While intellectual virtues might be more within the remit of philosophers, many scientists would also see them as important within their domain. Dominic T. Chaloner, Michelle Francl, and T. Ryan Byerly consider what it takes to train up virtuous chemists

Humans have a habit of overusing natural resources even though there are numerous examples through history of the issues that this causes. Chemists can sometimes help to avoid such tumultuous events, but in doing so can gravely impact sectors of society. Amid the backdrop of the Highland Clearances in Scotland, Bruce Gibb discusses the farming of kelp and how chemistry became its ‘enemy’ with the industrial generation of sodium carbonate.

Nina M. Allen, Guilherme A. Marczak Giorio and M. Carmen Galan discuss how select napthalene diimides, such as QN-302, have been developed into DNA G-quadruplex (G4) ligands with downstream anticancer activity.

Borophene is a two-dimensional allotrope of boron that features anisotropic metallicity, polymorphism and amenability to heterostructure integration. This Review highlights recent progress in borophene research and outlines prospective pathways for accelerating the fundamental science and applications of borophene.

Halogen-substituted silylium ions are compounds for which Lewis superacidity has been predicted, but their synthesis has proven challenging. Now a series of ionic halosilylium Lewis superacids have been prepared in the condensed phase, opening the door to their application in synthetic processes.

High-entropy nanomaterials, which incorporate multiple homogeneously dispersed elements, are promising for energy conversion, but typically require complex, high-temperature synthesis. Now a scalable flame synthesis method has been shown to produce tunable, high-entropy nanomaterials under facile conditions, enabling the design of advanced electrocatalysts for hydrogen peroxide production and other relevant applications.

Controlling electron spin states with light is vital for quantum technologies but requires electronic excitations with net spin. Now a molecular diradical with two trityl radical groups coupled via a meta-linked fluorene bridge has been developed that features luminescent singlet and triplet excitons. The spins in the ground state can be written and read using photons, giving rise to broad magnetic and microwave modulation of the photoluminescence.

Homologation reactions of organoboron compounds, while common, have rarely been used in stereoselective synthesis of highly substituted alkenes. Now a catalytic diastereoselective homologation of alkylboranes into trisubstituted alkenes has been developed, with key catalytic intermediates elucidated in a detailed mechanistic study.

Metal–sulfur motifs are commonly found in enzymatic active sites and heterogeneous catalysis, but they remain underexplored in porous solids. Now, sulfur-based ligands have been incorporated into metal–organic frameworks through post-synthetic modifications. The resulting sulfide MOFs exhibit enhanced catalytic performance in the selective hydrogenation of nitroarenes compared with their parent MOFs containing terminal or bridging chloride and hydroxyl groups.

The structure of interfacial water plays a key role in the electrochemical reduction of CO to multi-carbon products on copper electrodes. Now it is shown that highly concentrated electrolytes modulate the structure of interfacial water and can increase the apparent activation entropy, thus altering reaction kinetics and selectivity.

Nina M. Allen, Guilherme A. Marczak Giorio and M. Carmen Galan discuss how select napthalene diimides, such as QN-302, have been developed into DNA G-quadruplex (G4) ligands with downstream anticancer activity.

While intellectual virtues might be more within the remit of philosophers, many scientists would also see them as important within their domain. Dominic T. Chaloner, Michelle Francl, and T. Ryan Byerly consider what it takes to train up virtuous chemists

Humans have a habit of overusing natural resources even though there are numerous examples through history of the issues that this causes. Chemists can sometimes help to avoid such tumultuous events, but in doing so can gravely impact sectors of society. Amid the backdrop of the Highland Clearances in Scotland, Bruce Gibb discusses the farming of kelp and how chemistry became its ‘enemy’ with the industrial generation of sodium carbonate.

Davide Zanetti, Cristian De Luca, and Davide Bonifazi discuss the resurgence of peri-xanthenoxanthene from a forgotten dye into a versatile organic semiconductor and sustainable photocatalyst, emphasizing its importance in photoredox catalysis.

Moses Dike and Shudipto Konika Dishari explore lignin’s historic journey alongside human civilization and showcase its game-changing potential to drive sustainability without compromising performance.

Modern scientists exist within the digital world. Shira Joudan describes how an online presence is beneficial to researchers, and what a baseline presence can look like.