physical-chemistry

Scientific Reports, Published online: 05 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41598-026-50040-0 Influence of acid structure and acidity strength on thermochemical, in-situ nitrogen generation

Nature Communications, Published online: 05 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-72920-9 Ru-catalyzed asymmetric ring-closing metathesis (ARCM) reactions are less reported and restricted to the synthesis of tertiary stereocenters. Herein, the authors report ARCM to produce chiral heterocyclic compounds with quaternary stereocenters, by synthesizing stereogenic-at-Ru catalysts via controllable C–H act…

Senior member Katie Sun participated in the University of Pennsylvania’s 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition and won 2nd place! Penn 3MT is a university-wide competition designed to showcase graduate students’ research and communications skills in a three-minute talk to a general audience. Katie’s thesis centers around the adsorption of nanoparticles to polymer brushes, which she …

Nature Communications, Published online: 04 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-71517-6 Plasmonic nanoparticles show promise for photocatalysis, yet the dynamics of charge transfer remain poorly understood. Here, the authors demonstrate the light-driven growth of a CdS shell on Au nanocubes, correlating shell thickness with charge transfer efficiency at the single-particle level.

Nature Communications, Published online: 04 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-72536-z Cation migration plays a critical role in the evolution of perovskite electrodes but is not fully understood. Here, the authors combine theory and experiment to show that cation migration coupled with phase segregation forms a highly active nanocomposite electrode.

A science story first, then a US research ecosystem story later. When we think about using molecules to store energy, it's usually in the context of food or fuel, so that chemical reactions take place - bonds are broken and remade, and in an exothermic reaction, the products end up with more kinetic energy (center of mass motion, molecular vibrations and rotations) than the initial reactants.  Ho…

Achieving both high efficiency and high selectivity remains a central challenge in catalytic hydrogenation reactions, as rapid reactant activation often leads to overly strong binding of intermediates and unwanted over-reduction. A new photocatalytic strategy now demonstrates how this long-standing trade-off can be overcome.

Light fills a photochemical reactor, but heat tells the hidden story. In this post, we share how fast calorimetry and automation turned invisible heat signals into a visual model for continuous-flow photobromination.

Nature Communications, Published online: 01 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-72121-4 Bimolecular nucleophilic substitution is a fundamental reaction in organic chemistry. Here, the authors uncover a “flip-over” retention mechanism for the SN2 pathway of Cl− + (CH3)3CI from molecular cross beam experiments and dynamics simulations.

Nature Communications, Published online: 01 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-72120-5 A recent study by Lu et al. reports the nucleophilic substitution reaction between Cl‒ and (CH3)3CI can proceed via a flip-over mechanism — a new type of SN2 pathway that retains configuration, discovered through simulations on a full-dimensional potential energy surface.

Nature Communications, Published online: 30 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-72486-6 Li–S batteries typically rely on static internal modifications. Here, authors apply dynamic external acoustic modulation to create a non-equilibrium entropy-driven electrolyte, enhancing mass transfer and Li-ion desolvation to accelerate sulfur conversion and stabilize lithium negative electrode.

Nature Chemistry, Published online: 30 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41557-026-02098-6 CO2 insertion into metal-alkoxide bonds is a well-established strategy, but detailed mechanistic studies are lacking. Now the effect of CO2 pressure on CO2 insertion for epoxide–CO2 copolymerization has been explored using a range of catalysts, providing new mechanistic insights as well as testing protocols for mono…

Accurate prediction of the elastic properties of chalcogenide glasses (ChGs) remains a long-standing challenge due to the structural complexity of amorphous networks and the limited availability of reliable mechanical measurements. In this work, we develop a set of numerical estimator algorithms capable of predicting Poisson's ratio, Young's modulus, the Bulk modulus, and the Shear modulus of a C…

Scientists uncovered a hidden state in water that explains its bizarre behavior. Researchers at Stockholm University have used advanced X-ray laser technology to uncover a long-suspected feature of water: a critical point that appears when water is deeply supercooled, around -63 °C and 1000 atmospheres. This hidden state helps explain why water behaves so unusually [...]

Scientific Data, Published online: 29 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41597-026-07325-w A Comprehensive Dataset of Chemical Reactions Covering Second and Third Row Elements with Million-Scale Quantum Chemical Calculations

Nature, Published online: 27 April 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01283-4 Low-cost system can optimize synthesis of a wide variety of products.

No Bridge between Us: EXAFS and Computations Confirm Two Distant Iron Ions Comprise the Active Site of Alkane Monooxygenase (AlkB) Reinhardt, Clorice R; Lee, Juliet A; Hendricks, Lauren; Green, Tierani; Kunczynski, Lily; Roberts, August Jaunzarins; Miller, Naomi; Rafalin, Noga; Kulik, Heather J; Pollock, Christopher J; Austin, Rachel N Alkane monooxygenase (AlkB) is the dominant enzyme that catal…

The tension-activated carbon–carbon bond Sun, Yunyan; Kevlishvili, Ilia; Kouznetsova, Tatiana B; Burke, Zach P; Craig, Stephen L; Kulik, Heather J; Moore, Jeffrey S Mechanical force drives distinct chemical reactions; yet, its vectoral nature results in complicated coupling with reaction trajectories. Here, we utilize a physical organic model inspired by the classical Morse potential and its diff…

Nature Communications, Published online: 25 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-72552-z The construction of dynamic chiral materials built via a combined covalent and non-covalent strategy remain challenging. Here, the authors report a click-and-release reaction to create a multichannel dynamic chiroptical system with high quantum yield green fluorescence emission.

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a compact, automated robotic platform for foundational photochemical assays. They call the system Roblonski, after A. Jablonski, who created the Jablonski diagram. They published their findings in ACS Central Science.   Reliable photochemical and photophysical characterization is essential for understanding and optimizing photocataly…