Latest ArticlesDual-atom catalysts (DACs) show great potential for boosting reaction kinetics and diversifying active sites via the synergistic effects of two metal atoms. However, the influence of intermetallic interactions on catalytic performance remains underexplored. Herein, we report a Cu/Ni dual-atom catalyst anchored on N-doped carbon (Cu/Ni-N-C) for the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). Advanced experimental and theoretical approaches, including X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) analysis and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, were employed to systematically investigate the mechanism of intermetallic interactions. Experimental results demonstrate that the monometallic Cu-N-C catalyst achieves a maximum CO Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 38.35% at -1 V vs. RHE, with a non-negligible CH4 FE of 21.89% at -1.4 V vs. RHE. In contrast, the Cu0.5Ni0.5–N-C catalyst exhibits significantly enhanced performance for CO formation, reaching a high CO FE of 96.78% with partial current density of 24.80 mA/cm2 and a negligible CH4 formation. The reason for this selectivity shift is that Ni atoms within the Cu-Ni diatomic pairs in the Cu/Ni-N-C catalyst attract the electron cloud of Cu atoms. This reduces the electron cloud density near Cu atoms, and thus weakens the adsorption of CO2RR intermediates on Cu sites. DFT calculations further reveal that charge regulation between Cu and Ni is the key to the improved CO selectivity: electron-deficient Cu atoms act as O-terminal adsorption sites to bind the oxygen atoms of CO2, while electron-enriched Ni atoms serve as C-terminal adsorption sites to anchor the carbon atoms. This asymmetric adsorption mode promotes CO2 polarization and activation, narrows the HOMO-LUMO band gap for efficient electron transfer, and reduces the thermodynamic barrier for *COOH intermediate formation (ΔG = 1.78 eV vs. 2.52 eV for Cu-N-C). Additionally, the shortened Ni-C bond (1.921 Å vs. 2.207 Å for Cu-N-C) and elongated C–OH bond (1.388 Å vs. 1.376 Å for Cu-N-C) in *COOH on Cu0.5Ni0.5–N-C further favor CO generation. This work provides new insights into the precise design of DACs by regulating intermetallic interactions, advancing their industrial applications in CO2RR.
Fluorine substitution has emerged as a cornerstone of modern drug design, profoundly influencing the pharmacological properties of therapeutic agents. Owing to its high electronegativity and small atomic radius, fluorine imparts unique electronic and steric effects that enhance lipophilicity, metabolic stability, binding affinity, and pKa, thereby improving efficacy, bioavailability, and pharmacokinetics. Often referred to as an "enchanted atom", fluorine can decisively alter the trajectory of drug candidates, reducing attrition and increasing clinical success. Within synthetic organic chemistry, the pursuit of novel biologically active compounds is closely tied to monitoring advances in approved pharmaceuticals, with fluorine-containing drugs representing one of the most dynamic areas of innovation. In this review, we profile fourteen new pharmaceuticals approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2025, including datopotamab deruxtecan, suzetrigine, mirdametinib, avutometinib/defactinib, taletrectinib, sunvozertinib, sebetralstat, rilzabrutinib, imlunestrant, paltusotine, remibrutinib, elinzanetant, ziftomenib, and zoliflodacin. For each compound, we examine the medicinal chemistry discovery, therapeutic application, and FDA approval timeline, with particular emphasis on synthetic strategies and the role of fluorine incorporation. This review aims to provide a timely resource and inspiration for researchers in academia and the pharmaceutical industry, as well as for students engaged in drug design, fluorine chemistry, and medicinal chemistry.
The electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) is widely regarded as a promising sustainable alternative to the energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process for ammonia synthesis. In recent years, a large number of studies have focused on enhancing key NRR performance metrics, particularly Faradaic efficiency and ammonia (NH3) yield rate, leading to notable progress in both areas. Despite these advances, the development of low-cost, high-performance electrocatalysts remains the primary challenge and a major bottleneck to large-scale industrial application. This review summarizes the current understanding of NRR mechanisms and reaction pathways, as well as recent progress in electrochemical cell design, quantitative NH3 detection strategies, and electrocatalyst development. Focusing on electrocatalysts, we provide an overview of the major classes of electrocatalysts including noble metals, transition metals, single-atom systems, metal-organic frameworks, and non-metallic materials. Furthermore, we compare their respective advantages and limitations. Finally, we outline the key challenges and future directions for engineering next-generation electrocatalysts capable of achieving high-efficiency nitrogen fixation.
