Themed collection Dalton Transactions HOT Articles

Low-spin d⁶ cobalt(III) complexes with oligo(saloph) ligands exhibit dynamic structural and functional switching via reversible axial ligand exchange, enabling redox control, chirality inversion, and tunable host–guest binding behavior.

An attempt is made to identify reactions other than simple coordination that may be involved in sub-critical solvothermal synthesis of metal ion complexes and to explain why such reactions warrant more detailed study.

This perspective article highlights the historical developments and recent progress in engineering two-dimensional nanomaterials using atomically precise noble metal nanoclusters, their properties and applications.

This review provides recent advances on Prussian blue analogues for cathodes in sodium ion batteries. The synthesis methods, compositional engineering, structural designs, post-treatment remediation techniques and scalable synthesis are discussed.

Complexes with heterometallic alkaline earth-metal bonds display unique electronic structures and reactivity patterns. This frontier article outlines recent advances in the field and proposes pathways to future breakthroughs.

This review summarizes recent progress in using metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) for the selective separation of methanol-to-olefin (MTO) products, with a focus on challenging mixtures such as C₃H₆/C₂H₄, C₃H₆/C₂H₆/C₂H₄, and C₃H₆/C₃H₈/C₂H₄.

Titanocene(IV)-NSAID complexes Cp₂Ti(mefenamate)₂ (4) and Cp₂Ti(flufenamate)₂ (5) show enhanced redox stability and potent cytotoxicity against breast cancer stem cells (CSCs), with 5 rivaling salinomycin and cisplatin.

Straightforward access to triarylphosphine oxides bearing up to six nitro groups is demonstrated. The compounds are thermally stable up to ca. 250 °C and indefinitely storable at room temperature, making them potential energetic materials.

Direct covalent immobilization of the Hoveyda–Grubbs catalyst into hollow mesoporous polystyrene nanospheres is developed via Friedel–Crafts alkylation to achieve efficient olefin metathesis for the low-cost synthesis of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes.

This study shows that gas-phase hydrogen bond energies of aqua/ammine metal complexes mainly depend on complex charge and oxidation state to coordination number (OS/CN) ratio, while being largely independent of geometry, metal type or other ligands.

In CD₃CN, the discrete dinuclear ytterbium complex, [Ln₂(μ₂-OH)₂(γ-SiW₁₀O₃₆)₂]¹²⁻, exhibited visible upconversion luminescence via a cooperative luminescence mechanism.

The relationship among proton conductivity, activation energy, and the number of adsorbed water molecules within a MOF, Zr-BPT, was clarified.

Triaza-18-crown-6-based macrocycle, H₃tripa, rapidly forms stable complexes with ²⁰³Pb and ²¹³Bi; structural, thermodynamic, and computational data support H₃tripa as a dual-purpose chelator for Pb/Bi-based radiotheranostics.

Homoleptic isonitrile compounds of Fe, Co and Ni are accessible by a direct route employing metal atoms and isonitrile ligands. Our approach is of general utility for synthesizing homoleptic metal complexes under extremely mild chimie douce conditions.

Selective targeting of mitochondrial carbonic anhydrases using subcellular directing and photoresponsive protecting groups to mask zinc active site coordinating ligand.

Ferric porphyrins catalyse the aerobic oxidative cleavage of 2,3-dimethylindole, mimicking dioxygenase enzymes. The indole itself first reduces Fe^III(porphyrin) to Fe^II(porphyrin) via a proton-coupled electron transfer mechanism.

The synthesis of C-functional phosphaalkenes using the phospha-Peterson reaction affords O-substituted phospha-enolate salts, M[MesPC(O)Ph], and S-substituted phosphaalkenes, [ArPCS(CH₂)₅]. Each product was structurally characterized.

We report novel IPaul-derived NHC ligands with benzoxazole/benzothiazole wingtips. Their steric and electronic properties, coordination chemistry, and Ag, Pd and Rh-catalyzed transformations are presented.

We report a novel {Co^III₄Co^II₂Dy^III₂} core that shows SMM behaviour at zero external field of Co(II) origin with Dy(III) as spectator ion.

The present study demonstrates the high versatility of the P,C,P-pincer ligand in the coordination chemistry of tin(IV) compounds, offering a promising outlook in respect to its future application with other p-block elements.

Two flexible bis-1H-benzimidazole ligand-functionalized reduced phosphomolybdate-based complexes were prepared. They exhibit different 3D supramolecular metal–organic frameworks and show excellent photocatalytic performance in Cr(VI) reduction.

