In recent years, a particularly attractive and novel strategy has become available for the fabrication of photoresponsive, porous, and crystalline molecular solids from appropriately functionalized chromophoric linkers. 

Diamond-like Nanocomposite (DLN) coatings are amorphous, hard and wear resistant coatings, deposited using a plasma-assisted CVD process. These coatings consist of two interpenetrating networks, one being a diamond-like carbon (a-C:H) network and the other a glass-like a-Si:O network. 

In recent years, advances in nanotechnology have promoted the development of reinforcements with dimensions at the nano-scale (10⁻⁹ m). This dimensional shift has opened new possibilities for altering physical properties of polymer matrices (mechanical, electrical, thermal, etc.) by incorporating relatively small amounts of nanofillers (several weight percent or less) .

Organic-inorganic hybrid metal halide perovskites, an important class of crystalline materials with excellent low-temperature solution processability and band structure tunability, have been known for decades. They have received great attention in recent years for applications in various types of optoelectronic devices, including photovoltaic cells, light emitting diodes and optically pumped lasers.

In a new study, Sameh Tawfick, an assistant professor of Mechanical Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, inspired by this ancient process, has added a single layer of carbon atoms, known as graphene, on top of metal leaves—doubling the protective quality of gilding against wear and tear.

An international group of researchers created a 3-D lung cell model system to investigate how carbon-based combustion byproducts behave as they interact with human epithelial tissue. In Biointerphases, an AVS journal, the investigators discovered that the surface properties of the carbon nanodot's properties and aggregation patterns affected their distribution in a lab-grown copy of the lung's barrier layer, the epithelium. The carbon nanodots served as representatives for air pollution particles.

Rafael Luque, an external specialist from RUDN, works on the synthesis of gamma-valerolactone (GVL) together with his Chinese and Spanish colleagues. This colorless liquid can be obtained from food waste or harvesting leftovers. GVL may be used as a safe solvent or an additive to gasoline or may be distilled into hydrocarbons, "green fuel" for internal combustion engines.