Conversion processes waste more than two-thirds of the energy in the world, which can be potentially collected by technology that captures waste heat. Thermoelectric technology is an attractive option because it can be easily adapted for many situations due to its small size and lack of rotating parts or gas emissions.

Eight-membered ring structural units widely exist in active natural products or drugs. Many natural products with eight-membered rings show very significant physiological activities, and some have been used in clinic settings. For example, the taxol has a unique eight-membered ring. It is one of the best natural anticancer drugs that have been found. It has been widely used in the clinical treatments of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, some head and neck cancer, lung cancer, and others.

​It is fundamentally significant to be able to construct sophisticated molecular architectures with precise structural control when we seek molecule-based materials with specific properties and functions. However, the obtainment of such complex entities has mostly been serendipitous. Their syntheses remain more of an art than a science and are frequently characterized by random self-organization.

Silicon-stereogenic arylated silanes and silanols have attracted increasing attention in recent years owing to their unique chemical, physical, biological, and stereoelectronic properties, which have granted them potential applications in the fields of synthetic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and materials science.

The unique structure and extraordinary properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials show great potential in the research and development of next-generation optoelectronic devices. Establishing a correlation understanding of the structure and properties of 2D materials at the atomic scale is the key to in-depth exploration of their physical and chemical properties and to facilitate device research and development.