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​Photocatalytic nanoparticles are presented that are active and well-dispersed under acidic conditions but aggregate instantly upon elevation of pH. These responsive photocatalytic polymers can be used in various photocatalytic transformations, including Cr^VI reduction and photoredox alkylation of an indole derivative. The particles could be readily recycled, allowing multiple successive photocatalytic reactions with no clear loss in activity. more

A consortium of scientists led by University of Mons and MPI for Polymer Research have studied the temperature dependent hole mobility of two structurally similar organic semiconductors: DNTT, and its alkylated derivative, C8-DNTT-C8. They demonstrated that the charge delocalization – directly linked to charge mobility - is larger in C8-DNTT-C8 than in DNTT due to the distinctive band structure of the former system. This study indicates the possibility to reach extremely high mobilities of organic crystals by appropriately engineering the material properties. more

A delicate balance between preferential interaction, hydrogen bonding and dipole-dipole interactions determines polyalanine α-helix (un)folding in aqueous urea. This study clarifies and reconciles existing literature and highlights an operational understanding of polypeptide interactions in binary solutions, which is critical for designing biocompatible materials. more

Finding potential organic alternatives to traditional silicon-based semiconductors has been a long-standing goal in the field of organic chemistry. A work recently published in ‘Nature Materials’ reports highly conjugated two-dimensional conjugated polymers with exceptionally high short-range charge mobility of approaching cm²V^-1s^-1 at room temperature.
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A study on van der Waals heterostructures unveils that the photoinduced processes at the interface between the different materials can be modified by electrically controlling the occupancy of the interfacial defects. The findings are just published in Nano Letters.
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