Chemistry | Nature

News & Views | 01 April 2026

100 years of synthetic fuels

The Fischer–Tropsch synthesis shaped history by providing a way of making liquid fuels from coal. It is now causing a stir again as a route to sustainable fuels.

Ferdi Schüth

Nature Video | 30 March 2026

Static electricity is a mystery but invisible carbon may be key

A thin layer of carbon on the surface of oxide grains changes how they exchange static charge.

Shamini Bundell

Technology Feature | 30 March 2026

Inside the ‘self-driving’ lab revolution

AI-powered robotic tools are muscling in on tasks typically done by humans. What does the future hold?

Rachel Brazil

Research Briefing | 25 March 2026

Redirecting current solves a shadowy problem faced by perovskite solar cells

Solar modules made from perovskite materials have a stability issue that arises when they are placed in partial shade. This long-standing problem has now been addressed by integrating an electronic component called a memristor into the solar cell.

World View | 24 March 2026

How the war in Iran is reshaping the energy landscape

As prices surge and governments scramble to respond, the crisis underscores an urgent need to rethink energy security.

Aisha Al-Sarihi

News | 23 March 2026

The world just lived through the 11 hottest years on record — what now?

Measurements of Earth’s energy input and output reveals that the planet is more out of balance than ever before.

Rachel Fieldhouse
& Mohana Basu

Where I Work | 19 March 2026

A breath of fresh air: solving Ulaanbaatar’s pollution issues — in photos

Mongolia’s capital is among the world’s most toxic cities. One aspirational ex-physicist is clearing the air.

Dave Tacon

News | 19 March 2026

UK bets big on homegrown fusion and quantum — can it lead the world?

UK government announces multibillion-pound science investments — but what impact will this have on the global race in these fields?

David Adam

Research Briefing | 18 March 2026

Mystery of how plants make a family of medicinal molecules has been solved

The cinchona alkaloids are a family of plant-derived compounds that include quinine, an antimalarial drug also used as the bittering ingredient in tonic water. The biosynthetic pathway in Cinchona plants that produces the scaffold for these important molecules has been mapped.

News Feature | 18 March 2026

Static electricity is a big mystery — a jolt of fresh research could help to solve it

The familiar phenomenon has puzzled researchers for centuries, but experiments are finally making sense of its unruly behaviours.

Jenna Ahart

Article | 16 March 2026

Direct conversion from alkenes to alkynes

Junhong Meng
, Yiqi Liang
& Ning Jiao

Article | 10 March 2026

Alcohol group migration by proximity-enhanced H atom abstraction

Qian Xu
, Yichen Nie
& Alison E. Wendlandt

Research Highlight | 06 March 2026

Electric-vehicle batteries toughen up to beat the heat

Rising temperatures shorten battery life, but devices are improving fast enough to resist the ravages of climate change.

News | 05 March 2026

First ‘half-Möbius’ carbon chain wows chemists

The looped molecule’s unusual shape could unlock strange physical properties.

Davide Castelvecchi

News | 04 March 2026

Fresh claim of making elusive ‘hexagonal’ diamond is the strongest yet

After decades of debate, researchers say that they have found the clearest evidence yet for this rare form of carbon.

Mark Peplow

News | 04 March 2026

AI can write genomes — how long until it creates synthetic life?

The Evo2 genomic language model can generate short genome sequences, but scientists say further advances are needed to write genomes that will work inside living cells.

Ewen Callaway

Editorial | 25 February 2026

EU leaders should not rush to revamp green-hydrogen rules

Some policymakers think that climate-friendly policies are impeding the adoption of green hydrogen. They should ask scientists to review the evidence.

News & Views | 25 February 2026

Sea-urchin spines generate electrical signals in flowing water

The spines of sea urchins can generate a voltage when water moves around them — a phenomenon that could be used to design underwater flow sensors.

Pupa U. P. A. Gilbert

Article | 25 February 2026

Pancreatic-targeted lipid nanoparticles based on organ capsule filtration

Elucidation of fundamental pancreatic-targeted mechanisms enables the development of lipid nanoparticles for the precise delivery of nucleic acid therapeutics to the pancreas, highlighting their promising potential in the treatment of pancreatic diseases.

Jiaqi Lei
, Kai Yang
& Guocan Yu

Article | 25 February 2026

Hydrofluorocarbon electrolytes for energy-dense and low-temperature batteries

A method using hydrofluorocarbon electrolytes for synthesizing alkanes with monofluorinated structures is described, yielding a pathway for manufacturing lithium-metal batteries able to achieve high energy density as well as operate at low temperature.

Lanqing Wu
, Jinyu Zhang
& Qing Zhao

Article
23 February 2026 | Open Access

Markovnikov hydroamination of terminal alkenes by phosphine redox catalysis

A phosphine–photoredox catalyst system promotes intermolecular Markovnikov hydroamination of unactivated terminal alkenes with numerous classes of N–H azoles..

Flora Fan
, Kassandra F. Sedillo
& Abigail G. Doyle

Editorial | 18 February 2026

Why China and Europe should collaborate to ‘defossilize’ the world’s carbon

The world needs non-fossil sources of carbon. It’s a no-brainer for nations working towards this goal to join forces.

Article | 18 February 2026

Stereospecific alkyl–alkyl cross-coupling of boronic esters

Stereospecific coupling of boronic esters catalysed by a copper acetylide complex provides simplification of the synthesis of chiral building blocks for complex molecules.

Xieyang Zhang
, Kyle T. Palka
& James P. Morken

News & Views | 11 February 2026

Untapped catalytic ability of aluminium has been unlocked

Could the discovery of a catalyst in which aluminium shifts easily between oxidation states be the beginning of the end for costly transition-metal catalysts?

