Room-Temperature Synthesis of Carbon-Nanotube-Interconnected Amorphous NiFe-Layered Double Hydroxides for Boosting Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a key half-reaction in electrocatalytic water splitting. Large-scale water electrolysis is hampered by commercial noble-metal-based OER electrocatalysts owing to their high cost. To address these issues, we present a facile, one-pot, room-temperature co-precipitation approach to quickly synthesize carbon-nanotube-interconnected amorphous NiFe-layered double hydroxides (NiFe-LDH@CNT) as cost-effective, efficient, and stable OER electrocatalysts. The hybrid catalyst NiFe-LDH@CNT delivered outstanding OER activity with a low onset overpotential of 255 mV and a small Tafel slope of 51.36 mV dec-1, as well as outstanding long-term stability. The high catalytic capability of NiFe-LDH@CNT is associated with the synergistic effects of its room-temperature synthesized amorphous structure, bi-metallic modulation, and conductive CNT skeleton. The room-temperature synthesis can not only offer economic feasibility, but can also allow amorphous NiFe-LDH to be obtained without crystalline boundaries, facilitating long-term stability during the OER process. The bi-metallic nature of NiFe-LDH guarantees a modified electronic structure, providing additional catalytic sites. Simultaneously, the highly conductive CNT network fosters a nanoporous structure, facilitating electron transfer and O2 release and enriching catalytic sites. This study introduces an innovative approach to purposefully design nanoarchitecture and easily synthesize amorphous transition-metal-based OER catalysts, ensuring their cost effectiveness, production efficiency, and long-term stability.

Defect-Engineered Mesoporous Undoped Carbon Nanoribbons for Benchmark Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

For large-scale fuel cell applications, it is significant to replace expensive Pt-based oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysts with nonprecious metal- or metal-free carbon-based catalysts with high activity. However, it is still challenging to deeply understand the role of intrinsic defects and the origin of ORR activity in pure nanocarbon. Therefore, a novel self-assembly and a pyrolysis strategy to fabricate defect-rich mesoporous carbon nanoribbons are presented. Due to the effective regulation of nanoarchitecture, a vast number of defective catalytic sites (edge defects and holes) are exposed, which thereby enhances the electron transfer kinetics and catalytic activity. Such undoped nanoribbons display a large half-wave potential of 0.837 V, excellent long-term stability, and exceptional methanol tolerance, surpassing the most undoped ORR catalysts and the commercial Pt/C (20 wt.%) catalyst. Structural characterizations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirm that the zigzag edge defects and the armchair pentagon at the hole defect are responsible for outstanding ORR performance.

Atomic Fe/Zn anchored N, S co-doped nano-porous carbon for boosting oxygen reduction reaction.

Dual-single-atom catalysts are well-known due to their excellent catalytic performance of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the tunable coordination environment of the active sites. However, it is still challengable to finely modulate the electronic states of the metal atoms and facilely fabricate a catalyst with dual-single atoms homogeneously dispersed on conductive skeletons with good mass transport. Herein, atomic FeNx/ZnNx sites anchored N, S co-doped nano-porous carbon plates/nanotubes material (Fe0.10ZnNSC) is rationally prepared via a facile room-temperature reaction and high-temperature pyrolysis. The as-prepared Fe0.10ZnNSC catalyst exhibits a positive onset potential of 0.956 V, an impressive half-wave potential of 0.875 V, excellent long-term durability, and a high methanol resistance, outperforming the benchmark Pt/C. The outstanding ORR performance of Fe0.10ZnNSC is due to its unique nanoarchitecture: a large specific surface area (1092.8 cm2 g-1) and well-developed nanopore structure ensure the high accessibility of active sites; the high conductivity of the carbon matrix guarantees a strong ability to transport electrons to the active sites; and the optimized electronic states of FeNx and ZnNx sites possess good oxygen intermediate adsorption/desorption capacity. This strategy can be extended to design and fabricate other non-precious dual-single-atom ORR catalysts.

Hierarchical Ultrathin Layered GO-ZnO@CeO2 Nanohybrids for Highly Efficient Methylene Blue Dye Degradation.

