We are now well-positioned to comprehend carcinogenesis at a molecular level in greater detail due to significant technological advancements. Additionally, we are now able to rationally design and develop drug molecules with the ability to either selectively enhance or disrupt important biological processes, maximizing their therapeutic potential. This has heralded a new era in drug design. The heterometallic ruthenium–platinum complexes can be used as anticancer, photodynamic therapy, diabetes treatment, and molecular sensors for thiol-containing peptides due to their multifunctional interactions with nuclear DNA, mitochondrial DNA, RNA, and proteins. Compared to cisplatin and its Ru-based monometallic precursors, a significant number of reported ruthenium–platinum complexes exhibit enhanced cytotoxicity and tumor selectivity. Due to the covalent binding of the cis-PtIICl2 moiety to DNA, photoactive Ru(II)–Pt(II) complexes were designed to prelocalize a photodynamic therapy agent at the site of action. The development of ruthenium–platinum-based heterometallic complexes has recently advanced, opening up new avenues for the development of drugs that are more efficient. Metal complexes’ potential as important cancer therapeutic agents will be the primary focus of this review. The development of ruthenium and platinum-based mono and mixed-metal complexes with therapeutic and biomedical applications are discussed in detail in this article.

Photochromic compounds are well known and attract tremendous necessity for their versatile applications in various fields of science. When exposed to light, metal complexes containing potentially photoswitchable azo (–N=N–) and imine (–C=N–) based ligands can be switched between trans (E) and cis (Z) two isomers, as well as energy manipulation and energy level modulation. Then the cis (Z) isomers underwent slow thermal isomerization back to the more stable trans (Z) isomers. The quantum efficiency of metal complexes has been tuned by modifying the ligands’ structures and altering metal substrates. Herein our review encompasses the photochromic behavior of a few conjugated azo-imine (–N=N–C=N–), ligands such as arylazoimidazoles, phenylazopyridine, azobispyridine, arylazopyrozoles, as well as a few non-conjugated azo-imine or Schiff base ligands with their metal complexes.

Organic-inorganic lead halide perovskite solar cells have rapidly emerged as a newfangled material for solar energy harnessing. Perovskite solar cells have succeeded in gaining a power conversion efficiency of 25% in the last year, further enhancement in the efficiency is anticipated due to advanced engineering of the different components making up the complete cell architecture with enhanced performance, stability and efficiency. Significant components of perovskite solar cell configurational architecture are the electron transport layer, active perovskite absorber layer, hole transport layer and counter electrode. Considering the profound role of transport layers in charge mobility, current review has particularly elucidated the advancements in the charge transport layers. The time duration of the review is from 2010 to 2021. However, the special focus has been laid on the recent articles. The influence of different organic and inorganic materials used for development of transport layers influencing the cell performance have been summarized. Materials used for transport layers have been modified by utilization of myriad of engineered substances through doping and surface functionalization strategies but every method have been marked by posing serious challenges towards the stability and efficiency of the cell and thus, hindering its commercialization. The review also provides an elucidation of the mechanical challenges and abatement strategies. These strategies are associated with the charge transport layers for enhancement of cell functionality.

In recent years, rapid technological advances have required the development of energy-related devices. In this regard, Supercapacitors (SCs) have been reported to be one of the most potential candidates to meet the demands of human’s sustainable development owing to their unique properties such as outstanding cycling life, safe operation, low processing cost, and high power density compared to the batteries. This review describes the concise aspects of SCs including charge-storage mechanisms and scientific principles design of SCs as well as energy-related performance. In addition, the most important performance parameters of SCs, such as the operating potential window, electrolyte, and full cell voltage, are reviewed. Researches on electrode materials are crucial to SCs because they play a pivotal role in the performance of SCs. This review outlines recent research progress of carbon-based materials, transition metal oxides, sulfides, hydroxides, MXenes, and metal nitrides. Finally, we give a brief outline of SCs’ strategic direction for future growth.

