Front Cover of ChemPhysChem

The study Revisiting CN⁻ Formation Mechanisms in Electron Collisions with Benzonitrile has been selected for the front cover of ChemPhysChem. The research work was first authored by Rodrigo Rodrigues, PhD student in the RaBBiT program at CEFITEC, and co-authored by the CEFITEC researchers Mónica Mendes, João Ameixa, and Filipe Ferreira da Silva.

The Front Cover shows how aromatic cyano compounds might have played an important role in the molecular complexity associated with the origin of life. Benzonitrile interacts with low-energy electrons to produce CN− anions through coupling between π* and σ* orbitals, which leads to C─CN bond cleavage. More information can be found in the Research Article 10.1002/cphc.202500206.