The foreword to this special issue of the Journal dedicated to Professor William Roy Jackson describes his life and his legacy.

Bis(8-sulfanylquinolinium) hexachloridostannate(IV) undergoes variable reaction behaviour in different solvents to form cis-dichloridobis(8-quinolinethiolato)tin(IV), 8,8′-dithiodiquinolinium hexachloridostannate(IV), and diquinolinyl-8,8′-disulfide.

Ethenolysis was investigated in a thin-film continuous reactor, the vortex fluidic device. The product distribution with several catalysts was examined for ethenolysis of renewable substrates such as methyl oleate. A novel olefin metathesis quenching method was also discovered in which N-acetyl cysteine chelates to the ruthenium centre and arrests turnover.

Investigations into the preparation of synthetically applicable sources of beryllium dialkyls, ‘BeR₂’, have led to two lithium tetramethylberyllate compounds. Reactions of ‘BeR₂’ with several β-diketimines, NacnacH, have yielded a series of β-diketiminato beryllium alkyl complexes, [(Nacnac)BeR], including the first chiral example of such a compound (see picture).

A series of photochemical transformations involving 1,4-naphthoquinones and phthalimides has been successfully conducted under continuous-flow conditions in a concentrating solar trough reactor. Compared with corresponding exposures to direct sunlight conducted in a solar float, flow operation generally gave superior conversions and subsequent yields.

An air- and moisture-tolerant method for the efficient high-yielding synthesis of a cationic chelated bis(N-heterocyclic carbene) palladium(II) methyl complex is described along with preliminary polymerisation results revealing an unexplored catalyst deactivation mechanism for this ligand class leading to unusually low catalyst activity.

A synthetic method to prepare 1H-indenes and partially hydrogenated methanonaphtho[1,2-c]furan-1,3(4H)-diones from gold(I)-catalysed 1,4-enyne acetate cycloisomerisation and oxidation or Diels–Alder reaction with maleic anhydride is described. The proposed mechanism involves Rautenstrauch rearrangement/6-endo-dig cyclisation and oxidation to give the aromatic carbocycle or Diels–Alder reaction with maleic anhydride to afford the bridged furan product.

A simple, robust microwave and SnCl₂ access to 3-dihydroquinazolinones is described.

Two new, small molecule pyrolysis products, 18 and 19, derived from acid-treated chitin (4) are reported.

The coordination polymers, [M(TCNQF₂)₂(H₂O)₂] and [M(TCNQF₂)] where M = Co or Ni have been synthesised and characterised using voltammetric and physicochemical methods. Comparisons with related M-TCNQF_n, where n = 0, 1, 2, 4 are made.

Electronic delocalization involving NMe₂ groups and the central six-membered ring resulted in a steric clash between the NMe₂ groups and Ar substituents. This steric clash was identified as the main reason for these ligand systems being able to stabilize only a BF₂ fragment, while attempts to prepare heavy analogues resulted in product mixtures.

This study highlights the impact of structure on the biological activity and selectivity of bismuth(III) complexes. Changing one atom from O to S changes the biological profile. The selectivity for bacterial cells over mammalian cells displayed by [BiPh₂(SP(=O)Ph₂)] is much greater than for the analogous [BiPh₂(OP(=O)Ph₂)].

This paper studies the comparison between low-aromaticity marine (Attrat-Jordan) and lacustrine (Colorado-USA) oil shales and their kerogens. Kerogens were extracted using NaOH-HCl method. The characterisations were performed using elemental analysis, Rock Eval, ¹³C NMR, and XPS. This work reveals some differences in the organic structure between the two kerogens.

Rare earth (RE) complexes of 3-benzoylpropanoate (bp), [RE(bp)₃(H₂O)_n] (RE = La, n = 2; RE = Y, Ce, Pr, Nd, Yb, n = 1) and 3-phenylpropanoate (pp), [RE(pp)₃] (RE = Y, La, Ce, Nd, Yb), have been prepared by metathesis reactions and single-crystal X-ray diffraction shows that both RE bp and pp complexes favour formation of carboxylate-bridged 1-D coordination polymers in the solid state.

The benign synthesis of novel cyclobutane-based products is reported. Very good regio- and stereo-selectivity has been achieved by photochemical irradiation of derivatised resveratrol analogues in the solid state under ambient temperatures and pressures. The trans aryl cyclobutane isomers are generated in preference to the cis aryl isomers.

Characterisation of waste coffee husks and spent coffee grounds (SCGS) from Australian commercial outlets in terms of lipid, caffeine, and polyphenol content was undertaken. SCGs were also assessed for phytotoxicity effects, as a proxy for domestic reuse and as an indicator of use in an agricultural setting.

By exploiting the conversion of N-heterocyclic carbenes into the corresponding thioureas it has been possible to prepare and study a range of chiral and non-chiral Lewis base catalysts for such reactions. Although all thiourea catalysts were found to mediate halofunctionalisation reactions, they could not be achieved with enantioselectivity.

An NHC–Pd-based complex was successfully built and immobilised within the cavities of a Type I porous liquid. The catalytic ability of the resulting porous liquid system was investigated, using the Heck reaction as a model reaction, to confirm the successful immobilisation.