The review surveys the main lines of research in thermooptical spectroscopy related directly or indirectly to analytical chemistry. The advantages and drawbacks of thermooptical spectroscopy methods are considered. Particular attention is given to the coupling of thermooptical spectroscopy to chromatography, flow analysis techniques, capillary electrophoresis, etc. Prospects for the development of analytical thermooptical spectroscopy are discussed. The bibliography includes 606 references.

The recently published data on the dependence of the configuration of the reaction product on the structure of a catalytic metal complex (or an intermediate determining the asymmetric induction) in asymmetric catalytic reactions of hydrogen-transfer hydrogenation of acetophenone, hydroformylation of styrene, allylic alkylation of 1,3-diphenylprop-2-enyl acetate and alkylation of benzaldehyde with dialkylzinc are systematised. The applicabilities of octant and quadrant projections of the complexes are compared in order to establish the relationships between their structures and the enantioselectivities of the reactions. The known mechanisms of asymmetric induction in these reactions are discussed with regard to the C1 or C2 symmetry of the catalytic complex. The reasons for a decrease in the enantioselectivities of hydrogen-transfer hydrogenation, hydroformylation and alkylation by dialkylzinc [in the absence of Ti(OPr i) 4] when performed with complexes with chiral C2-symmetric ligands (as compared with complexes with asymmetric ligands) are considered. The bibliography includes 435 references.

The published data on the synthesis, reactivities and applications of organic, coordination and organometallic compounds containing a (Me 3Si) 3Si group are generalised and systematised. The bibliography includes 230 references.

The published data on oxide materials as positive electrodes for lithium-ion batteries are described systematically. The mechanisms of structural changes in cathode materials occurring during the operation of lithium-ion batteries and the problems concerned with their selection are discussed. Modern trends in optimising cathode materials and lithium-ion batteries on the whole are considered. The bibliography includes 167 references.

The review surveys geometric and algebraic models of chemical conversion (exchange) processes occurring in multicomponent salt systems in the molten state. Thermochemical and matrix methods for the construction of conversion figures are described in detail. The practical applications of matrices and graphs in studies of complex systems are illustrated. There are good prospects for using multicomponent salt systems in thermal power sources and high-temperature processes, such as electrolytic aluminising of niobium and silver plating. The bibliography includes 62 references.

The lines of research in the field of inorganic chemistry that are closely related to the design of novel functional materials are analysed. Special attention is given to areas of inorganic materials chemistry that have been developed most intensely at the Division of Inorganic Chemistry of the Department of Chemistry and at the Department of Materials Science of the Moscow State University over the past decade. The bibliography includes 135 references.

Structural features and methods for the synthesis of complex manganese oxides with the brownmillerite structure A2MnB'O5+δ (A = Ca, Sr; B' = Ga, Al) and of their derivatives are surveyed. Modern approaches to the description of crystal structures containing various types of chains of tetrahedra are considered and possible ordering patterns of these chains are discussed. The effects of the electronic structure and crystal chemical properties of the B' cations on the possibility of formation of a layered ordered structure is noted. The emphasis is placed on the anion non-stoichiometry of the brownmillerite phases and the influence of the excess oxygen (fluorine) on the structure of the compounds. A comparative analysis of properties of oxygen- and fluorine-doped brownmillerites is given. The data on the magnetic structures, transport and magnetoresistive properties of Mn-containing brownmillerites are generalised. The bibliography includes 74 references.

The methods of synthesis of new oxide compounds and thin-film materials based on the use of heteroepitaxy are considered. The thermodynamic model and the theory of the epitaxial stabilisation phenomenon are outlined, the role of thermodynamic and structure-geometric factors determining the possibility of epitaxial stabilisation of unstable phases is interpreted. The use of epitaxial stabilisation for the design of heterostructures with specific electric properties is demonstrated. The characteristic features of the structural relations between the film and substrate materials, resulting in the formation of thin films with different numbers of variants, are discussed. The bibliography includes 128 references.

