Themed collection Nanoscale 2022 Emerging Investigators

Our 2022 Emerging Investigators collection gathers some of the best research being conducted by nanoscientists in the early stages of their independent career. Congratulations to all of the researchers featured!

This Minireview focuses on recent advances in detailed structure–property correlations and light-induced morphological changes of individual metal nanostructures through correlated optical spectroscopy and electron microscopy.

This minireview highlights the interests, high potential, applications and perspectives of the emerging low-molecular weight nucleopeptide-based hydrogels.

We review the recent progress in nanotechnology-mediated delivery of therapeutic RNAs that have been employed to evoke tumor suppressing responses for cancer therapy.

This mini review summarizes the recent advances for practical enantioselective sensing platforms with regard to chiral metamaterials and their optical sensing methods.

This review summarizes current development of M/MOF catalysts, and especially focuses on the support effects of MOFs.

This mini review summarizes recent progress in polydiacetylene (PDA) mechanochromism, with a special focus on the quantitative and nanoscopic data that have emerged in recent years.

Nanotechnology has provided a platform for producing new photocatalytic materials, where the reduction in length scales has been used to amplify the efficiency of these light active materials.

This review focuses on the wearability of chemical sensors and analyzes pros and cons relating to practical wearable applications. We also discuss the current challenges and outlook relating to flexible and wearable chemical sensors.

An overview of generation, regulation and amplification of circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) in porous crystalline nanomaterials by direct synthesis, chirality induction or adaption, and symmetry breaking pathways.

Recent progress on the enrichment of high-purity large-diameter semiconducting SWNTs and their application in optoelectronic devices are summarized.

Plasmonic materials are promising for applications in enhanced sensing, energy, and advanced optical communications.

We summarize the current progress of amplifying inorganic chirality using liquid crystals. Chiral interactions between inorganic components and liquid crystals, representative applications, and the perspectives of this field are presented.

Mucosal vaccines can elicit both systemic and mucosal immunity to treat/prevent local mucosal or distant or systemic immune diseases and infection.

This work reviews the state-of-the-art physical reservoir computing systems based on dynamic memristors integrating with unique nonlinear dynamics and short-term memory behavior. The key characteristics, challenges and perspectives are also discussed.

A minireview covering the design principles, recent progress and perspective of conductive MOF/COF based electrocatalysts is made.

We reviewed the recent progress on solar-driven interfacial steam generation under different optical intensities and provided energy and water management strategies to improve evaporation performance.

Recently emerged metal phenolic networks (MPNs) show promise as molecularly designable heterogeneous electrocatalysts for various electrochemical reactions owing to their unique features.

In this mini-review, the state-of-the-art knowledge on the rational artificial interphase engineering of zinc metal anodes for high performance aqueous zinc ion batteries are presented.

The minireview summarizes the advances in the heteroatom doping of perovskite oxides towards efficient electrocatalytic reactions, based on the classification of different doping sites, A site, B site, O site and dual sites in ABO₃ perovskite oxides.

Artificial intelligence-powered microfluidics has greatly promoted the development of nanomedicine and material synthesis.

In this minireview, single-particle-level coated APbX₃ NCs are introduced, mainly including their preparations and properties.

This minireview elaborately presents the spin selectivity of chiral metal–halide semiconductors in photonic/electronic processes, and their applications in optoelectronic/spintronic devices, with the structure–property relationship highlighted.

Schematic illustration of virus-inspired nanosystems to overcome physiological barriers in drug delivery.

Photoredox organic transformation have been growing, and this perspective highlights recent advances in mechanistic understanding, providing strategies to construct high efficiency and low-cost photocatalytic systems.

An overview of the development of droplet-based nanogenerators: from droplet properties towards energy harvesting and self-powered sensors.

Investigation of various strategies to overcome extracellular and intracellular barriers for improved gene delivery in neuronal applications utilizing non-viral vectors.

Monolayers of assembled nano-objects with a controlled degree of disorder hold interest in many optical applications, including photovoltaics, light emission, sensing, and structural coloration.

A magneto-optical nanoplatform integrating near infrared fluorescence, photoacoustic, and magnetic resonance imaging shows great promise for the accurate diagnosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Examples of neural electrodes with different charge transfer mechanisms.

Mechanoresistive molecular junctions are nanoelectronic devices which electrical properties are influenced by mechanical stress. This review presents the multiple ways in which such functionality is imparted and characterised.

This review summarizes recent progress in the colloidal synthesis, growth mechanisms, properties, and applications of 2D copper-based nanostructures with tunable compositions, dimensions, and crystal phases.

Magnetogenetics: the use of magnetic fields along with magnetic actuators can be used to modulate biological functions in a non-invasive way, paving the way for the development of exciting tools useful in basic research and clinical applications.

Infectious diseases caused by viral or bacterial pathogens are one of the most serious threats to humanity. 2D materials can efficiently favor antimicrobial activity and maintain a safer environment to protect people against these pathogens.

The review introduces the mechanisms of heterogeneous hydrogen evolution (HER) and oxygen evolution reactions (OER), summarizes in-situ characterization techniques and surveys strategies to boost the activities of metal oxide electrocatalysts.

2D materials and in situ and operando characterization techniques for the development of next-generation CO₂ conversion systems.

2D multiferroics achieve multiple functions and new mechanisms through magnetoelectric, piezoelectric, and magnetoelastic coupling phenomena, opening up new research avenues.

We review the chemistry that leads or could lead to colloidal metal nitride nanocrystals, via solution-based methods.

