Norbornadiene-based photoswitches have emerged as promising candidates for harnessing and storing solar energy, holding great promise as a viable solution to meet the growing energy demands. Despite their potential, the effectiveness of their direct photochemical conversion into the resulting quadricyclanes has room for improvement owing to (i) moderate quantum yields, (ii) poor overlap with the solar spectrum and (iii) photochemical back reactions. Herein, we present an approach to enhance the performance of such molecular solar thermal energy storage (MOST) systems through the triplet-sensitized conversion of aryl-substituted norbornadienes. Our study combines deep spectroscopic analyses, irradiation experiments, and quantum mechanical calculations to elucidate the energy transfer mechanism and inherent advantages of the resulting MOST systems. We demonstrate remarkable quantum yields using readily available sensitizers under both LED and solar light irradiation, significantly surpassing those achieved through direct excitation with photons of higher energy. In contrast to the conventional approach, light-induced back reactions of the high-energy products do not play any role, allowing quantitative switching within minutes. These results not only underscore the potential of triplet-sensitized MOST systems to leverage the high energy storage capabilities of multistate photoswitches but they might also stimulate the broader usage of sensitization strategies in photochemical energy conversion.

The field of carbocatalysis, often portrayed by paradigmatic graphitic carbonaceous structures, has become a booming topic tailored for multiple applications. To this end, a new metal-free carbocatalyst has been constructed from simple prebiotic monomers such as cyanamide and glyoxal. The resulting material shows an excellent performance as photocatalyst for H2 production and CO2 valorization, thus unveiling its real value to tackle sustainable goals. The unique oxygen-rich carbonaceous structure has been characterized in detail, which is consistent with a graphitic layered network. The described performance in two major societal concerns along with a facile preparation from C1/C2 platforms, makes this type of overlooked oxynitride carbocatalysts promising for real-life environmental endeavors.

N-heterocycles represent a predominant and unique class of organic chemistry. They have received a lot of attention due to their important chemical, biomedical, and industrial uses. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved about 75% of drugs containing N-based heterocycles, which are currently available in the market. N-Heterocyclic compounds exist as the backbone of numerous natural products and act as crucial intermediates for the construction of pharmaceuticals, veterinary items, and agrochemicals frequently. Among N-based heterocyclic compounds, bioactive N,N-heterocycles constitute a broad spectrum of applications in modern drug discovery and development processes. Cefozopran (antibiotic), omeprazole (antiulcer), enviradine (antiviral), liarozole (anticancer), etc., are important drugs containing N,N-heterocycles. The synthesis of N,Nheterocyclic compounds under sustainable conditions is one of the most active fields because of their significant physiological and biological properties as well as synthetic utility. Current research is demanding the development of greener, cheaper, and milder protocols for the synthesis of N,N-heterocyclic compounds to save mother nature by avoiding toxic metal catalysts, extensive application of energy, and the excessive use of hazardous materials. Nanocatalysts play a profound role in sustainable synthesis because of their larger surface area, tiny size, and minimum energy; they are eco-friendly and safe, and they provide higher yields with selectivity in comparison to conventional catalysts. It is increasingly demanding research to design and synthesize novel bioactive compounds that may help to combat cancer since the major causes of death worldwide are due to cancer. Hence, the important uses of nanocatalysts for the one-pot synthesis of biologically potent N,N-heterocycles with anticancer activities have been presented in this review.

The cosmetic industry is now changing or rather having an ecological transition in which formulations such as creams, lotions, and powders for make-up, skin and hair care must not contain microplastics, now a taboo word in this field. Nowadays, many companies are intensifying their research and development work to align with recent and future legislation that provides for their elimination to safeguard the ecosystem. The production of new eco-sustainable materials is currently a hot topic which finds its place in a market worth above 350 billion dollars which will reach more than 700 billion dollars in a short time. This review offers an overview of the main advantages and adverse issues relating to the use of microplastics in cosmetics and of their impact, providing an insight into the properties of the polymeric materials that are currently exploited to improve the sensorial characteristics of cosmetic products. In addition, the various regulatory restrictions in the different geographical areas of the world are also described, which is matter for reflection on future direction. Finally, a prospective vision of possible solutions to replace microplastics with sustainable alternatives complete the picture of the next generation personal care products to support decision-making in the cosmetic marketplace.

30 Seconds to success! - The Wittig reaction, a fundamental and extensively utilized reaction in organic chemistry, enables the efficient conversion of carbonyl compounds to olefins using phosphonium salts. Traditionally, meticulous reaction setup, including the pre-formation of a reactive ylide species via deprotonation of a phosphonium salt, is crucial for achieving high-yielding reactions under classical solution-based conditions. In this report, we present an unprecedented protocol for an ultra-fast mechanically induced Wittig reaction under solvent-free and ambient conditions, often eliminating the need for tedious ylide pre-formation under strict air and moisture exclusion. A range of aldehydes and ketones were reacted with diverse phosphonium salts under high-energy ball milling conditions, frequently giving access to the respective olefins in only 30 seconds.