Stuart Burnett
& Catherine Weetman

News Feature | 11 February 2026

Can the clean-energy revolution save us from climate catastrophe?

Seven charts show the remarkable growth in renewable power and the challenges to ending the fossil-fuel age.

Jeff Tollefson

Article | 11 February 2026

Aluminium redox catalysis enables cyclotrimerization of alkynes

Aluminium redox catalysis is achieved with a low-valent aluminium species, carbazolylaluminylene, enabling cyclotrimerization of alkynes and producing diverse benzene derivatives.

Xin Zhang
& Liu Leo Liu

Article
11 February 2026 | Open Access

Transferable enantioselectivity models from sparse data

A machine-learning workflow has been developed to predict the enantioselectivity of asymmetric catalytic reactions using only sparse data for training.

Simone Gallarati
, Erin M. Bucci
& Matthew S. Sigman

News & Views | 04 February 2026

Machine learning slashes the testing needed to work out battery lifetimes

A machine-learning method that reasons and adapts has been developed to solve one of the most time-consuming bottlenecks in battery development.

Chao Hu

Article | 04 February 2026

Integrated structural dynamics uncover a new B₁₂ photoreceptor activation mode

Spatiotemporal insight into photoactivation of the prototypical B₁₂ photoreceptor CarH is revealed across nine orders of magnitude in time, identifying a transient adduct that distinguishes it from thermally activated B₁₂ enzymes.

Ronald Rios-Santacruz
, Harshwardhan Poddar
& Giorgio Schirò

World View | 03 February 2026

I know science can’t fix the world — here’s why I do it anyway

The world faces energy shortages as fossil fuels are phased out. Research can’t go on as normal.

Jean Colcombet

Career Feature | 02 February 2026

Don’t talk science, play science: translate your data into music to improve its reach

Data sonification helps researchers to build connections and communicate their science to a broader audience.

Jane Palmer

Research Highlight | 30 January 2026

Light-powered bacteria become living chemical factories

Engineered Escherichia coli could open the door to more sustainable routes to new drugs and other chemicals.

News | 29 January 2026

This AI has chemical expertise — and helps synthesize 35 new compounds

An open-source program enables researchers to bypass a major bottleneck in the process of chemical synthesis.

Andy Extance

News | 28 January 2026

Deep-sea robots will search for source of mysterious ‘dark oxygen’

Scientists have launched a fresh effort to find out what could be producing oxygen at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

Davide Castelvecchi

Comment | 26 January 2026

As we breach 1.5 °C, we must replace temperature limits with clean-energy targets

Actionable goals are needed to guide the world towards what needs to happen most quickly: shifting economies to clean energy sources.

Kwesi A. Quagraine
, Mark Lynas
& Erle C. Ellis

Technology Feature | 21 January 2026

From quantum computing to mRNA therapeutics: seven technologies to watch in 2026

Nature’s round-up of innovations that are poised to make a splash in the year ahead.

Michael Eisenstein

Article | 21 January 2026

Extreme barocaloric effect at dissolution

An extreme barocaloric effect in NH₄SCN aqueous solutions is enabled by pressure-induced dissolution and precipitation, but without using a separate heat-transfer liquid.

Kun Zhang
, Yifang Liu
& Bing Li

Article | 19 January 2026

Collective intelligence for AI-assisted chemical synthesis

A tool based on the Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct architecture called MOSAIC (Multiple Optimized Specialists for AI-assisted Chemical Prediction) is described, allowing chemists to use the collective intelligence of millions of reaction protocols to realize new compounds.

Haote Li
, Sumon Sarkar
& Victor S. Batista

News | 09 January 2026

Chinese nuclear fusion reactor pushes plasma past crucial limit: what happens next

Breaking the plasma density limit brings researchers a step closer to viable fusion reactors.

Mohana Basu

Article | 07 January 2026

Electrochemical defluorinative Matteson-type homologation

A new Matteson-type homologation method inserts carbon units into boronic esters using electrochemistry.

Tsoh Lam Cheung
, Yujun Li
& Hairong Lyu

Article | 07 January 2026

High-voltage anode-free sodium–sulfur batteries

A new architecture based on high-valence sulfur/sulfur tetrachloride cathode chemistry is described for manufacturing high-voltage anode-free sodium–sulfur batteries, demonstrating promise for applications in grid energy storage and wearable electronics.

Shitao Geng
, Bin Yuan
& Hao Sun

Editorial | 06 January 2026

Defossilize our chemical world

Achieving net zero means eliminating fossil fuels, not carbon — the chemical element has a crucial part to play in powering the modern world.

News Feature | 30 December 2025

Science in 2050: the future breakthroughs that will shape our world — and beyond

Nuclear fusion. People on Mars. Artificial general intelligence. These are just some of the advances that could come by the mid-century mark.

David Adam

News | 17 December 2025

MIT fusion-lab head shot dead: a horror ‘impossible to believe’

Plasma physicist Nuno Loureiro was helping to develop clean-energy fusion devices.

Rachel Fieldhouse
, Mohana Basu
& Elizabeth Gibney

News | 17 December 2025

Seven feel-good science stories to restore your faith in 2025

Immense progress in gene editing, drug discovery and conservation are just some of the reasons to be cheerful about 2025.

Katie Kavanagh

Article
17 December 2025 | Open Access

Laser spectroscopy and CP-violation sensitivity of actinium monofluoride

Gas-phase actinium monofluoride (AcF) has been produced and spectroscopically studied at the CERN-ISOLDE radioactive ion beam facility; the results highlight the potential of ²²⁷AcF for exceptionally sensitive searches of CP violation.