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The eastern part of Hainan, China, has a flat terrain and a suitable climate with abundant sunshine and rain. This unique environment makes the tropical microbial resources of natural fermented food unique and rich. Therefore, we combined Shotgun metagenomic sequencing, 16S rRNA sequencing and pure culture technology to analyze the microbial diversity, microbiota composition, species differences and correlation of 30 traditional fermented food samples collected from Wenchang, Qionghai, Wanning and Lingshui in the eastern part of Hainan province, and isolated, identified and preserved the microorganisms in them. The results showed that the microbial community structure differs significantly between samples from different regions and between different substrates. The alpha diversity of microorganisms in traditional fermented foods in the Wanning area was higher than those of the other three areas. The beta diversity indicated that the microbiota structural difference between Wanning and Qionghai was smaller. This is consistent with the fact that the precipitation in the Wanning area is the highest and similar to that of Qionghai. The alpha diversity of microorganisms was the highest in fermented vegetables, followed by fermented grains, and the lowest in fermented seafood. Beta diversity showed that the microbiota composition of fermented grains and fermented vegetables is very similar, but that of fermented seafood is significantly different. The results of microbiota structural analysis showed that firmicutes and proteobacteria are the dominant bacterial phyla, and

SAPO-14 zeolite with high Si content and SAPO-34/SAPO-14 composite zeolites have been prepared to improve the one-pass propylene selectivity in the MTO process.

An ecologically beneficial concept is offered to repurpose SAPO-34 coke from the methanol-to-olefin reaction into CDs@zeolite composites with multiple luminosities by a simple calcination.

A structurally unprecedented prenylated indole alkaloid, together with five known analogues, was isolated from an endophytic fungus associated with the endangered conifer Abies beshanzuensis.

Realizing precise temperature regulation under low constant near-infrared (NIR) laser density is of great significance for the clinical application of photothermal therapy. However, the photo-modulated photothermal conversion materials are still...

Zeolites as important crystalline microporous materials have been widely used as catalysts, sorbents and ion-exchangers. In such materials, the guest ions in the pores can not only balance the charge of the framework but also make a difference to the pore environment and the resulting performance. In this work, we focus on the proton conduction properties of zeolites, and have comprehensively studied for the first time the effect of guest ions on proton conduction. To this end, aluminosilicate NaA zeolite (LTA) and ion-exchanged NaA zeolites by different guest ions (i.e. Li+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+ and Sr2+) have been successfully synthesized. The study indicates that the guest ions could affect the proton conduction properties through the synergistic effect between the pore features (e.g. pore size, pore polarity, etc.) and guest ions, the ionic concentrations, and the interference between different ions. Among various guest ions, the existence of Na+ ions can greatly promote the proton conduction properties. The proton conductivity of NaA can reach 1.98 × 10−3 S cm−1 (100% RH) at room temperature and 9.12 × 10−3 S cm−1 (80 °C) under the condition of 100% RH. In addition, guest monovalent ions (Li+, Na+ and K+) exhibit better proton conductivity than divalent ions (Mg2+, Ca2+ and Sr2+). The distinct effect of these guest ions enables zeolites with tunable proton conductivity, which will provide more opportunities to design zeolitic proton conducting materials.

Novel and highly efficient peroxidase mimics CDs@Cu-ZIF-8 are designed and prepared by a feasible solvent-free method. The introduction of copper ions enables non-active ZIF-8 nanocrystals to have good peroxidase-like activities, which can catalyse the reduction of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Furthermore, luminescent CDs are embedded into Cu-ZIF-8 nanocrystals to avoid aggregation, and particularly to construct a host–guest system with higher enzymatic catalytic activity. The synergy of CDs and the Cu-ZIF-8 matrix enhances the host–guest electron transfer, and meanwhile, accelerates the catalytic electron transfer process. Thus, CD@Cu-ZIF-8 displays superior peroxidase-like activity and glutathione (GSH) detection to pure CDs, Cu-ZIF-8 and CD@ZIF-8, and the limit of detection (LOD) reaches 0.15 μM. Considering the variety of CDs and MOFs with different metal centers and frameworks, the design strategy presented in this work will provide more opportunities to prepare CD@MOF nanozymes for being applied in the fields of biological analysis and actual biological environments.