Commercialization of rechargeable lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) is severely hindered by the "shuttle effect" and their sluggish electrochemical kinetics. Herein, highly matched NbN/TiN heterocrystals with nanosize (< 5 nm) uniformly dispersed within in hollow porous N–doped carbon microspheres (NbN/TiN@N–C) was designed. DFT calculations and electrochemical tests demonstrate the remarkable improvement in anchoring lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) and sulfur redox kinetics. Specifically, the hollow porous frameworks can physically confine LiPSs and effectively alleviate volume changes, and simultaneously the immobilized NbN/TiN nanocrystals can strongly interact with LiPSs by the dual–chemical adsorption that the formation of Nb–S and Ti–S bonds. The nanosized NbN/TiN heterocrystals and their clusters induce maximum reaction surface and numerous activity sites. Significantly, the heterocrystals, based on high lattice matching and stable built–in electric field, endows smooth channels for Li+ diffusion and maximum electron transfer ability to catalysts. The LSBs with NbN/TiN@N–C separator delivers ultralong cycling stability that sustained 545.5 mAh/g with only 0.056% capacity decay per cycle over 1000 cycles at 2 C and high rate performance with 663.7 mAh/g at 10 C. This work provides a novel insight for regulating LiPSs through highly matched binary heterogeneous catalyst to advance the industrial application of LSBs.
This study identifies and characterises a previously unknown diterpene synthase, SjJS, from the acidophilic actinomycete Streptacidiphilus jiangxiensis. Genome mining and heterologous expression demonstrated that Streptacidiphilus jiangxiensis Jiangxidiene Synthase (SjJS) accepts both farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP) and geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate (GGPP) as substrates to produce a diverse terpene profile, including two new diterpenes, jiangxidiene A (1) and B (2). Comprehensive 13C-labelling experiments combined with computational analyses delineated its intricate cyclisation mechanism and revealed two possible pathways. Structure-guided mutagenesis enabled the accumulation of key intermediate-derived products, jiangxienols A–D (4, 7, 8, and 10), thereby allowing a clear differentiation between the two proposed cyclisation pathways and leading to the formation of several additional diterpenes. In addition, a cytochrome P450 encoded adjacent to the sjjs gene was shown to oxidise jiangxidiene A (1), the major diterpene product, yielding jiangxienoide B (12) and jiangxienol E (13). Further cytotoxicity assays were performed for the isolated compounds, among which jiangxidiene A (1) gave the lowest half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values (15–20 µg/mL) against the tested human cancer cell lines.
Lycibarbarspermidines represent a major class of bioactive components in wolfberry (the fruit of Lycium barbarum), consisting of di-phenylpropionyl spermidines and their glucosides. While the molecular basis underlying their glycodiversity was clarified in our previous work, the biosynthesis of di-phenylpropionyl spermidine core structure remains elusive. In particular, the acyltransferase responsible for conjugating dihydrocaffeoyl, one of the dominant phenylpropionyl moieties, is still unidentified. Herein, two N-hydroxycinnamoyltransferases (LbSCT1/2) from wolfberry were identified, which not only catalyze the conjugation of spermidine with caffeoyl-CoA, but also exhibit high catalytic activity toward dihydrocaffeoyl-CoA. Notably, LbSCT2 catalyzes monoacylation, whereas LbSCT1 enables sequential diacylation. Together with caffeoyl-CoA double bond reductase (LbDBR2), LbSCT1/2 accomplish the biosynthesis of lycibarbarspermidine Ⅰ-Ⅳ. Furthermore, LbSCT1 efficiently catalyzes the biosynthesis of kukoamine B, a major bioactive component from Lycii Cortex (the root bark of Lycium species). Crystal structural and mutagenic investigations elucidated the catalytic mechanisms underlying the selectivity of LbSCT1/2 for spermidine mono- and diacylation. This study establishes the complete biosynthesis of lycibarbarspermidines and provides valuable enzymatic tools for diversifying phenylpropionyl compounds.
The direct hydroalkenylation of alkenes represents the most straightforward method for constructing C(sp2)-C(sp3) bonds. However, controlling chemo- and regioselectivity between two different alkenes remains a fundamental challenge. Herein, we developed a cobalt-catalyzed system to regioselectively ligate electron-deficient alkenes with electron-rich alkenes. The in-situ generated CoⅢ-H activate electron-deficient alkenes through a Markovnikov or anti-Markovnikov manner, to form linear or branched alkylcobalt species as key intermediate, which can successfully achieve regiodivergent hydroalkenylation of acrylates and analogs. The method demonstrates a broad substrate scope and functional group compatibility. Origin of regioselectivity control by the cobalt catalyst has been elucidated through mechanistic studies and density functional theory (DFT) calculations.
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