Recently, Professor Fei Wang's research group at Nankai University developed an aromatic radical substitution reaction based on aniline protonation-induced polarity reversal, achieving the direct meta-selective amination of aromatic amines to synthesize m-phenylenediamine compounds. The authors transformed the amine group, originally an ortho/para directing group, into a strongly electron-withdrawing ammonium functional group with meta-directing effects through aniline protonation. Simultaneously, they combined this with aryl hydrocarbon amination mediated by highly reactive ammonium radical cations/pyridinium radicals, thus solving the challenge of meta-selective hydrocarbon amination of aniline compounds. The article was published as an open access communication in CCS Chemistry, the flagship journal of the Chinese Chemical Society.

A new study published in Biochar reveals that biochar, a carbon rich soil amendment widely used to improve soil health and reduce pollution, continues to influence the movement of veterinary antibiotics in farmland soils even after five years in the field. The work shows that biochar’s ability to retain pollutants changes in surprising ways over time, shifting from adsorption driven effects in the first year to soil structure driven mechanisms after long term aging.

Researchers have developed a device that can precisely control laser light using a fraction of the power and space required today. Because it can be manufactured just like modern microchips, this tiny device could unlock quantum computers capable of solving problems far beyond the reach of today’s technologies.

Physicists at CU Boulder have developed a new material that is completely transparent but so good at blocking heat that you can use it to hold a flame in the palm of your hand.