The recent study of the half-metallocene compounds ligated with nitrogen-containing groups as catalysts for precise olefin polymerization has been reviewed in this article. Studies have found that these nitrogen-coordinated catalysts exhibit unique properties in the polymerization of olefin monomers, especially for the copolymerization of ethylene. These catalysts can not only obtain new copolymers, which cannot be synthesized by Ziegler-Natta catalysts and traditional metallocene catalysts, but also show the copolymerization activities superior to other half-metallocene catalysts. Modification of both cyclopentadienyl fragments and anionic ancillary donor ligands is the key for the improvement of polymerization behaviors. This article relates to the homopolymerization of ethylene and the copolymerization of ethylene with α-olefins(hexene-1, octene-1, etc.), styrene and cyclic olefins(norbornene, tetracyclododecene, etc).

Electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ reduction reaction(CO₂RR) to high energy density fuel and high value-added carbon products under mild conditions is an extremely promising way for reduction of the CO₂ concentration in atmosphere and storage of the intermittent renewable energy, as well as for carbon neutralization. The design and development of low-cost high-performance catalysts with high activity, high selectivity, high stability and significant suppress of hydrogen evolution reaction(HER) is the key to the CO₂RR research. On the other hand, single atomic catalysts(SACs), due to their unique electronic and geometric structures, exhibit unusual catalytic activity for many important chemical reactions, such as CO oxidation, hydrogenation, OER, ORR, HER, etc., and have attracted extensive attention. Inspired by the profound progress, very recently, N-doped porous carbon support transition metal single atomic materials(M-N-C) have been employed in CO₂RR research. The results manifest that M-N-C catalytic materials have exciting prospects for CO₂RR, and are expected to be a substitute for precious metal(Au, Ag) catalysts for CO₂ reduction in electrolyte aqueous media. This review is focused on fabrications, electrocatalytic performance and MN_x active sites of M-N-C SACs used in electrochemical CO₂RR. Finally, the problems remaining to be solved are summarized, and future research aspects and new ideas are prospected.

Microbial natural products play important roles in research and development of new agrochemicals. As a group of important physiologically active compounds, nucleosides from microorganisms have very diverse structures and bioactivities. This review summarizes the agroactive nucleosides from different microorganisms in three categories: nucleoside bases, nucleosides and derivatives, and the nucleotides. It mainly focuses on the producing microorganisms, the structural diversity, agroactivities, including the mode of actions of insecticidal, fungicidal, and antiviral activities. The authors hope that it will benefit the development of new agricultural antibiotics and new agrochemicals.

Polyelectrolyte-based draw solution(PBDS) exhibit high osmotic pressure, and low reverse solute leakage, which are highly demanded in forward osmosis process. Additionally, various separation methods such as nanofiltration, ultrafiltration and thermal treatment can be utilized for its recycle, rendering PBDS an ideal substitute for the traditional inorganic draw solution such as sodium chloride. In the past two decades, research works concerning PBDS have been intensively reported. Because PBDS has distinctive properties in comparison with inorganic draw solution, thus, it is necessary to review these developments in PBDS and present an outline. This paper aims to review the recent developments in PBDS in consideration of their chemical structures, which are categorized into carboxylate type, sulfonate type, amine type and amide type. In the beginning, the general considerations for an ideal PBDS are introduced. Subsequently, the molecular weight of the polyelectrolytes, the osmotic pressure and viscosity of the draw solutions, the water flux and reverse solute leakage in forward osmosis process are introduced in detail. The corresponding mechanisms of forward osmosis are also described. Finally, the characteristics, advantages and drawbacks of the PBDS are summarized, and the opportunities and challenges are discussed.

The development of global industries has brought serious problem of water pollution, therefore, the efficient treatment of wastewater containing various kinds of organic and inorganic pollutants is one of the most important research topics. Metal-organic frameworks(MOFs) have been widely applied in many fields, especially in the solid phase adsorption/separation owing to their large surface area, high porosity, ordered structure and tunable porous physico-chemical properties, thermal stability, easy synthesis and abundant open active sites. The functionalization methods of MOFs such as post-synthesis modification, in situ synthesis with linkers containing substituents, and hybridization with specific functional materials could effectively increase the adsorption active sites, thus enhancing the adsorption performance and adsorption selectivity. Compared to MOFs particles, MOFs/polymer composite membranes combine the special structure and physico-chemical properties of MOFs and excellent adsorption/carrier nature of polymer films and thus exhibit extraordinary adsorption/separation performances in the removal of pollutants. In this paper, we focus on the functionalization methods of MOFs which are applied in the adsorption/removal of dyes and heavy metal ions. We also summarize the fabrication technology of MOFs/polymer composite membranes and their applications in the wastewater treatment. Finally, the development direction and research prospect of MOFs-related composite materials are also proposed.

