Spotlights on Recent JACS Publications

摘要

Catalysis of organic reactions can happen by many means, including the commonly known light and heat. An additional catalytic approach—albeit under-utilized and less recognized—is the use of oriented electrostatic fields (OEFs) to enhance and control the reactivity of chemical reactions. Part of the limitation in the use of OEFs is attributed to their reduced effectiveness in polar solvents and a focus on ground-state chemistry. Studying a reaction for photochemical CO_2 capture, a team of chemists led by Michelle Coote examine the use of OEFs to catalyze its reactivity, finding enhancement even in increasingly polar solvents (DOI:10.1021/jacs.9b12186).