Photocatalysis by utilizing semiconductors for the removal of toxic pollutants has gained tremendous interest for remediation purposes. The organic pollutants usually include; pesticides, dyes and other phenolic compounds. An imperative restraint associated with the photocatalytic effectiveness of the catalyst is the rapid recombination of the light generated electrons and holes. The particle agglomeration and electron-hole recombination hinders the rate of pollutant removal. For decades, researchers have used metal-sulfides efficiently for photocatalytic dye degradation. The recent use of hybrid nanomaterials with the combination of graphene derivatives such as graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide (GO/rGO)-metal sulfide has gained interest. These composites have displayed an impressive upsurge in the photocatalytic activity of materials. The current review describes the various researches on dye photodegradation by employing (GO/rGO)-metal sulfide, exhibiting a boosted potential for photocatalytic dye degradation. A comprehensive study on (CuS, ZnS and CdS)–GO/rGO hybrid composites have been discussed in detail for effective photocatalytic dye degradation in this review. Astonishingly improved dye degradation rates were observed in all these studies employing such hybrid composites. The several studies described in the review highlighted the varying degradation rates based on diverse research parameters and efficacy of graphene derivatives for enhancement of photocatalytic activity.

Bentonite clay is one of the oldest clays that humankind has been using from ancient times as traditional habits and remedies. In recent years researchers have found many applications of bentonite clay due to its various physio-chemical properties. In the present work, various physical and chemical properties of bentonite such as surface area, adsorption, swelling properties, cation exchange properties, etc. have been studied. This study also includes various procedures of modification of bentonite clay into Chitosan/Ag-bentonite composite, Fe-Modified bentonite, Hydroxyl-Fe-pillared-bentonite, Organo Bentonite, Organophilic clay, Arenesulfonic Acid-Functionalized Bentonite, Bentonite clay modified with Nb2O5. The study reveals that bentonite clay has large surface area due to similar structure with montmorillonite and it is found that the functionality of bentonite can be increased by increasing total surface area of the clay. Due to high cation exchangeability of bentonite, various cations can be incorporated into it. After purification and modification, the absorbent aluminum phyllosilicate bentonite clay can be used as an efficient catalyst in various types of catalytic reactions. Moreover, bentonite clay can be applied in various field like drilling, civil engineering, agriculture and water treatment.

This review covers over 30 examples of monomeric Pt(II) complexes of the types: Pt(η3–P1O1P2)(Y) (Y = PL, CL, OL), Pt(η3–P1N1P2)(Y) (Y = H, NL, CL, Cl, PL) and Pt(η3–P1P2N1)(Y) (Y = Cl). The heterotridentate donor ligands create 11 types of a couple chelate rings with common central atom O1 (η3–P1O1P2), N1 (η3–P1N1P2) and P2 (η3–P1P2N1). The most frequent is P1C2N1C2P2. Some cooperative effects between chelate rings and Y donor ligands were found and discussed. A degree of distortions of square-planar geometry about Pt(II) were also calculated.

This review covers over 20 monomeric platinum complexes of Pt{η 2 -P(X) n P}Cl 2 ( n = 9–15, 17, 19) type. The chelating P,P-donor ligands create wide varieties of the metallocyclic rings: 12-membered (PC 9 P, PC 3 NCNC 3 P), 13-membered (PC 3 NC 2 NC 3 P), 14-membered (PC 11 P, PO(SiO) 5 P, PC 2 OC 2 OC 2 OC 2 P), 15-membered (PC 12 P), 16-membered (PCOC 9 OCP), 17-membered (P(C 2 O) 4 C 2 P), 18-membered (PC 2 OC 9 OC 2 P, PC 4 NC 2 NC 2 NC 4 P), 20-membered (P(C 2 O) 5 C 2 P), and 21-membered (POC 2 NC 10 NC 2 OP). For these complexes the most common is a predominantly cis -arranged with 17 examples and only four examples with trans -configuration. The total mean values of Pt–L bond distances in the complexes with cis - versus trans -configuration are: 2.252 Å (P trans to Cl), 2.355 Å (Cl trans to P) vs 2.288 Å (P trans to P), and 2.304 Å (Cl trans to Cl). There are examples which exist in cis - and trans -isomeric forms and distortion isomers. A brief survey on the structural data of almost 180 examples of Pt{η 2 -P(X) n P}Cl 2 ( n = 1–8) type complexes is added and discussed.

In the recent past the molecular engineering of coordination metal complexes has attracted new interest in the field of nonlinear optics (NLO), which find their applications in optoelectronics and optical data storage technology it is the transition metal along with the organic moieties that induce the control over the optical nonlinearity these properties of the materials not only enhance the intensity but also have a drastic effect on the polarization of incident laser light. This is an important criterion for all-optical switching applications. Coordination metal complexes are a very good target to aim at because of their robustness, physical and chemical stability, and other variable degrees that lead to an increment in NLO responses, most importantly all these properties can be either manipulated or tailored or tunable according to the requirement. Apart from the metal center, these molecules acting as legend must be chromophoric with donor-acceptor nature. In these molecules, the NLO response is intrinsically based on the ‘push-pull’ mechanism of the electrons. Obviously to these molecules, when a metal is in contact, the electronic push-pull mechanism alters rendering the molecule non-symmetric. This review article mainly concentrates on small mononuclear metal complexes for NLO application.