Four unprecedented cycloheptanone-containing and some related known bioactive polyketides were isolated from an endophytic fungus associated with the critically endangered conifer Abies beshanzuensis.

Traditional SAPO-34 zeolites synthesized using trimethylamine (TEA) as organic templates have relatively large particle size and limited MTO performance. In this work, SAPO-34 plates have been successfully synthesized using TEA as templates with the presence of polyethylene glycol (PEG) as an assisted template. Two-step crystallization is utilized in the concentrated gel system to control the particle size in the range of 0.9–1.2 μm. The MTO catalysis shows that the as-synthesized SAPO-34 plates exhibit enhanced catalytic performance. At 99% conversion, it has a catalytic lifetime (326 min) that is eight times longer than that of the conventional sample and 80% selectivity for light olefins. Moreover, the NMR study reveals the distinct crystallization process of SAPO-34 in two gel systems. Different from silicon being the activated species and the crystal center in a normal gel system, the aluminophosphate framework is first generated and then silicon gradually enters to replace Al or P in the concentrated gel system.

Titanium silicalite-1 (TS-1) zeolite, as a promising shape-selective catalyst, has excellent catalytic activity in many oxidation reactions. However, there are still challenges to rapidly synthesize TS-1 and achieve a high content of Ti in TS-1 without anatase TiO2. In this work, a high-efficiency strategy has been proposed by using 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid (H3BTC) as a crystallization modifier to rapidly synthesize enhanced-Ti TS-1 zeolite without extra-framework anatase TiO2. In such a synthetic system, a mixed liquid–solid precursor phase is formed within 4.5 hours, and then TS-1 crystals can be produced within one day based on the special combination mechanism of liquid-phase and solid-phase conversion. Ti species enter into the TS-1 framework by the transformation from the liquid phase to crystals as well as by the in situ transformation of the solid phase, which makes the content of framework Ti increase significantly, and the Si/Ti ratio can reach 48.5 without any anatase TiO2. In the epoxidation of 1-hexene with H2O2 as an oxidant, the conversion of alkene over the synthesized TS-1 was improved by 8.01% compared to the traditional TS-1 (18.11% vs. 10.10%). The high-efficiency strategy reported in this paper will provide new opportunities for further promoting the industrial application of TS-1 zeolite.

As one of the highly crystalline porous materials, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have drawn immense attention due to their diverse structures and a wide variety of applications. In this study, [In3(ipbp)2(μ2-OH)(μ2-O)3] (1) that has a three-dimensional framework, including two types of cages with cuboctahedra and trigonal antiprism configurations, has been successfully synthesized based on the zwitterionic ligand 1-(3,5-dicarboxyphenyl)-4,4′-bipyridinium bromide (H2(ipbp)Br). Strikingly, a relatively rare trapeziform metal layer consisting of In3+, μ2-OH, μ2-O, carboxyl, and nitrogen from the ligand appears in the structure of 1. Benefitting from the formation of the ipbp radicals under UV light irradiation, compound 1 exhibits photochromic property that can transform the color from yellow to green. Moreover, it possesses commendable Cr(VI) removal capacity with the maximum adsorption amount of 74.4 mg·g−1 due to the surface electrostatic interaction between the crystal surface and Cr(VI) in the aqueous system. This work will promote the design of functional MOFs that show potential applications in UV light detection and removal of oxyanions.

Confining carbon dots (CDs) in zeolites may boost the thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emission. However, so far only blue-emissive CD-based TADF materials are reported, and rationally tuning the TADF emission of these materials remains challenging. Herein, by in situ embedding different emissive CDs into a zeolite matrix, we have successfully prepared a series of CD@zeolite composites with tunable TADF emission from blue to green by utilizing energy transfer (ET) between confined CDs. The as-prepared CD@zeolite composites exhibit lifetimes varying from 271 ms to 860 ms and quantum yields ranging from 20% to 42%. The ET process occurs from the singlet excited state of the blue emissive CD donor to the singlet excited state of green emissive CD acceptors with different polymerization degrees, promoting tunable TADF with cyan, mint green and olive green emission. The design concept proposed in this work may open a way to judicious tuning of the emission of TADF materials, and thus may broaden the applications of CD-based TADF materials.