Approaches to the synthesis of functional nanocomposites based on zero-, one- and two-dimensional solid-state nanoreactors formed by zeolite cages, pores of mesoporous matrices, or interlayer cavities in layered compounds are considered. It is demonstrated that the use of solid-state nanoreactors opens up extensive opportunities for designing nanocomposites with specified physicochemical properties and makes it possible to avoid the aggregation of nanoparticles and to protect them from exposure to external factors, thus essentially facilitating the practical utility of these materials. The bibliography includes 304 references.

The review surveys different aspects of chemical studies of semiconducting clathrates belonging to a unique family of inclusion compounds. The classification, crystal and electronic structures, properties and methods for the synthesis of semiconducting clathrates are considered on the basis of analysis of recent publications. The prospects for fundamental research and the construction of new-generation materials based on semiconducting clathrates are discussed. The bibliography includes 161 references.

The data on the synthesis, structures and chemical properties of pyrido- and pyrimidoisoindole derivatives with an azine ring annelated to a pyrrole ring, which have been published over the last two decades, are generalised. The structure of the π-electron system and the high reactivities of azinoisoindoles are discussed. Special attention is given to aromatic pyrido- and pyrimidoisoindoles. The bibliography includes 86 references.

The reagents used to transform epoxides, alkenes and α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds into allylic alcohols are considered. The bibliography includes 127 references.

The data published during the last five years on the application of chiral derivatives of phosphorous acid in coordination chemistry and enantioselective catalysis are summarised and discussed. The effect of the nature of these ligands on the structure of metal complexes and on the efficiency of catalytic organic syntheses is shown. Hydroformylation, hydrogenation, allylic substitution and conjugate addition catalysed by transition metal complexes with optically active phosphites and hydrophosphoranes are considered. The prospects for the development of this field of research are demonstrated. The bibliography includes 215 references.

The known methods for the synthesis of 2'-functionalised nucleosides, oligonucleotides and their conjugates are systematised. The applications of 2'-modified nucleosides and oligonucleotides are discussed. The bibliography includes 451 references.

The use of chiral 1,3,2-oxazaborolidines in asymmetric organic synthesis, particularly, in enantioselective reduction of ketones, imines and oxime ethers, asymmetric Diels–Alder reactions, aldol condensation and atroposelective reduction of lactones is reviewed. Reactions of immobilised 1,3,2-oxazaborolidines are also considered. The bibliography includes 266 references.

Data on substitution reactions at boron atoms in 10–12-vertex metallacarboranes, which are of fundamental and applied significance, are generalised. The possible mechanisms of substitution reactions and the influence of the metal fragment on substitution positions in the polyhedron are discussed. The bibliography includes 161 references.

The review considers methods of synthesis of cyclopalladated compounds of the PC- and PCP-type including intramolecular activation of the C–H bonds in the P-donor ligands, oxidative addition of preliminarily functionalised substrates to palladium(0), transmetallation of lithiated compounds, chelation of phosphine-substituted phosphorus ylides, and some non-standard processes resulting in a new ligand formation on a metal template. Particular attention has been given to the structural factors and experimental conditions that determine the feasibility of direct cyclopalladation of mono- and bidentate phosphines, phosphites and phosphinites. The bibliography includes 384 references.

Properties of lead difluoride are considered. Phase equilibria in PbF2–MFn systems (n = 1–5) and data on compounds and solid solutions formed in these systems are analysed. The characteristic features of phase diagrams of systems involving lead difluoride are discussed. Composites of PbF2 with other inorganic compounds hold promise as a basis for the design of new functional materials. The bibliography includes 331 references.

Structural features and biological properties of natural disaccharide nucleosides and related compounds are considered. The main methods for the synthesis of these compounds are described and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed. These methods include condensations of a protected disaccharide with a heterocyclic base or of a protected nucleoside with an activated monosaccharide. The bibliography includes 172 references.

Mathematical methods of calculation of the critical conversion (gel point) in the formation of cross-linked polymers by polycondensation, cross-linking of macromolecules and three-dimensional polymerisation are considered. The results obtained using the statistical approach ('ideal' polycondensation), the concept of bond blocks (the 'non-ideal' or 'non-statistical' polycondensation) and kinetic calculations that allowed the determination of the gel point in three-dimensional polymerisation processes are discussed. The bibliography includes 105 references.