Themed collection Nanoscale Most Popular 2021 Articles

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

The primitive and advanced approaches for the synthesis of various Bi₂O₃ polymorphs for photocatalytic applications are reviewed. The temperature-dependent phase transformation, morphology, and phase junction in Bi₂O₃ phases are presented.

Encapsulation of gold nanoclusters in polymers, silica or metal organic frameworks provides a simple route for improving their stability and other properties, for applications in bioimaging, sensing and catalysis.

Current popular transition metal-based electrocatalysts developed for HER/OER in water splitting at high current density are critically reviewed and discussed.

Following introduction to defects in classical ferroelectrics as well as in dielectric HfO₂, this review covers recent experimental results on the impact of defects in ferroelectric HfO₂ on its functional properties and resulting performance of memory devices.

The Effects of Surface Polyethylene Glycol on Nanoparticles' Fate. a. Mechanical properties. b. Stability. c. Drug encapsulation. d. Plasma proteins adsorption. e. Mucus penetration. f. Active targeting. g. Cellular internalization. h. Circulation time. i. Blood clearance.

Atomistic details govern quantum dynamics of charge carriers in metal halide perovskites, which exhibit properties of solid state and molecular semiconductors, as revealed by time-domain density functional theory and nonadiabatic molecular dynamics.

Small copper nanoclusters (CuNCs) with atomic precisions and fascinating molecular-like properties have been discovered during last few decades. They have been widely applied for catalytic, biomedical, sensing, and optoelectronic applications.

The successful fabrication of WS₂/MoS₂ heterostructures provides more possibilities for optoelectronic and thermoelectric applications than graphene because of their direct bandgap characteristics.

2D MOF-based materials with unique characteristics have great potential in various electrocatalytic, photocatalytic and thermocatalytic applications.

Review of Porous Anodic Aluminum Oxide (AAO or NAA) membranes: from fabrication, mechanisms, and internal and surface nanostructuration to applications.

This review covers recent advances in femtosecond laser-structured Janus membranes with asymmetric surface wettability.

Self-powered chemical sensing via triboelectric nanogenerators is an emerging approach to continuous detection and analysis of chemical molecules on the human body and the surroundings.

Dispersant-assisted liquid-phase exfoliation allows the production of a wide range of water-based 2D material dispersions. This review provides an overview on this production method and also gives some perspectives on future research directions.

By employing the “two-in-one” molecular design strategy, two new 2D COFs featuring a Kagome (kgm) lattice or a rhombic square (sql) structure can be selectively formed by varying the solvents and/or by adjusting the monomer concentrations.

By reducing ZnO crystalline sizes from nano (50 nm) to a quantum dot (4 nm), intrinsic defect localization occurs, which changes the conductivity of ZnO from n-type to p-type.

Controlling COVID-19 requires therapy and continued vaccination. Long-acting therapeutics offer options for test-and-cure strategies and overcome poor therapy adherence. Extended in vivo niclosamide exposure is demonstrated here as such a candidate.

A novel injectable hydrogel drug delivery platform introduces miRNA therapeutics coupled to gold nanoparticles to cells in a 3D bioprinted heart valve disease model.

The presented work demonstrates a new efficient ultrathin entangled single-photon pair nanophotonic source based on spontaneous parametric down-conversion working at room temperature.

Methylation of aldehyde nodes in Covalent Organic Frameworks leads to enhanced BET surface areas and reduced pore collapse compared to their non-methylated counterparts, which has been rationalized by DFT computations.

Stimuli-responsive block copolymer micelles can provide tailored properties for the efficient delivery of genetic material.

Sodium naphthalenide exfoliated 3R polytype of MoS₂ outperforms the 2H polytype due to much higher conversion to the metallic 1T phase.

Phase contrast atomic force microscopy shows how tungsten diselenide oxidation evolves into complex patterns over 75 months, following season-dependent changes in the laboratory environment, in analogy with tree-rings in nature.

W₃C₁₂X₁₂ (X = O, S, and Se) were screened as promising NRR electrocatalysts with an ultralow limiting potential.

The correlation between the coordination environment and the activity/selectivity of B/C/N co-coordinated Ni single atom catalysts towards CO₂ electroreduction was systematically studied by theory.

