Themed collection In honour of Mercouri G. Kanatzidis for his contributions to Inorganic Chemistry for over 30 years

Professor Mercouri G. Kanatzidis celebrates the 30-year anniversary of his independent career as well as his 60th birthday this year; this themed collection marks these exciting occasions.

Layered Tl₂Cu₃FeSe₄ and Tl₂Cu₃FeTe₄ possess low thermal conductivity, of which the selenide offers promising thermoelectric features and the presence of Fe in the weakly connected Cu square-net substructure results in intriguing ferromagnetic and magnetoresistance features.

Partial sulfur to selenium substitution in Cu₃NbS_4−xSe_x enables fully tunable green band gaps with marginal change in the lattice parameter.

Two new biaxial, diamond-like semiconductors, Li₂CdGeSe₄ and Li₂CdSnSe₄, were prepared via high-temperature, solid-state synthesis.

CdS aerogel photocatalysts enable a high-interfacial surface area for analyte reactivity and visible light activation.

A new p-type semiconductor Ba₃Ag₃InTe₆ with transport properties dominated by the layer [Ag₃Te₄]⁵⁻ distributed in the valence band.

Ni(II) ions have been deposited on the Zr₆ nodes of a metal–organic framework (MOF), UiO-66, via an ALD-like process (ALD = atomic layer deposition).

The role of metal iodides on the thermoelectric properties of Bi₂Te₃ is investigated by conducting comparative studies of CuI, CsI and KI-doped Bi₂Te₃ analogs. The CuI dopant is superior to CsI and KI dopants in showing a larger power factor and lower lattice thermal conductivity.

A high surface area layered MOF with kgd-a topology, based on a nanosized and highly aromatic hexagonal linker, shows high H₂ and CO₂ uptake.

The morphologies of MA_0.8FA_0.2PbI_2.85Br_0.15 films prepared from solutions with different precursors are dissimilar and reveal distinct photovoltaic performances.

A new quaternary phosphide composed of a Cu–Mg–P framework hosting Ba and Mg cations is synthesized and characterized.

A recyclable Ca-MOF that exchanges Ca²⁺ by Cu²⁺ almost quantitatively and quickly was investigated via batch ion-exchange experiments and utilized as a stationary phase in an ion-exchange column for Cu²⁺ removal from aqueous media.

⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy reveals unexpected dynamics at the Fe sites in Fe-substituted MOF-5, especially in the presence of nitrogen.

A microporous Mg²⁺ MOF shows single-crystal-to-single-crystal exchange of Mg²⁺ by Cu²⁺ ions.

A change of van der Waals stacking occurs spontaneously at 90 K in a cluster magnet.

Cerium cobalt borocarbide grown from Ce/Co eutectic flux has a partially disordered structure containing cobalt squares capped with borocarbide chains.

A remarkable enhancement of the LIB electrode activity of graphene-based nanocomposites can be achieved via the incorporation of clay nanosheets.

Mesoporous assemblies of p-CuS/n-CdS nanocrystal junctions with high surface areas and uniform pores demonstrate a high performance and stability in photocatalytic hydrogen generation from water using visible light.

The structural stability of undoped and doped (Sb, Bi, Ca, Zn) Mg₂Si_0.4Sn_0.6 is investigated by high resolution synchrotron PXRD and related to measured physical properties, revealing a stabilizing effect of cation doping.

An effective strategy to enhance thermoelectric performance consists of scattering phonons by point defects, such as the ones intrinsic to the n-type isocubanite CuFe₂S₃.

The synthesis and properties of two families of mixed metal U(IV)/M(II) fluorides via a mild hydrothermal method.

Anionic layers in CsGaS₂ undergo a transition to infinite strands at high temperature and transfer back under pressure.

We synthesize EuSn₂As₂, the first exfoliatable layered magnetic Zintl–Klemm phase that features van der Waals bonding between neighboring layers.

Two new quaternary chalcogenides are presented, which are bestowed with extraordinarily low thermal conductivity.

Four new cesium selenido mercurates, synthesized aminothermally in 1,2-diaminoethane (en), show a diversity of complex crystal structures and a close relationship of the latter with their optical band gap.

Three structural variations of CePd_xGe_2−x with versatile properties were synthesized by varying the Pd : Ge ratio.

Two new pentanary sulfides Ba₃La₄Ga₂Sb₂S₁₅ (1) and BaLa₃GaSb₂S₁₀ (2) have been discovered.

Large scale ultrathin (∼3–4 nm thick and ∼1 μm long) few layered (4–5 layers) BiCuSeO nanosheets were synthesised by a facile soft chemical synthesis. BiCuSeO nanosheets exhibit lower lattice thermal conductivity and higher electrical conductivity than that of their bulk counterpart.

Cu₃Ru₆Sb₈ is the first known ternary compound of the respective elements and crystallizes in its own structure type.

Synergistic effect of Se-deficiency and CuI-doping significantly enhances the thermoelectric figure-of-merit of the n-type polycrystalline In₄Se₃-based materials via improving the power factor. With In₄Se_2.95(CuI)_0.01, ZT = 1.34 at 723 K, the highest value obtained for Pb-free polycrystalline In₄Se₃-based materials to date.

A new microporous Cu²⁺ MOF is reported containing a pyridyl-isophthalic acid Schiff base ligand which exhibits a significant BET area and high CO₂ sorptbion capacity.

The thermoelectric performance of tin chalcogenides has greatly increased in recent years due to the in-depth study of band structure engineering and nanostructuring/lattice anharmonicity strategies.

Through employing surfactants as additives to control the crystal growth, four new hybrid bromoplumbates including the first novel 3D open framework hybrid bromoplumbate (except perovskites) and a pair of 1D polymorphs were obtained.

Structural reinvestigations of Ce₃Pt₄Ge₆ revealed additional reflections justifying the orthorhombic (3 + 1)D superspace group Cmcm(α,0,0)0s0 with α = 0.5a*.