Faiza Habib

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are crucial components in many daily-use products, yet they pose a significant threat to public health and the environment, even in minute amounts, due to their high toxicity. Therefore, it is crucial to develop a reliable method that could track these hazardous vapours with high sensitivity and selectivity. Among various techniques, fluorescence-based detection strategies have demonstrated great efficiency in both qualitative and quantitative monitoring of VOCs in real-time. These methods are attractive due to their low cost and portability, making them suitable for on-site applications. This review explores the latest advancements in aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-based fluorescent probes tailored for VOC detection across diverse platforms, highlighting their selectivity, sensitivity, and real-world applications. The use of AIE events has been justified for the development of selective and sensitive sensors for VOC detection. Furthermore, the present work investigates the various sensing mechanisms involved in predicting the AIE nature of the fluorophores. Additionally, we discuss existing challenges and propose future directions for designing next-generation AIE-based VOC sensors with enhanced specificity, stability, and practical usability. Coupled with the latest advancements, AIE-based fluorescence sensing of VOCs could contribute to the structural design of future smart VOC sensors that are highly efficient and effective. Graphical abstract

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as a versatile class of porous materials with tremendous potential for various applications, including energy storage devices. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of recent advancements and applications of MOFs in the field of energy storage including a brief overview of the fundamental aspects of MOFs, including their synthesis, structural diversity, and tuneable properties. MOFs have been extensively investigated for applications in advanced energy storage systems including supercapacitors. MOFs can be employed as electrode materials, separators, and catalysts, offering enhanced electrochemical performance, improved charge/discharge rates, and prolonged cycling stability. The unique tunability of MOFs allows for the rational design of tailored materials with desired properties, such as high specific capacity, excellent conductivity, and superior cycling stability. The recent developments in MOF-based electrochemical capacitors, particularly the significant progress reported in achieving high energy and power densities, are noteworthy. The exceptional charge storage capacity of MOFs, combined with their facile synthesis and scalability, makes them promising candidates for next-generation energy storage technologies. This review sheds light on the challenges and opportunities in the practical implementation of MOFs in energy storage devices and discusses strategies for enhancing the stability of MOFs in different environments, improving their electrical conductivity, and developing scalable synthesis methods. We briefly discuss perspectives and future directions, with particular focus on their research and development in the use of MOFs for energy storage applications.

The crystalline sponge method (CSM) is a technology which allows precise molecular determination of non-crystalline compounds, without the need to crystallise them independently, by soaking them in a crystalline metal–organic framework (MOF).

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as a versatile class of porous materials with enormous potential for various applications, including energy storage devices. In this review, we present a comprehensive analysis of the recent advancements and applications of MOFs in the field of energy storage. We begin by providing a brief overview of the fundamental aspects of MOFs, including their synthesis, structural diversity, and tuneable properties. We then focus on the utilisation of MOFs in advanced energy storage systems with a particular focus on supercapacitors. MOFs can be employed as electrode materials, separators, and catalysts, offering enhanced electrochemical performance, improved charge/discharge rates, and prolonged cycling stability. The unique tunability of MOFs allows for the rational design of tailored materials with desired properties, such as high specific capacity, excellent conductivity, and superior cycling stability. We will further discuss in detail the recent developments in MOF-based electrochemical capacitors, highlighting the significant progress made in achieving high energy and power densities. The exceptional charge storage capacity of MOFs combined with their facile synthesis and scalability make them promising candidates for next-generation energy storage technologies. The review further sheds light on the challenges and opportunities in the practical implementation of MOFs in energy storage devices with an eye on future research and development in the MOFs for energy applications. The manuscript discusses perspectives and future directions and, we believe, the insights presented are timely and will be of particular help to young and early-stage researchers.

Single-molecule magnets (SMMs) have garnered significant interest in the field of molecular magnetism due to their unique magnetic properties at the nanoscale. These molecular systems exhibit magnetisation behaviour reminiscent of conventional bulk magnets but with distinct advantages such as size-dependent properties and potential applications in quantum computing and high-density data storage. However, challenges remain in harnessing their properties for practical applications, including their susceptibility to degradation and limited control over their assembly and organisation.

Solid-oxide fuel cells are efficient devices for the conversion of chemical to electrical energy and a typical solid-oxide fuel cell consists of a solid electrolyte, cathode, and anode. In the last few decades, researchers have been working extensively on materials development for different components of these devices. In this review article, we briefly discuss the requirements for different components and review prominent materials families explored by the scientific community. As the search for greener energy alternatives such as solid-oxide fuel cells have intensified manifold due to the climate change emergency, a substantial literature was produced on the materials development of these devices and, therefore, we believe a brief review article dedicated to the same will be valuable for the scientific community, particularly new young entrant researchers in the field.