The ozonolytic deconstruction of aromatics remains a challenge in organic chemistry. Ozone preferentially reacts with alkenes over arenes, meaning that once the initial aromatic cleavage occurs, the d...

C-Scorpionate Complexes Catalyze Nitroarene Reduction for the First Time: Luísa Martins, Portugal, discusses a recently published study exploring the effects of catalysts, solvents, and reducing agent...

C-Scorpionate Complexes Catalyze Nitroarene Reduction for the First Time: Luísa Martins, Portugal, discusses a recently published study exploring the effects of catalysts, solvents, and reducing agent...

This study reports the development of copper-loaded polyamidoxime polymer brushes (Cu-AO-PB) as a heterogeneous catalyst via microwave-assisted graft polymerization for the first time. Microwave-assisted synthesis allows faster and more uniform heating, leading to shorter reaction times, more energy-efficien

A series of light-driven fluoroalkylation reactions with readily available and structurally diverse β-fluorinated alcohols have been developed by using 1,3-benzodithiolylium cation as a hydroxyl-activating reagent. These include the anthraquinone/cobaloxime dual-catalyzed dehydrogenative fluoroalkylation of alkenes and alkanes with hydrogen evolution, and the nitroarene-mediated oxo-fluoroalkylation of alkenes under metal-free conditions.

Decarboxylative oxygenation reactions leverage abundant carboxylic acids to synthesize useful oxygenated products. Herein, we present a photoexcited nitroarene-mediated approach for the practical, economical, and anaerobic decarboxylative oxygenation of carboxylic acids. Under visible-light irradiation, the commercially available nitroarene dually enables direct homolysis of strong carboxylic acid O–H bonds and subsequent oxygen atom transfer with the resulting alkyl radicals. Mechanistic experiments, including DFT and carbon-13 isotope studies, elucidate the key PCET process, laying the groundwork for the future utility of this powerful reagent class.

Communications Chemistry, Published online: 21 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s42004-026-02095-3Multicomponent reactions offer a sustainable and efficient pathway for the construction of crystalline porous materials. Here, the authors exploit a one-pot, three-component Betti reaction in the synthesis of a novel covalent organic framework and demonstrate its potential as a robust nanoreactor for the palladium-catalyzed reduction of nitroarenes.

Communications Chemistry, Published online: 29 December 2025; doi:10.1038/s42004-025-01867-7Copper silicate catalysts have attracted increasing attention as earth-abundant, inexpensive, and relatively benign alternatives to noble metal catalysts for nitroarene hydrogenation, however, they pose limitations such as requiring harsh reaction conditions, high catalyst loading and poor recyclability. Here, the authors report a copper silicate catalyst prepared through an ammonia evaporation method under controlled conditions with exceptional activity and stability in hydrogenating nitroarenes to anilines, achieving yields exceeding 99% under mild reaction conditions.