H bond functionalisation chemistry: the case for quasi-heterogeneous catalysis
Alan J. Reay and Ian J. S. Fairlamb
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC06980G, Feature Article

C5CC06980G GA


Space Science Applications for Conducting Polymer Particles: Synthetic Mimics for Cosmic Dust and Micrometeorites
Lee A Fielding, Jon K Hillier, Mark J Burchell and Steven P Armes
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC07405C, Feature Article

 

*Access is free through a registered RSC account

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Connecting electrodes with light illuminates electrochemistry

Scientists in Australia have lit the path towards replacing wires in electrochemical devices by using visible light to create electrical currents on a stabilised silicon semiconductor electrode.

Electrodes in conventional devices must be connected to an external electrical circuit, often requiring a mesh of wires and bonding pads to produce an array of independently controlled electrodes. These components take up a vast amount of space on electronic chips, limiting the electrode density. Read the full article in Chemistry World»


You can read the original journal article in Chemical Science:
Connecting electrodes with light: one wire, many electrodes
Moinul H. Choudhury, Simone Ciampi, Ying Yang, Roya Tavallaie, Ying Zhu, Leila Zarei, Vinicius R. Gonçales and J. Justin Gooding
DOI: 10.1039/C5SC03011K, Edge Article

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Electric switch makes helix change hands

Electric fields can switch both the net dipole moment and the helical handedness of helical supramolecular structures, according to a theoretical study by scientists in India.

Benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxamide (BTA) molecules self-assemble, by hydrogen bonding, into columnar structures with a macrodipole moment along their stacking direction. Each BTA molecule can form three hydrogen bonds by using oxygen atoms in the amide groups and the direction of these hydrogen bonds determines the direction of the dipole moment. Read the full article in Chemistry World»

Application of an electric field in the direction opposite to that of the macrodipole reverses the handedness of the structure


You can read the original journal article in ChemComm – it’s free to download until 14 October 2015:
External electric field reverses helical handedness of a supramolecular columnar stack
Karteek K. Bejagam, Chidambar Kulkarni, Subi J. George and Sundaram Balasubramanian�
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC05569E, Communication

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Hot ChemComm articles for September

Take a look at this selection of recently published referee-recommended articles – all are free to read* until the end of September.

Solid electrolyte interphase in semi-solid flow batteries: a wolf in sheep’s clothing
E. Ventosa, G. Zampardi, C. Flox, F. La Mantia, W. Schuhmann and J. R. Morante 
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC04767F, Communication

C5CC04767F GA


A new label-free strategy for a highly efficient chemiluminescence immunoassay
Zhanjun Yang, Yue Cao, Juan Li, Juntao Wang, Dan Du, Xiaoya Hu and Yuehe Lin 
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC05337D, Communication

C5CC05337D GA


A luminescent ruthenium(II) complex for light-triggered drug release and live cell imaging
Nora Karaoun and Anna K. Renfrew 
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC05172J, Communication

C5CC05172J GA


Tuning the properties of the UiO-66 metal organic framework by Ce substitution
Farid Nouar, Matthew I. Breeze, Betiana C. Campo, Alexandre Vimont, Guillaume Clet, Marco Daturi, Thomas Devic, Richard I. Walton and Christian Serre 
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC05072C, Communication

C5CC05072C GA


Biologically inspired non-heme iron-catalysts for asymmetric epoxidation; design principles and perspectives
Olaf Cussó, Xavi Ribas and Miquel Costas 
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC05576H, Feature Article

C5CC05576H GA


Confined chromophores in tobacco mosaic virus to mimic green fluorescent protein
Quan Zhou, Fengchi Wu, Man Wu, Ye Tian and Zhongwei Niu 
DOI: 10.1039/C5CC05751E, Communication

C5CC05751E GA 

*Access is free through a registered RSC account

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