A C/N co-doped TiO₂/diatomite composite with exposed (001) facets was synthesised through a facile sol–gel method, and its various physicochemical properties were investigated. The mechanism for improved photocatalytic efficiency is also discussed. The as-prepared composite exhibited promising applications in dye wastewater degradation owing to its outstanding reusability and cost-effectiveness.

The synergistic effect of aluminium tri-hydroxide (ATH) and hexaphenoxycyclotriphosphazene (HPCTP) on the flame retardancy and smoke suppression of an epoxy resin was investigated. It was confirmed that HPCTP and ATH can attract a lot of heat to slow down decomposition of the resin and produce a comprehensive protection system consisting of a non-flammable gas and solid phases during burning.

This article describes nitroxide-mediated polymerization initiated by metal complexes–alkoxyamines. In comparison with pure alkoxyamines, complexes show a faster initiation rate, allowing a lower polymerization temperature. The faster initiation rate can be achieved by simple addition of a metal salt to a monomer–alkoxyamine mixture, avoiding the procedure of complex synthesis. This method provides easy access to metal–organic polymer materials.

Mg^II alkoxide complexes bearing (benzimidazolylmethyl)amino ligands gave active catalysts for the ring-opening polymerization lactides and ε-caprolactone to afford moderate molecular polymers with fairly narrow molecular weight distributions.

A bistable Fe–Co binuclear complex, proposed as a molecular switch, is characterized by calculating dipole moments, polarizabilities, IR/Raman, optical rotatory dispersion (ORD), and electronic and vibrational circular dichroism spectra using a time-dependent density functional theory technique. Intrinsic reaction coordinate and Duschinsky analyses are also carried out to investigate the intramolecular charge transfer (IMCT) process responsible for the bistability. The two IMCT states have distinctly different characteristics affected by cis–trans isomerization.

A tetra-calix[4]arene chloride derivative (CC) and a diamino-terminated PEG-1000 (DAP) were coated sequentially on a polysulfone (PSF) base film to prepare a thin-layer composite membrane by an interfacial polymerization technique. The thin-layer calixarene network on the PSF membrane was investigated for its application in water treatment.

A second-generation synthesis of the spiro-epimeric natural products, heliespirones A and C, is reported. This revised strategy is concise (eight steps), highly enantioselective, and features a diastereoselective aromatic Claisen rearrangement.

Composite inorganic coloured pigments (CICPs) with dark appearance and high solar energy reflectance have wide applications in energy efficient buildings. In this paper, we describe how dark grey and high NIR reflectance CICPs with a CuO/TiO₂ core–shell structure were prepared by a composite co-precipitation method, in which the nano-CuO coated the surface of TiO₂.

NMR and DFT studies were carried out on various 4-aryl substituted 5-carboethoxy-2-oxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyridines and their corresponding oxidation products, in order to elucidate the steric and electrostatic interactions of 4-aryl substitutions and also the effect of solvent and temperature on the characteristic peaks in the ¹H NMR spectra.

A new isonicotiamide-based azoimine receptor has been synthesised for dual-recognition of CN⁻ and HSO₄⁻anions in aqueous media. Based on changes in absorption intensity at a particular wavelength in the presence of two aforementioned anions, as two chemical inputs, an INHIBIT logic gate has been elaborated.

N-Halogen succinimide (NXS), as both an oxidising reagent and a source of halogens, can be used to synthesise both asymmetric and symmetric anticancer complexes. The production of asymmetric compounds offers a further mechanism by which the pharmacokinetics can be finely tuned.