Amorphous CoFe-(oxy)hydroxide nanoparticles incorporating cerium demonstrated outstanding OER performance. While Ce incorporation did not boost intrinsic activity, it improved charge transfer and active surface area.

Based on AlCuFe quasicrystals, this paper proposes a four-band narrowband perfect absorber with high refractive index sensitivity in the terahertz band. This absorber has good tunability, stability and high refractive index sensitivity.

Reduction of R₃PCh reagents (Ch = O, S, Se, Te) results in encapsulation of the Ch²⁻ anions in a metal crown. Depending on anion size, extension of the metal crown can be observed.

The halides 1–3 reported in this study exhibit yellow to orange luminescence. These materials demonstrate excellent stability in organic solvents. Employing halide 1 as an organic phosphorescent material offers novel strategies for LED fabrication.

Pt-decorated N-doped Mn₂O₃–NiO catalysts show excellent bifunctional ORR/OER activity in alkaline media, achieving high current densities, low overpotentials, and competitive ΔE values—offering promise for metal–air batteries and fuel cells.

Ethylene-bridged octaphenylmetallocenes of the alkaline earth metals (Mg to Ba) have been synthesised, revealing important effects on structure and stability compared to their non-tethered analogs.

Two Cu(II) complexes [Cu1] and [Cu2] catalyze water oxidation at pH 12 via WNA. TOF_max values are 10 × 10³ s⁻¹ and 15 × 10³ s⁻¹, with [Cu2] superior. DFT and Tafel plots support this, while hydroxide at high pH promotes O–O bond formation.

A direct synthesis of alkali metal and Cu(I) salts of the [trans-B₂₀H₁₈]²⁻ anion has been developed by reactions of M₂[B₁₀H₁₀] (M = Li, Na, K) with an oxidizer, such as H₃P(Mo₃O₁₀)₄·xH₂O or Cu(OTf)₂ under mild conditions.

Two new isomorphic thiostannates feature a two-dimensional wavy anionic layer of [Sn₂S₅]_n²ⁿ⁻ containing big windows of ten-membered rings with charge-balancing alkali metal ions, which demonstrate rapid and selective Sr²⁺ ion exchange performance.

Single-atom In alloyed Pd is an efficient catalyst for urea electrosynthesis from NO and CO₂, attributed to the synergy of In₁ and Pd to enable the co-activation of CO₂/NO and their C–N coupling while hampering the competing reactions.

A coumarin-substituted phosphinoamine ligand was employed to synthesize Cu(I) and Au(II) complexes. The fluorophore in the ligand resulted in emissive complexes, which enabled cell imaging and were further evaluated in vitro for cytotoxicity.

(Co, F) co-doping stabilizes P2-type NLM cathodes, boosting conductivity and Na⁺ transport for high-performance sodium-ion batteries.

A mitochondria-targeted iridium complex can modulate the homeostasis and distribution of endogenous zinc contents in both cancer cells and macrophages, thus activating antitumour immunity effectively.

We synthesized LuMnGaO₄, an AB₂O₄-type compound, and performed structural analysis and characterization focusing on its reversible oxygen uptake and oxidation-driven color change.

The Co₃O₄/NiFe₂O₄ heterostructure nanoflower electrocatalyst with enhanced metal synergistic effect exhibits excellent catalytic activity and stability in OER.

Hydroxyl-containing organic cations form hydrogen-bonding assemblies at the low-temperature aging stage and direct the formation of the high-silica and all-silica zeolite NUD-19.

The key technology underlying intelligent energy conversion and display systems hinges on high-performance electrochromic materials.

Significantly improved electrochemical performance of MOF-based solid-state electrolytes over a wide temperature range by Li⁺ exchange strategy with Me₂NH₂⁺ cations from anionic MOFs.

Exchange reactions between Au₃(pyrazolate)₃ trimers and ‘free’ pyrazole ligands are slow, and they can display pronounced autocatalytic behavior.

A bioinspired tungsten(IV) complex reduces molecular oxygen one electron at a time: spin density of the superoxide intermediate [WO(η¹-O₂)(PyS)₂(PMe₃)] is the stepping stone in the reduction of dioxygen.

Post-synthetic modification (PSM) represents a promising approach for enhancing the properties of coordination polymers (CPs) and MOFs by introducing new functional groups and tailored surface chemistry.

The novel tpy-containing POPs and their metal–organic composites were facilely obtained via molecular engineering and displayed universal catalytic behavior.

Nanoparticle incorporation into supramolecular assemblies is essential for designing hybrid nanostructures with tailored optical and structural properties.

Mn(III) complexes with tunable intermolecular interactions were synthesized via a counterion strategy, showing tunable SCO properties.

