Cover Feature: Few‐layer Black Phosphorous Catalyzes Radical Additions to Alkenes Faster than Low‐valence Metals

The Cover Feature shows how phosphorene can catalyse different radical additions to alkenes. These catalysts have an initial turnover frequency up to two orders of magnitude higher than representative state–of–the–art metal complex catalysts at room temperature. In their Full Paper, M. Tejeda-Serrano et al. describe how the electron–richness of the 2D material, either phosphorene or graphene, parallels the catalytic activity of different low-valence iron compounds as metal catalysts. These results showcase the advantages of substituting metals by p–block main-group elements not only because of their positive economic and ecological fingerprint, but also because of their higher catalytic efficiency in some organic reactions, which opens the door for cross–fertilization between 2D materials and metal catalysts in organic synthesis.PNICTOCHEM 804110 (G.A.)CIDEGENT/2018/001Portada de revista, actividad de divulgación