OctaDist is an interactive and visual program for determination of structural distortion in octahedral coordination complexes such as spin crossover complexes, single-ion magnets, perovskites or metal–organic frameworks. OctaDist computes the octahedral distortion parameters initially designed in the context of the spin-crossover phenomenon and denoted ζ, Σ, and Θ from standard structural files. The program also provides additional tools for molecular analyses and visualization. It emphasizes performance, flexibility, ease of use, application programming interface (API) consistency, and clear documentation. The modules and classes in OctaDist can be easily customized to include new algorithms or analytical tools. OctaDist is cross-platform supported for modern operating systems and is available as open-source distributed under the GNU General Public License version 3.

The impact of solvent on spin crossover is explored with T _1/2 varying by 200 K and hysteresis up to 80 K.

The sonochemical reaction between Zn(NO3)2 and hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) resulted in different products depending on amounts of Zn(II) cations in the aqueous solution. Crystalline phase pure ZnO nanoparticles were obtained by using 0.05 M Zn(NO3)2-HMT. This single phase was formed by low power sonication for 20 min in an ultrasonic bath at ambient conditions and its morphology did not change for the next 60 min. Higher concentrations of precursors (0.1 and 0.5 M) led to a mixture of zinc compounds including plate-like Zn5(OH)8(NO3)2(H2O). In contrast, a mixed phase ZnO/Zn5(OH)6(CO3)2 and a single phase Zn5(OH)6(CO3)2 were formed when the precursor concentrations were decreased to 0.01 and 0.005 M, respectively. The resulting infrared absorption and ultraviolet/visible emission were dependent on the phases and defects in these zinc compounds.