Vacancy defect engineering of BiVO₄ photoanodes including the generation of oxygen vacancies, vanadium vacancies, and bismuth vacancies can tune the electronic structure, promote charge separation, and increase surface photoreaction kinetics.

IMEAC is an integrated microfluidic electrochemical assay for cervical cancer detection at point of-care testing.

Arene–perfluoroarene moieties are used to assemble Dion-Jacobson perovskite phases, revealing nanosegregation and enhanced environmental stabilities relevant to their application.

By patterning linear gratings with different periodicities and orientations onto a film of mixed-colour cQDs, polarization-based active colour tuning of the thin-film emission is demonstrated.

Fullerenol-cyclodextrin conjugate selectively delivers doxorubicin to the nucleus of HeLa cells.

The single-molecule conductance of double-stranded RNA oligonucleotides is reported. The electrical fingerprint contains biophysical information that is interpreted using Molecular Dynamics simulations.

Noble metal coordination xerogel exhibit solubility switch when exposed to X-rays. The films can be used as recyclable negative tone resists for deep X-ray lithography that can be converted into metallic nanoarchitectured films.

The intercalation of different organic cations in the layered antiferromagnet NiPS₃ yields ferrimagnetic ordering with a molecule-dependent transition temperature. A successful intercalation is demonstrated for bulk crystals and exfoliated flakes.

Liquid phase transmission electron microscopy reveals the interparticle interactions and growth mechanism for rapid supraparticle assembly during nanoparticle synthesis.

A templated synthetic approach to porous organic polymers, in which branched, rigid monomers are pre-assembled around a target ion before polymerization, can significantly enhance the ion adsorption capacity of the resulting polymer.

Cs₄Mn_xCd_1−xSb₂Cl₁₂ (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) has been prepared in the form of nanocrystals (NCs). The NCs showed a red emission with a photoluminescence quantum yield of 3.9% obtained after a post-synthesis treatment.

The first example of green (λ > 500 nm)-to-ultraviolet (λ < 400 nm) triplet–triplet annihilation-based photon upconversion sensitized by lead halide perovskite nanocrystals is achieved.

This work demonstrates the importance of considering the disassembly pathway when designing new chemically fueled self-assembling systems.

Well-defined Co₉S₈ cages with high performance for boosting photo-induced charge separation and transfer are first exploited to promote visible-light CO₂ reduction.

Global minimum searching on Np₂O_x (x = 1–7) clusters and computational studies on their chemical bonding, suggests that the Np(V) could act as structural directing role, leading to a mixed-valent Np(III/V) in Np₂O₄ accessible.

An ultra-long-acting drug-releasable (>2 weeks) nano-formulation based on porous silicon nanoparticles (pSiNPs) that are prepared using the thermally induced silane dehydrocoupling, an amphiphilic lipid-coating, and is disclosed for the first time.

Designing programmable biomaterials that could act as extracellular matrices and permit functionalization is a current need for tissue engineering advancement.

Based on magnetron co-sputtering, Mo/W additions result in the phase transition of TiZrHfNbTa high-entropy alloy from nanocrystalline to amorphous structures, leading to an obvious increase in hardness with a slight increase in the elastic modulus.

Bimetallic NiCo nanoparticles crystallized in the fcc phase are formed using optimized synthetic parameters.

Spatial resolution and brightness in cathodoluminescence can be tuned by nanoscale design of samples.

The synthesis of nanosized metal–organic frameworks (NMOFs) is requisite for their application as injectable drug delivery systems (DDSs) and other biorelevant purposes.

Hybrid structures composed of 1D nanowires and layered 2D materials are promising building blocks for advanced optoelectronic devices and they provide new knobs for the control of lasing at the nanoscale.

The same electrochemical process drives the preparation of supported and free-standing molybdenum disulfide monolayers.

A host-guest approach is adopted for the generation of multicolor chiral luminescence from a hybrid nanocomposite comprising of mandelic acid-based chiral gels and achiral carnon nanodots.

Chemical and physical reduction parameters can be used to tune the composition, morphology, and alloy homogeneity of mixed-metal AgAu nanoparticles.

We identify the effects of crystallinity and morphology of zinc oxide nanowires grown hydrothermally with ammonia addition on their physicochemical properties for capturing extracellular vesicles.

The microscopic origins of chiroptical response in metasurfaces are studied based on temporal coupled-mode theory and quasinormal modes. Using a biorthogonal approach, the model identifies a critical coupling condition for unity circular dichroism.

The excellent conductivity of Ti₃C₂T_x and the rich charge carriers of ZnO under UV illumination can endow the gas sensors with greatly enhanced performances in response/recovery speed, sensitivity and cycle stability toward NO₂ at room temperature.

Nanocomplexes of glycogen nanoparticles with serum albumin were formed by triggering the nanophase separation of albumin. The nanocomplexes enabled the delivery of chemotherapeutics in complex multicellular 3D tumour-like structures.

The degradation of AgBiS₂ nanocrystal solar cells upon exposure to oxygen is strongly impacted by the choice of extraction layers and proceeds via a decomposition of AgBiS₂ into Ag₂S and Bi₂O₃.

A detailed anti-inflammatory mechanism study of CeO₂ nanozymes with reactive oxygen species scavenging abilities toward periodontitis treatment advances future nanozyme-based clinical applications.

We developed a novel biodegradable/photothermal polymer micelle-based remote-activation method for a temperature-sensitive TRPV1 ion channel. The developed polymer micelles can serve as a novel noninvasive remote-activation tool for neuronal cells.