Growing interest in photochromic materials has largely stimulated researchers in this field to synthesize inorganic–organic materials that are composed of photochromic molecules such as viologen derivatives, naphthalene diimide (NDI) derivatives, and diarylethene derivatives. However, the requirement of an elaborate structural design, complicated synthesis, and high cost remain the issues that need to be addressed before the photochromic materials can be accepted by the market. Their synthesis using low-cost deep-eutectic solvents (DESs) may offer new opportunities to provide cost-effective reaction routes for large-scale synthesis of photochromic materials. We present a multifunctional photochromic inorganic–organic complex |C10H10N2|[GaF(C2O4)2], which is constructed from a nonphotochromic 4,4′-bipyridine ligand and oxalate derived from low-cost DES components. The complex exhibits intriguing photochromic behavior with a wide range of photo-response from UV to visible light and an ultralong-lived charge-separated state. Moreover, it possesses unprecedented tunable photocurrent responses and photocatalytic properties.

A novel three-dimensional open-framework titanophosphite Ti(HPO3)2 (denoted as JIS-15) has been ionothermally synthesized. JIS-15 possesses photovoltaic properties as an n-type semiconductor and exhibits remarkable photocatalytic activity for the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation.

A new germanate |H2(C4N3H13)|3[Ge7O14.5F2][Ge7O14F3]·2.5H2O (denoted as JLG-16) has been synthesized by using diethylenetriamine as the structure-directing agent under solvothermal conditions. Single-crystal structural analysis reveals that JLG-16 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c with a = 38.2008(15) A, b = 8.8262(4) A, c = 31.1789(13) A, and β = 108.5470(10)°. Its structure is made up of 4- and 5-coordinated Ge7 clusters. The alternating connection of 4- and 5-coordinated Ge7 clusters gives rise to a double-layered structure with 16- and 10-ring channels and a low framework density (11.2 Ge per 1000 A3). Carbon dots (CDs) formed in the mother liquid are in situ embedded into the JLG-16 crystals during the solvothermal crystallization process. The resulting CDs@JLG-16 composite thus exhibits excitation-dependent and temperature-responsive photoluminescence performances, which makes it possible to be used in optical temperature sensing.

This review article provides an overview of the contemporary research based on a tailor-made technique to understand the paramagnetic behavior of different polymer classes. The ubiquity of free radicals, including biradicals, triplet states, and point defects in polymer systems, has made EPR spectroscopy an indispensable tool in polymer science among other mainstream analytical techniques. The scope of EPR spectroscopy has broadened particularly due to the growing impulse to produce polymers with enhanced stability, to follow the charge transfer process in conducting polymers, to decipher the complex nanoscale dynamics of polymers, to fathom out the reaction mechanisms and kinetics of complex polymer reactions in a more facile way, and to carry out comprehensive structural and conformational analyses. Recent studies have hinted at the effectiveness of EPR spectroscopy in collecting data with sub-nanometer spatial resolution to decipher intrinsic intricacies, while keeping the pristine geometry unperturbed, a task yet not achievable with other conventional techniques. EPR spectroscopy is being applied in polymer science in multifarious ways, including, but not limited to, exploring the structure, conformation, and dynamics of polymer chain segments, degradation or defect studies, charge transfer properties, kinetics and reaction mechanisms especially of free radical polymerization reactions, and EPR imaging of the polymer matrix. A recent surge in its applications indicates that EPR spectroscopy is going to make a profound impact in the field of polymer science in upcoming years.

A novel strategy for selecting an additive based on understanding the influence of different functional groups on electrochemical characteristics is adopted. N,N-Diethylamino trimethylsilane (DEATMS) is tested as a bifunctional electrolyte additive to scavenge H2O and neutralize HF in the electrolyte and enhance the behaviour of graphite/LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 cells operating at a high voltage (4.5 V vs. Li/Li+) or elevated temperature (55 °C). With 2% DEATMS, no LiPF6 hydrolysis species is found after storage at 55 °C for 6 days, even with a moisture content of 2000 ppm in the electrolyte. In addition, the graphite/LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 cells containing DEATMS show cycling performances superior to those of the cells without DEATMS upon cycling for 100 cycles at a high voltage (85.5% vs. 72.0%) or high temperature (81.2% vs. 70.6%). The sacrificial oxidation of DEATMS on the cathode surface restricts direct contact between the electrolyte and cathode, improving the electrochemical performance. The ex situ surface analysis of the electrodes after cycling indicates that both the electrolyte decomposition and Mn dissolution are inhibited by the deposition of DEATMS oxidation products.

