Themed collection 2026 Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers HOT Articles

Over the past few years, large language models have become technologically ubiquitous and now offer a powerful route to accelerate discoveries in inorganic chemistry.

Glutarimidedioxime (H₃A) forms ultra-stable uranyl complexes for seawater extraction. It generates a rare non-oxido V(v) complex causing vanadium interference, while Mo(VI) catalyzes H₃A degradation, threatening durability.

Photothermal catalysis enables CO₂-to-C₂₊ conversion. This review addresses bottlenecks (CO coverage, C–C coupling, HER) & advancements in material/reactor design, highlighting promise for CO₂ utilization.

This review explores the photophysical processes and captures recent progress in the development of luminescent molecular Bi complexes. We emphasize general trends, design principles and Bi-specific issues.

Different interactions between H₂S and porous cage-like materials.

We present a critical review of metal TADF luminophores highlighting a balance between TADF and phosphorescence in these systems.

This review systematically summarizes recent progress in the field of the  supercapacitors, covering three primary material categories: pristine MOFs, MOF-derived porous carbons, and MOF-derived transition metal compounds.

This review systematically elaborates the recent advancements in high-entropy alloys, high-entropy oxides, high-entropy sulfides, and other high-entropy materials for CO₂ reduction via photocatalytic, electrocatalytic, and thermocatalytic pathways.

This review summarizes metal complex- and MOF-based optical fluoride sensors (2014–2025), covering design strategies, sensing mechanisms, performance, and applications in environmental and biological systems.

This Review focuses on functionalization of the [closo-B₁₀H₁₀]²⁻ anion in the apical positions in the context of the development of functional molecular materials.

This review summarizes recent advances in catalyst design, reaction mechanisms, and paired-electrolysis systems of the electrocatalytic upcycling of polyethylene terephthalate, highlighting the potential for efficient plastic valorization.

This work synthesized a series of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), Zr_xHf_1−xTc, with varying Zr⁴⁺/Hf⁴⁺ ratios to systematically investigate the influence of metal-node composition on high-order multiphoton excited fluorescence performance.

A gradient oxygen-doped Zn_xCd_1−xS photoanode featuring a continuous energy-level distribution was developed for efficient PEC water splitting.

A novel two-dimensional N-doped lamellar porous carbon/selenium cathode with high surface area and Se loading improves reaction kinetics, yielding excellent electrochemical performance for Li–Se batteries.

The immunotherapeutic anti-cancer stem cell (CSC) properties of a nickel(II) complex containing non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, diclofenac is reported.

Selective Li⁺ binding in a crown-ether-functionalized Hofmann framework reconfigures the cooperative multistep spin-crossover pathway.

Schematic illustration of the LMCT effect influencing the Fenton-like performance of titanium-oxo clusters.

Two tellurotungstate-templated Ag clusters, [Ag₆₀(TeW₆O₂₄)₂(^tBuCC)₃₆(NO₃)₁₀Cl₂]·38CH₃CN and [Ag₄₆(TeW₁₃O₄₆)₂(^tBuCC)₂₄(NO₃)₂(CH₃CN)₈]·24CH₃CN, were synthesized via a facile solvothermal method using in situ generated tellurotungstates as templates.

This work reports a thermally induced phase transformation from ionic In-1 to ionic In-2 and finally to coordinate In-3 along with improved anti-Kasha room temperature phosphorescence.

Our molecular modification strategy balances SHG and birefringence for UV NLO materials. We synthesized a new crystal exhibiting moderate SHG coefficients, a wide bandgap, and excellent thermal stability, positioning it as a promising UV NLO material.

The synthesized carbon-confined MoN/Co₄N heterostructure with abundant interfaces delivers outstanding HER and OER performance due to optimized electronic structure and rapid electron transfer.

An O-vacancy- and polyaniline (PANI) dual-modified TiO₂ anode (TiO₂-OV@PANI) was designed for fast sodium storage. Both the O-vacancy and PANI enhance the kinetics, enabling TiO₂-OV@PANI to exhibit high discharge capacity and stable cycling ability.

Four unprecedented dimeric disulfonamide crystals A[N(SO₂NH₂)₂] (A = Na, K, Rb, Cs) with unique [N(SO₂NH₂)₂]⁻ unit and large birefringence.

A V₅S₈/Sb₂S₃@NC heterostructure optimizes K⁺ storage. Internal electric fields and V–S–Sb interfaces enhance charge transfer, accelerate K⁺ diffusion and stabilize cycling, achieving high capacity (525 mA h g⁻¹) and good rate performance.

Inspired by protein helices, a chiral MOF with peptide-decorated 1D helical nanochannels was built from an enantiopure phenylalanine-derived flexible ligand. It serves as a recyclable solid adsorbent for highly enantioselective epoxide resolution.

