Proton-exchange membrane water electrolysers often rely on scarce iridium or ruthenium catalysts at the anode, as many low-cost, earth-abundant catalysts cannot withstand the harsh operational conditions. This Review discusses the state of the art in earth-abundant water oxidation catalysts and examines their degradation mechanisms at multiple levels.

Uses of machine learning and automation are increasing and these techniques are becoming popular in catalysis research. This Perspective discusses how active learning workflows and human intervention should be optimized to ensure the most efficient progress for emerging self-driving laboratories performing heterogeneous catalysis research.

The capability and importance of computational methods in organic chemistry is steadily increasing. This Review provides an overview of computational methods for the design of asymmetric catalysts, with the aim of avoiding specialist computational language to make the field more accessible to experimental chemists.

The merger of photocatalysis and transition metal catalysis has broadened the scope of chemical reactivity in organic synthesis. This Review provides an overview of the use of metallaphotoredox catalysis for sp³ C–H functionalizations that occur via single-electron, rather than hydrogen atom transfer.

The mechanism by which the [NiFe₄S₄] cluster of carbon monoxide dehydrogenases (CODHs) catalyses CO₂ reduction is poorly understood. Now the structures of all catalytically relevant states of a CODH are solved, revealing the dynamics of the cluster during turnover and the role of Ni in CO₂ activation.

Despite the ease of fine-tuning their reactivity, high-performance homogeneous photocatalysts competent for acetylene semihydrogenation are scarce. Here the authors introduce an effective cobalt catalyst for the production of polymer-grade ethylene, which is amenable to scale-up in a continuous-flow photoreactor.

Aqueous electroconversion of biomass derivatives to polymer precursors has been demonstrated at the laboratory scale with low yield. Here a solid polymer electrolyte reactor is engineered to limit side reactions, yielding a high rate and and a high product concentration in a 4.3-kW pilot-scale platform.

Ni-based CO₂ reduction electrocatalysts have been reported to produce multicarbon products up to C₆ but with limited selectivity. Here the reaction mechanism of the process is elucidated. Consequently, pulsed potential electrolysis and electrolyte deuteration are respectively employed to enhance the selectivity of branched hydrocarbons and increase the total hydrocarbon Faradaic efficiency to 22%.

The mechanism by which sulfur is incorporated into the furanose ring in albomycins—a group of natural nucleoside antibiotics—remains unclear. Now, this work explains how twitch radical S-adenosyl-l-methionine enzyme AbmM catalyses sulfur-for-oxygen replacement in the biosynthesis of albomycin δ₂.

Methods for deuterium labelling of C–H bonds under mild conditions are sought after. Now an electrocatalytic method for H/D exchange via a radical-mediated pathway is described, using a boron cluster as a radical shuttle during the coupling process of deuterium and carbon radicals.

This Editorial introduces the roll-out of transparent peer review at Nature Catalysis.