Al₂O₃-SiO₂ composite nanofibers were fabricated by calcining the precursor fibers obtained through sol–gel processing and electrospinning technique. Thermogravity-differential scanning calorimeter, powder X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence analysis, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and thermal conductivity instrument were employed to characterize the fibers. Upon calcining the precursor fibers at 1300°C, continuous Al₂O₃-SiO₂ composite nanofibers with diameter of about 300 nm can be obtained. The calcined fibers had low thermal conductivity, which might favor their application in high-temperature insulation areas.

Semiconducting nanomaterials with different size and shape have widely applications in the field of electronics, a key pathway to improve their performance is by recombination of different materials. In the present study, Ti₃C₂T_X MXene derivative coupled with NiO nanodisk were prepared via simple hydrothermal and annealing treatment. The prepared samples were characterized by XRD, XPS, SEM, EDS and some other testing methods. The samples were made into sensors and the gas sensing properties of the materials were investigated under different test conditions, which show that the ethanol response value (14.68) of N/M-2 sensor are approximately 7.5 times than that (1.96) of the sensor made of pure NiO toward 100 ppm ethanol at 200 °C. Simultaneously, the sensors own excellent selectivity, lower detecting limitation (0.1 ppm ethanol) and notable moisture resistance, which demonstrate the excellent practicability of them in the field of Internet of Things (IoT).

The reaction of H₂L (N,N ′-bis(5-ethyl-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl)-2,6-pyridinedicarboxamide) with Ni(II) salts gave crystals of two new complexes, [Ni₃(µ₃-O)(H₂L)(L)₂] · 2DMF (1) and [Ni₂(µ-H₂O)(CH₃OH)(DMF)(L)₂] · H₂O · CH₃OH (2). The complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, IR, thermal analysis, and X-ray single crystal diffraction. Complex 1 is a trinuclear complex containing a triangle frame in the center formed by three Ni(II) atoms with a bridging µ₃-O. Complex 2 is dinuclear formed by two Ni(II) atoms with a bridging H₂O. H₂L coordinates to metal centers as a pentadentate ligand in 1 and tetradentate in 2. Thermal analysis shows that the thermal stability of 1 is higher than that of 2. In addition, the magnetic properties of 2 are also reported.