Themed collection Articles behind the 2024 journal covers

Luminescent 2D Zr-based MOFs for sensing Fe(III) ions were synthesized by dual post-synthetic modifications of photosensitizing ligands and terbium ions.

Pristine multifunctional amide-based bimetallic Co–Ni coordination polymer and monometallic counterparts as efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction.

Two dinuclear dianionic helicates, K₂[M^II₂(L)₃] M = Mn^II (1) and Ni^II (2), based on 2-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzaldehyde, self-assemble into novel 3D coordination polymers due to nitro groups acting as secondary assembly instruction.

An affordable, scalable, and easily adoptable solution-based processing route provides a potential way of converting waste Si solar cells into aluminosilicate minerals to contribute to sustainability in the solar energy value chain.

High-quality TPB single crystals were obtained without obvious step-like growth morphology. The TPB devices could present α-particle and γ-ray spectral responses with high energy resolution, showing potential for direct radiation detection.

Bilirubin crystals in the gall bladder and urine are typical indicators of liver dysfunction. Examining the crystal structure of lipophilic bilirubin is thus of interest. We present crystal structures for three crystal forms of the bile pigment.

We designed CaCO₃ films comprised of aragonite nanorods by mimicking the microstructure and the formation process of the calcareous skeleton of a stony coral in the sea.

The R + r intimate intergrowth was found to form a butterfly twin following the optimum crystallographic orientation relationship [101]_R//[11]_r by the close-packed (11)_R and (011)_r planes as the twin boundary and phase interface, respectively.

Periodic assembly in poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) crystallized at selected T_c is analyzed with microscopy 3D interior dissection. Orderly grating-arrayed lamellae in PHB display light-interfering iridescence, resembling nature's structured coloration seen in inorganic minerals or organic species.

The dimensions of M(II) complexes are dependent on the solvents or metals(II) employed, and a transformation of the cage into 3D occurs. Zn(II) and Cu(II) species are effective catalysts in transesterification and catechol oxidation, respectively.

Crystallisation pathways of calcium carbonate are strongly influenced by the presence of additives. Through X-ray diffraction, samples made by the Project M Scientists reveal the effect of amino acid and related additives on the crystal structures of calcite and vaterite.

The effect of grain coalescence on the dislocation and stress in GaN films grown on nanoscale patterned sapphire substrates with low-temperature grown GaN and physical vapour deposition AlN nucleation layers is comparably investigated.

Crystal packing of several halogenated alanine derivatives was investigated using the combined analysis of short atom–atom contacts and energy framework patterns.

Reactions of a C₃-symmetrical ligand and Cd(II) salts with various polycarboxylic acids afforded three new coordination polymers, demonstrating that the length and shape of the polycarboxylate ligands govern the structural diversity.

The controllable synthesis of non-classical nucleobase pairs that can mimic partial biological behavior is very important for the in-depth study of DNA or RNA.