Phosphorus displays fascinating structural diversity and the discovery of new modifications continues to attract attention. In this work, a complete stability range of known and novel crystalline allotropes of phosphorus is described for the first time. This includes recently discovered tubular modifications and the prediction of not-yet-known crystal structures of [P12] nanorods and not-yet-isolated [P14] nanorods. Despite significant structural differences, all P allotropes consist of covalent substructures, which are held together by van der Waals interactions. Their correct reproduction by ab initio calculations is a core issue of current research. While some predictions with the established DFT functionals GGA and LDA differ significantly from experimental data in the description of the P allotropes, consistently excellent agreement with the GGA-D2 approach is used to predict the solid structures of the P nanorods.

We propose a simple experimental procedure based on the cloud point measurement of a non-ionic surfactant as a tool for (i) estimating the super-chaotropic behaviour of polyoxometalates (POMs) and for (ii) establishing a classification of POMs according to their affinity towards polar surfaces.

Sb 2 Si 2 Te 6 , a 2D material, exhibits an intrinsically high thermoelectric figure of merit ZT of 1.08 at 823 K. The thermoelectric performance can be further enhanced by a cellular nanostructure with ultrathin Si 2 Te 3 nanosheets covering the Sb 2 Si 2 Te 6 grains. The Si 2 Te 3 acts as a hole-transmitting electron-blocking filter and, at the same time, causes extra phonon scattering that leads to ultralow thermal conductivity and a high ZT value of 1.65 at 823 K.

Synthetic tetrahedrite, Cul2Sb4SI3, obtained by reaction of the elements, has been investigated at various temperatures in the 295-573 K range. It crystallizes in the cubic system with a = 10.3293 (6) A, V = 1102.1 (2) ]k 3, space group 143m and Z = 2 at room temperature. The structure refinement converged to a residue of R = 0.0165 (at room temperature, wR = 0.0200) for 389 independent reflections and 34 refined parameters. A Gram-Charlier non-harmonic development of the atomic displacement factor for both independent Cu atoms was used. The results show a disorder for the three-coordinated Cu atom, within and perpendicular to the plane of the three surrounding S atoms. However, although the non-harmonic probability density deformation increases with raising the temperature within this plane, it barely changes in the perpendicular direction. This suggests two different types of disorder: static in-plane and dynamic out-of-plane, therefore underlining a possible diffusion pathway for copper ions. To check the significance of the observed effects, the errors for the one-particle potentials and the probability density function maps were calculated by means of a Monte-Carlo method.

Dream team: Heterogeneous inorganic semiconductors and chiral organocatalysts team up for the stereoselective photocatalytic formation of carbon–carbon bonds. However, the connection between the organic and inorganic catalysts should not be too tight: Covalent immobilization inactivates the system.

Elemental phosphorus has been known for about 350 years. As a result of huge scientific interest, numerous textbooks are filled with information about this element, its different allotropes, and its compounds. [1] Like boron and carbon, the element features tremendous structural variability, resulting in great diversity of physical properties and chemical reactivity: White phosphorus, P 4 , forms three crystal struc-

Abstract. AgBiI 4 and Ag 3 BiI 6 were synthesized by solvothermal reaction from AgI and BiI 3 in diluted HI-solution (20 %) at a temperature of 160°C. The greyish-black crystals grow as octahedra (AgBiI 4 ) or hexagonal/trigonal platelets (Ag 3 BiI 6 ). AgBiI 4 crystallizes in space group Fd3m with a ϭ 1222.3(1) pm (300 K) and Z ϭ 8 whereas Ag 3 BiI 6 shows the space group R3m with a ϭ 435.37(6) pm, c ϭ 2081.0(4) pm (300 K) and Z ϭ 1. Both crystal structures show stacking sequence abcabc... of hexagonal layers containing Iodine. Bismuth and silver are sharing octahedral sites with different mass ratio in both structures.

In the present contribution, the pre-structuring of binary mixtures of hydrotropes and HO is linked to the solubilisation of poorly water miscible compounds. We have chosen a series of short-chain alcohols as hydrotropes and benzyl alcohol, limonene and a hydrophobic azo-dye (Disperse Red 13) as organic compounds to be dissolved. A very weak pre-structuring is found for ethanol/HO and 2-propanol/HO mixtures. Pre-structuring is most developed for binary 1-propanol/HO and tert-butanol/HO mixtures and supports the bicontinuity model of alcohol-rich and water-rich domains as already postulated by Anisimov et al. Such a pre-structuring leads to a high solubilisation power for poorly water miscible components (limonene and Disperse Red, characterized by high octanol/water partition coefficients, log(P) values of 4.5 and 4.85), whereas a very weak pre-structuring leads to a high solubilisation power for slightly water miscible components (benzyl alcohol). This difference in solubilisation power can be linked to (i) the formation of mesoscale structures in the cases of ethanol and 2-propanol and (ii) the extension of pre-structures in the cases of 1-propanol and tert-butanol. Three different solubilisation mechanisms could be identified: bulk solubilisation, interface solubilisation and a combination of both. These supramolecular structures in binary and ternary systems were investigated by small-and-wide-angle X-ray and neutron scattering, dynamic light scattering and conductivity measurements (in the presence of small amounts of salt).