Organic chemistry articles within Nature

Featured

• Letter | 22 April 2010

  Stoichiometric control of organic carbon–nitrate relationships from soils to the sea

  The accumulation of nitrate in freshwater and coastal marine ecosystems is one of the consequences of the worldwide production of artificial fertilizers. Here it is shown that nitrate accumulation in ecosystems shows consistent and negative nonlinear correlations with organic carbon availability, along a continuum from soils, through freshwater systems and coastal margins, to the open ocean. This pattern can be explained by carbon:nitrate ratios, which influence nitrate accumulation by regulating microbial processes.

  • Philip G. Taylor
  •  & Alan R. Townsend

• Research Highlights | 21 April 2010

  Chemistry: Plumbing carbon rings

• Research Highlights | 01 April 2010

  Organic chemistry: An open and shut case

• Research Highlights | 24 February 2010

  Organic chemistry: Catalysts cooperate

• Research Highlights | 03 February 2010

  Organic chemistry: Methylene magic

• Letter | 27 January 2010

  Cleaving carbon–carbon bonds by inserting tungsten into unstrained aromatic rings

  The transformation of petroleum-derived feedstocks into useful chemicals often requires controllable cleavage of C–H or C–C bonds. There are many examples of achieving this through the oxidative addition of C–H bonds to metal centres, but analogous transformations of C–C bonds are rare. Here, using a tungsten centre and exploiting the formation of an unusual chelating ligand, a strong C–C bond is cleaved; other metal centres with suitable ancillary ligands could perform the same function.

  • Aaron Sattler
  •  & Gerard Parkin

• Research Highlights | 20 January 2010

  Chemistry: Chase acid, solve maze