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Communications Chemistry, Published online: 08 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s42004-026-02088-2Friedel-Crafts alkylation reactions are generally accepted to proceed via an electrophilic aromatic substitution mechanism, but alternative pathways remain underexplored. Here, the authors demonstrate that zeolite MCM-22 catalyzes the alkylation of thiophene with styrene through a non-conventional mechanism, highlighting the role of protonated thiophene and offering insights for designing more efficient catalytic processes.

Communications Chemistry, Published online: 08 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s42004-026-02084-6The transition of bacterial phytochromes from the red-absorbing Pr state to the far-red-absorbing Pfr state may proceed through the formation of a Pr/Pfr heterodimer, as revealed by a recent single-particle cryo-EM study of a phytochrome from the myxobacterium Stigmatella aurantiaca. By illuminating this protein immediately before vitrification, the authors captured the Pr/Pfr heterodimer intermediate on a millisecond timescale and observed a large rotation of the C-terminal histidine kinase domain, a conformational change that is likely to regulate light-induced signal transduction.

Communications Chemistry, Published online: 05 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s42004-026-02077-5Understanding the thermodynamics of biomacromolecules is crucial for elucidating their mechanisms yet remains challenging with current cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) methodology. Here, the authors introduce a deep learning framework that reconstructs a “digital twin" of cryo-EM data, enabling precise thermodynamic analysis using only cryo-EM data and revealing insights into biomolecular dynamics without supplementary assumption.

Communications Chemistry, Published online: 08 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s42004-026-02087-3SAM-dependent methyltransferases facilitate methyl transfer from cofactors to substrates, yet the structural dynamics influencing cofactor-substrate binding cooperativity remain unclear. Here, the authors reveal that SbSOMT, a plant O-methyltransferase, exhibits bilateral and positive cofactor-substrate cooperativity driven by a dynamic π-stacking network and is sensitive to the cofactor-substrate interaction at the methyl binding site.

Communications Chemistry, Published online: 08 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s42004-026-02093-5Designing drug-like molecules that satisfy both property requirements and structural constraints is a persistent challenge. Here, the authors introduce BiSP-GP, a bidirectional structure-property generative pretraining framework that unifies molecular generation and property prediction through shared autoregressive sequence modeling, enabling joint learning and bidirectional optimization of structure-property relationships, thereby enhancing controllable molecular generation while supporting molecular property prediction and candidate drug optimization tasks.

Communications Chemistry, Published online: 06 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s42004-026-02086-4Organic crystals influence ice formation in natural environments, but the underlying mechanisms remain underexplored. Here, the authors show that the freezing efficiency of phloroglucinol (PGL) stems from nucleation pathways involving its crystalline surface — which acts as an ice template — and dissolved molecules in solution that assemble into nanoscale aggregates capable of nucleating ice even below the solubility limit.

Delighted to share our recent collection of articles on crystal polymorphism: www.nature.com/collections/... Thank you and congratulations to Guest Editors Marc Little, Ming Lu and Kana Sureshan for delivering this nice issue! #ChemSky

Communications Chemistry, Published online: 11 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s42004-026-02030-6While the stability of nitrogen clathrate hydrates at moderate pressures is well established, the behavior of the water-nitrogen system at higher pressures, relevant for the deep interiors of large icy moons and water-rich exoplanets, remains underexplored. Here, the authors use neutron diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and crystal structure prediction to map the high-pressure phase diagram of nitrogen hydrate up to 16 GPa at room temperature, reporting a sequence of structural transformations from sI/sII clathrates to hexagonal and tetragonal phases and orthorhombic filled-ice structures above 1.8 GPa.

Communications Chemistry, Published online: 12 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s42004-026-02091-7Propylene methoxycarbonylation offers an atom-economical route to synthesize butyrate esters, yet its mechanism and regioselectivity remain underexplored. Here, the authors investigate the structure–performance relationship of Pd-based catalysts with various monophosphine and bisphosphine ligands, revealing that electronic and steric effects enhance catalytic activity and regioselectivity.

Communications Chemistry, Published online: 12 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s42004-026-02094-4Cellulose fibrils are a renewable and biodegradable resource, but their extraction typically requires complete destruction of the original wooden matrix. Here, the authors combine partial delignification with localized surface modification using 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([Bmim][OAc]) to achieve controlled fibril release while maintaining the original orientation and structural framework of the surrounding native wood structure.

This Collection aims to showcase research on small molecule and crystalline framework polymorphism, with a focus on applications in pharmaceutical and ...