🌱🧪 Applications Open: 2025 NCCR Catalysis Young Talents Fellowship! 🔬💻 We’re excited to launch the fourth edition of our #NCCRCatalysis Young Talents…

We uncover candidates for singlet fission using a machine learning-driven uncertainty-controlled genetic algorithm (ucGA), which is run either in an exploitative or explorative manner. Leveraging a f...

About AstraZeneca AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical business and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. AstraZeneca has long been an advocate of stud...

The selective conversion of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and mixtures of these two polymers to form products with high volume demand is urgently needed because current methods suffer from lo...

Steric molecular descriptors designed for machine learning (ML) applications are critical for connecting structure–function relationships to mechanistic insight. However, many of these descriptors are...

Aryl triflates make up a class of aryl electrophiles that are available in a single step from the corresponding phenol. Despite the known reactivity of nickel complexes for aryl C–O bond activation of phenol derivatives, nickel-catalyzed cross-electrophile coupling using aryl triflates has proven challenging. Herein, we report a method to form C(sp2)–C(sp3) bonds by coupling aryl triflates with alkyl bromides and chlorides using phenanthroline (phen) or pyridine-2,6-bis(N-cyanocarboxamidine) (PyBCamCN)-ligated nickel catalysts. The scope of the reaction is demonstrated with 38 examples (61 ± 14% average yield). Mechanistic studies provide a rationale for the conditions used and a roadmap for further applications of cross-electrophile coupling. First, the rate of alkyl radical generation is controlled by maintaining the majority of alkyl halide as the alkyl chloride, which is unreactive, and utilizing a dynamic halide exchange process to adjust the concentration of reactive alkyl bromide or iodide. Second, the challenge of using electron-rich aryl triflates appears to be due to off-cycle transmetalation to form unproductive aryl zinc reagents. The optimal PyBCamCN ligand together with LiCl avoids this deleterious transmetalation step.

CO2 Capture and the Race to Save Our Planet: A Breakthrough in Covalent Organic FrameworkAs a faculty member of both the University of Chicago Chemistry Department and the Pritzker School of Molecular...