A new hybrid material, CNDs@ZIF-8, has been synthesized by the calcination of ZIF-8 nanocrystals. Carbon nanodots (CNDs) are produced from the decomposition of organic ligands such as 2-methylimidazole, which are embedded in the interrupted cavities in the framework during calcination. The resultant CNDs@ZIF-8 composites not only possess the intact structure of ZIF-8, but also have slightly enhanced adsorption ability and higher BET surface area compared to ZIF-8. Moreover, hybrid material CNDs@ZIF-8 exhibit tunable luminescence resulting from the inherent blue emission of ZIF-8 and the yellow emission of CNDs with different intensities controlled by the calcination time. The CNDs@ZIF-8 composites can also be used as temperature sensors. This work paves a feasible way for the development of CNDs@MOF materials with both luminescence and adsorption properties.

Two new metal–organic frameworks based on a cationic 1-(3,5-dicarboxyphenyl)-4,4′-bipyridinium bromide (H2ipbpBr) ligand have been designed and synthesized by varying the solvents and counterions to adjust the coordination modes between organic linkers and metal ions. Both of them possess two dimensional (2D) neutral layered frameworks, which show photochromic and photo-modulated luminescence properties. Compound 1 is photo-active in response to UV light, while 2 is sensitive to visible and UV light, accompanied by color transformation from light yellow to brown and green, respectively. Furthermore, compound 1 exhibits interesting selective vapochromism to diethylamine (DEA), and the vapochromic sample can be easily recovered when washed with MeOH, which offers a simple, convenient and recyclable vapor sensor for organic gas emissions. This work provides abundant scope to explore novel MOF materials with useful photo-active and colorimetric sensor properties.

Crystalline chromic materials coupled with other functionalities are of particular interest due to their multiple external stimuli responsive properties. In this work, a new photochromic and hydrochromic metal–organic framework based on a bipyridinium carboxylate cationic 1-(3,5-dicarboxyphenyl)-4,4′-bipyridinium bromide (H2ipbpBr) ligand and a luminescent Eu3+ ion has been successfully designed and synthesized. [Eu(ipbp)2(H2O)3]·Br·6H2O (1) is photo-active under both UV and visible light irradiation accompanied by an obvious color change from light yellow to green owing to the formation of ipbp radicals under light stimulus. Meanwhile, compound 1 exhibits unique hydrochromic properties, and the reversible color change between light yellow and dark green caused by electron transfer can be induced by release/reabsorption of guest water molecules accompanied by a structure transformation. Moreover, the luminescence properties and two-dimensional layered cationic network of 1 endow it with excellent sensing ability for Cr2O72− and CrO42− anions. This work will provide a new perspective to design smart MOF materials that can serve as practical multi-responsive sensors to light, water, and chemicals.

A novel Mg-containing aluminophosphate |C4H12N2|[Mg2Al6(PO4)8(H2O)4] (JU96) has been hydrothermally synthesized using piperazine as a structure-directing agent. Its framework, constructed by the connection of AlO4/MgO4(H2O)2 polyhedra and PO4 tetrahedra, exhibits a new 4-connected zeolite-like topology with intersecting 8-ring channels. Such a framework contains unique [44·66·86] cages that are occupied by diprotonated piperazine cations. Study shows that the presence of Mg atoms and the pH value of the reaction gel have a vital effect on the formation of JU96.

