Investigating the chemical nature of the adsorbed intermediate species on well-defined Cu single crystal substrates is crucial in understanding many electrocatalytic reactions. Herein, we systematically study the early stages of electrochemical oxidation of Cu(111) and polycrystalline Cu surfaces in different pH electrolytes using in situ shell-isolated nanoparticle-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SHINERS). On Cu(111), for the first time, we identified surface OH species which convert to chemisorbed “O” before forming Cu2O in alkaline (0.01 M KOH) and neutral (0.1 M Na2SO4) electrolytes; while at the Cu­(poly) surface, we only detected the presence of surface hydroxide. Whereas, in a strongly acidic solution (0.1 M H2SO4), sulfate replaces the hydroxyl/oxy species. This results improves the understanding of the reaction mechanisms of various electrocatalytic reactions.

The nitrate/nitrite transporters NarK and NarU play an important role in nitrogen homeostasis in bacteria and belong to the nitrate/nitrite porter family (NNP) of the major facilitator superfamily (MFS) fold. The structure and functional mechanism of NarK and NarU remain unknown. Here, we report the crystal structure of NarU at a resolution of 3.1 Å and systematic biochemical characterization. The two molecules of NarU in an asymmetric unit exhibit two distinct conformational states: occluded and partially inward-open. The substrate molecule nitrate appears to be coordinated by four highly conserved, charged, or polar amino acids. Structural and biochemical analyses allowed the identification of key amino acids that are involved in substrate gating and transport. The observed conformational differences of NarU, together with unique sequence features of the NNP family transporters, suggest a transport mechanism that might deviate from the canonical rocker-switch model.

The first catalytic formal [5+4] cycloaddition to prepare nine-membered heterocycles is presented. Under palladium catalysis, the reaction of N-tosyl azadienes and substituted vinylethylene carbonates (VECs) proceeds smoothly to produce benzofuran-fused heterocycles in uniformly high efficiency. Highly diastereoselective functionalization of the nine-membered heterocycles through peripheral attack is also demonstrated.