Nature Catalysis

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 11 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01613-9 Ni(OH)2 catalysts are commonly assumed to oxidize to NiOOH under water oxidation conditions. Now in situ surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and DFT calculations reveal that the catalytically active surface at relevant potentials is terminated by NiO2 as bands once assigned to superoxides instead arise from NiO2…

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01611-x Despite decades of clinical use, the biosynthetic origin of 5-azacytidine remained unknown. Now the responsible gene cluster is identified, revealing enzymes that convert guanosine triphosphate into a triazine nucleobase through rare skeletal editing and unconventional thiamine-dependent chemistry.

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01609-5 Achieving efficient electrocatalytic conversion of CO2 and CO to high-value multi-carbon products remains a major challenge. Now, plasma activation is coupled with electrocatalysis on copper to enable unexplored reaction pathways, enhancing the production rates of C3+ hydrocarbons and oxygenates.

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01605-9 Understanding the role of nickel surface species in the hydrogen evolution reaction under alkaline conditions is crucial for developing precious-metal-free water electrolysers. Now, by systematically studying well-defined Ni surfaces, the authors dissect the contribution of NiO, NiHx and Ni(OH)2 species to the h…

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 02 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01602-y Geometric distortions are the prevailing approaches for engineering frontier molecular orbitals and chemical reactivity in p-block elements. Here the authors show a spirocyclic structure that exploits through-space orbital interactions in sulfur atoms to engineer highest-occupied molecular orbitals with elevated…

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 31 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01604-w The mechanism of cation enhancement in electrocatalytic CO2 reduction has been widely debated but spectroscopic evidence under operating conditions is lacking. Now operando X-ray and surface-enhanced infrared spectroscopy are combined with theory to reveal that desolvated Cs+ cations enable CO2 activation at substa…

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 28 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01597-6 Mizoroki–Heck reactivity has mostly been confined to the coupling of aryl (pseudo)halides with olefins. Now, the exploitation of ketenes generated in situ has unlocked direct access to α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds and divinyl ketones via a Heck-type pathway.

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 28 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01607-7 Oxygen reduction catalysts are critical for advancing the durability and efficiency of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Now a block-copolymer micelle confinement strategy is shown to enable the decoupled synthesis of highly ordered, ultra-dense Pt-based intermetallic nanocrystals, yielding PEMFC cataly…

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 25 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01608-6 C–P coupling of CO2 and phosphite to produce the pharmaceutically relevant compound foscarnet could offer a way to synthesize a valuable compound from waste materials. Now, this reaction is demonstrated electrocatalytically using an ionic liquid-modified Bi electrode.

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 25 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01603-x The electrocatalytic hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) on Pt is orders of magnitude slower in alkaline media compared with acidic media. Here, by measuring the mass–charge change at the electrode during the HOR, the simultaneous adsorption of water molecules during desorption of hydrogen is observed only under acid…

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 24 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01598-5 C–N bond functionalization of aliphatic primary amines is severely hampered by the poor nucleofugality of the NH2 group. Now, a direct catalytic deaminative cyanation of aliphatic primary amines has been established to enable efficient nitrile synthesis, including an asymmetric variant.

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 24 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01610-y A method is developed for the operando imaging of individual electrocatalytic turnovers at subparticle resolution — DELINE. Applied to surface water dissociation, this approach reveals nanoscale kinetic heterogeneity and a compensation relationship between the exchange velocity and charge transfer coefficient, prov…

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 20 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01581-0 The catalytic formation of C–N bonds remains a central challenge in synthetic chemistry owing to the widespread occurrence of amine motifs in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and other bioactive compounds. By merging photoredox and phosphine catalysis, researchers extend the reactivity of P(IV) intermediates to π-sy…

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 20 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01588-7 DNA-encoded chemical libraries (DELs) have long tiptoed around fragile DNA. Here, the barcode becomes an asset, enabling enzyme cascades that expand chemical diversity, redefining what ‘DEL compatible’ means.

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 20 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01583-y Electrocatalytic technologies may need to operate intermittently to maximize economics, switching off when electricity prices are high. This dynamic operation, however, leads to prohibitively accelerated catalyst degradation. Here, a controlled power-down strategy is tested over 750 hours with negligible catalyst d…

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 20 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01606-8 Solar coproduction in an artificial leaf

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 17 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01601-z Achieving a high selectivity for multicarbon alcohols via electrocatalytic CO2 reduction on copper has proved challenging. Here a nanoconfined catalytic reactor strategy integrates localized CO2 supersaturation, leading to the stabilization of ethoxy intermediates and a 70.3% Faradaic efficiency for ethanol at prac…

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 14 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01580-1 The partial oxidation of methane to syngas on Ni is commonly attributed to its metallic phase. Now, by combining in situ spectroscopy and microscopy, as well as density functional theory calculations, specific Ni–O motifs are identified as the active sites on Ni/Al2O3.

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 14 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01593-w Photocatalysts can generate radical species from substrates following light excitation. Here the authors report a two-photon bimodal catalysis approach in which the light-activated photocatalyst generates reactive intermediates at opposite redox scales, expanding the accessible redox window.

Nature Catalysis, Published online: 14 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41929-026-01595-8 Methanol electrooxidation on Pt is believed to follow parallel indirect and direct mechanisms, involving CO* or *O*OCH intermediates, respectively. Now operando electrochemical mass spectrometry and theoretical calculations are used to propose an alternative, more prevalent mechanism in which C–O bond cleavage occu…