Themed collection Materials Chemistry Frontiers HOT articles for 2017

Highly sensitive organic photodetectors were achieved by the work function reduction of transparent electrodes with AIE molecules.

A real-time, on-site, nondestructive, fluorescence imaging technique has been reported to monitor the crystal formation and transformation processes of organic luminogens.

Small molecules are used as “igniters” for the selective sorting of metallic/semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes by a gas phasing etching process.

A novel supramolecular tweezering system has been developed for “on-demand” photocatalysis.

Unconventional C₃-symmetric triphenylenes bearing three amide groups at the 1-, 5-, and 9-positions were synthesized. Their self-assembly behavior was investigated in detail through adjustment of the length of the alkyl chains.

Side-chain engineering of three new conjugated D–A terpolymers by varying the number of branching and linear alkyl chains is presented for OFET studies.

Novel RGO–NCT composites have been synthesized and utilized for the degradation of MB and TBZ, as efficient bifunctional adsorptive photocatalysts.

A photoactivatable self-hidden information storage material was designed and facilely synthesized, which makes the recorded information safe and covert.

An aluminium-based anion allows preparation of ultra-bright fluorescent polymer nanoparticles with nearly quantitative cationic dye encapsulation, minimized self-quenching and no dye leakage in live cells.

We introduce tailor-made polymeric 3D primers, which produce a striking enhancement in MOF film growth compared to traditional primers.

Several mesoporous iron(III)-based mixed linker MOFs were synthesized; all exhibiting MIL-143 topology. This structure type is tolerant to variation in the functional groups (e.g. nitro and/or amino) along the linkers.

Self-oriented TiO₂ nanosheets in nanoporous films were obtained by surface functionalization with amino acid derivatives adsorbed on nanosheets.

The unexpected Co/Fe–Co planar hybrid nanosheets catalyst with serried surface defects including biphasic junction sites or defective holes were prepared.

One-pot insertion-coupling-addition synthesis gives piperazinyl indolones showing aggregation induced emission and crystallization-induced emission enhancement.

A highly efficient non-noble metal catalytic system for selective transfer hydrogenation of an α,β-unsaturated aldehyde without use of alkaline additives was developed.

Pt-embedded-CeO₂ hollow spheres are successfully synthesized and show enhanced catalytic performance toward CO oxidation reaction.

Dimethylamino β-diketones with electron donating and withdrawing substituents displayed solvatochromism and aggregation induced emission. In the solid state, a blue to orange color range and thermal and mechanoresponsive properties were achieved.

The introduction of amino-substituents to an antiaromatic Ni^II norcorrole complex was accomplished regioselectively upon simple treatment with various amines without any catalysts. The optical and electrochemical properties of the amino norcorroles were substantially modulated by electron-donating amino groups.

A novel supramolecular system based on conjugated polymers is developed to realize specific targeting and imaging of organelles in living cells.

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/manganese oxide hybrid films with high surface Mn^(III) concentration and strong electronic coupling are effective electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction.

A flexible binder-free film composed of Bi₂O₃ nanoparticles embedded in carbon nanofibers as a sodium ion battery anode shows superior electrochemical properties due to its high active area and conducting framework.

Magnetoresistance effects in ambipolar transistors based on a single amorphous organic thin-film.

The control of luminescence properties between fluorescence aggregation-caused quenching and aggregation-induced emission with or without a chemical bond at a single site in boron complexes was accomplished.

The size and shape of ternary silver chlorobromide nanocrystals influence their optical absorption and photocatalytic activity.

Fabrication of efficient perovskite solar cells (with a high fill factor) using layer-by-layer alternating (LBLA) vacuum deposition with highly crystalline and uniform perovskite films.

Two 2D porous metal–organic frameworks for selective carbon dioxide separation have been reported.

Carbon intercalated porous NaTi₂(PO₄)₃ spheres have been synthesized by a facile route. When evaluated as anodes for SIBs, these spheres delivered superior sodium storage performance in terms of high reversible capacity, stable cycling and good rate performances.