This study focuses on the design, eco-friendly synthesis, and characterization of several novel three-legged triphenylamine derivatives. By performing Sonogashira couplings of functionalized aryl iodides with tris(4-ethynylphenyl)amine in glycerol, a readily available bio-derived solvent, we achieved the synthesis of target products in short times and high yields, up to 94%, with consistently lower E-factors and reduced costs compared to standard conditions using toluene as the reaction medium. The target molecules possess a D-(π-A)₃ or D-(π-D)₃ structure, where an electron-donating core connects to three electron-donating (D) or electron-accepting (A) peripheral aromatic subunits through an acetylene spacer. Their main optical and electronic properties have been determined experimentally and by DFT simulations and suggest a possible implementation in energy conversion technologies such as luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) and perovskite solar cells (PSCs).

To access degradable polyolefin plastic, non-alternating copolymerization of ethylene (E) and carbon monoxide (CO) for producing polyethylene (PE) with in-chain ketones is particularly appealing; however, it still presents significant challenges such as molecular weight modulation (hydrogen response) and chain endgroup control (functional terminal). In this study, we achieved hydrogen-controlled E/CO non-alternating copolymerization using late transition metal catalysts. This process results in linear PEs containing the desired non-alternating in-chain keto groups (1.0-9.3 mol%) and with tunable molecular weights ranging from 43 to 195 kDa. In this reaction, H2 serves as a chain transfer agent, modulating the polymer\'s molecular weight, forming unique aldehyde endgroups and eliminating usual olefinic endgroups; CO undergoes non-alternating insertion into the PE chain, resulting in a strictly non-alternating structure (> 99%) for the keto-PE. The dispersed incorporation of in-chain keto groups retains bulk properties of PE and makes PE susceptible to photodegradation, which produces significantly lower molecular weight polymers and oligomers with unambiguous vinyl and acetyl terminals.

How to retrieve and reuse surfactants efficiently from surfactant-based microemulsions (MEs) has long been a problem, which is full of challenges and needs to be solved urgently. To this end, a pH-triggered precipitation-dissolution (PTPD) strategy is developed. The surfactant sodium 3-(laurylamino)propane-1-sulfonate (LMPS) transforms into an insoluble precipitate (the inner salt of LMPS, LMP) after reaction with HCl, by which the monophasic LMPS-based MEs demulsified entirely, giving a separable mixture of oil, water and LMP. LMP can be retrieved efficiently (~95.3%) regardless of the ME type, and can then be conveniently restored to LMPS via reactions with NaOH. Conceptually, the retrieval of LMPS (~96.6%), toxic benzo[a]pyrene (BaP, ~99.5%) and a mixture of co-surfactant n-butanol and the oil phase n-heptane (~97.1%) from the sufficiently emulsified soil eluents is achievable by respectively using the PTPD strategy and distillation, wherein the soil eluents were generated from the remediation of BaP-contaminated soil using an oil-in-water LMPS-based ME as washing agent. It reveals a promising future for the PTPD strategy in the post-processing of soil eluents containing toxic hydrophobic organic contaminants and excessive surfactants.

The concepts of sustainability and sustainable chemistry have attracted increasing attention in recent years, being of great importance to the younger generation. In this Viewpoint Article, we share how early-career chemists can contribute to the sustainable transformation of their discipline. We identify ways in which they can engage to catalyse action for change. This article does not attempt to answer questions about the most promising or pressing areas driving research and chemical innovation in the context of sustainability. Instead, we want to inspire and engage early-career chemists in pursuing sustainable actions by showcasing opportunities in education, outreach and policymaking, research culture and publishing, while highlighting existing challenges and the complexity of the topic. We want to empower early-career chemists by providing resources and ideas for engagement for a sustainable future globally. While the article focuses on students and early-career chemists, it provides insights to further stimulate the engagement of scientists from diverse backgrounds.

Carbon porous materials containing nitrogen functionalities and encapsulated iron-based active sites have been suggested as electrocatalysts for energy conversion, however their applications to the hydrogenation of organic substrates via electrocatalytic hydrogenation (ECH) remain unexplored. Herein, we report on a Fe@C:N material synthesized with an adapted annealing procedure and tested as electrocatalyst for the hydrogenation of benzaldehyde. Using different concentrations of the organic, and electrolysis coupled to gas chromatography experiments, we demonstrate that it is possible to use such architectures for the ECH of unsaturated organics. Potential control experiments show that ECH faradaic efficiencies >70% are possible in acid electrolytes, while maintaining selectivity for the alcohol over the pinacol dimerization product. Estimates of product formation rates and turnover frequency (TOF) values suggest that these carbon-encapsulated architectures can achieve competitive performance in acid electrolytes relative to both base and precious metal electrodes.