Nanocarbons are molecular-scale carbon structures considered to be the building blocks for next-generation materials. Until now, scientists have built them by fusing small, flat carbon molecules together at their edges. Modifying the inside of a molecule was considered challenging because inner bonds are locked into flat, rigid structures that resist change.

Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have shown that a chemical process focused on the interior of a molecular structure can create chiral nanocarbons. Like our hands, these molecules exist in mirror-image left- and right-handed forms. The method, known as skeletal editing, allowed the research team to cut and reform bonds inside common flat carbon molecules, such as small pieces of graphene. They could then build new chiral nanocarbons in various shapes, including molecules with 10-carbon rings and a double helix. 

These new molecules do surprising things. They all glow with light that spirals as it travels. Two can hold multiple electrical charges without breaking. One of them also keeps its handed shape even at 280 degrees Celsius. Another assembles into a porous crystal that can trap and release carbon dioxide, a property that could be useful for gas storage materials. The findings were published in Nature Communications.

Researchers from Sun Yat-sen University and UNSW Sydney have developed a dual-side electrosynthesis system that simultaneously converts plastic waste and biowaste into Succinic Acid, a key building block for biodegradable plastics, pharmaceuticals, and specialty chemicals. By directing both the anodic and cathodic reactions toward the same target product, the system achieves an unprecedented succinic acid yield of 169.1%, surpassing the conventional single-electrode limit. The process combines the electrooxidation of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT)-derived 1,4-butanediol and the electroreduction of biomass-derived maleic acid, demonstrating a profitable and scalable pathway for circular chemical manufacturing.

Seoul National University (SNU) College of Engineering announced that a research team led by Professor Jeong Woo Han of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering has developed a new nanostructured catalyst with up to 14.4 times higher greenhouse gas decomposition performance compared to conventional commercial catalysts.

Nanoporous material-based separation technology is vital in many applications due to its ability to precisely distinguish between and separate nearly identical chemical or biochemical molecules.

Previous research by Professor Susumu Kitagawa, from Kyoto University’s Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (WPI-iCeMS), and colleagues, published in Nature, had applied this technology to the separation of two very similar types of water molecules—regular water (H₂O) and heavy water (D₂O), which have similar properties overall but slightly different masses. But the underlying mechanics of that separation weren’t well understood.

Now, a study led by Professor Shinji Saito from the Institute for Molecular Science in Japan and published in Nature Communications in July has provided the theoretical explanation for that phenomenon, using molecules of H₂O and D₂O to study nanopore behavior in a metal-organic framework.

When plastics are recycled, their strength gets weakened over time as the long molecular chains gradually break down under repeated exposure to heat and moisture. However, a research group has added a chain extender to the recycling process, allowing polymer chains to reconnect, and a plastic tensile strength to return to normal.

Researchers from Kochi University of Technology and Nagoya University have developed a self-adaptive copper–cobalt catalyst that efficiently converts nitrate contaminants into ammonia under ambient conditions. By combining advanced operando and quasi-operando spectroscopic analyses with density functional theory calculations, the team discovered that the catalyst dynamically reconstructs during electrochemical nitrate reduction to form hydroxyl-rich Cu–OH active sites. Amorphous cobalt oxide supplies reactive hydrogen via hydrogen spillover, enabling highly efficient ammonia synthesis. The catalyst achieved an ammonia production rate of 54.68 mg h⁻¹ mgcat⁻¹ with a Faradaic efficiency of 95.4% at −0.2 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode and maintained stable performance for more than 60 hours in a flow cell. The work establishes adaptive catalyst reconstruction as a new design principle for sustainable electrocatalysis.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) have developed an antibiotic-free multifunctional injectable hydrogel that accelerates wound healing by simultaneously addressing oxidative stress, bacterial infection, and tissue regeneration. Featuring the first reported cerium–rutin nanocomplex for wound healing, the hydrogel demonstrated sustained therapeutic release, enhanced antioxidant and antibacterial activity, and faster wound closure in preclinical studies. Protected by a patent, the technology holds promise for both human and veterinary wound care and is available for clinical translation and industry partnerships.