Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have attracted attention due to several advantages, such as optical properties and easy functionalization. In particular, aggregation of AuNPs induced by target molecules can be monitored via optical or electrochemical methods for molecular sensing. This review aims to highlight molecular sensing strategies focusing on aggregation mechanisms of AuNPs and detection methods, including one using dark-field microscopy.

[Review]
Ryosuke Izumi, Yuki Tanaka, Tamotsu Zako
ChemBioChem, https://doi.org/10.1002/cbic.202500615. Read article.

Random hetero oligomers (RHOs) of defined compositions are synthesized and fractionated to identify the chemical design criteria (charge, length, hydrophobicity) required to achieve nanomolar binding to green fluorescent protein, resulting in >100% fluorescence increases.

[Research Article]
Darwin C. Gomez, Swarnadeep Seth, Ronnie Mondal, Stephen J. Koehler, Jared G. Baker, Charles Plate, Ian C. Anderson, Mikayla R. Smith, Joey Gloriod, Morgan Gunter, Valerie V. Welborn, Sanket A. Deshmukh, C. Adrian Figg
Angewandte Chemie International Edition, https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202520032. Read article.

A modular synthetic approach enables the preparation of azulene-fused heterocycles via nucleophilic aromatic substitution followed by intramolecular cyclization of alkynyl fluoroazulenes. The method allows the incorporation of various heteroatoms (N, O, S, Se, and Te), leading to structurally diverse heteroannulated azulenes. The resulting compounds exhibit distinct electronic features and acid-responsive behavior.

[Research Article]
Martin C. Dietl, Matthias Scherr, Christopher Hüßler, Henrik T. Habeck, Carmen L. M. Henel, Jürgen Graf, Frank Rominger, Matthias Rudolph, A. Stephen K. Hashmi
ChemistryEurope, https://doi.org/10.1002/ceur.202500194. Read article.

A concise protocol is presented that converts pyridines into anilines by externalizing the original pyridine nitrogen at either the "ipso" or "ortho" position, which results in para or meta-primary aniline products. A key carbene-insertion step precedes nitrogen migration, preserving both ring size and overall structure.

[Research Article]
Yun Luo, Jing Dai, Yongchang Wei, Chang Min
ChemistryEurope, https://doi.org/10.1002/ceur.202500410. Read article.

We demonstrate that the OER performance of Li-O2 batteries primarily depends on the orbital interaction mode between the catalyst and the intermediates. In contrast to the strong Cd 4dxy-O 2Px/y orbital interaction mode between CdSe and LiO2, the weaker Cd 4dz2-O 2Py orbital interaction mode between CdSe/ZnS and LiO2 significantly reduces the charge activation energy barrier, thereby enhancing OER catalytic activity.

[Communication]
Yicheng Zeng, Yin Zhou, Fangze Liu, Hongbo Li
Angewandte Chemie International Edition, https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202520062. Read article.

A synergistic strategy based on embedding heptagons and incorporating carbazole derivatives has been developed to create helical bilayer molecular carbons with a high fluorescence quantum yield (ΦF = 74%). An organic light-emitting diode device containing the molecular carbons shows a high ηEQE,max of 3.6%, while the enantiomers exhibit pronounced circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) responses with a high CPL brightness (BCPL) of 112 M−1 cm−1.

[Communication]
Dr. Zhenmei Huang, Prof. Dr. Rongchuan Su, Dr. Huan Luo, Prof. Dr. Junzhi Liu
Angewandte Chemie International Edition, https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202521835. Read article.

A thermodynamics-controlled epitaxial growth strategy enables the precise coating of Cs4PbBr6 onto NaYF4:Yb,Tm UCNPs, achieving structural evolution from core-shell to UCNP-in-LHP solids heterostructures. These high-quality heterostructures exhibit widely tunable upconversion emission across the entire visible spectrum—from blue to green to red—governed by a dynamic energy recycling mechanism between Tm3+ and the perovskite layer.

[Research Article]
Dr. Fen Li, Dr. Zhiqing Wang, Dr. Yaxin Li, Dr. Wanying Zhang, Prof. Song Wang, Prof. Yingwei Wang, Prof. Jianrong Zeng, Prof. Yi Wei, Prof. Dong Tu, Dr. Zhijie Ju, Prof. Renren Deng, Prof. Keqiang Chen, Prof. Guogang Li
Angewandte Chemie International Edition, https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202521996. Read article.

