List of unsolved problems in chemistry

This is a list of unsolved problems in chemistry. Problems in chemistry are considered unsolved when an expert in the field considers it unsolved or when several experts in the field disagree about a solution to a problem.

Physical chemistry problems

• Can the transition temperature of high-temperature superconductors be brought up to room temperature?
• How do the spin–orbit coupling, other relativistic corrections, and inter-electron effects modify the chemistry of the trans-actinides?
• Is it possible to create a practically-useful lithium–air battery?

Organic chemistry problems

• What is the origin of homochirality in biomolecules?
• Why are accelerated kinetics observed for some organic reactions at the water-organic interface?Template:Primary source inline
• Do replacement reactions of aryl diazonium salts (dediazotizations) predominantly undergo S_N1 or a radical mechanism?
• Can an electrochemical cell reliably perform organic redox reactions?
• Which "classic organic chemistry" reactions admit chiral catalysts?
  • Is it possible to construct a quaternary carbon atom with arbitrary (distinguishable) substituents and stereochemistry?
• Can artificial enzymes replace the need for protecting groups when modifying sensitive compounds?

Inorganic chemistry problems

• Are there any molecules that certainly contain a phi bond?
• Is there a less labor- or energy-intensive technique for titanium refinement than the Kroll process?
• Does nitrogen admit metastable allotropes under standard conditions?
• Can new solvents or other techniques make direct carbon capture economical?
  • Can artificial photosynthesis make any common fuels?
• What is a reliable synthesis and stabilization method for catenary allotropes of sulfur and carbon?

Biochemistry problems

• Enzyme kinetics: Why do some enzymes exhibit faster-than-diffusion kinetics?
• Protein folding problem: Is it possible to predict the secondary, tertiary and quaternary structure of a polypeptide sequence based solely on the sequence and environmental information? Inverse protein-folding problem: Is it possible to design a polypeptide sequence which will adopt a given structure under certain environmental conditions? This has been achieved for several small globular proteins in recent years. In 2020, it was announced that Google's AlphaFold, a neural network based on DeepMind artificial intelligence, is capable of predicting a protein's final shape based solely on its amino-acid chain with an accuracy of around 90% on a test sample of proteins used by the team.
• RNA folding problem: Is it possible to accurately predict the secondary, tertiary and quaternary structure of a polyribonucleic acid sequence based on its sequence and environment?
• Protein design: Is it possible to design highly active enzymes de novo for any desired reaction?
• Biosynthesis: Can desired molecules, natural products or otherwise, be produced in high yield through biosynthetic pathway manipulation?

See also

• Lists of unsolved problems
• Outline of chemistry

External links

• Unsolved Problems in Nanotechnology: Chemical Processing by Self-Assembly - Matthew Tirrell - Departments of Chemical Engineering and Materials, Materials Research Laboratory, California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara [No doc at link, 20 Aug 2016]