Iron is essential to human survival. The biological role and trafficking of this trace essential inorganic element which is also a potential toxin is constantly being researched and unfolded. Vital for oxygen transport, DNA synthesis, electron transport, neurotransmitter biosynthesis and present in numerous other heme and non-heme enzymes the physiological roles are immense. Understanding the molecules and pathways that regulate this essential element at systemic and cellular levels are of importance in improving therapeutic strategies for iron related disorders. This review highlights the progress in understanding the metabolism and trafficking of iron along with the pathophysiology of iron related disorders.

Modern cements are complex materials with well-defined compositions that reach to high and consistent results. Automated techniques such as Rietveld analysis lead to provide an understanding of the composition and polymorphism of cement phases that could lead to control of the clinkering conditions to optimize characteristics and consequently quality product. For the characterization of cements used in the construction sector, Rietveld method has significant benefits over other analytical techniques. The precise information about phase assemblage and polymorphism lets monitoring the hydration behavior of binder materials. The objective of this paper is to report the quantitative Rietveld phase analyzes for three industrial clinkers, to review the most recent quantitative X-ray powder diffraction studies on anhydrous cement and to discuss the influence of the different parameters elaborated in the Rietveld method.

Graphene-based layered materials have got significant interest in membrane technology for water desalination, gas separation, organic nanofiltration, pervaporation, proton exchange applications, etc. and show remarkable results. Up to date, various methods have been developed for fabrication of high performance membrane. Most of them are only suitable for research purposes, but not appropriate for mass transport barrier and membrane applications that require large-area synthesis. In this comprehensive review, we summarized the current synthesis and fabrication methods of graphene-based membranes. Emphasis will be given on fabrication of both graphene-based nanoporous and lamellar membranes. Finally, we discuss the current engineering hurdles and future research directions yet to be explored for fabrication of such membranes.

Ruthenium complexes are considered as the most favorable alternatives to traditional platinum-based cancer drugs owing to their acceptable toxicity level, selectivity, variant oxidation states and ability to treat platinum-resistant cancer cells. They have similar ligand exchange kinetics as platinum drugs but can be tailored according to our desire by ligands influence. In the current study, we illustrate the in-vitro anticancer profile of some ruthenium complexes (2016–2021) against human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2). The anticancer activity of ruthenium complexes is determined by comparing their IC50 values with one another and positive controls. Fortunately, some ruthenium complexes including 3, 4, 6, 14, 15, 20, 42, and 48 exhibit surpassed in-vitro anticancer profile than that of positive controls promising as potential candidates against liver cancer. We also explored the structure-activity relationship (SAR) which is a key factor in the rational designing and synthesis of new ruthenium drugs. It covers the factors affecting anticancer activity including lipophilicity, planarity, area and bulkiness, the steric influence of different ligands, and electronic effects induced by ligands, stability, aqueous solubility and bioavailability to the target sites. The data reported here will provide strong support in the plausible design and synthesis of ruthenium anticancer drugs in the upcoming days.

Heterogeneous photocatalysts was a promising material for removing organic pollutants. Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) was a suitable photocatalyst for its cost efficiency and high stability to reduce various pollutants. Enhancing TiO 2 photocatalyst performance by doping with changed metals or non-metal ions and organic compounds have been reviewed. These methods could enhance photoelectrochemical activity via: (i) by a donor of electrons via electron-donor agents that would produce particular defects in TiO 2 structure and capture transporters of charge; (ii) by reducing recombination rate of the charge transporters and increasing degradation of pollutants. This study investigates the modification approaches of TiO 2 that comprise methods for overcoming the essential TiO 2 restrictions and enhancing the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants. Consequently, it emphasized on the current progress of modified-TiO 2 used for different pollutants in ambient conditions. Amendment techniques, such as inorganic and organic parts as doping, are studied. The reported experimental results obtained with the photocatalytic oxidation process for degrading organic pollutants were also collected and assessed.

