Themed collection 2025 Highlight article collection

This review explores the synthesis, properties, and applications of Nb-based MXenes in energy storage, electrocatalysis, hydrogen evolution, EMI shielding, sensing, and biomedicine.

Invisible luminescence materials have attracted considerable attention due to their versatile applications in sterilization, photocatalysis, plant growth, night vision, and laser technology.

This highlight summarises recent research work done in the field of anion recognition chemistry, with a focus on designing artificial receptors for encapsulating anion–water clusters.

Thiazolothiazole-based MOFs offer a versatile platform for multifunctionality. This highlight reviews ligand design, synthesis methods, applications, challenges, and future trends.

This highlight article presents a mosaic assembling the achievements of computational modeling of the impact of dynamic disorder in molecular crystals on the performance of organic barocaloric, pharmaceutical or semiconductor materials.

Ionic liquids construct zeolites with their unique properties, serving as solvents, structure-directing agents, porogens, and post-synthetic modifiers. This approach is reshaping zeolite synthesis and enabling the creation of new frameworks.

Phase selection, and thus porosity, in aluminiumsilicate zeolites is driven by competition between water and framework elements to coordinate with extra-framework cations.

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

The process of producing a nanosized cocrystal employing two or more components that possess hydrogen bonds, pi–pi stacking, and van der Waals interactions is known as nanococrystallization.

This work presents a data-driven framework that integrates HT computations and ML to accelerate materials discovery, enabling efficient feature extraction, structure–property analysis, and performance prediction for various applications.

Biominerals form via organic–inorganic interactions, but their molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Solution NMR with dispersive mineral particles enables conformational analysis, providing insights for biomimetic mineral synthesis.

Advancement on the molecular beam epitaxy of AlGaN nanowires is discussed with a focus on the effect of system layout, through which it aims to spark new thinking on how the system layout – a less discussed topic – affects the material properties.

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.

Highlighting MOF-based materials for efficient electrocatalytic urea synthesis.

In this review, recent research advancements in the field are highlighted, addressing technological challenges and exploring promising research prospects for the future development of MSs.

Silver-based chalcogenides have intrinsic plasticity and excellent thermoelectric properties and are potential materials for flexible thermoelectrics. In this work, the properties, optimization, and application of these materials are reviewed.

Crystal structures of extended aromatic hydrocarbons are systematically classified starting from the orientation of the non-parallel interaction.

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.

This highlight aims to showcase the recent progress of benzothiadiazole-based luminescent metal–organic frameworks for the detection of ions, amino acids, volatile organic compounds and drug molecules.

Crystal structures that form with more than one molecule in the asymmetric unit (Z′ > 1) are a fascinating and important, if overlooked, aspect of crystal engineering.

This highlight provides an overview of recent advances in molecular mechanisms of gas hydrate growth, and presents the challenges and opportunities currently encountered.

This review aims to elucidate the mechanisms governing the flexibility of crystals that respond to both light and mechanical stimuli.