Protein glycosylation plays a crucial role in regulating various complex biological processes, such as molecular recognition, immune response, and protein folding. Since glycopeptides/glycoproteins are less abundant in complex biological samples or clinical samples, separation and enrichment of target proteins are often required before glycoproteomics analysis. Research and development of novel materials with high-efficiency glycoprotein separation and enrichment ability are of great significance for the study of glycoprotein/glycopeptide. In recent years, many new glycoprotein separation and enrichment materials have been reported, such as organic polymer materials, bio-based materials, new organic framework materials and new functional composite materials. Due to their structure, biocompatibility and physical and chemical properties, these materials have promoted the development of glycoprotein separation and enrichment technology from different levels. In this paper, the new materials related to the separation and enrichment of glycopeptide/glycoprotein at home and abroad are summarized and discussed, and the future development is proposed.

In recent years, metal nanomaterials have been widely used due to their excellent properties, such as interfacial effect, quantum size effect and macroscopic quantum tunneling effect. Biotemplates are often used to synthesize nanomaterials, including DNA, proteins, bacteria, fungi, viruses and so on. The metal nanomaterials, which are synthesized by virus template, compared with other biotemplates, usually have better stability, dispersity and biocompatibility. Moreover, nanomaterials have excellent performances in catalysis, optics, electricity, magnetism, chemistry and superconduction. With nearly 20 years’ development, the technology of nanomaterial synthesis by using virus as template has been gradually matured. Nowadays, research interest is focused on targeted imaging and disease treatment. The object of this review is to discuss the process and the mechanism of nanomaterial biosynthesis by using virus as templates, such as the synthetic sites(inside and outside the virus cavity), synthesis principles, different synthesis methods, influencing factors and nanomaterials characterization. In addition, the applications of these nanomaterials in different fileds, such as nanocatalysis, nano-batteries, biomedical and medical imaging are discussed. Finally, the problems to be solved in the current research and the development trend of the future research on the synthesis of metal nanomaterials by using virus as template are described.

In term of new carbon-based material, graphene quantum dots(GQDs) are a boundless promising electrode material for energy storage devices due to their excellent properties of large specific surface area, high conductivity, excellent transparency and unique fluorescence characteristics. GQDs form composites with metal compounds or carbon material to construct three-dimensional spatial structures, which is conductive to electron diffusion and ion transport, greatly improving the practical application performance of GQDs as electrode materials. Furthermore, heteroatoms-doped GQDs can provide more active sites and enhance the utilization of active substance. Herein, The synthesis strategies of GQDs, which are mainly classified into top-down and bottom-up methods,are briefly introduced. The effects of various preparation methods on the particle size, surface defect sites and fluorescence characteristics of GQDs are also distinct. The applications of GQDs, doped GQDs and their composites in energy storage devices such as supercapacitors, lithium ion batteries, solar cells and fuel cells in recent years, it is obvious that GQDs-based electrode materials with quantum confinement effect and boundary effect have great potential for new energy storage devices. The influence of distinctive space structure on electrochemical properties are analyzed. In addition, it is pointed out that the future development of GQDs is to find a rapid, green and environmentally-friendly method for mass synthesis of GQDs, uniform and effective doping or compounding and constructing a unique spatial structure of electrode materials, which can further improve the electrochemical performance in the applications of energy storage devices.

Perovskite solar cells have been paid much attention due to their high efficiency, low cost, suitable to flexible devices. The recent research progress of large-area perovskite solar cells, including their current development, remained issues, and fabricating techniques are systematically reviewed. Furthermore, the approaches to improve power conversion efficiency and stability are summarized. Finally, the application challenges of large-area perovskite solar cells are prospected.

Great attention has been paid to the biodegradable plastics based on renewable resources(such as starch, cellulose and protein), which is one of the important trends in the development of the degradable plastics industry. Due to its wide source, low cost and biodegradability, natural starch is widely used in the preparation of starch plastics and is used in agriculture, food, medicine and packaging industries, which is expected to replace petroleum-based derived polymers. Starch molecules contain a large amount of hydroxyl groups, which easily form intermolecular hydrogen bonds and intermolecular hydrogen bonds, so as to affect their processing. Adding plasticizer to destroy the crystalline structure of starch can produce thermoplastic starch, but the poor mechanical properties of thermoplastic starch are the primary problem affecting its performance. In recent years, extensive research has been carried out at home and abroad in an attempt to enhance its mechanical properties. In this paper, based on the different classification of thermoplastic starch materials, and with the emphasis on the way to improve the mechanical properties and the mechanism, the research work in recent years to improve the mechanical properties of thermoplastic starch materials is summarized. In addition, the related factors affecting mechanical properties and the ways to improve are introduced, and the key research in this field is also summarized and prospected.

The attachment and accumulation of ice, a common natural phenomenon, brings many inconvenience and even serious disaster to human society. The anti-icing surface is a hot topic in current research, and the surface structure and properties of materials are the key factors that influence the icing. But up to date, there still exist some problems, such as poor stability and limitation of application conditions, to be further comprehensively and systematically studied due to the complexity of icing conditions and the diversity of icing types. In the review, based on the relationships between the anti-icing properties and the molecule’s flexibility or slippage of the material surface, the concept of the flexible anti-icing surface is proposed and the types and mechanisms of flexible anti-icing surfaces, including intrinsic surface, sustained release surface and lubrication surface are summarized. Furthermore,the research progress and prospects of various flexible anti-icing surfaces are emphatically described and the existing problems of these surfaces are particularly analyzed. The challenges and the prospective tendency of flexible anti-icing surfaces are also given according the current research.