A novel methodology, called ADOR (assembly–disassembly–organisation–reassembly), for the synthesis of zeolites is reviewed here in detail. The ADOR mechanism stems from the fact that certain chemical weakness against a stimulus may be present in a zeolite framework, which can then be utilized for the preparation of new solids through successive manipulation of the material. In this review, we discuss the critical factors of germanosilicate zeolites required for application of the ADOR protocol and describe the mechanism of hydrolysis, organisation and condensation to form new zeolites starting from zeolite UTL. Last but not least, we discuss the potential of this methodology to form other zeolites and the prospects for future investigations.

Although millions of zeolite structures have been predicted, only about 200 have been prepared over the past six decades. An assembly–disassembly–organization–reassembly process has now enabled the synthesis of two zeolites previously thought to be unfeasible, which have high framework energy and rare structural features such as odd-membered rings.

In this paper designing, preparation and characterization of multifunctional coatings based on TiO₂/SiO₂ has been described. TiO₂ was used as a high index material, whereas SiO₂ was used as a low index material. Multilayers were deposited on microscope slide substrates by microwave assisted reactive magnetron sputtering process. Multilayer design was optimized for residual reflection of about 3% in visible spectrum (450–800 nm). As a top layer, TiO₂ with a fixed thickness of 10 nm as a protective film was deposited. Based on transmittance and reflectance spectra, refractive indexes of TiO₂ and SiO₂ single layers were calculated. Ultra high vacuum atomic force microscope was used to characterize the surface properties of TiO₂/SiO₂ multilayer. Surface morphology revealed densely packed structure with grains of about 30 nm in size. Prepared samples were also investigated by nanoindentation to evaluate their protective performance against external hazards. Therefore, the hardness of the thin films was measured and it was equal to 9.34 GPa. Additionally, contact angle of prepared coatings has been measured to assess the wetting properties of the multilayer surface.

In this paper, a comparison of TiO₂ thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering with a continuous and pulsed gas flow was presented. Structural, surface, optical, and mechanical properties of deposited titanium dioxide coatings were analyzed with the use of a wide range of measurement techniques. It was found that thin films deposited with a gas impulse had a nanocrystalline rutile structure instead of fibrous-like anatase obtained with a continuous gas flow. TiO₂ thin films deposited with both techniques were transparent in the visible wavelength range, however, a much higher refractive index and packing density were observed for coatings deposited by the pulsed gas technique. The application of a gas impulse improved the hardness and scratch resistance of the prepared TiO₂ thin films.