Metal halide perovskites have fascinated the research community over the past decade, and demonstrated unprecedented success in optoelectronics. In particular, perovskite single crystals have emerged as promising candidates for ionization radiation detection, due to the excellent opto-electronic properties. However, most of the reported crystals are grown in organic solvents and require high temperature. In this work, we develop a low-temperature crystallization strategy to grow CsPbBr₃ perovskite single crystals in water. Then, we carefully investigate the structure and optoelectronic properties of the crystals obtained, and compare them with CsPbBr₃ crystals grown in dimethyl sulfoxide. Interestingly, the water grown crystals exhibit a distinct crystal habit, superior charge transport properties and better stability in air. We also fabricate X-ray detectors based on the CsPbBr₃ crystals, and systematically characterize their device performance. The crystals grown in water demonstrate great potential for X-ray imaging with enhanced performance metrics.

A metal–organic cage is shown to bind SF₆—the most potent greenhouse gas known—and to release it under well-defined conditions.

The encapsulation of a guest within a host molecule can open new pathways of guest reactivity or halt modes of reaction normally observed in solution. Recent findings illustrate how a host's size and shape may alter the regioselectivity and kinetics of guests' reactions within host molecules.

A critical review of the current understanding of elastically flexible molecular crystals is presented. A set of criteria are proposed to define an elastically flexible crystal, so that these materials may find applications among future technologies.