This work reports the first catalytic electrophilic transfer zincation in which the use of the right alkyl group is essential. This enables a zinc-catalysed glovebox-free borylation with (H–BBN)₂.

In this work, a wide range of compounds with the structural fragment {Ln₆F₈} has been obtained for the first time.

This study introduces purine-based coordination polymers (ECP-1 and ECP-2), which exhibit acceptable detonation properties, high thermal stability, and a mechanically insensitive nature.

Dual Na⁺/K⁺ charge compensation enables high-performance aqueous zinc-ion batteries.

Li/NH₂/MIL-101(Cr) and Li/NH₂/MIL-100(Fe) are characterized by large specific surface areas and size tunability, making them ideal for Li⁺ extraction from lithium-containing solvents.

The low-energy structures of divanadadicarbaboranes Cp₂V₂C₂B_n−4H_n−2 have triplet or quintet spin states in contrast to the singlet low-energy structures of dichromadicarbaboranes Cp₂Cr₂C₂B_n−4H_n−2.

2-Hydroxyquinoline forms a highly emissive ternary complex with rePON1 : Tb³⁺.

The photochromic spiropyran forms {Cu^II(hfac)₂·MNSP} (1). Field-induced magnetic relaxation and magnetic hysteresis loops observed at 0.5 K classify 1 as a SIM. Switching of the ligand between open and closed forms is possible within the complex.

The carbon layer on HNTs endowed them with more negative surface charges, large specific surface area, and more π–π interactions.

Antimicrobial peptides are part of the host's innate immune response and have high therapeutic potential, especially in the complexes with Zn(II) ions.

Ru-doped NiO nanoparticles prepared by two-step thermal treatment exhibit outstanding OER electrocatalytic activity. This results from Ru doping, which modifies NiO's electronic structure, increasing Ni³⁺ sites and oxygen vacancies.

A stable low Ge UWY-like HPM-9 zeolite and an EMM-17 zeolite were synthesized with an imidazolium dication. Intergrowths in HPM-9 and the existence of polymorph C of EMM-17 were proven by X-ray diffraction and ¹⁹F NMR, respectively.

Metallic CeFeSb₃ exhibits complex antiferromagnetic ordering of the Ce 4f moments on a square lattice. The non-magnetic nature of covalently bonded Fe₂ dimers was confirmed by quantum chemical analysis in combination with Mößbauer spectroscopy.

The synthesis of a sterically crowded dissymmetrical aniline is described. Its shielding properties are demonstrated through the syntheses of monomeric chloro(imino)phosphine and dichloroborane, and the first evidence of a terminal NHBH₂ group.

CoNi/MXene@Wood composites with honeycomb structure were prepared by modifying natural wood, which offers a promising strategy for developing high performance electromagnetic wave-absorbing  and infrared stealth applications.

This work reports bulky amido-phosphine ligands and their metal complexes. A Pd^II dimer forms active nanoparticles in situ, enabling efficient Heck coupling of aryl chlordies with high yields, low loading and broad substrate scope.

Planarity of a xanthene-based macrocyclic imine ligand was improved by two-step metalation with Ni²⁺ and Na⁺.

Peak properties with d₃₃ = 725 pC N⁻¹, k_p = 0.63, T_c = 176 °C were obtained in PNN-based piezoceramics.

Two cyano-bridged {Fe₂Co} assemblies were constructed and magnetically characterized. 1 displays field-induced magnetic phase transition from spin-canting AFM to collinear AFM and then to a full FM alignment. 2 shows the AFM to FM transition.

The first β-η¹-Pd(II) tetrapyrrole complex has been obtained, which shows catalytic properties in cross-coupling reactions.

Two Ni-TABQ cMOFs with distinct morphologies were synthesized by using a simple ligand. The Ni-TABQ-1 has optimal impedance matching due to higher conductivity and regular morphology, enhancing polarization loss and improving EMW absorption ability.

A tetrahedral cage Eu₄L⁴₄ with multiple recognition sites was designed for highly sensitive and real time detection of biogenic amines in solution.

This study reports the light-triggered antibacterial efficacy of Fe(III) complexes, which presented efficient light-triggered ¹O₂ generation and membrane lysis in S. aureus and E. coli.

The synthesis, antineoplasic profile, and structural aspects of six In(III) sulfonyldithiocarbimate complexes (Ph₄P[(RSO₂NCS₂)₂In], 2a–f) are described.

The oxygen partial pressure critically governs the sequential phase transformation from Ta₂O₅ to Ta₃N₅via β-TaON. An oxygen flow rate of 0.25 L h⁻¹ defines the narrow synthesis region necessary for obtaining phase-pure β-TaON.