Catalytic cracking is a promising approach to convert polyolefin plastics into hydrocarbons. Herein, the effect of catalyst pore size in polypropylene cracking using amorphous silica-alumina with identical external acidity, but varying mesopore diameters and particle sizes, is isolated. Mesopore size has minimal effect on activity, indicating that high external acidity and small particle size are more important parameters for catalyst optimization.

[Research Article]
Sebastian Rejman, Tim Meijer, Hamid Seyed Khabbaz, Ali Gooneie, Adriaan J. A. Duijndam, Johan H. van de Minkelis, Ina Vollmer, Bert M. Weckhuysen
ChemistryEurope, https://doi.org/10.1002/ceur.202500317. Read article.

Hydrogen isotope separation is a key challenge for energy and fusion applications. The kinetic quantum sieving (KQS) effect provides isotope selectivity through quantum confinement, but conventional rigid adsorbents exhibit poor performance at elevated temperatures. This review summarizes recent progress in flexible nanoporous materials that dynamically respond to external stimuli via breathing, gate-opening, and linker rotation. Such structural flexibility enables adaptive pore modulation, sustaining D2/H2 selectivity and extending operational temperature windows, offering new design principles for high-temperature isotope separation.

[Review]
Minji Jung, Hyunlim Kim, Hyunchul Oh
Analysis & Sensing, https://doi.org/10.1002/anse.202500139. Read article.

Scanning electrochemical cell microscopy on multimetal materials libraries is used for the high-throughput investigation of element composition-dependent electrocatalytic activity for the coreduction of CO2 and NO3−. Combined with selectivity analysis from electrolyzer experiments of promising catalyst compositions introduces a catalyst design strategy for the 16-electron transfer CN coupling reaction under formation of urea.

[Research Article]
Jialin Shi, Geovane Arruda de Oliveira, Xin Wang, Jian Zhang, Ieva Cechanaviciute, Jill Fortmann, Alfred Ludwig, Wolfgang Schuhmann
ChemistryEurope, https://doi.org/10.1002/ceur.202500333. Read article.

Aryl boronic acids are key in building new molecules, but their direct conversion to radicals with electricity has been challenging. This work uses alternating polarity electrolysis and fluoride to form easier-to-oxidize organoboron intermediates, enabling efficient radical generation. For highly electron-deficient substrates, phosphite mediation happens offering a versatile way for electrochemical functionalization of aryl boronic acids.

[Research Article]
Enqi Feng, Ian Vanswearingen, Maxime Boudjelel, Lise Fabre, Rossul Aldhufari, Christian A. Malapit
ChemElectroChem, https://doi.org/10.1002/celc.202500363. Read article.

A detailed mechanism supported by kinetic experiments, density functional theory (DFT) calculations, and X-ray crystallography is proposed for the chemo-, regio-, and stereoselective hydroboration of 1,3-enynes. Hydrocupration was determined to be the turnover-limiting step and essential for selectivity. An off-cycle, cyclic CuHBpinOAc complex is proposed to explain a positive fractional rate order in catalyst.

[Research Article]
Farshad Shiri, Nicklas W. Buchbinder, Andrew D. Bage, Reilly Gwinn, Carla Slebodnick, Webster L. Santos, Zhenyang Lin
European Journal of Organic Chemistry, https://doi.org/10.1002/ejoc.202501027. Read article.

This review summarizes the current state of stereoselective epoxide polymerization, focusing especially on the past 10 years. Polymerization mechanisms, catalyst design strategies (both organometallic and metal-free), and applications of stereocontrolled polyethers are discussed, including their use as thermoplastic materials or regarding interfaces and self-assembly.

[Review]
Teo Borst, Stefan Naumann
ChemPlusChem, https://doi.org/10.1002/cplu.202500540. Read article.

In summary, a visible light-driven redox coupling system is developed. As a trifunctional promoter, 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU) facilitates both the 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline (THIQ) oxidation by promoting the departure of electron/proton and the CO2 reduction by forming [DBUH]+[THIQ-CO2]-. This dual-promoting effect ensures redox-balanced conversion and enables preparation of high-value products.