A new member of the low-symmetry lanthanide titanium clusters family is characterized by a Janus distribution at the cluster core.

This work introduces a coordination-based design concept in which nonplanar penta-graphene (PG) serves as an electronic structural lever to control the activity and selectivity of dual atom catalysts for CO₂ reduction.

Circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) has garnered significant interest for advanced optoelectronic applications, with circularly polarized electroluminescence (CPEL) offering particular promise for next-generation displays.

By combining the partial cation substitution strategy with local high-entropy engineering, Ag_xCu_3-xPS₄ (x = 1, 2) were synthesized by the MOBQ method, which exhibit excellent infrared NLO properties by rationally regulating the Ag/Cu ratio.

Two high-performance birefringent crystals, La₂SbS₃(S₂)X (X = Cl, Br), have been synthesized through rational design, achieving a breakthrough balance between giant birefringence and wide band gaps (1.049 and 2.22 eV; 1.057 and 2.29 eV).

A novel [3.3.0-Dabco]-based molecular ferroelectric is reported. It exhibits a reversible ferroelectric phase transition driven by the “butterfly-flapping” motion of cations, providing a new design strategy for molecular ferroelectrics.

Tailoring the surface reducibility of La-based perovskite supports modulates Pt electronic structure and oxygen vacancy formation, enabling optimized hydrogen adsorption and accelerated water dissociation for enhanced alkaline HER activity.

We demonstrate the sorption chemistry can be regulated by extra-framework counter-cations in metal–organic frameworks.

An electrode/electrolyte dual-phase molecular engineering strategy was mediated by ferrocenyl carboxylate to achieve efficient and durable electrochemical oxygen evolution reaction performance.

We introduce a light intensity modulation CW-EPR method for probing light-responsive spin dynamics in paramagnetic materials, validated across d–f, f–f, and d–d optical transition systems.

Through the lone-pair cation strategy, a new one-dimensional metal-free perovskite (MFP) DABCO-N₂H₅(BF₄)₃ is successfully designed. It exhibits an ultrahigh sensitivity of 2570 μC Gy_air⁻¹ cm⁻² at 50 V, and a low detection limit of 20.9 nGy_air s⁻¹.

Liberating pore space via facile guest ion exchange enables efficient C4 hydrocarbon separation.

Superatomic interconversion triggers reversible on–off luminescence between M₁Ag₁₄ and M₁Ag₁₈ (M = Pd, Pt), unveiling surface-/doping-regulated superatomic photophysics.

This study presents atomically coordinated Cu–Ti dual sites on MXene-derived oxide for urea photosynthesis from CO₂ and NO₃⁻, achieving 11.57 μmol h⁻¹ g⁻¹ yield and 64.8% selectivity via the synergistic Cu–O–Ti interface for efficient C–N coupling.

Column chromatography afforded the thermodynamically stable isomers HL-E and HL-Z, which upon coordination with Dy(SCN)₃·6H₂O yielded a single-molecule toroic Dy₃ complex and a field-induced single-molecule magnet Dy₂ complex.

A molecular pseudo-halogen engineering is proposed in hybrid perovskites, achieving an increase in birefringence of more than 12 times and the growth of large-size single crystals without incorporating π-conjugated components.

Coordination cages of Fe(III) or Ga(III) encapsulate Au(I) drugs but release the drugs at mildly acidic pH. A cage encapsulated Au(I) drug is selectively cytotoxic towards cancer cell lines and uptake into these cells is modulated by the cage.

Two water-soluble polyoxotungstates (1-EuCr, 2-EuAl) are built from {Eu₆M₄WSe₄(GeW₁₀)₄} heterometallic clusters with X-shaped {Eu₆}cores. Both show resistive switching behavior and 1-EuCr displays higher switching ratio owing to Cr³⁺ redox activity.

Taurine ligands enable robust zwitterionic dual-site passivation, suppressing dynamic ligand desorption and producing uniform CsPbBr₃ QDs with enhanced photoluminescence and environmental stability.

Cr doping triggers TiO₂ phase transformation, regulating Ir sites to optimize the adsorption of intermediate, delivering superior acidic OER performance in PEM electrolysis (1.73 V@2 A cm^–2).

This rare-earth double perovskite ferroelastic material serves as a direct-type detector, exhibiting high-sensitivity X-ray detection performance at low bias voltages.

We synthesized a new family of pseudohalide rare-earth double perovskite ferroelastics, (DMSOX)₂LnCs(NO₃)₆, whose Curie temperature decreases with the contraction of the rare-earth ionic radius.

Dynamic covalent chemistry with metallocenes: An imine-based ruthenocene macrocycle undergoes dynamic transimination to a ruthenocenophane, and the system can be thermally switched between both forms.

