Table of contents

The problem of search for new materials for spectrally positioned laser sources, which is central for modern photonics, is discussed. The use of the stimulated Raman scattering effect in crystals offers a highly efficient way to the design of such sources. The recent results of investigations into this effect for a large number of various types of crystalline materials are presented. The most promising compounds, as regards the realisation of different laser operation modes, are considered, including calcium, strontium, barium and lead molybdates and tungstates. Several examples of functioning efficient lasers based on novel materials exhibiting the stimulated Raman light scattering effect are given.

The synthesis and properties of triarylmethyl di- and polyradicals including perchlorinated ones are considered. The achievements in the design of magnetic clusters and organic magnets based on the Gomberg radical are described. Data on mixed-valence compounds containing triarylmethyl type radicals and carbanions as electroactive groups are given.

The current data on the structure of formazans in crystals and in solutions are considered and some problems of tautomeric and conformational equilibria are discussed. Some novel classes of formazans synthesised over the past decade are presented. The results of structural studies of formazan complexes with various types of metal coordination are generalised. Examples of synthesis of formazan-containing polymers are given. Special emphasis is placed on analytical and practical applications of formazan derivatives.

This review is devoted to the method of molecular imprinting. The physicochemical fundamentals and mechanisms of covalent and non-covalent molecular imprinting aimed at the development of organic polymeric sorbents capable of molecular recognition are considered. Attention is focused on the preparation of molecular imprints on mineral supports. The mechanisms of molecular recognition in adsorption are discussed. Application fields of materials with molecular imprints are briefly surveyed.

Topological structures of branched polymers, including weakly and highly branched chains, star-shaped, H and pom–pom polymers, dendrimers and comb-like, hyperbranched and critically branched polymers, are characterised. Experimental data on their rheological and relaxation properties are analysed. Theoretical approaches to the description of relaxation spectra of branched polymers are outlined.