Highly efficient interfacial contact between components in nanohybrids is a key to achieving great photocatalytic activity in photocatalysts and degradation of organic model pollutants under visible light irradiation. Herein, we report the synthesis of nano-assembly of graphene oxide, zinc oxide and cerium oxide (GO-ZnO@CeO2) nanohybrids constructed by the hydrothermal method and subsequently annealed at 300 °C for 4 h. The unique graphene oxide sheets, which are anchored with semiconducting materials (ZnO and CeO2 nanoparticles), act with a significant role in realizing sufficient interfacial contact in the new GO-ZnO@CeO2 nanohybrids. Consequently, the nano-assembled structure of GO-ZnO@CeO2 exhibits a greater level (96.66%) of MB dye degradation activity than GO-ZnO nanostructures and CeO2 nanoparticles on their own. This is due to the thin layers of GO-ZnO@CeO2 nanohybrids with interfacial contact, suitable band-gap matching and high surface area, preferred for the improvement of photocatalytic performance. Furthermore, this work offers a facile building and cost-effective construction strategy to synthesize the GO-ZnO@CeO2 nanocatalyst for photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants with long-term stability and higher efficiency.

Metal-Organic Framework-Derived Fe-Doped Ni3Se4/NiSe2 Heterostructure-Embedded Mesoporous Tubes for Boosting Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

It is crucial but challenging to promote sluggish kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) for water splitting via finely tuning the hierarchical nanoarchitecture and electronic structure of the catalyst. To address such issues, herein we present iron-doped Ni3Se4/NiSe2 heterostructure-embedded metal-organic framework-derived mesoporous tubes (Ni-MOF-Fe-Se-400) realized by an interfacial engineering strategy. Due to the hierarchical nanoarchitecture of conductive two-dimensional nanosheet-constructed MOF-derived mesoporous tubes, coupled with fine tuning of the electronic structure via Fe-doping and interactions between Ni3Se4/NiSe2 heterostructures, the Ni-MOF-Fe-Se-400 catalyst delivers superior OER activity: it requires only a low overpotential of 242 mV to achieve 10 mA cm-2 (Ej=10), surpassing the benchmark RuO2 (Ej=10 = 286 mV) and displays exceptional durability in the chronoamperometric i-t test with a small current decay (6.2%) after 72 h. Furthermore, the water splitting system comprises a Ni-MOF-Fe-Se-400 anode and a Pt/C cathode requires a low cell voltage of 1.576 V to achieve Ej=10 with an excellent Faradic efficiency (∼100%), outperforming the RuO2-Pt/C combination. This work presents a novel interfacial engineering strategy to finely adjust the morphology and electronic structure of the non-noble metal-based OER catalyst via a facile fabrication method.

Dual Fe, Zn single atoms anchored on carbon nanotubes inlaid N, S-doped hollow carbon polyhedrons for boosting oxygen reduction reaction.

It is still challengeable but significant to rationally develop dual-metal single-atom catalysts with rich accessible active sites and excellent intrinsic catalytic activity towards oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Herein, we present a novel dual-metal single-atom catalyst, Fe and Zn single atoms homogenously anchored on carbon nanotubes inlaid N, S-doped hollow carbon polyhedrons (FeZn-NSC), synthesized by facile iron-salt impregnation and high-temperature pyrolysis for zeolitic imidazolate framework-8. Due to the synergistic effects of the hierarchical porous nanoarchitecture with high specific surface area (795.48 m2 g-1), N, S co-doped hollow carbon polyhedrons, in-situ grown highly conductive carbon nanotubes, and high loading of dual-metal single-atoms of Fe (3.12 wt%) and Zn (3.71 wt%), the optimized FeZn-NSC delivers outstanding ORR performance with high half-wave potential of 0.87 V, low Tafel slope of 44.7 mV dec-1, long-term durability, and strong tolerance of methanol crossover. This work provides a strategy to rationally design and facilely synthesize dual-metal single-atom catalysts with high ORR activity.

Lithiophilic Mo3N2/MoN as multifunctional interlayer for dendrite-free and ultra-stable lithium metal batteries.

