Through a solution approach, SnSe(2) nanoplate-graphene composites were prepared and applied as anode materials in lithium ion batteries, showing promising storage performance superior to SnSe(2) nanoplates or graphene alone.

Tubes from tubes: Microporous organic nanotubes were prepared by Sonogashira coupling between tetrakis(4‐ethynylphenyl)methane and N,N′‐di(4‐iodophenyl)‐4,4′‐bipyridinium dichloride. These nanotubes were used as a template for secondary inorganic materials, namely Fe2O3 nanotubes with a high discharge capacity and excellent stability.

New catalytic systems based on a bis(1,3-disubstituted imidazoline 2-thione)-copper complex have been developed for the highly regioselective boration of internal alkynes.

A new and direct synthetic route for N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-copper complexes was disclosed by heating imidazolium halides with Cu 2 O. The related synthetic procedure was quite simple and the product easily separable from the reaction mixture by simple filtration. Ultimately, this reaction was successfully applied to decorate three-dimensional (3D)-metal organic frameworks (MOFs) with coordinatively unsaturated NHC-copper species.

A new building block containing an imidazolium salt was synthesized and used for the construction of supramolecular networks with metal ions. We discovered the concomitant formation of the N-heterocyclic carbene-copper complex (CN = 2) in the self-assembly of imidazolium dicarboxylates and copper nitrates in N,N-dimethylformamide under heating. The proton in the 2 position of the imidazolium salt was abstracted, and Cu(II) was reduced to Cu(I) during the self-assembly process.