Weak hydrogen bonds dethrone copper as the most stable metal binder, opening a new path for metal selection

Copper has been knocked off the top of a stability ranking it had dominated for decades. Without altering the atoms directly bonded to the metal, a KAIST research team reversed the longstanding trend in which copper generally forms the most stable complexes by tuning only the weak hydrogen bonds in its surrounding environment. The findings, which appear in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, could open new avenues for selective metal separation and recognition, as well as catalyst design.