The formation of lithium dendrite and the unstable electrode/electrolyte interface, especially at high rates, are the dominant obstacles impeding the implementation of lithium metal batteries (LMBs). To tackle these fundamental challenges, here we propose a lithiophilic Mo3N2/MoN heterostructure (designated as MoNx) interlayer for dendrite-free and ultra-stable lithium metal anodes for the first time. The MoNx interlayer presents excellent electrolyte wettability, fast lithium diffusion kinetics and strong mechanical strength, which function synergistically to inhibit lithium dendrite growth. During cycling, an in-situ formation of Li3N-rich solid electrolyte interphase layer and metallic Mo phase can regulate the Li-ion conductivity and Li metal deposition, thus indicating uniform and compact Li plating. Above ameliorating features accompany an ultra-long-life of 2000 h at a high current density of 5 mA cm-2 for the MoNx-Li anode. The feasibility of the MoNx-Li anode in LMB is further confirmed in conjunction with LiFePO4 cathodes. The full cells deliver exceptionally high-capacity retentions of above 82.0% after 500 cycles at 1C and 425 cycles at 3C, which are among the best thus far reported for LMBs. This work provides both new insights towards functional interlayer design and effective transition-metal nitrides for practical LMBs.

Three-dimensional porous MoS2 nanobox embedded g-C3N4@TiO2 architecture for highly efficient photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutant.

Herein, a simple, highly efficient and stable MoS2 nanobox embedded graphitic-C3N4@TiO2 (g-CN@TiO2) nanoarchitecture was synthesized by a facile solvothermal approach. The nano-hybrid photocatalyst was constructed by TiO2 nanoparticles anchored on the surface of g-CN nanosheets. Then highly crystalline three-dimensional porous MoS2 nanobox was homogeneously distributed on the g-CN@TiO2 surface. The g-CN@TiO2/MoS2 hybrid achieved a high photocatalytic degradation efficiency of 97.5% for methylene blue (MB) dye pollutant under visible-light irradiant in an hour which was much better than TiO2@MoS2, g-CN@TiO2, MoS2, TiO2 and g-CN. Furthermore, the reaction rate (k) value of g-CN@TiO2/MoS2 for MB dye is as high as 3.18 X 10-2 min-1, which is ~ 2.65 times better than those of g-CN@TiO2 and MoS2. This work presents a rational structure design, interfacial construction and suitable band gap strategy to synthesize advanced nano-hybrid photocatalyst for degradation of organic pollutant with excellent performance and long-term stability.

Outstanding Catalytic Effects of 1T'-MoTe2 Quantum Dots@3D Graphene in Shuttle-Free Li-S Batteries.

It is still challenging to develop sulfur electrodes for Li-S batteries with high electrical conductivity and fast kinetics, as well as efficient suppression of the shuttling effect of lithium polysulfides. To address such issues, herein, polar MoTe2 with different phases (2H, 1T, and 1T') were deeply investigated by density functional theory calculations, suggesting that the 1T'-MoTe2 displays concentrated density of states (DOS) near the Fermi level with high conductivity. By optimization of the synthesis, 1T'-MoTe2 quantum dots decorated three-dimensional graphene (MTQ@3DG) was prepared to overcome these issues, and it accomplished exceptional performance in Li-S batteries. Owing to the chemisorption and high catalytic effect of 1T'-MoTe2 quantum dots, MTQ@3DG/S exhibits highly reversible discharge capacity of 1310.1 mAh g-1 at 0.2 C with 0.026% capacity fade rate per cycle over 600 cycles. The adsorption calculation demonstrates that the conversion of Li2S2 to Li2S is the rate-limiting step where the Gibbs free energies are 1.07 eV for graphene and 0.97 eV for 1T'-MoTe2, revealing the importance of 1T'-MoTe2. Furthermore, in situ Raman spectroscopy investigation proved the suppression of the shuttle effect of LiPSs in MTQ@3DG/S cells during the cycle.

Self-assembled CoSe2-FeSe2 heteronanoparticles along the carbon nanotube network for boosted oxygen evolution reaction.

Water electrolysis is a significant alternative technique to produce clean hydrogen fuel in order to replace environmentally destructive fossil fuel combustion. However, the sluggish oxygen evolution kinetics makes this process vulnerable as it requires relatively high overpotentials. Hence, significantly effective electrocatalysts are necessary to access the water-oxidation process at a low overpotential to make this process industrially viable. Therefore, in order to reduce the energy barrier, we developed bimetallic CoSe2-FeSe2 heteronanoparticles along the carbon nanotube network (CoSe2-FeSe2/CNT) via a facile selenization strategy. Due to the unique assembly of highly conductive nanoparticles along the CNT network, the CoSe2-FeSe2/CNT displays an exceptionally good oxygen evolution (OER) activity; it requires 248 mV overpotential to reach a current density of 10 mA cm-2 (η10) with an ultra-low Tafel slope of 36 mV dec-1 and displays an overpotential of 1.59 V (η10) in the full water-splitting catalysis with the commercial Pt/C cathode. The high OER activity of CoSe2-FeSe2/CNT over the monometallic CoSe2/CNT and FeSe2/CNT electrocatalysts approve the synergistic interactions. Therefore, the superior performance is possibly ascribed to the unique porous nanoarchitecture and the strong coupling interactions between CoSe2 and FeSe2 heteronanoparticles on the conductive network. This study introduces an innovative approach to rationally design and fabricate cost-effective and highly proficient electrocatalysts for boosted OER performance.