Two novel zinc metal–organic frameworks [Zn3(TPT)2(DMF)2]·0.5HNMe2 (1) and NH2Me2·[Zn(TPT)]·DMF (2) have been synthesized by using Zn(II) ions and p-terphenyl-3,4′′,5-tricarboxylic acid (H3TPT). The structures of these two MOFs are dependent on the solvents used in the synthetic processes. Compound 1 was synthesized in a mixture of DMF and H2O, while compound 2 was obtained in the presence of DMF and ethanol. The three-dimensional (3D) framework of 1 is constructed by the connection of Zn–carboxylate chains and TPT3− linkers. The structure of 2 can be described as a 3,6-connected network based on the assembly of binuclear zinc clusters and TPT3− ligands. These two MOFs exhibit ligand-based photoluminescence at around 375 nm, as well as high efficiency for the recyclable detection of nitroaromatic explosives.

By utilizing the photo-active bipyridinium carboxylate ligand 1-(3,5-dicarboxyphenyl)-4,4′-bipyridinium bromide (H2ipbpBr) and varying the solvents, two new Zn-MOFs with photo- and/or thermochromic as well as photocontrolled luminescent properties have been successfully synthesized. [Zn(ipbp)(H2O)]·NO3·H2O (1) has a three-dimensional (3D) interpenetrated cationic framework, while [Zn(ipbp)(H2O)2]·NO3·H2O (2) possesses a 2D layered cationic network. Interestingly, 2 and its dehydrated phase 2′ can undergo reversible structure transformation upon removal and uptake of guest and coordinated water molecules. 1 and 2 are photo-active to UV and visible light, and undergo an obvious color transformation from light yellow to green as a result of the formation of ipbp radicals. Compared with 2, 1 is more photosensitive due to its close donor–acceptor interaction and dense arrangement of interpenetrated frameworks. Meanwhile, 1 is thermochromic with a lower thermal-response temperature (90 °C). These two compounds also exhibit tuneable luminescence in response to light. This work provides a facile method to synthesize novel chromic MOFs using the photosensitive organic linkers and the conformational adjustment.

Hydrophilic N-doped carbogenic nanodots (denoted as CNDs) have been prepared from a N-methylpiperazine-templated zeolite precursor by calcination and NaOH treatment. The isolated CNDs exhibit tunable photoluminescence according to the concentration and pH value of aqueous dispersions of the CNDs. Fine-tuning of the fluorescence emission wavelength across the entire visible spectrum can be easily achieved by varying the concentration of the CND dispersions. Meanwhile, both the emission wavelength and intensity of the photoluminescence can be tuned by controlling the pH value of the CND dispersion. The pyrolysis of organic templates confined in nanoporous zeolites represents a new approach to controlling the optical properties of CNDs, which may open more opportunities in applications such as multimodal sensing and full-color displays.

A new zinc gallophosphate zeolite [Zn5.8Ga14.2(PO4)20F3.2(H3O)3]|C12H14N2|3·3H2O (noted as JU104) with a USI zeotype structure has been solvothermally synthesized by using in situ generated methylviologen (MV) as the template. JU104 has two-dimensional interconnected 12-ring and 10-ring channels running along the [100] and [00] direction, respectively. It exhibits dual thermochromism and photochromism with a broad photo-response range (UV light to visible light) and a long-lived charge-separated state, as well as variable fluorescent and photoelectric properties. Moreover, the multi photo/thermo-induced colors occurring in JU104 make it unusual as compared to other inorganic photo/thermochromism compounds. The MV-templated JU104 zeolite may function as a new efficient electron-transfer system for potential applications in photo/thermochromism and solar energy conversion.

A novel metal–organic framework [Cd3(TPT)2(DMF)2]·(H2O)0.5 (1) has been solvothermally synthesized using a new rigid unsymmetrical tricarboxylate ligand p-terphenyl-3,4′′,5-tricarboxylic acid (H3TPT). Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that 1 possesses a three-dimensional (3D) framework with an alb-4,8-C2/c topology constructed by the combination of Cd–carboxylate chains and TPT linkers. The π-electron rich ligand H3TPT enables 1 to have an excellent luminescent property. The micrometer-sized compound 1′ dispersed in ethanol exhibits high efficiency detection for picric acid (PA). The high efficiency, stability and recyclability of 1′ make it a potential chemosensor for nitroaromatic explosives.

