Noncentrosymmetry (NCS) is a requirement for many properties such as piezoelectricity, pyroelectricity, and nonlinear optical activity like second harmonic generation which are desirable for a variety of commercial applications. One method which has been employed to successfully synthesize NCS compounds utilizes acentric anionic groups, such as oxyfluoride metal complexes, as...
High-pressure and -temperature synthesis is a powerful tool for synthesizing new intermetallic compounds that cannot be formed using traditional solid-state syntheses. Such metastable compounds can exhibit unrivaled structural complexity, unique bonding, and unusual properties. In the simplest case, there are many binary systems in which no intermetallic compounds are known....
The diverse reactivity patterns, unique structural features imparted by the cumulated double bonds, and possibility of axial chirality have garnered allenes considerable attention in organic synthesis. Numerous methods have been described in the literature to afford optically active allenes starting from chiral starting materials, yet catalytic and asymmetric methods to...
The discovery and tailoring of new useful organic molecules for applications such as medicine and materials science is highly driven by meaningful developments in chemical methodology, and some of the most impactful advances have invoked catalysis to increase efficiency and specificity. N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have continuously occupied a prominent space...
Photovoltaic technology can help meet the exploding world energy demand in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) are especially attractive because they can be constructed with low-cost organic content and are amenable to high-throughput large-scale fabrication techniques. Synthetic modification of organic semiconductors has paved way for the...
Starting materials for natural products, ideally synthesized using low-cost, highly active and selective catalysts, are of great interest to the pharmaceutical industry. Relevant reactions include the synthesis of 1,2-dihydropyridines, reduction of ketones/aldehydes, cleavage of esters, and reduction of amides to amines. Hydroelementation is an important catalytic process that involves H-E...
Chemical probes are versatile and unique tools for biomedical research. A chemical probe is simply a selective small-molecule modulator of protein function that allows the user to ask mechanistic and phenotypic questions about its molecular target in biochemical, cell-based or animal studies. Experiments involving selective inhibitors can help delineate key...
Three-dimensional (3D) and two-dimensional (2D) hybrid halide perovskites have emerged as front-runners in solar energy conversion applications with the potential to provide low-cost renewable energy. Being at the interface of chemistry, physics, materials science, and electrical engineering, the field of perovskite solar cells has become a top area of interest...
Bulk heterojunction (BHJ) organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices have been extensively studied to achieve power conversion efficiencies well above 10%. New research into alternative materials that allow for cheaper and more industrially viable fabrication of flexible solar cells has been at the forefront of the energy field for the past few...
Heterogeneous catalysts play a prominent role in our society, used in applications that range from the production of plastics to the catalytic cracking of crude oil. Industrial catalysts are typically made of mixed metal oxides or nanosized metal particles deposited on high surface area supports. Industrially relevant catalytic materials are...