In Situ Construction of Mo2 C Quantum Dots-Decorated CNT Networks as a Multifunctional Electrocatalyst for Advanced Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

The slow redox kinetics during cycling process and the serious shuttle effect caused by the solubility of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) dramatically hinder the practical application of Li-S batteries. Herein, a facile and scalable spray-drying strategy is presented to construct conductive polar Mo2 C quantum dots-decorated carbon nanotube (CNT) networks (MCN) as an efficient absorbent and electrocatalyst for Li-S batteries. The results reveal that the MCN/S electrode exhibits a high specific capacity of 1303.3 mAh g-1 at 0.2 C, and ultrastable cycling stability with decay of 0.019% per cycle even at 1 C. Theoretical simulation uncovers that Mo2 C exhibits much stronger binding energies for S8 and Li2 Sn . The energy barrier for the conversion between Li2 S4 and Li2 S2 decreases from 1.02 to 0.72 eV when hybriding with Mo2 C. Furthermore, in situ discharge/charge-dependent Raman spectroscopy shows that long-chain Li2 S8 configuration is generated via S8 ring opening near the first plateaus at ≈2.36 V versus Li/Li+ and the S6 2- configuration in CNT/S electrode is maintained below the potential of ≈2.30 V versus Li/Li+ , indicating that the shuttle of soluble LiPSs happens during the whole discharge process. This work provides deep insights into the polar nanoarchitecture design and scalable fabrication for advanced Li-S batteries.

Hierarchical ultrathin layered MoS2@NiFe2O4 nanohybrids as a bifunctional catalyst for highly efficient oxygen evolution and organic pollutant degradation.

Rational design and highly efficient dual-functional catalyst are still difficult to develop for electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction and degradation of RhB dye pollutant. Herein, we report a highly efficient "bandgap matching and interfacial coupling" strategy to synthesize nano-assembled ultrathin layered MoS2@NiFe2O4 (MS@NiFeO) bifunctional catalyst constructed by the hydrothermal route and subsequently amine-hydrolysis. The OER performance of the prepared MS@NiFeO catalyst delivers a low overpotential of 290 mV at 10 mA/cm2 and Tafel slope is 69.2 mV dec-1 in an alkaline solution. In addition, the nano-assembled ultrathin layered structure of MS@NiFeO showed a highly efficient (96.37%) RhB dye degradation performance than that of MoS2 nanosheets and NiFe2O4 nanostructures. Unique nanostructure of ultrathin layered MS@NiFeO with suitable band matching, interfacial charge transfer, high surface area and more active sites favored for the enhancement of the catalytic activity. This work presents an unpretentious construction and low-cost production strategy to synthesize bifunctional hybrid catalyst for oxygen evolution reaction as well as degradation of organic pollutant with superior efficiency and longer stability.

Electronic Modulation of Hierarchical Spongy Nanosheets toward Efficient and Stable Water Electrolysis.

The energy conversion efficiency of water electrolysis is determined by the activity of selected catalysts. Ideal catalysts should possess not only porous architecture for high-density assembly of active sites but also a subtle electronic configuration for the optimized activity at each site. In this context, the development of stable porous hosting materials that allow the incorporation of various metal elements is highly desirable for both experimental optimization and theoretical comparison/prediction. Herein, MOF-derived spongy nanosheet arrays constructed by assembly of carbon encapsulated hetero-metal doped Ni2 P nanoparticles is presented as a superior bifunctional electrocatalyst for water splitting. This hierarchical structure can be stably retained when secondary metal dopants are introduced, providing a flexible platform for electronic modulation. The catalytic origin of activity enhancement via metal (Fe, Cr, and Mn) doping is deciphered through experimental and theoretical investigations. Combining the advantages in both morphological and electronic structures, the optimized catalyst NiMn-P exhibits remarkable activity in both hydrogen and oxygen evolution in the alkaline media, with an ultrasmall cell voltage of 1.49 V (at 10 mA cm-2 ) and high durability for at least 240 h.