Germanosilicate zeolite ITQ-44 with extra-large 18-rings has been hydrothermally synthesized by using a commercial benzyltriethylammonium bromide (denoted as SDA-1) as structure-directing agent (SDA). The crystallization field and the influence of various synthetic factors on the synthesis of ITQ-44, such as the crystallization temperature, the crystallization time, the Si/Ge ratio, and the amount of the F− and water have been studied. The as-synthesized ITQ-44 has been characterized by XRD, ICP, CHN, TG, SEM, NMR, N2 adsorption and NH3-TPD. The results indicate that use of SDA-1 cations could lead to a pure phase of ITQ-44 in a wide synthetic range and remain intact in the final product. The framework structure of ITQ-44 is maintained at 500 °C. B, Al and Ga atoms can be introduced into the framework of germanosilicate ITQ-44, which produces Lewis acid sites in the framework. This work offers the possibility to synthesize extra-large pore germanosilicate zeolites with simple and commercial SDAs, which is important for the practical applications of germanosilicate zeolites.

A novel zinc gallophosphate zeolitic material |(C12H14N2)4F1.33|[Ga13.33Zn6.67(PO4)20] (denoted as JU101) has been prepared by using in situ generated methyl viologen (MV) as the template. The framework of JU101 features two building units including an unprecedented fused d6r and a novel [412·64·82·102] cavity. The connection of these two building units forms a 3D intersecting pore system containing 8-rings along the [010] direction, and 10-rings along the [001] and [100] directions. The MV-templated JU101 zeolitic material offers a new type of electron transfer system, which endows the material with interesting photochromism, thermochromism, and tuneable photovoltaic activity in response to light and heating. Importantly, JU101 shows an extended photochromism range from UV to visible light, high thermal stability, as well as a long-lived charge-separated state for potential application in solar energy conversion.

Micro-/nano-structured spherical intergrown LiMn2O4–LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LMO–LNMO I, LiNi0.25Mn1.75O4) particles as a cathode material have been synthesized by an impregnation method with highly reactive chestnut-like MnO2 nano-spheres as a manganese source and structural template. The LMO–LNMO I consisted of aggregates of nano-sized particles with a well-defined cubic spinel structure. The electrochemical performance and thermostability of LMO–LNMO I are better than those of a simple mechanical mixture of LiMn2O4 and LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LMO–LNMO M), and much better than those of individual LiMn2O4 and LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 monomers. Within this special structure, LNMO acts as a skeleton to stabilize the structure of LMO and enables more lithium ions in LMO to participate in the charge–discharge process along with those in LNMO, leading to high specific discharge capacities. In addition, this material exhibits excellent cycle stabilities at room temperature (25 °C) as well as at elevated temperature. It presented a discharge capacity of 130 mA h g−1, with 96.2% capacity retention after 100 cycles at 25 °C at 1 C. When the temperature and rate are increased to 55 °C and 5 C, it still delivers a discharge capacity of 131 mA h g−1, with a capacity retention of 95% after 100 cycles. Being synthesized by a special impregnation method, LMO–LNMO I shows a more homogeneous ion mixing of Ni and Mn in the structure at the atomic level with a more enhanced thermostability due to its high Mn content compared to LNMO. The structural stability and high electrical conductivity of LMO–LNMO I are responsible for the excellent electrochemical performance and outstanding thermal stability.

X-ray-induced photochromic materials are promising candidates for X-ray detection. An effective strategy to synthesize photochromic materials is the incorporation of photochromic methylviologen (MV) into inorganic open frameworks. It is of great interest to adjust the photochromic behaviour of MV-based materials using designed synthesis of novel anionic open frameworks. A new multifunctional photo-sensitive material, MV-templated layered bimetal phosphate JU99, is presented. It possesses unique X-ray-induced photochromism at room temperature, as well as interesting photoluminescence and photovoltaic activity, all of which are reversible in response to X-ray irradiation. These properties make JU99 an excellent material for X-ray detection.

