A research team led by Associate Professor Changgui Zhao of Beijing Normal University reported the first intramolecular enantioselective, atropselective, and diastereoselective macrocyclization of quinone methylene (QM) with alcohols catalyzed by chiral phosphoric acid (CPA), successfully constructing planar chiral type III cyclophanes. This strategy, using 2-naphthol as a cofactor, significantly improved the reaction activity and stereoselectivity by generating the more reactive naphthoquinone methylene (NQM) intermediate. Thermodynamic studies demonstrated that the benzylic substituent significantly influences the conformational stability of the cyclophane: even when the ansa chain is extended by two carbon atoms, its planar chirality is maintained, indicating that the conformational stability of this type of cyclophane is controlled by both the macrocycle size and the position of the functional groups on the ansa chain. This study provides important insights into the relationship between the structure of cyclophanes and the mechanism of chirality. The article was published as an open access research article in CCS Chemistry, the flagship journal of the Chinese Chemical Society.

Discover a game-changing approach to carbon capture! Researchers have developed a new solid–liquid phase change absorbent system that efficiently captures CO₂ from air and industrial emissions, with low-energy regeneration. Learn how this innovative technology could revolutionize efforts to combat climate change and achieve carbon neutrality.

A research paper by scientists at Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma presented a noninvasive nerve stimulation method to restoring somatotopic sensory feedback in lower limb amputees.

The research paper, published on Apr. 29, 2025 in the journal Cyborg and Bionic Systems.

Discover how cities can better withstand and recover from natural disasters. A new study in Engineering presents a new framework to quantify urban disaster resilience, offering key insights for policymakers to develop effective mitigation strategies. Learn more about the innovative approach that could transform urban preparedness.

A research paper by scientists at Westlake University presented an acoustic inspired brain-to-sentence decoder for logosyllabic language.

The research paper, published on Apr. 29, 2025 in the journal Cyborg and Bionic Systems.