Metal-Organic Framework-Derived Fe-Doped Ni3Fe/NiFe2O4 Heteronanoparticle-Decorated Carbon Nanotube Network as a Highly Efficient and Durable Bifunctional Electrocatalyst.

Strategic design and fabrication of a highly efficient and cost-effective bifunctional electrocatalyst is of great significance in water electrolysis in order to produce sustainable hydrogen fuel in a large scale. However, it is still challenging to develop a stable, inexpensive, and efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst that can overcome the sluggish oxygen evolution kinetics in water electrolysis. To address the aforementioned concerns, a metal-organic framework-derived Fe-doped Ni3Fe/NiFe2O4 heterostructural nanoparticle-embedded carbon nanotube (CNT) matrix (Fe(0.2)/Ni-M@C-400-2h) is synthesized via a facile hydrothermal reaction and subsequent carbonization of an earth-abundant Ni/Fe/C precursor. With a novel porous nanoarchitecture fabricated by a Ni3Fe/NiFe2O4 heterostructure on a highly conductive CNT matrix, this catalyst exhibits exceptional bifunctional activity during water electrolysis over the Ni/Fe-based electrocatalysts reported recently. It delivers a low overpotential of 250 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA/cm2 with a small Tafel slope of 43.4 mV/dec for oxygen evolution reaction. It requires a low overpotential of 128 mV (η10) for hydrogen evolution reaction and displays a low overpotential of 1.62 V (η10) for overall water splitting. This study introduces a facile and straightforward synthesis strategy to develop transition metal-based nanoarchitectures with high performance and durability for overall water-splitting catalysis.

Rare antimony(III) imidazole selone complexes: steric controlled structural and bonding aspects.

Novel antimony(iii) imidazole selone complexes in a super crowded environment are reported for the first time. The super bulky selone antimony complexes, [{IPr*Se}(SbCl3)2] (1) and [{IPr*Se}(SbBr3)2] (2), were isolated from the reactions between IPr*Se (IPr*Se = [1,3-bis(2,6-diphenylmethylphenyl)imidazole selone]) and suitable antimony(iii) halides. 1 and 2 are dinuclear complexes with a Sb : Se ratio of 1 : 0.5 with an unusual coordination mode of selone. The molecules 1 and 2 consist of both Menshutkin-type Sbπaryl interactions and a Sb-Se coordination bond. However, the reaction between antimony(iii) halides and [(IPaul)Se] ([(IPaul)Se] = [1,3-bis(2,4-methyl-6-diphenyl phenyl)imidazole selone]) with a spatially defined steric impact gave the dinuclear complex [{(IPaul)Se}(SbCl3)]2 (3) and the mononuclear complex [{(IPaul)Se}(SbBr3)] (4) without Menshutkin-type interactions. The Sb : Se ratio in 3 and 4 is 1 : 1. Interestingly, the Menshutkin-type interaction was absent in 3 and 4 due to the efficient coordinating ability of the ligand [(IPaul)Se] with the Sb(iii) center compared to that of the super bulky ligand IPr*Se. The thermal property of these antimony selone complexes was also investigated. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were carried out on the model systems [L(SbCl3)2] (1A), [L(SbCl3)] (1B), [L'(SbCl3)2] (1C), and [L'(SbCl3)] (1D), where L = [1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropyl-4-methyl phenyl)imidazole selone] and L' = [1,3-bis(phenyl)imidazole selone], to understand the nature of orbitals and bonding situations. The computed metrical parameters of 1A are in good agreement with the experimental values. Natural population analysis of the model system reveals that the natural charge and total population of antimony(iii) are comparable. The unequal interaction between selenium and antimony obtained using Wiberg bond indices (WBIs) is fully consistent with the findings of the single-crystal X-ray studies.

