Catalysis
The latest chemistry news and research on catalysis, including homogeneous, heterogeneous, industrial and biocatalysis, from the Royal Society of Chemistry's magazine, Chemistry World.
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OpinionQuestions about who to credit extend beyond the Nobel prize
Conceptual, epistemic and political factors all influence who is deemed to have made a scientific discovery
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NewsX-ray molecular movie of penicillin reveals hidden lives of its intermediates
Snapshots of antibiotic’s enzymatic synthesis are ‘holy grail’ in understanding formation of drug and could aid development of new medicines
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FeatureHow asymmetric autocatalysis won the Nobel prize
Mason Wakley tells the full story of how Henri Kagan and Kensō Soai’s work on non-linear effects and asymmetric autocatalysis won the 2026 Nobel prize in chemistry
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ArticleA Nobel for chiral catalysts’ helping hand
This year’s laureates didn’t invent asymmetric synthesis, but filled in our understanding of how it works and how we can do it better
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NewsExplainer: what are autocatalysis and non-linear effects and why have they won the 2026 Nobel prize in chemistry?
How ‘one of the most spectacular chemical experiments ever conducted’ offers clues to life’s origins
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OpinionAutocatalytic networks could lie at the beginning of evolution
New modelling suggests how compartmentalised cross-catalysing networks can evolve adaptations that are passed on through chemical states
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OpinionIneos temporarily closes UK acetyls plants
Owing to high high gas prices, the plants are uncompetitive, despite their high efficiency
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ResearchSimple technique makes it easier to access and exploit hydrogen radicals
Highly reactive hydrogen radicals generated using ultraviolet light and off-the-shelf reagents
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ResearchOrganocatalyst streamlines oligonucleotide drug synthesis
New reaction controls phosphorus stereochemistry during the synthesis of phosphorothioate oligonucleotides
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BusinessInvestigation flags chemical incompatibility in deadly US incident
Mixing nitric acid with sodium trithiocarbonate at Catalyst Refiners formed hydrogen sulfide
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ResearchUpdated Appel reaction finally fluorinates alcohols
Simple reaction allows access to wide range of fluorinated molecules, without using hazardous hydrogen fluoride
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BusinessOral cholesterol-lowering peptide approved after a decade in development
Merck & Co’s Lipfendra (enlicitide) employs 13 enzymes in biocatalytic synthesis
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ResearchUnexpected cyclisation provides easy access to elusive tetra-substituted THFs
A mix-and-match approach to substituted heterocycles
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ResearchChemical treatment slashes emissions of making hydrogen from plastic waste
Process can produce hydrogen from polyethylene and polypropylene more cleanly than from natural gas
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ResearchRethinking ‘dynamic catalysis’ optimisation: chemists may have been doing it the wrong way for years
Researchers should focus on reaction progression rather than time for promising catalytic system
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OpinionCould AI undermine our (belief in the truth of) scientific theories?
Artificial intelligence models that make predictions based solely on data present problems for philosophers
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FeatureSuperatoms offer new dimension to materials chemistry palette
Could atomically precise nanoclusters mimic the chemistry of particular atoms without their toxic or cost drawbacks? James Mitchell Crow reports on the emerging third dimension of the periodic table
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FeatureAI agents accelerate catalyst discovery from simulation to scale-up
Artificial intelligence tools are transforming catalyst research, with new AI agents capable of completing in minutes what once took computational chemists days. Andy Extance explores how all scientists can benefit, from small groups to those at tech giants like Meta, Google and Nvidia
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ResearchPEGylated ligands boost speed and selectivity in mechanochemical arylations
Study highlights the power of tailoring ligands to mechanochemical conditions
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FeatureHow depolymerisation could enable infinite reuse of plastics
Nina Notman discovers how a type of chemical recycling – depolymerisation – could increase recycling rates, reduce plastic waste and enable a more circular economy