Efficient use of energy for cooling applications is a very important and challenging field in science. Ultra-low temperature actuated (T_driving < 80 °C) adsorption-driven chillers (ADCs) with water as the cooling agent are one environmentally benign option. The nanoscale metal-organic framework [Al(OH)(C₆H₂O₄S)] denoted CAU-23 was discovered that possess favorable properties, including water adsorption capacity of 0.37 g_H2O/g_sorbent around p/p₀ = 0.3 and cycling stability of at least 5000 cycles. Most importantly the material has a driving temperature down to 60 °C, which allows for the exploitation of yet mostly unused temperature sources and a more efficient use of energy. These exceptional properties are due to its unique crystal structure, which was unequivocally elucidated by single crystal electron diffraction. Monte Carlo simulations were performed to reveal the water adsorption mechanism at the atomic level. With its green synthesis, CAU-23 is an ideal material to realize ultra-low temperature driven ADC devices.

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is central in carbon-neutral energy devices. While platinum group materials have shown high activities for ORR, their practical uses are hampered by concerns over deactivation, slow kinetics, exorbitant cost, and scarce nature reserve. The low-cost yet high tunablility of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) provide a unique platform for tailoring their characteristic properties as new electrocatalysts. Herein, we report a new concept of design and present stable Zr-chain-based MOFs as efficient electrocatalysts for ORR. The strategy is based on using Zr-chains to promote high chemical and redox stability, and more importantly, tailor the immobilization and packing of redox active-sites at an ideal density to improve the reaction kinetics. The obtained new electrocatalyst, PCN-226, thereby shows high ORR activity. We further demonstrate PCN-226 as a promising electrode material for practical applications in rechargeable Zn-air batteries, with a high peak power density of 133 mW cm−2. Being one of the very few electrocatalytic MOFs for ORR, this work provides a new concept by designing chain-based structures to enrich the diversity of efficient electrocatalysts and MOFs.

Tin halide perovskites (THPs) have emerged as promising lead-free candidates for eco-friendly perovskite solar cells, but their photovoltaic performance still lags behind that of lead-based counterparts due to poor thin-film quality. Constructing two-dimensional/three-dimensional (2D/3D) heterostructures can effectively regulate crystallization and suppress defect formation for developing high-quality THP thin films. However, the high aggregation barrier prevents large 2D perovskite colloids from forming stable clusters, making 2D THPs nucleate more slowly than their 3D analogues. Such distinct nucleation kinetics cause undesirable 2D/3D phase segregation that compromises both photovoltaic performance and device durability. Here we introduce small inorganic caesium cations to partially replace bulky organic cations in the electrical double layers of 2D THP colloids, reducing the colloid size to lower their aggregation barrier. The reduced electrostatic repulsion promotes the coagulation of 2D and 3D THP colloids in the precursor solution, synchronizing their nucleation kinetics for the growth of 2D/3D heterostructured THP thin films with a homogeneous microstructure and markedly reduced trap states. Consequently, the caesium-incorporated THP solar cells deliver an excellent power conversion efficiency of 17.13% (certified 16.65%) and exhibit stable operation under continuous one-sun illumination for over 1,500 h in nitrogen without encapsulation. This study offers new insights into the colloidal chemistry and crystallization engineering of mixed-dimensional heterostructures, paving the way for high-performance lead-free perovskite photovoltaics.

Continuous-rotation 3D electron diffraction methods are increasingly popular for the structure analysis of very small organic molecular crystals and crystalline inorganic materials. Dynamical diffraction effects cause non-linear deviations from kinematical intensities that present issues in structure analysis. Here, a method for structure analysis of continuous-rotation 3D electron diffraction data is presented that takes multiple scattering effects into account. Dynamical and kinematical refinements of 12 compounds—ranging from small organic compounds to metal–organic frameworks to inorganic materials—are compared, for which the new approach yields significantly improved models in terms of accuracy and reliability with up to fourfold reduction of the noise level in difference Fourier maps. The intrinsic sensitivity of dynamical diffraction to the absolute structure is also used to assign the handedness of 58 crystals of 9 different chiral compounds, showing that 3D electron diffraction is a reliable tool for the routine determination of absolute structures.

Zeolites are crystalline microporous materials constructed by corner-sharing tetrahedra (SiO₄ and AlO₄), with many industrial applications as ion exchangers, adsorbents and heterogeneous catalysts^1,2,3,4. However, the presence of micropores impedes the use of zeolites in areas dealing with bulky substrates. Introducing extrinsic mesopores, that is, intercrystal/intracrystal mesopores, in zeolites is a solution to overcome the diffusion barrier^5,6,7,8. Still, those extrinsic mesopores are generally disordered and non-uniform; moreover, acidity and crystallinity are always, to some extent, impaired⁹. Thus, synthesizing thermally stable zeolites with intrinsic mesopores that are of uniform size and crystallographically connected with micropores, denoted here as intrinsic mesoporous zeolite, is highly desired but still not achieved. Here we report ZMQ-1 (Zeolitic Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, no. 1), an aluminosilicate zeolite with an intersecting intrinsic meso-microporous channel system delimited by 28 × 10 × 10-rings, in which the 28-ring has a free diameter of 22.76 Å × 11.83 Å, which reaches the mesopore domain. ZMQ-1 has high thermal and hydrothermal stability with tunable framework Si/Al molar ratios. ZMQ-1 is the first aluminosilicate zeolite with an intrinsic meso-microporous channel system. The Brønsted acidity of ZMQ-1 imparts high activity and unique selectivity in the catalytic cracking of heavy oil. The position of the organic structure-directing agent (OSDA) used for ZMQ-1 synthesis was determined from three-dimensional electron diffraction (3D ED) data, which shows the unique structure-directing role of the OSDA in the formation of the intrinsic meso-microporous zeolite. This provides an incentive for preparing other stable mesopore-containing zeolites.