The solvothermal reaction of zinc acetate dihydrate with a mixture of benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid (H(2)BDC) and benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid (H(3)BTC) in a solution containing N,N'-dimethylformamide (DMF), absolute ethanol, and chlorobenzene gave rise to a metal-organic polymer, Zn(3).BDC.2BTC.2NH(CH(3))(2).2NH(2)(CH(3))(2). The structure of this polymer possesses a unique three-dimensional framework with tri-zinc clusters, and BDC and BTC units colinking the clusters. Moreover, this metal-organic polymer exhibits strong photoluminescence at room temperature, and the main emission band is at about 430 nm (lambda(ex) = 325 nm). Crystal data for this compound (C(17)H(20)N(2)O(8)Zn(1.5)): monoclinic, space group P2(1)/n, cell dimensions a = 11.6171(3) A, b = 14.2456(4) A, c = 12.6426(3) A, beta = 107.030(2) degrees, V = 2000.51(9) A(3), and Z = 4.

The hydrothermal reaction of ZnUO2(OAc)4.7H2O with pyridine-2,3-dicarboxylic acid gives rise to a novel uranium-zinc-organic coordination polymer containing infinite U-O-Zn double sheets and organic ligands. Thermal and photoelectrochemical analyses indicate that the coordination polymeric compound not only has a high thermal stability but also exhibits interesting photoelectronic properties.

Potassium ferrite exhibits super-high ionic conductivity for all-solid-state potassium metal batteries.

Ni3S2 nanosheets doped with tin (Sn) grown on nickel foam (Sn–Ni3S2/NF) through a facile hydrothermal process were found to be superior water-splitting electrocatalysts. As for overall water splitting (OWS), when the current density is 10 mA cm–2, the required voltage is only 1.46 V. Meanwhile, it exhibits a large current density property and long-time stability (>60 h current–time tests) for both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In order to reach the current densities of 100 and 1000 mA cm–2, Sn–Ni3S2/NF needs overpotentials of 0.17 and 0.57 V for HER, and 0.27 and 0.58 V for OER, respectively. The water-splitting property of Sn–Ni3S2/NF is much better than that of pure Ni3S2/NF or even 20 wt % Pt/C/NF and RuO2/NF. Furthermore, Sn–Ni3S2/NF showed a higher turnover frequency at different potentials, with ∼100% Faraday efficiency for both O2 and H2. The improved activity of Sn–Ni3S2/NF activity for water-splitting is attributed to the doping of Sn, which enhanced the intrinsic activity of Sn–Ni3S2/NF for OWS. This article not only provides a new efficient and stable catalyst for OWS, but also proposes an interface design principle for NF-based high-performance water-splitting materials.

The orthoferrite YFeO3 with orthorhombic perovskite structure (Pnma) has been synthesized by mild hydrothermal method. The temperature-dependent magnetization and hysteresis loops indicate that, due to the superexchange and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions in the crystals, the Fe spins order antiferromagnetically at the Néel temperature 655 K with a weak ferromagnetic moment. The observation of saturation polarization loops at room temperature and 77 K provide evidence for the ferroelectric character of the polycrystalline samples. Its Curie temperature has been obtained from the temperature dependence of the relative permittivities and thermal analysis. As a result, the structure exhibits simultaneously weak ferromagnetic and ferroelectric behavior.

The combination of ferroelectric–optical properties in halide perovskites has attracted tremendous interess because of its potential for optoelectronic and energy applications. However, very few reports focus on the ferroelectricity of all-inorganic halide perovskites quantum dots. Herein, we report a excellent ferroelectricity in CsPbBr3 quantum dots (QDs) with a saturation polarization of 0.25 μC/cm2. Differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electronic microscopy revealed that the mechanism of ferroelectric–paraelectric switching of CsPbBr3 QDs can be attributed to the phase transition from cubic phase (Pm3̅m) to the orthorhombic phase (Pna2 1). In the orthorhombic CsPbBr3, the distortion of octahedral [PbBr6]4– structural units and the off-center Cs+ generated the slightly separated centers of positive charge and negative charge, resulting in the ferroelectric properties. The variable-temperature emission spectrum from 328 to 78 K exhibits green luminescence and a gradual red shift due to the phase transition. This finding opens up an avenue to explore the ferroelectric–optical properties of inorganolead halide perovskites for high-performance multifunctional materials.

Developing new electrocatalyst with high activity and good stability for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), in particular superhydrophilic one that can significantly enhance mass transfer between...

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