Two solution-processable two-dimensional conjugated organic small molecules based on triphenylamine (TPA) cores, TPA-BT-C8 and TPA-3Th, were designed and synthesized. As to TPA-BT-C8, two arms of the TPA core are symmetrically connected with a thiophene donor group and a benzothiadiazole acceptor group, while the third arm consists of a strong acceptor group of 2-(5,5-dimethylcyclohex-2-en-1-ylidene)malononitrile (DCM) connected through a trans double bond with the TPA core. For TPA-3Th, two arms of its TPA core are composed of only donor group, terthiophene, whereas the third arm consists of an acceptor group of cyano-n-octyl acetate connected through a trans double bond with the TPA core. The investigation indicated that TPA-BT-C8 has a lower energy band gap and wider absorption than TPA-3Th due to the strong intramolecular charge transfer effect in TPA-BT-C8. The two molecules have a deep highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy level. Bulk heterojunction photovoltaic devices were fabricated using TPA-BT-C8 or TPA-3Th as the donor and (6,6)-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) as the acceptor. All the devices have a high open-circuit voltage (Voc) of about 0.9 eV. Devices based on TPA-BT-C8 have a much higher short circuit current (Jsc) (8.47 mA cm−2) and power conversion efficiency (PCE) (2.26%) than devices based on TPA-3Th (4.32 mA cm−2, 1.21%), resulting from wider solar light absorption of TPA-BT-C8 and better compatibility and film-formation ability of TPA-BT-C8 with PCBM than TPA-3Th. Incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) spectra also confirmed that TPA-BT-C8 based devices have a wider and red-shifted response range than TPA-3Th based devices, which leads to a higher performance of the former devices.

By using metal complexes and organic amine cations/inorganic anions as co-templates, four novel germanates JLG-n (n = 3, 6, 7, 8) have been prepared under solvothermal conditions. These compounds are all built up from Ge7 clusters and classified into two structural types: according to T2 connection mode of the Ge7 cluster for JLG-3 with a chain-like structure and to T4 connection mode for JLG-n (n = 6, 7, 8) with 2-D layered structures. Then numerous 2-D layered structures were designed by different arrangements of the R- and L-chains of JLG-3. In addition, two 3-D frameworks, H-F1 (16-rings) and H-F2 (24-rings), were designed on the basis of the sheets of JLG-6 and JLG-8, respectively, with the connection of the Ge7 clusters in T4P mode. Since Ge7 clusters display various connection modes, they are found to be effective for construction of novel open-framework germanates. A series of 2-D and even 3-D structures of germanates can be designed using Ge7 clusters as SBUs based on the concept of “Scale Chemistry”.

A new open-framework magnesium aluminophosphate MgAlP2O7(OH)(H2O)2 (denoted as JU102) has been hydrothermally synthesized by using an organotemplate-free synthetic route in the Al2O3-P2O5-MgO-H2O system. JU102 exhibits novel 4-connected zeolite-like topology with 8-ring channels. The existence of coordinated water and extensive H-bonds in the structure endows JU102 with unique proton conduction properties.

A new layered aluminophosphate with an Al/P ratio of unity, designated AlPO-CJ9 (CJ9: China, Jilin University, number 9), has been synthesized hydrothermally. The crystalline product is characterized by powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD), FT-IR and thermogravimetric analyses. The structure of AlPO-CJ9 contains [Al2P2O8(OH)2]2− macroanionic sheets stacked in an AAAA sequence. The inorganic layer based on a 3 × 4 × 6 net is featured by a type of chain built up by corner-sharing three-membered rings. The nonbonding interaction energies (Einter), including H-bonding, van der Waals and Coulombic interactions between the inorganic layer and several organic amines are studied, which are valuable in evaluating the templating abilities of the organic templates.

Correction for ‘A new methylviologen-templated zinc gallophosphate zeolite with photo-/thermochromism, fluorescent and photoelectric properties’ by Chunyao Tao, et al., Inorg. Chem. Front., 2016, DOI: 10.1039/c5qi00283d.

A new open-framework zinc phosphate with 12-ring channels has been solvothermally synthesized by using the in situ generated methylviologen as the template, which exhibits multi-photoactive properties such as photochromism, photoelectricity and fluorescence.

A new magnesium aluminophosphate JU92-300 with novel zeotype structure and 8-ring channels has been prepared by calcination of microporous JU-92 under 300 °C. Well dispersed C-dots are prepared by using JU92-300 as a support host. Such C-dots@zeolite materials exhibit excitation-dependent photoluminescent behavior, as well as tunable fluorescence with high quantum yields.

