This work is focused on the direct growth of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) onto the flexible stainless-steel mesh (SM) substrate using ZIF-67 as the catalytic layer.

Since the excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) process involving sulfur is extremely fast, its mechanism is still unclear, and its derivatives are rarely studied, we have performed a theoretical study the ESIPT process of 3-thiolflavone (3TF) and its derivatives.

The rapid detection and efficient properties of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) have been widely exploited in food safety.

In this study, a series of phase change composites were developed. Phase change materials (PCMs) are substances with a high heat of fusion, thereby possessing great potential for solar thermal storage. However, their disadvantages, such as low thermal conductivity, phase separation, and supercooling, limit their further applications.

The upgrading of atmospheric-pressure plasma polymerization process, the detailed investigation of atmospheric-pressure plasma polymerization deposited organic carbon-silicon film features is essential to obtain the further understandings into the optimizing coating techniques.

Metal–Organic Frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as promising materials for next-generation batteries due to their unique properties such as high surface area, tuneable pore size, and composition.

On the basis of density functional theory (DFT), the geometry and infrared spectrum of the (AlP)8 cluster have been calculated under external electric fields (EEFs). In addition, on the basis of time-dependent DFT, the ultraviolet–visible absorption spectra, oscillator strengths, wavelengths, and hole–electron orbits of the first 20 excited states have been calculated. Under EEFs, the energy of (AlP)8 gradually decreases, the dipole moment increases, and the molecular configuration significantly changes. In the infrared spectrum, the vibration frequency corresponding to the stretching vibration of the Al–P bond decreases, and a red shift occurs. With increasing EEF, the infrared spectrum splits and shows an obvious Stark effect; the ultraviolet absorption intensity is enhanced, and the molecular excitation energy decreases. Additionally, the excitation wavelength increases with increasing EEF. It is conclusively shown that the (AlP)8 cluster is easily excited under an EEF. Separation of the holes and electrons of the (AlP)8 cluster is obvious. Theoretical investigation of the spectra and excitation properties of (AlP)8 is an important step toward a comprehensive understanding of the effects of EEFs on the molecular structure, stability, and dynamics.

This memorial issue is a collection of papers that showcase the diverse research interests of the late Professor King-Chuen Lin (1953 – 2022) in the fields of physical chemistry, analytical chemistry, biophysics, and material chemistry. These papers have been contributed by Prof. Lin's friends, colleagues, and former group members. The global chemistry community deeply mourns the loss of Prof. Lin, and through this special issue, the invited contributors aim to honor his memory.

Research into perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) has uncovered interesting properties compared to their bulk counterparts, including tunable optical properties due to size-dependent quantum confinement effect (QCE). More recently, smaller PNCs with even stronger QCE have been discovered, such as perovskite magic sized clusters (PMSCs) and ligand passivated PbX2 metal halide molecular clusters (MHMCs) analogous to perovskites.

In this study, a vinylene-linked covalent organic framework (V-COF-1) was integrated with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) to create a modified electrode (V-COF-1/MWCNTs/SPCE) for electrochemical sensing applications.

New quaternary selenides M2Sb5Bi5Se17 (M = Sn, Pb) were synthesized using solid-state sintering reactions that crystallize in the monoclinic system with C2/m (No. 12) space group with lattice parameters a = 27.914(7) Å, b = 4.0804(11) Å, c = 15.512(4) Å, and β = 114.881(9)° for M = Sn, and a = 27.987(3) Å, b = 4.1062(5) Å, c = 15.6372(19) Å, and β = 115.318(3)° for M = Pb, respectively. The crystal structure is related to a homologous series [A+22x−4B+34 Se−22x−2][B+32y−2Se−23y−3] with (x, y) = (3, 4) that contains building units of two-dimensional slabs of NaCl111-type [Sb2Bi4Se11] separated by 1D ribbons NaCl100-type [Pb2Sb3BiSe6]. The NaCl111 unit contains edge-shared octahedra filled with Sb3+ and Bi3+ cations, which are parallel and overlapped to form a step-layer 2D network stacking alone [001]. The NaCl100 type ribbons containing Pb2+ and Sb3+ in square or trigonal pyramidal environments with the general formula [M6Se6] filled in the space between 2D layers of NaCl111 units. The conductivity measurement revealed semiconducting property with band gaps of ~0.1 eV. Pb2Sb5Bi5Se17 exhibits low thermal conductivity 3,000 μW cm−1 K−1 in a temperature range of 300–480 K.