Metal-Organic Framework-Derived NiS/Fe3O4 Heterostructure-Decorated Carbon Nanotubes as Highly Efficient and Durable Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

Because of the sluggish oxygen evolution kinetics, it is extremely important but still challenging to develop low-cost, efficient, and stable electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) to enhance the efficiency of water electrolysis. Herein, for the first time, we present a novel heterostructure catalyst, constructed by ultrafine NiS/Fe3O4 heterostructural nanoparticles decorated on a carbon nanotube (CNT) matrix (NiS/Fe3O4 HNPs@CNT), which is synthesized by a facile hydrothermal reaction and subsequent sulfurization process. The NiS/Fe3O4 HNPs@CNT hybrid delivers superior OER activity in alkaline medium: it delivers a current density of 10 mA cm-2 at an ultralow overpotential of 243 mV with a small Tafel slope of 44.2 mV dec-1, which outperforms the benchmark RuO2 electrocatalyst; moreover, it exhibits terrific long-term stability over 36 h without any noticeable performance decay. The exceptional OER performance can be attributed to the unique nanoarchitecture, high conductivity of the CNT matrix, and particularly, the interaction between the Ni and Fe species in NiS/Fe3O4 heterostructural nanoparticles. This work introduces a sensible nanoarchitecture design with a facile and novel fabrication strategy to attain nonprecious metal-based composite catalysts with high OER performance and outstanding long-term stability.

Role of C, S, Se and P donor ligands in copper(i) mediated C-N and C-Si bond formation reactions.

The first comparative study of C, S, Se and P donor ligands-supported copper(i) complexes for C-N and C-Si bond formation reactions are described. The syntheses and characterization of eight mononuclear copper(i) chalcogenone complexes, two polynuclear copper(i) chalcogenone complexes and one tetranuclear copper(i) phosphine complex are reported. All these new complexes were characterized by CHN analysis, FT-IR, UV-vis, multinuclear NMR and single crystal X-ray diffraction techniques. The single crystal X-ray structures of these complexes depict the existence of a wide range of coordination environments for the copper(i) center. This is the first comparative study of metal-phosphine, metal-NHC and metal-imidazolin-2-chalcogenones in C-N and C-Si bond formation reactions. Among all the catalysts, mononuclear copper(i) thione, mononuclear copper(i) N-heterocyclic carbene and tetranuclear copper(i) phosphine are exceedingly active towards the synthesis of 1,2,3-triazoles as well as for the cross-dehydrogenative coupling of alkynes with silanes. The cross-dehydrogenative coupling of terminal alkynes with silanes represents the first report of a catalytic process mediated by metal-imidazolin-2-chalcogenones.

Catalytically active lead(ii)-imidazolium coordination assemblies with diversified lead(ii) coordination geometries.

Five Pb(ii)-imidazolium carboxylate coordination assemblies with novel structural motifs were derived from the reaction between the corresponding flexible, semi flexible or rigid imidazolium carboxylic acid ligands and lead nitrate. The imidazolium linker present in these molecules likely plays a triple role such as the counter ion to balance the metal charge, the ligand being an integral part of the final product and the catalyst facilitating carbon-carbon bond formation reaction. These lead-imidazolium coordination assemblies exhibit, variable chemical and thermal stabilities, as well as catalytic activity. These newly prepared catalysts are highly active towards benzoin condensation reactions with good functional group tolerance.

Facile access to zinc and cadmium selones: highly active catalysts for Barbier reactions in aqueous media.

The syntheses and structures of five mononuclear zinc and cadmium selone complexes along with a polynuclear cadmium selone 1D chain were described. The mononuclear homoleptic zinc selone complexes were the first examples of structurally characterized zinc(ii) selone complexes. The spectral properties of the zinc and cadmium selone derivatives were investigated. Interesting structural diversity, coordination geometry, and variable chemical and thermal stability were observed for these zinc and cadmium selone compounds. Besides this, the first metal selone mediated Barbier coupling was reported. These catalysts were highly active for Barbier coupling reactions in aqueous alcohol media. In addition, the scope of the catalytic reactions was further explored with eleven different aldehydes.

Bismuth(III)dichalcogenones as highly active catalysts in multiple C-C bond formation reactions.

Thirteen new bismuth(III) dichalcogenone derivatives of triflates and halides were synthesized and structurally characterized. The mono, di, tetra and heptanuclear complexes were isolated with different bismuth(III) coordination environments. These newly isolated bismuth(III)dichalcogenones were characterized by multinuclear NMR, FT-IR, UV-vis, TGA and single crystal X-ray diffraction techniques. These complexes were tested for the synthesis of symmetrical triaryl- or triheteroarylmethanes and the catalysts were found to be highly active. In particular, the selone complexes were relatively more active than thione complexes. Subsequently, the scope of the catalytic reactions was further explored with different substituents.