近日，英国爱丁堡大学Thomas, Stephen P.团队研究了隐性催化的比色指示。相关论文于2025年9月16日发表在《自然-化学》杂志上。

当原位生成的杂质或物质代替预期的催化剂促进反应时，就会发生隐性催化。这个普遍存在的问题困扰着反应的发展和基本认识，突出的例子包括微量金属污染，“无金属”反应性，隐藏的(BrNsted)酸催化和隐硼烷催化。目前识别隐性催化的方法受到耗时和劳动密集的机理分析的阻碍，限制了它们的实用性和广泛采用。

研究组介绍了一种变革性的比色指示剂，可以快速、直观地检测隐藏的硼烷催化作用。该比色法可用于反应取样、原位检测、试剂质量控制甚至试纸条分析。这种快速的视觉检测方法消除了人工和昂贵的机制分析的必要性，为化学家快速识别和减轻隐藏的催化效应提供了强大的工具。这种方法有可能在一开始就阐明机理，从而大大加速化学合成的发现和优化。

附：英文原文

Title: Colorimetric indication of hidden catalysis

Author: Macleod, Julie, Thomas, Stephen P.

Issue&Volume: 2025-09-16

Abstract: Hidden catalysis occurs when an impurity or species generated in situ facilitates the reaction instead of the intended catalyst. This pervasive issue plagues reaction development and fundamental understanding, with prominent examples including trace metal contamination, ‘metal-free’ reactivity, hidden (Brnsted) acid catalysis and hidden borane catalysis. Current methods to identify hidden catalysis are hindered by time-consuming and labour-intensive mechanistic analyses, limiting their practicality and widespread adoption. We introduce a transformative, colorimetric indicator that enables rapid, visual detection of hidden borane catalysis. The colorimetric test was successfully used for reaction sampling, in situ testing, reagent quality control and even test strip analyses. This rapid, visual detection method removes the necessity for laborious and costly mechanistic analyses and offers a powerful tool for chemists to quickly identify and mitigate hidden catalytic effects. This method holds the potential to substantially accelerate discovery and optimization in chemical synthesis by clarifying mechanistic understanding at the outset.

DOI: 10.1038/s41557-025-01955-0

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-025-01955-0