Themed collection 2022 Materials Chemistry Frontiers Review-type Articles

The pressing demand for a creative method to effectively model human drug responses in preclinical research has prompted the advancement of organ-on-a-chip (OoC) systems.

Advances in plant- and fungi-inspired nanoarchitectures of electrode materials are comprehensively assessed and compiled with respect to their application in supercapacitors.

Entrapment of boron(III) in π-conjugated systems causes a strong modification of the observed properties, e.g. optical properties can be realized via post-synthetic reaction with 6.6.6 and 7.6.6 defects precisely incorporated into π-extended motifs.

In halide perovskite resistive switching memories, the top electrode material influences resistive switching features such as bipolar and unipolar switching, multilayer, and write-once-read-many behaviour.

As an emerging semiconductor-based catalyst, g-C₃N₄ has attracted significant attention for visible light-driven photocatalytic energy conversion, synthesis of chemicals, and environmental remediation.

This review summarizes organic conjugated small-molecule photosensitizers with D–A, D–A–D and A–D–A structures in phototherapy applications, highlighting some effective molecular design strategies and proposing future perspectives and opportunities.

Constructing strategies of hierarchically porous MOFs with different pore size ranges and their applications in adsorption and catalysis.

This review summarizes the latest research progress on strategies for lead leakage control in perovskite solar cells to facilitate the future development of efficient, stable, and environmentally friendly perovskite photovoltaic devices.

The fabrication of g-C₃N₄ nanosheet-based sensing platforms for the detection or removal of heavy toxic metal ions from wastewater has a great interest due to their unique properties and these are carcinogenic and lead to serious health concerns.

In this review, we summarize the recent advance of nanozymes in the treatment of bacterial infection.

Cu²⁺ and CN⁻ detection by chromo-fluorogenic probes with insight of photophysical signaling mechanisms has been systematically discussed. Exquisite integration of chemical response with RGB mediated electronic sensing prototype have been summarized.

Supercapacitor technology encompasses a wide field of research that has already marked its foot in commercialization, just after some initial years of concept development.

Different synthetic approaches of various stimuli sensitive hydrogels/nanogels along with the physicochemical tuning of their properties have been discussed. The properties and the efficiency of the gels in biomedical applications have been summarized.

The factors affecting the capacity degradation of lithium-ion batteries with LiCoO₂ as the cathode material at high voltage are discussed, and then doping and surface coating strategies are proposed as corresponding solutions.

This review summarizes and provides perspectives on the recent efforts towards the greener synthesis and biomedical delivery applications of various nanoparticles with respect to sustainability.

The present state of organic–inorganic hybrids for the sensing of urine biomarkers is summarized. Strategies for future researchers to optimize design, synthesis, and experimental methods of hybrids to achieve suitable performance in urine biomarker detection are provided.

In this review, the 3D printing techniques on fabricating complex structures for electromagnetic wave absorbing and/or shielding, as well as the current challenges and future prospects, are emphatically summarized.

In this review, we have summarised the significant advances made in triazine-based COP synthetic strategies and their catalytic advancements. Synthetic methodologies are discussed in a simplistic way to create a better understanding for future modification of these methods.

Over the last decade remarkable advances have been made in creating spectroscopic tools to interrogate surface properties using electromagnetic radiation in the near field, achieving lateral resolutions in the nanometre range.

Advances in nanotechnology are impacting biomedicine with the potential to improve disease diagnosis, enhance targeted drug delivery, refine imaging of therapeutic responses, control cell and tissue responses, and guide surgical resection.

MXenes are a new category of layered nanomaterials that have brought about a new multidisciplinary research area recently.

This review summarizes and discusses the recent efforts devoted to the material design and reactor engineering for electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction to ammonia under ambient conditions.

This work discusses the structure-performance interplay on different catalysts for converting syngas to ethanol and summarizes the recent progress in Rh catalysts, which might help the development of more efficient catalysts in the future.

Graphdiyne is a newly discovered two-dimensional planar carbon allotrope with highly π-conjugated interactions. This review aims to introduce graphdiyne and describe its similarities and differences with graphene to better understand the graphdiyne.

The synthesis and structural design of I–III–VI quantum dots are summarized and WLED applications are highlighted. The routes to improve the performance of WLED devices and the challenges of design optimization and practical application are discussed.

Metal halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) continue to improve their power conversion efficiency to over 25.5%, which is at the same level as silicon solar cells.

This review provides an overview of the research on cation-intercalation and conversion-type cathodes for rechargeable Al batteries. The mechanisms behind the experimental observations are discussed to highlight the complexity of Al electrochemistry.