[Research Article]
Xiangyang Yao, Wen-Jun Xie, Liqi Qiu, Liang-Nian He
ChemSusChem, https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.202501750. Read article.

This review systematically summarizes product categories of electrocatalytic CO2 reduction from C1 to C2+ compounds, highlights strategies for steering selectivity toward ethylene/ethanol and C3 products. Moreover, it discusses methods to enhance efficiency, including suppressing hydrogen evolution, catalyst design, electrolyte effects, and reactor integration. Key challenges and techno-economic barriers are finally outlined.

[Review]
Xingqun Li, Junjie Yuan, Zhongqiu Wu, Han Zhang, Yong Li, Quan Zhang, Hui Xu
ChemSusChem, https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.202501842. Read article.

The Front Cover presents polymorphic zinc-bound amyloid-β (Aβ) dimer models, derived from an extensive computational study of the molecular basis of zinc-induced Aβ primary nucleation. By revealing how zinc ions influence Aβ dimer structure and stability, the Research Article by K. Abramov Harpaz and Y. Miller (DOI: 10.1002/ejic.202500331) provides new insights into the mechanisms driving early aggregation events in Alzheimer’s disease, offering a molecular framework for future therapeutic strategies.

[Cover]
Karina Abramov Harpaz, Yifat Miller
European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry 2025, 0. Read article.

The Front Cover shows a microfluidic chip that was used in an enzyme engineering approach utilizing microdroplet-based UHTS to optimize an aldehyde dehydrogenase towards higher temperature stability and solvent tolerance. The optimized enzyme was then applied as part of a multi-enzyme cascade as indicated by the circle of enzyme structures above the chip. The ultimate goal is a continuous process for the conversion of glucose into isobutanol in a two-phase system using these enzymes and based on the formation of an isobutanol phase at sufficiently high concentration and with continuous removal of the organic phase, as shown by the reactor in the background. More information can be found in the Research Article by V. Sieber and co-workers (DOI: 10.1002/cssc.202501120).

[Cover]
Mariko Teshima, Robert Genth, Tenuun Bayaraa, Manuel Döring, Barbara Beer, Gerhard Schenk, Volker Sieber
ChemSusChem 2025, 18, 0. Read article.

The Cover Feature shows a sustainable recycling strategy for poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), employing the biobased solvent dihydrolevoglucosenone (Cyrene) both as a dissolution medium and as co-solvent for alkaline hydrolysis. This approach enables efficient PET regeneration and rapid hydrolysis under mild conditions, yielding high-purity PET or terephthalic acid (TPA). More details are available in the Research Article by L. Wang and co-workers (DOI: 10.1002/cssc.202501352).

[Cover]
Lulu Deng, Hailong He, Zhonghao Chen, Yao Meng, Lei Wang
ChemSusChem 2025, 18, 0. Read article.

Low-temperaturefluorine (F) doping is employed to enhance the oxygen evolution reaction (OER)activity of CoFe spinel oxides. F-doping slightly reduces the valence state of Cowithout affecting morphology, leading to improved OER activity. Theseresults demonstrate that tuning the electronic structure of metal cations viaF-doping is a promising strategy for designing highly active spinel oxidecatalysts.

[Research Article]
Kazuyuki Iwase, Masaki Ohtaka, Ryoga Kato, Yoshiyuki Gambe, Takaaki Tomai, Itaru Honma
ChemCatChem, https://doi.org/10.1002/cctc.202501456. Read article.

While polymorphs I contain C2-symmetric enantiomers with pronounced azine twists and disrotatory phenyl twists, the acetophenone azine molecules in the new polymorphs II are Ci-symmetric with trans azine moieties and conrotatory phenyl twists. The three polymorphs II exemplify the new Paradigm IV for the supramolecular architectures of “laterally offset diarenes” and result in “shiplap/flat” idioteloamphiphile monolayers (IAMs).

[Research Article]
Harmeet Bhoday, Kaidi Yang, Steven P. Kelley, Rainer E. Glaser
European Journal of Organic Chemistry, https://doi.org/10.1002/ejoc.202500713. Read article.