In this paper, we start with a short introduction to the research background of gas adsorption in the metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) field, and then we highlight the gas adsorption sites and behaviors with the aid of various characterization methods, among which we discuss mainly infrared absorption and Raman scattering, as well as X-ray diffraction and neutron diffraction. In addition, we introduce briefly X-ray spectroscopy because they also play a crucial role in understanding MOFs’ gas adsorption. On the other hand, computational simulations, which can reveal underlying adsorption and working mechanism in microscale, are also discussed. Finally, comprehensive kinetic studies are briefly summarized based on these advanced characterization methods.

For long, the focus on hydrogen as an energy vector has been towards vehicle applications to decrease air pollution across cities and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels for transport. However, hydrogen has also the potential to enable the transition of current energy schemes towards clean and sustainable energy systems based on renewable energy. The major drawback remains the development of materials/methods for the safe storage of hydrogen with high-energy density. Recently, the idea of using borohydrides for hydrogen storage has gained increasing attention because of the high hydrogen density provided by these materials. However, the high temperatures for hydrogen release from these materials and their slow hydrogen kinetics remain the main challenges. Herein, current approaches to tailor the hydrogen storage properties of borohydrides towards practical applications are reviewed, including the restriction of borohydrides within various nanosized scaffolds. A summary of the remaining challenges and potential future research directions is also provided.

Kesterite semiconductors such as Cu₂ZnSnS₄, Cu₂ZnSnSe₄ and Cu₂ZnSn(SSe)₄ have received a great deal of attention from scientific community for solar cell applications since they present p-type conductivity, direct band-gap transitions, a relatively high absorption coefficient and a band-gap that can be tailored in the range of 1.0—1.5 eV as a function of Se/S compositional ratio. Besides, these materials are based on abundant and low toxicity elements. In spite of the great effort carried out by the scientific community to promote device performance, Kesterite solar cell efficiency is still limited to values lower than 13%. In this sense, new strategies are required to overcome currently reported values. In this paper, a minireview on the state of the art concerning Kesterite solar cell technology is presented. Different current trends to promote Kesterite solar cell efficiency are presented and discussed.

Recently, cancer has becomes one of the best serious diseases which threatens seriously the life and health of human. Although the radiotherapy and chemotherapy have been used to treat cancer, these traditional treatments have always their own limitations. Therefore, a few materials and strategies have mentioned, many of which focused their attention on the two-dimensional (2D) photothermal nanomaterials including graphene, transition metal sulfide, and so on. There are good electronic transmission performances in these 2D nanomaterials, which contribute to the prefect photothermal conversion for cancer treatments. Additionally, their larger specific surface area can be used to load the drugs or integrate with other functional nanomaterials, and they with modified surface can be stabilized in organism and congregated in tumor site through an enhanced permeability and retention effect (EPR) effect. In order to understand the 2D nanomaterials deeply, we review some typical 2D transition metal sulfide nanomaterials including their preparation, modification and applications in biology.

Fullerenes have many potential applications in various fields such as biomedicine, organic photovoltaics, molecular device, et al. However, it is still meaningful to explore more functional fullerene materials due to their special structures and attractive properties. In recent years, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have gained particular interest due to their potential applications in gas storage, catalysis, sensing, electronics, biomedicine, and so on. Considering the porous character of MOFs, it is fascinating to encapsulate molecular fullerenes into MOF pores and to construct new complex materials with unique properties and applications. In this minireview, we discuss the up-to-date study progress for the fullerene@MOF materials. We introduce firstly the preparation strategies, and then summarize the applications of these fullerene@MOF materials.