Themed collection Review Collection of Emergent Inorganic Materials for Energy, Catalysis and Bio-applications

Carbon-dots with unique physical and chemical properties have versatile applications in environmental and energy fields.

The electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is a well-studied reaction which involves the reduction of protons for hydrogen production. Pd-based compounds are expected to have activity on par with or better than the expensive state-of-the-art Pt and can be considered as the future materials for the HER.

With the ever increasing demand for clean, sustainable energy, electrochemical supercapacitors with the advantages of high power density, high efficiency and long life expectancy have become one of the major devices for energy storage and power supply, and have found wide application in hybrid power sources, backup power sources, starting power for fuel cells and burst-power generation in electronic devices.

This review aims to integrate the state-of-the-art of MOF nanoparticles and their use in MRI. It gives an overview of the work done so far, focusing especially on the clinical applicability. Furthermore, it summarises the different factors for MR signal formation mechanisms important for the development of MR active nanoparticles and provides suggestions for a better comparison between different studies.

Recent advances in the anion regulation on multi-anion transition metal compounds as electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction are reviewed.

Efficient hydrogen generation and storage is an essential prerequisite of a future hydrogen economy.

This work illustrates the obstacles that must be overcome and the benefits offered by aqueous rechargeable Na⁺ electrochemical energy storage.

In this review we approach the emerging field of sensors based on luminescent metal–organic frameworks from the perspective of the most commonly encountered pitfalls and we suggest best practices so that they can be avoided.

Photothermal sensors have emerged as a new type of sensor platform in recent decades and this brief review has summarized different types of photothermally responsive materials and their applications in various fields.

Recent progress in crystalline metal chalcogenides as efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysts for aqueous organic pollutant degradation is reviewed.

This review summarizes the inherent functionality of bulk, surface and interface defects, and their contributions towards mediating electron–hole separation in semiconductor photocatalysis.

Homochiral metal–organic frameworks (HMOFs) are attractive materials for asymmetric catalysis because they possess high surface area and uniform active sites.

This review highlights the chemical diversity and transport properties of AM₂X₂ Zintl compounds and strategies to achieve a high thermoelectric figure of merit.

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have been recently used as potential nanocarrier platforms in biomedical applications such as drug storage and delivery, due to their low toxicity, biodegradability, high internal surface area, widely tunable composition, high payloads and controlled drug release.

This review provides an overview on the different types of electronic MOF sensors used for the detection of molecules in the gas/vapour phase and how to assess their performances.

Single-crystal to single-crystal (SCSC) transformations not only can create new materials, but also provide an opportunity to explore the process of forming a chemical bond. SCSC transformations discussed in this paper are confined to transformations via an absolutely liquid-free mode and involve the breakage and formation of new chemical bonds.

Time line of representative inorganic bulk thermoelectric materials from 1960s to the present.