Two new homochiral inorganic-organic hybrid frameworks [Zn(HPO(3))(C(11)N(2)O(2)H(12))] (denoted as ZnHPO-CJ56) and [Zn(3)(H(2)O)(PO(4))(HPO(4))(C(6)H(9)N(3)O(2))(2)(C(6)H(8)N(3)O(2))] (denoted as ZnPO-CJ57) have been hydrothermally synthesized in the presence of chiral amino acids l-trypophan and l-histidine. Both of their inorganic networks are featured by one-dimensional (1D) edge-sharing Zn(2)P(2) ladder-like chains. The amino acid molecules as the ligands are grafted onto two sides of the chain. Extensive N-HO and O-HO hydrogen bonds of host-guest are formed to stable the chiral structures of ZnHPO-CJ56 and ZnPO-CJ57. It is noteworthy that the original chirality of the amino acid molecules is maintained in the structures of the as-synthesized compounds, and the resulting crystals have an enantiometric excess, which is confirmed by the solid state vibrational circular dichroism (VCD). Their syntheses, structures, and luminescence properties have been studied in detail. The formation of such chiral one-dimensional structures with multi-amino acids might be potentially applied in chiral catalysis, biochemistry processes or as functional materials.

Employing phenol, an aromatic and acidic organic solid, as the solvent, and triethylene tetramine as the template, a new two-dimensional layered aluminophosphate [Al2P4O16][C6H22N4][C2H10N2] has been solvothermally synthesized for the first time, which contains novel 4.12-net porous sheets.

A new layered iron borophosphate (C4N3H16)(C4N3H15)0.5[Fe2B4P7O26(OH)4] (denoted FeBPO-CJ28), with a novel B/P ratio of 4/7 and mixed-valent iron(II, III) was prepared under mild hydrothermal conditions in the presence of diethylenetriamine (DETA) as the template. Its crystal structure was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (triclinic, P (No. 2), a = 8.9568(3) A, b = 9.8717(3) A, c = 17.9905(5) A, α = 102.510(2)°, β = 92.343(2)°, γ = 100.403(2)°, V = 1522.10(8) A3, and Z = 2). The structure comprises unprecedented anionic double layers 2∞{[Fe2B4P7O26(OH)4]4−} with one-dimensional 8-ring channels along the [110] direction, which are made up of FeO6, BO4, PO4 and HPO4 polyhedral units. Such double layers parallel to the ab plane are connected by inter-layer hydrogen bonds forming the three-dimensional (3D) supramolecular open framework with pseudo 10-ring channels along the [110] direction. Protonated DETA cations locate in the 8-ring channels and pseudo 10-ring channels to compensate the negative charge of the anionic framework. The structure is featured by a new fundamental building unit (FBU) [B4P7O26(OH)4], which is the largest one of the borophosphate anionic partial structures. The compound is further characterized by powder XRD, ICP, CHN, TGA and Mossbauer spectroscopy analysis. The magnetic measurement reveals that FeBPO-CJ28 exhibits ferrimagnetic behavior below 9.6 K with a hysteresis loop at 2 K (HC = 2800 Oe, MR = 0.21 µB).

A new layered zinc phosphate, (C6H10N3O2)Zn2(HPO4)(PO4)·H2O (denoted ZnPO-CJ36), has been synthesized solvothermally with biological molecule amino acidDL-histidine as both a template and a ligand. It is characterized by a combination of techniques such as FTIR, inductively coupled plasma (ICP), powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis and fluorescence spectroscopy, as well as single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Its structure consists of double crankshaft chains linked by bridging oxygen atoms to form an infinite layer with 4- and 8-rings (denoted 4 × 8 net) parallel to the ab plane. The histidine molecules reside in the interlayer regions and coordinate to Zn atoms through bridging Ocarboxyl atoms. It is noteworthy that the histidine molecules on one side of the sheet have the R absolute configuration while those on the other side of the sheet have the S absolute configuration. Extensive multipoint hydrogen bonds are formed involving histidine molecules, water molecules and inorganic sheets, and construct a pseudo-three-dimensional supermolecular structure. The compound exhibits photoluminescence upon photo-excitation at 220 nm.