Just a handful of good reactions are needed to assemble vast numbers of highly diverse organic molecules. (The graphic shows a simple example.) Yet, this easily accessible structural universe has not been mined by the medicinal chemistry community for its nuggets of desirable function. The requirements for the best reactions that can be employed, examples of such processes, and the philosophy that underlies their use are discussed in this review.

The trend toward renewable resources has led to a global renaissance of cellulose research over the past ten years. This review describes the highlights of the progress made in this area, which has provided a better understanding of the structure of cellulose derivatives, the tailoring of cellulose products, alternative production processes for cellulose regenerates, and new pathways for the formation of supramolecular architectures.

By simply stirring in water, organic azides and terminal alkynes are readily and cleanly converted into 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles through a highly efficient and regioselective copper(I)-catalyzed process (see scheme for an example).

Nanospace laboratories: The chemistry of the coordination polymers (see picture) has developed extensively, affording new porous compounds and realizing not only applications, such as separation, storage, and heterogeneous catalysis but also unique nanosized vessels for low-dimensional ordered arrays. This Review summarizes the current state of research on the functionalization of porous coordination polymers.

Cellulose goes nano: Renewed research effort on cellulose has led to nanoscale materials derived from this abundant, renewable, and potentially carbon-neutral source. Microfibrillated cellulose, nanocrystalline cellulose (see polarized microscopy image), and bacterial nanocellulose provide unique product opportunities: gels and foams, structured films of cellulose, and medical implants, respectively.

Radical approach: Recent rapid developments in chemodynamic therapy using the Fenton or Fenton-like reactions to generate ^.OH at tumour sites are discussed in depth in this Minireview. Emphasis is placed on the strategies designed to enhance therapeutic efficiency, providing guidelines for potential clinical translation.

Low activation energy and fast lithium ion conduction have been observed for the new compound Li₇La₃Zr₂O₁₂. Relative to previously reported lithium garnets, the solid electrolyte shows a larger cubic lattice constant, higher lithium ion concentration, lower degree of chemical interaction between the Li⁺ ions and the other lattice constituents, and higher densification.

A glowing review: Carbon nanodots have recently emerged as intriguing, cheap, sustainable, and low-toxicity nanoemitters that hold immense promise in energy conversion, bioimaging, diagnostics, and novel composites. This Review summarizes recent advances in the synthesis, understanding, and exploitation of carbon-based quantum dots as nascent biolabels, while pointing to potential new directions for this fascinating class of nanocarbon.

It cuts both ways: The photocatalytic conversion of CO₂ into valuable solar fuels such as methane or methanol has the potential to address the future energy supply demand and mitigate CO₂ emissions. This Review presents the current state of the art of the heterogeneous photocatalytic reduction of CO₂ on TiO₂ and other metal oxides, oxynitrides, sulfides, and phosphides. The mechanisms and the measures of the efficiency of the process are discussed in detail.

The industrial synthesis of hydrogen peroxide by the anthraquinone process requires multiple unit operations and bears several disadvantages, such as the generation of by-products and significant energy requirements. Thus, the direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide from H₂ and O₂ (for example, with the aid of a Pd catalyst, see scheme) is a chemically and technologically significant alternative.