Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Using SMART-EM technology, Northwestern chemists record a live catalytic reaction for the first time. By watching reactions unfold, chemists can design better catalysts for more efficient and environmentally friendly chemical processes.

This video shows a fleeting hemiacetal alkoxide intermediate. The researchers also observed its reverse aldehyde elimination, generating an aldehyde and a molybdenum alkoxide intermediate.
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