The first four-metal 19-nuclear Ce^III–Sc^III–W^VI–Sb^III cluster-incorporated polyoxometalate was employed as an electrode modification material to fabricate an electrochemical biosensor for the sensitive detection of CYFRA21-1.

An electrochemically reconstructed CuO_x–BTA heterojunction achieves highly selective nitrate reduction to ammonia. By optimizing interfacial charge transfer and *H supply, this synergistic system delivers an outstanding 99.2% faradaic efficiency.

Vanadium (V)-based oxides are considered promising cathodes for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) due to their multiple oxidation states and diverse crystal structures.

A dual-functional electrolyte additive optimizes the Zn anode interface through coordination modulation and surface adsorption, constructing an organic–inorganic hybrid SEI for stable long-term cycling at high current densities.

A tetranuclear Tb³⁺ cluster coordination polymer, which shows dual turn-on/off for long and short-chain PFAS within the same sensing platform, has been reported. Fluorescence sensing was quantified using a ratiometric approach.

Rational design of a covalent organic framework for the facile incorporation of catalytically active Co(II) ions to form a Co-COF for the efficient functionalization of CO₂ to valuable N-formamides and 2-oxazolidinones is demonstrated.

A triphenylamine-based coordination capsule with NADH mimics, enables well-organized electron transfer for enhanced noble metal-free cofactor regeneration and biomimetic hydrogenation.

PVDF-based polymer electrolytes are widely studied owing to their excellent stability and processability. Morphology-controlled CeO₂ nanofillers can enhance Li⁺ transport and battery application of such electrolytes.

CeO₂ nano-nails can impose strong electronic effects on Pt nanoparticles to modulate the adsorption strength for CO and provide OH species that accelerate the removal of CO, thereby enhancing the anti-CO poisoning performance of the catalyst.

SmNspF and SgGriF (type-III copper enzymes) accept phenols, o-aminophenols, and o-phenylenediamines but differ in reaction rates due to residue variations near the active center that affect substrate binding, particularly for carboxylated substrates.

A hybrid pyridine-sulfur cyclen-based chelator achieves robust complexation of coinage radiometals with high in vitro stability, offering a promising platform for theranostic radiopharmaceuticals.

A chemical unit co-substitution strategy, replacing Zr⁴⁺–Zr⁴⁺ pairs with Al³⁺–Ta⁵⁺ units in Ba₃ZrTa₄O₁₅:Cr³⁺, yields a fourfold enhancement in near-infrared (NIR) luminescence intensity and broadens the emission bandwidth from 239 to 290 nm.

PW₁₁ with enhanced nucleophilicity and Lewis basicity exhibits superior adsorption capacity for polysulfides and facilitates lithium-ion transport. Grafting PW₁₁ onto the LLZTO surface yields excellent performance in quasi-solid-state Li–S batteries.

A donor–acceptor covalent organic framework with bex topology (Py-TAPT-COF) achieves 92.1% U(VI) photoreduction with high selectivity and excellent reusability (78.8% after four cycles).

Cu decorated Ni₃S₂ was designed for realizing a desirable yield of 2,5-furanedicarboxylic acid at high voltage. NiOOH and CuOOH active species contribute to 100% faradaic efficiency (FE) at 1.55V_RHE.

Targeted hydroxyl fluorination in Li₂CsB₇O₁₀(OH)₄ yields a DUV NLO crystal featuring a 7.33 eV gap, strong SHG (∼1.9 × KDP), and phase-matching at 198.5 nm, breaking the 200 nm barrier.

A strategy based on a high-entropy structure and carbon nanotube connectors is proposed to synthesize a high-entropy conductive manganese-based Prussian blue analogue cathode that realizes impressive ammonium ion storage performance.

The first square-planar {Fe–NO}⁷ complex was prepared and thoroughly characterized to feature an unusual orbitally almost doubly degenerate ground state, manifested by gz >>2 > g_x,y.

A molecular cage of ZIF-8-derived carbon confines five distinct metal atoms, forging a high-entropy single-atom catalyst that unlocks superior activity for oxygen electrocatalysis and zinc–air batteries.

Novel photoactivable Pt(IV) prodrugs have been developed by N-coordination of flavonol-derivatives at the axial position. Upon green-light irradiation, flavoplatins accumulate in the ER and activate the NLRP3/caspase-1/GSDMD pyroptotic pathway.

Using a one-step wet-chemical reduction method, a series of shape-controlled CeO₂-supported monometallic Rh nanocatalysts were prepared, among which Rh/CeO₂-MC demonstrated the highest catalytic activity for the dehydrogenation of N₂H₄·H₂O.

DFT studies identify the insertion modes of conjugated dienes in rare-earth-catalyzed C–H functionalization and the origins of selectivity, revealing that post-insertion reactivity—rather than insertion itself—governs product outcomes.