Marrying highly luminescent Au nanoclusters (NCs) to TiO₂ achieves long-lasting yet visible-light-driven antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

A schematic of the drug release electronic suture system (DRESS) with a conductive fiber strain sensor core and a thermoresponsive polymer shell containing drugs.

The structural flexibility of interacting units significantly impacts phase separation behaviors.

We developed a digital SERS platform using the arrays of 3D nanolaminate plasmonic crystals coupled with Au nanoparticles and digital (on/off) signal analysis for the accurate quantitative detection of low-abundance dopamine molecules.

“Rashba excitons” in 2D perovskites have dispersion minima at non-zero quasimomenta. Implications to bright and dark confined excitons are presented.

Titanium carbide/reduced graphene oxide (Ti₃C₂T_z/rGO) gels were prepared by a one-step hydrothermal process.

First-principles calculations predict that rotating one layer by 180° over the other layer can switch the interlayer magnetic order in bilayer CrI₃, demonstrating stacking rotation as an effective strategy to manipulate the magnetism in 2D magnets.

Efficient charge transfer in few-layer Bi₂O₂Se/CsPbBr₃ NC heterostructure with type I band alignment paving the way for superior optoelectronic devices.

Dielectric properties are improved by fabrication of a Ferroelectric Hf_0.5Zr_0.5O₂/Antiferroelectric ZrO₂ nanolaminate structure. The new design increases the density of morphotropic phase boundary, which consequently enhances the dielectric constant.

MOFs with high tunability are considered ideal candidates as microwave-absorbing materials.

The commercial application of Lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) is impeded by the shuttle effect. We report zinc (Zn) and nitrogen (N) co-doped ZIF-8 derived hollow carbon (ZHC) as a promising separator coating for LSBs to control the shuttle effect.

Ceria/bioglass nanohybrids significantly reduce bacterial survival inside human cells without harming the latter and overcome major shortcomings of conventional antibiotics.

Cell stiffening induced by anticancer microtubule targeting drugs (MTDs) such as vinflunine (VFL), colchicine (COL), and docetaxel (DTX) can be driven by crosstalk between actin filaments and microtubules.

Broken inversion symmetry induces in-plane (d₂₂) and shear piezoelectricity (d₁₅) in Janus GeSSe (SnSSe) monolayers. Application of uniaxial tensile strain and formation of homo-bilayer raise them colossally to 267 pm V⁻¹ and 604 pm V⁻¹, respectively.

Colloidal Cu and Ag nanoparticles retain their shape during the CO₂ reduction reaction (−0.8 V vs. RHE) due to immiscibility of the lattices and synergy at the nanoscale results in enhanced methane and C₂ product formation.

EN-MILD approach for Ti₃C₂T_x MXene synthesis with an ultrahigh electrical conductivity of about 2.4 × 10⁴ S cm⁻¹.

Hydrogel microspheres sensitive to temperature as new potential signal enhancers and magnetic fluorescent nanoparticles as internal standards were used to establish a new CLIA method for the accurate diagnosis of cTnI in the human body.

3D conductive networks constructed by decorating petal-like Ni-based MOFs on the surface of graphene nanosheets exhibit superior microwave absorption properties.

An asymmetric sandwich film containing cellulose fiber skin layers and independent Ti₃C₂T_x MXene and silver nanowire core layers with multifunctional EMI shielding, and thermal conductive and solar-thermal energy conversion capacities.

Oscillating micro-cantilever array enables immunoassay for single-step label-free analysis of candidate malaria vaccines. Differential read-out reveals epitope-specific timeline of malaria infection in complex serum samples.

A mixed-dimensional photodetector was constructed to convert the harmful surface states of low-dimensional materials into their constructive interface states.

Nanosulin – a highly stable multilayer insulin-coated nanoliposome, enhanced insulin permeation across the intestinal epithelium and maintained bioactivity via oral administration in vivo.

The efficient penetration of drug nanocarriers into tumors is an important prerequisite for therapeutic and diagnostic success.

Transition metal oxides used as electrode materials for flexible supercapacitors have attracted huge attention due to their high specific capacitance and surface-to-volume ratio, specifically for cobalt oxide (Co₃O₄) nanoparticles.