Intramolecular rotation around the vinyl moiety plays an important role in the whole AIE process of DSA derivatives.

Halogenated conjugated molecules containing F, Cl, Br and I with high crystallinity were developed to show high electron mobilities of 1.3 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ in field-effect transistors and power conversion efficiencies above 9% in non-fullerene solar cells.

The distinct stacking behaviour of two related 2D covalent organic frameworks is traced back to geometric and electronic features of their building blocks. Self-complementarity and donor–acceptor-type interactions are identified as design principles to access highly crystalline COFs.

A novel carbon material graphdiyne and thermally deposited Al–Al₂O₃ core–shell NPs were employed to realize flexible multilevel RRAM.

A visible light mediated reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) dispersion polymerization of benzyl methacrylate (BzMA) is conducted in ethanol using poly(2-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) as a macro-chain transfer agent (macro-CTA), affording polymeric nanomaterials with various morphologies.

A series of terpolymers (Random, Regular and Block) based on dithienylphenylene, difluorobenzothiadiazole and dicyanobenzothiadiazole moieties were synthesized, and their optical, electrochemical, morphological, electrical and photovoltaic properties were studied.

A high open-circuit voltage of 0.98 V in ternary organic solar cells is achieved by using ICBA as an acceptor and two absorption-complementary donors.

Tetraphenylfuran, structurally similar to AIE-active siloles, exhibits the traditional aggregation-caused quenching, which is co-caused by the restriction of intramolecular rotation and the conjugation effect.

The enzyme-like activity of bismuth oxyiodide nanonetworks are tunable by in situ deposition with metal or metal oxide nanoparticles and the doped nanonetworks can selective detect Hg²⁺ and Pb²⁺ ions.

A urethane-based dual-responsive shape memory polymer (SMP) comprising poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) was prepared.

Two new thienobenzene-fused perylene bisimide dimers were designed and synthesized as non-fullerene acceptors with good device performances.

In this work, the structures and topological defects of striped patterns self-assembled from rod–coil diblock copolymers confined on spherical substrates were examined using dissipative particle dynamics simulations.

A supramolecular hydrogel with identical cross-linking point density but distinctive rheological properties is developed by adjusting the DNA cross-linking stability.

A metal-free ternary homo-heterojunction is developed for the first time and demonstrated for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production.

A hydrophilic PHEMA block reduces the adsorption of serum proteins, maintaining the chiral-selective cellular uptake of PAV-b-PHEMA–AuNPs.

With the addition of small molecules to emulsion droplets containing block copolymers, anisotropic convex lens-like particles with hexagonally stacked cylindrical domains can be readily achieved by using a single surfactant to create a neutral interface for both blocks.

Three novel conjugated polymers based on 2,3,8,9-tetrakis(3-(alkoxy)phenyl)-6,12-di(thiophen-2-yl)-2,3,8,9-tetrahydroquinoxalino[6,5-f]quinoxaline (DTNQx) were designed and synthesized, and were applied in photovoltaic cells.

A monolithic hierarchical Au sponge is prepared by the polymer-assisted metal deposition method, showing excellent catalysis in intermittent and continuous-flow fashions.

High-quality-factor whispering gallery mode lasers in CH₃NH₃PbBr₃ perovskite microrod lasers.

A nanogrid that consists of four fluorenes and two carbazoles has been synthesized by molecular installing technology from an L-shaped synthon.

Thermosensitive poly(VCL-4VP-NVP) ionic microgels showed good biocompatibility, excellent hemocompatibility and were suitable for the loading and sustained release of diclofenac sodium.

Functional nanoparticles were successfully prepared from carbon dots (CDs) and doxorubicin (Dox) via supramolecular interactions.

Substrates and extrinsic metals on top dictate the reaction intermediates and pathways of on-surface Ullmann couplings.

Key parameters that govern the self-healing character of alginate–gelatin biohydrogels based on dynamic covalent chemistry have been elucidated.

A new multi-functional fluorescent polymer dot was readily synthesized and used for live cell imaging and broad-spectrum bacterial killing.