Two IPC PAS studies show how lignin-derived molecules can be transformed into compounds relevant to pharmaceutical research - at room temperature and atmospheric pressure and, in one case, without a transition-metal catalyst.

Sustainable packaging is only the beginning. What a medicine is made from - and how its ingredients are produced - matters just as much. Yet the synthesis of compounds for pharmaceutical research can still depend on fossil feedstocks, high temperatures, strong oxidants and metals that raise costs and complicate purification. Two recently published studies from Prof. Colmenares' group at IPC PAS demonstrate that cleaner chemistry can begin at the level of a single chemical bond [1][2].

At the heart of both studies is lignin, one of nature’s most abundant polymers and a major by-product of wood processing. Instead of simply burning it, chemists can use its aromatic structures as building blocks for much more valuable compounds. The teams combined this renewable feedstock with light and ultrasound. Light activates the catalyst, while inaudible sound waves produce cavitation: microscopic bubbles form and collapse violently. Energy is generated locally, where the chemistry happens, without exposing the whole system to extreme heat.

Researchers at the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo have developed MatterGen-e^-, a machine learning model for the inverse design of inorganic crystals. The model generates crystal structures with electronic-structure descriptors to match a target property, producing more valid, stable, unique, and novel structures than when the crystal structure is considered alone. Control experiments showed that only physically meaningful electronic descriptors improve stability and validity, whereas diversity increased regardless of the descriptors used.

This work develops an asymmetric polarization strategy for covalent triazine frameworks (CTFs) by introducing naphthalene units to strengthen the internal electric field and promote charge separation. The resulting CTF-P1 achieves an H₂O₂ production rate of 2762.0 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ in pure water without sacrificial agents. Mechanistic studies reveal that enhanced polarization facilitates both oxygen reduction and water oxidation, enabling efficient photocatalytic H₂O₂ synthesis.

Through atomic dragging, HEAH (high-entropy alloy hydride) imparts high-distortion characteristics to the MgH₂ surface, weakening interfacial Mg–H bonds and enhancing de-/hydrogenation kinetics. Meanwhile, dehydrogenated HEA enables spontaneous H₂ dissociation without energy barrier, leading to rapid hydrogenation at 200 °C.

 An international collaborative research group led by the National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS) of the National Institutes for Natural Sciences, the University of Electro-Communications (UEC), Clemson University, and Grenoble Alpes University has demonstrated a new method for evaluating nuclear charge radii using atomic spectroscopy with the Tokyo-EBIT experimental facility at UEC. The research group performed high-precision extreme ultraviolet spectroscopy of “highly charged ions (HCIs)”— atoms that have been ionized many times. By comparing the precise atomic energy levels obtained from the experiments with the latest atomic structure calculations, the nuclear size effect on the atomic energy-levels could be successfully evaluated, leading to the determination of the nuclear charge-radii.

 In the present study, the research targets were the rare-earth elements lutetium (Lu) and ytterbium (Yb). These are neighboring elements on the periodic table. The research group used a new method to evaluate the difference in the sizes of these atomic nuclei. As a result, it was found that the anomalous trend—suggested by conventional recommended databases—that “the lutetium nucleus is larger than that of its adjacent element” is incorrect, and clarified that the odd-even staggering observed in nuclear radii is restored to its expected form. However, this experiment revealed a degree of odd-even staggering so unexpectedly significant that it cannot be explained by currently widely used theoretical calculations, raising the discrepancy between experiment and theory as a new challenge.

 This research not only demonstrates the potential of HCI spectroscopy for new nuclear structure studies but also raises new challenges for understanding the structure of heavy nuclides.