Metallacages (MCgs) are three-dimensional (3D)-supramolecular coordination complexes (SCCs) obtained by the self-assembly of metal ions with donor lig…

Hypoxia, a hallmark of many solid tumors, is linked to increased cancer aggressiveness, metastasis, and resistance to conventional therapies, leading to poor patient outcomes. This challenges the effi...

Nature Reviews Chemistry, Published online: 09 February 2025; doi:10.1038/s41570-025-00691-wAhead of his 60th birthday, Omar Yaghi discussed his life in science so far and where he believes is the exciting space for future developments.

Light-driven spin hyperpolarization of organic molecules is a crucial technique for spin-based applications such as quantum information science (QIS) and dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP). Synthetic ...

New Zealand’s seven Crown Research Institutes to be grouped into three new organisations.

Broad discussion is needed to chart a path forward.

Structural gating provides a molecular means to transfer electrons preferentially in one desired vectorial direction, a behavior needed for applications in artificial photosynthesis. At the interfaces utilized herein, visible-light absorption by a transition metal complex opens a “structural gate” by planarization of otherwise rotating phenyl rings in p-phenylene ethynylene (PE) bridge units. Planarization provides a conjugated pathway for electron flow toward a conductive oxide surface. Interfacial electron transfer to the oxide restores rotation and closes the gate to the unwanted recombination reaction. This structural gating results in nearly quantitative long-distance (>20 Å) interfacial electron transfer that occurs ∼1000 times faster than transfer in the opposite direction. A comparative kinetic study of these complexes with those that contain ionic bridge units, without gating function, as a function of the applied potential and hence −ΔG° provided a physical basis for the structural gating. A small distance-dependent reorganization energy with weak electronic coupling underlies the success of this gate that enables efficient long-distance electron transfer and slow recombination.