Rapid escalation in energy demand and pressure over finite fossil fuels reserves with augmenting urbanization and industrialization points towards adoption of cleaner, sustainable and eco-friendly sources to be employed. Solar cell devices known for efficient conversion of solar energy to electrical energy have been attracting scientific community due to their remarkable conformity with the principles of green chemistry. The future candidacy of solar cells is expressed by their efficient conversion. Such a great potential associated with solar cells has instigated research since many decades leading to the emergence of a wide myriad of solar cells devices with novel constituent materials, designs and architecture reflected in form of three generations of the solar cells. Considering the cleaner and sustainability aspects of the solar energy, current review has systematically compiled different generations of solar cells signifying the advancements in terms of architecture and compositional parameters. In addition to the chronological progression of solar cells, current review has also focused on the innovations done in improvement of solar cells. In terms of efficiency and stability, photovoltaic community is eager to achieve augmented efficiencies and stabilities for using solar cells as an alternative to the conventional fossil fuels.

N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) are an eminent class of carbenes having a heterocyclic ring in which a divalent carbon atom is attached directly to a nitrogen atom. In the NHCs, the donation of lone pair is another important research in the dative bonding and not only in NHCs the dative bond plays a functionalized role in the other classes of complex formation like ylidones L → E ← L and carbones L → C ← L. M–NHC bond is L-M sigma-dative bond and NHCs are considered as strong sigma-donor ligands. The clear picture of the M–NHC bond can be better understood by M–NHC pi-interaction. M-L pi interaction is comprised of two steps. One is L → M sigma-donation and M → L π* back bonding. This dative donor nature of NHC and also its behavior in organoselenium is studied through DFT in which it’s optimized structure, bond lengths, molecular vibrations are calculated.

Metallodrugs correspond to a small portion of all available drugs in the market and, yet, some of them are among the most used and important drugs in modern medicine. However, medicinal inorganic chemistry remains an underestimated area within medicinal chemistry and the main reason is the mislead association of metals to toxic agents. Thus, in this review, the potential of medicinal inorganic chemistry in drug designing is highlighted through a description of the current status of metallodrugs and metallodrug candidates in advanced clinical trials. The broad spectrum of application of metal-based drugs in medicine for both therapy and diagnosis is addressed by the extensive list of examples presented herein.

Coordination polymers (CP) and metal-organic frameworks (MOF) have become a topic of immense interest in this century primarily because of the structural diversity that they offer. This structural diversity results in their multifaceted utility in various fields of science and technology such as catalysis, medicine, gas storage or separation, conductivity and magnetism. Their utility inspires a large variety of scientists to engage with them in their scientific pursuit thus creating a buzz around them in the scientific community. Metals capable of forming CPs and MOFs are primarily transition metals. Among them vanadium-based CPs and MOFs demand detailed discussion because of the unique nature of vanadium which makes it stable in many oxidation states and coordination number. Vanadium’s versatility imparts additional structural marvel and usefulness to these CPs and MOFs.

Bismuth chloride oxide (BiOCl) is a typical V-VI-VII ternary oxide material, which is one of the widely studied metal oxides due to its unique surface, electronic and photocatalytic properties. However, the broad bandgap and the large number of photogenerated electron-hole pair complexes of BiOCl limit its photocatalytic efficiency. Since the photocatalytic performance of BiOCl is highly dependent on its exposed crystallographic facets, research attention has increasingly focused on the different structures and properties possessed by different crystallographic facets of BiOCl. This article reviews the basic principles of using different crystalline surfaces of BiOCl materials to enhance photocatalytic activity, summarizes the applications of BiOCl single-crystal catalysts and composite catalysts in the environmental field, and provides an outlook on the challenges and new research directions for future development in this emerging frontier area. It is hoped that the crystalline surface-related photocatalysis of BiOCl can be used to provide new guidance for the rational design of novel catalysts for various energy and environment-related applications.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are an important class of environmental pollutants, and there is much interest in China to eliminate such pollutants. Noble metal catalysts have long been a family of catalysts with high efficiency and good low-temperature catalytic activity. As a representative of the noble metals, Pt has been widely used. This paper reviews the research trend of Pt-based catalysts for the catalytic oxidation of VOCs, and it compares several important components of Pt-based catalysts. The size of Pt particles, supported carriers, and reaction mechanism are reviewed. Toluene in VOCs is the main research subject. The activity, stability, water resistance, and selectivity of a series of Pt-based catalysts are summarized.