Themed collection Articles behind the 2025 journal covers

Crystal habit modification of salt crystals has been a fascinating area of research for decades.

State-of-the-art studies of arsenic(III) oxide inclusion compounds with hydrogen and helium, as well as intercalation compounds with alkali metal and ammonium (pseudo)halides, are highlighted with a particular emphasis on secondary interactions.

Factors influencing Keggin polyoxometalate species interaction with small peptide molecules have been summarized providing models for investigation of mineral nanoparticle–protein interactions.

This highlight explores the key role of thiophene-based compounds in organic electronics, sensors, medicinal chemistry, solid-state reactions, crystal engineering, and supramolecular helices, using X-ray, DFT, and microscopy techniques.

Phenyl-substituted pyrazinacene and naphthalene form yellow and red co-crystal polymorphs via π-hole⋯π interactions. The red form, with a herringbone motif, shows tenfold enhanced emission via exciplex, while the yellow form has a columnar motif.

Self-assembly reactions of ditopic O₃S₂-macrocycle (L) with a lead(II) salt afforded an unsymmetrically sandwiched complex, including an edge-to-face mode as the first non-soft metal species in this category.

A fascinating supramolecular-organic framework (SOF) self-assembles from a chiral naturally occurring lanostane compound extracted from the Thai plant Miliusa sessilis.

Doping a glass matrix with copper ions using an ion exchange process, followed by γ irradiation (doses of 1–1000 kGy), and annealing (50–600 °C) for different time durations resulted in the growth of CuNPs and ecofriendly Cu₂O nanoparticles.

The incorporation of the [Co(NH₃)₆]³⁺ cation as an exceptional multiple hydrogen bond donor in reactions with organic sulfonic acid derivatives resulted in the formation of 1D, 2D, and 3D hydrogen-bonding networks in multi-component compounds.

The calculation of phonon scattering coefficients is used to study the influence of different structures on glass-like thermal conductivity.

The structure and properties of the new metal-free perovskites A(NH₄)X₃ (X = Br⁻, I⁻, and BF₄⁻) were investigated using 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane (pta).

The coordination agent H₂L = 2,6-diacetylpyridine bis(picolinoylhydrazone) was used for the synthesis of two mononuclear iron(III) complexes [Fe(H₂L)(H₂O)₂]X₃·2.5H₂O, where X = NO₃⁻ (1) and ClO₄⁻ (2).

Identification of the polymorphism of a medicine is critical for its pharmaceutical properties.

Intermolecular interactions in crystalline substituted thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidines were examined, highlighting sulfur-based non-covalent contacts through electrostatic potentials, QTAIM, and 3D deformation density maps.

By optimizing the thermal field position, crucible microstructure, and thermal flow field coupling, a 4-inch aluminum nitride single crystal with excellent growth uniformity was successfully fabricated.

Herein, we report on the influence of size- and shape-dependent molecular affinity on the supramolecular self-assembly in the solid state of prism[n]arene-alkyl dibromide (n = 5, 6) systems.

Twisted cholesterol spherulites are stained by coumarin to explore their microstructures.

We demonstrate the application of the ‘instantaneous pK’ approach to the molecular dynamics simulation of crystallite models exposed to an acidic solvent environment.

A solid-state study of the weak non-covalent interactions in p-C₆F₄Cl₂ and C₆F₅Cl reveals complex phase behaviour in the latter. The disordered form II of C₆F₅Cl is isomorphous to the crystal structure of p-C₆F₄Cl₂.

This study systematically investigates the effects of substrate surface structures on the physical properties of perovskite (PV)/brownmillerite (BM) superlattices.

This research explores the transformation of biogenic CaCO₃ microparticles (Ø < 45 μm) from oyster shell waste into luminescent Eu- or Tb-doped calcium phosphate (apatites), using a sustainable “one-step” and eco-friendly method.

Two 2D MOFs were isolated using cis-5-norbornene-endo-2,3-dicarboxylic acid emit near white-light (Pb-MOF) and blue-light (Zn-MOF) due to the structural variation and local metal-centered and ligand-to-metal charge transfer.

Crystallization of 2-ethylanilinium chloride produces chiral and polar fibrous crystals composed of a helical ammonium halide framework.

Ligand transformations are observed in the coordination polymers constructed from bis-pyridyl-bis-amides (L¹–L⁵) and 1,4,5,8-naphthalenetetracarboxylic acid.

A thermal activation-based theoretical model incorporating the stacking fault energy and surface energy as pivotal parameters can effectively predict the yield stress of the RHEAs in the IHP stage and can be extended to other BCC metals.

The attractive nature of type II C–F⋯F–C interaction has been established using experimental and theoretical modelling of electron densities using multipole modelling of high-resolution X-ray diffraction data and theoretical structure factors.