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Controlling an organocatalyst with pH - UK chemists have designed an organocatalyst that can be mechanically switched on and off simply by changing the pH. Similar activation-deactivation could be achieved for a wide range of related catalysts using a variety of external triggers, the researchers suggest, including stimuli such as light, temperature or electrical potential. The work opens the possibility of constructing complex sequential catalytic pathways for syntheses involving multiple switchable catalysts. Reference: V Blanco et al, Angew. Chem., Int. Ed., 2012, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201201364