Professor King-Chuen Lin (1953–2022): A visionary chemist, a role model of persistent scientist, and an inspiring mentor, who dedicated his fruitful research career to chemical dynamics, analytical spectroscopy, biophysical instrumentation, and nanomaterials. Professor King-Chuen Lin hailed from Kaohsiung, a bustling port city in southern Taiwan. Upon graduation from the esteemed Provincial Kaohsiung High School, he achieved an impressive ranking in the national university entrance examination to enter National Taiwan University (NTU), the premier institution of higher education in Taiwan. In 1975, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from NTU. Following his mandatory military service, Prof. Lin set his sights on Michigan State University, where he pursued his doctoral studies. Under the guidance of Professor Stanley Crouch, he completed his Ph.D. in Chemistry (with a focus on Physical and Analytical Chemistry) in 1982. Afterward, he embarked on a post-doctoral training experience at Cornell University. In 1984, Prof. Lin returned to his beloved alma mater in Taiwan and joined the Department of Chemistry at NTU, as a faculty member with a joint appointment in the Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences (IAMS), Academia Sinica, the preeminent academic research institution in Taiwan directly responsible to the Presidential Office. He was soon promoted to the position of full professor in 1988. In 2006, he was honored with the esteemed title of Distinguished Professor at NTU. Prof. Lin had a distinguished career spanning almost 30 years at NTU and Academia Sinica, establishing himself as a renowned scholar. He received numerous accolades, including prestigious recognitions such as the Distinguished Research Award and Distinguished Research Fellowship from the National Science Council before 2002. In subsequent years, he was honored with the Academic Award from the Chemical Society Located in Taipei (2009) and the Academic Award from the Ministry of Education (2014), further solidifying his reputation as an esteemed chemistry scholar. In 2018, Professor Lin was the recipient of the R.B. Bernstein Award in Stereodynamics (Switzerland), recognizing his outstanding contributions to the field. The following year, he received the highest academic honor in Taiwan, the National Chair Award, from the Ministry of Education in 2019. These prestigious awards and honors underscore Professor Lin's exceptional standing in academia. Prof. Lin, a visionary and productive chemist, demonstrated a remarkable breadth of research interests spanning multiple fields, including chemical dynamics, analytical spectroscopy, biophysical instrumentation, and nanomaterials. His mentorship extended to numerous young chemists across the globe, including graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and collaborators. Prof. Lin dedicated tireless efforts to various research projects and provided enthusiastic guidance to approximately 20 doctoral students and over 100 master's students, ensuring their successful completion of their graduate studies.

The high cost and scarcity of Pt metal limit the large-scale applicability of the excellent hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalyst.

A novel fluorescent composite anti-corrosion coating was prepared, which could simultaneously indicate corrosion sites and corrosion degree according to change of fluorescence intensity.

It is our great pleasure to publish this special issue of the Journal of the Chinese Chemical Society (JCCS) dedicated to the occasion of Professor Yu Wang's 80th birthday. There are thirty cutting-edge articles in this issue contributed from her former students, colleagues, and friends over the years. We are grateful to all authors who have endeavored to bring about a refreshing novelty in this special issue.

The removal of trace amount of BCl3 from SiHCl3 by adsorption is an efficient method in manufacture of electronic grade polysilicon.

This review article presents our recent examples of the branching selectivity in the photodissociation of asymmetric-top molecules, halothane CF3CHBrCl and isohaloethane CF2BrCHFCl. The former gave the unexpected branching ratio of ([Cl] + [Cl*])/([Br] + [Br*]) ≈2 for the Br, Br* and Cl, Cl* atom fragmentations, meaning that the strongly bounded Cl-C bond gave twice favorable fragmentation, while the later isohaloethane gave almost the same value for all-atom fragmentations. We interpret this result due to the curve crossing of electronically excited states and the non-adiabatic interaction on the excited states. The bimodal vibrational distribution of the product CO fragment in the formic acid photodissociation at 193 nm evidenced a roaming signature by using the μs time-resolved Fourier-transform infrared emission spectra for the first time. We find the characteristic propensity rule in the time-dependent interaction potential to judge reactivity in the H + H2 exchange reaction and the roaming-type of trajectory at temperature 3 K, by use of the impact-parameter dependent quasi-classical trajectory simulation, based on the present results, we conclude that reaction dynamics proceeds not only by the prerequisite of energy conservation but also by the timing of the time-dependent interaction potential which is very sensitive to the steric configuration of reaction intermediate, thus it may be called as the concerted stereodynamics.

Human dihydrofolate reductase (hDHFR) inhibitors have been a popular research object designed as anti-cancer, anti-malarial, and antibacterial drugs for decades. Besides quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR), artificial intelligence (AI) has recently been introduced in numerous professional biological researches, such as molecular drug design and biological activity prediction. In this study, we construct a deep-learning workflow for designing novel hDHFR inhibitors. This workflow mainly includes two networks, as described in the following: The first one is the artificial neural network trained by the molecules selected from the ChEMBL database with experimental hDHFR inhibitions as the label to evaluate the bioactivity of the designed molecular structures constructed from the second network. The second network utilizes conditional generative and adversarial networks (cGAN) to generate candidate molecules with the desired properties. Finally, the obtained candidate molecules with high hDHFR inhibition are subjected to a molecular docking process to verify their binding patterns and affinity strengths inside the active site of hDHFR. In the end, we have successfully identified several novel drug-like compounds with hDHFR inhibition comparable to those currently used in clinics. We present a new tool to effectively design new drug-like compounds through an AI approach.

In this study, a hydrostable Z-scheme Ag/CsPbBr3/Bi2WO6 photocatalyst was designed and fabricated for the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB). The structural instability of CsPbX3 perovskites in water is one of the main obstacles that restrict their practical application in photocatalytic wastewater treatment. The photocatalyst was prepared in three steps: passivation of CsPbBr3 nanocrystals (NCs) with 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA), construction of a heterojunction between MPA-passivated CsPbBr3 NCs and Bi2WO6 ultrathin nanosheets, and doping Ag nanoparticles as charge mediators in the heterojunction. The as-obtained 5%Ag/20%CsPbBr3/Bi2WO6 exhibits good stability and excellent photocatalytic activity. The degradation rate is 93.9% in 120 min, which is 4.41 times than that of Bi2WO6.

Perovskite-based solar cell is getting great attention as a promising candidate for future solar cell technology, since high power conversion efficiency above 25.5% have been demonstrated for small scale PSCs from films prepared mainly by spin-coating method, which is not feasible for large area film preparation. Scalable and cost-effective film fabrication techniques are urgently needed for the commercialization of perovskite solar cells.