Themed collection Nanoscale 2023 Lunar New Year Collection

Here, we present the recent progress in the synthesis, property–performance correlation, and novel work on graphene-based nanomaterials (GBnMs) in water treatment technologies, specifically nanofiltration and solar desalination applications.

This minireview highlights the recent progress in the construction of self-supported MOF-based nanostructures including pristine MOFs, MOF composites and MOF derivative arrays, and their application in SCs.

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.

Hyaluronic acid-based nanoparticles can be promising tools for gene delivery in in vivo reprogramming CAR T cells, as well-designed carriers are needed for targeting and transducing circulating T cells.

Metal halide perovskite materials have received significant attention as promising candidates for optoelectronic applications with tremendous potential, owing to their outstanding optoelectronic properties and facile solution-processed fabrication.

Multifunctional organic potassium salts in the synthesis of porous carbon nanomaterials are elucidated and constructive viewpoints are provided for the cost-effective and molecular level engineering of porous carbon nanomaterials for supercapacitors.

This review mainly discusses the development of TiO₂-based materials including synthetic methods, dopants and structural modifications, and applications. A comprehensive analysis of the different aspects of TiO₂ is described.

This review summarizes the applications of patterned sapphire substrates for III-nitride light-emitting diodes and provides an outlook of future LED development based on patterned sapphire substrates.

Doping Ti atoms into ultrathin WO₃ nanosheets can enhance the separation of photogenerated carriers and facilitate charge transfer, which is beneficial for CO₂ activation and COOH* formation, thus promoting the formation of CH₃OH.

Tailoring the MOF structure through ligand optimization and MOF derived electrocatalyst exhibit excellent ORR/OER kinetics and ZABs performance due to the synergetic effects of the CoNi alloys and the N and S-incorporated carbon skeleton.

The prepared CuCoZn–S-3 electrode has a unique nanoflower-like structure and exhibits excellent electrocatalytic performance and durability under alkaline conditions.

Self-trapped exciton-derived energy transfer is a possible strategy to enhance the emission of Er at 1540 nm in lead-free double perovskite structures.

Ultrasonication-assisted, ligand-free synthesis of CsPbBr₃/Cs₄PbBr₆ dual-phase MCs exhibit diverse morphologies, confirming that CsPbBr₃ NCs are the photoluminescent sites with PLQY of 82.7%.

Single-molecule observations show that nanomolar LL-37 can directly permeate the lipid membrane in a lipid-specific and protein-independent manner.

Perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) have attracted widespread attention as promising materials for the optoelectronic field due to their remarkable photophysical properties and structural tunability.

The hydrogel-based printing strategy was proposed to fabricate the high-performance flexible thermoelectric generators with the high-power density, where the stable water-locking network can limit the fluidity of the pastes.

We perform hierarchical assembly of gold nanoparticles into core–satellite–satellite nanostructures that possess two different types of controllable nanogaps. We investigate their plasmon coupling properties and nanogap-dependent SERS enhancements.

Intercalation of one monolayer of NaCl film leads to efficient geometric and electronic decoupling of single-layer graphene from the supporting Cu substrate.

A schematic diagram of the proposed design scheme for highly-efficient radiative thermal rectifiers based on thermally-induced near-field gap variations.

The in situ growth of covalent organic frameworks at the macroscale on graphene aerogel surfaces for enhanced electrochemical water splitting.

Growth kinetics involved in spontaneous random clustering of perovskite precursors to a particular cesium–lead–bromide (Cs–Pb–Br) nanocrystal (NC) is a poorly understood phenomenon and its spectroscopic investigation is highly challenging.

Parallel DNA circuits are constructed using autocatalytic strand displacement reactions and measured using a nanopore multiplexed sensing platform.

The biocatalytic design of nanomaterials with enzyme-like activity is considered a reliable and promising toolkit for the generation of diagnostic agents in complex biological microenvironments.

PMB-HA nanoparticles constructed by self-assembly of hyaluronic acid and polymyxin B can precisely target the CD44 receptors over-expressed in pneumonia region and kill bacteria through the competitive binding of polymyxin B and lipopolysaccharide.

A multifunctional hydrogel complex consisting of the GCNE composite and thermo-responsive chitosan can perform cascade catalytic reactions to continuously supply oxygen and strengthen the antibacterial activities in diabetic wound healing.

Exposure to non-cytotoxic doses of engineered nanomaterials induce reactive oxygen species stress response cascades in human intestinal cancer cells to resist chemotherapeutics.

A dendritic solid solution electrocatalyst, NiMoCu-NF, was fabricated, in which synergistic bimetal doping and a nanostructure-induced “Gas Microfluidic Pumping” effect ensure its considerable HER and UOR electrocatalytic performance.

Machine learning ensures rapid and precise selection of gold sea-urchin-like nanoparticles for anticipated light-to-plasmon resonance.

The catalytic mechanism, activity trend, and activity origin of electroreduction of nitrate to ammonia on graphene-based single-atom catalysts was systematically studied and unrevealed.

We propose a facile femtosecond laser technology to achieve superhydrophobicity on various substrate surfaces with anti-friction ability.

The first physically-unclonable colloidal-crystal pattern enabled by the random micro-cracks, which are verifiable with convenient and accurate computer vision, has been demonstrated.

Auxetic materials are highly desirable for advanced applications because of their negative Poisson's ratios, which are rather scarce in two-dimensional materials.

Regulation of the electronic and magnetic properties of 1T′-ReS₂ through fabricating nanoribbons and transition-metal doping was systematically studied by density functional theoretical simulations.

Novel 3D hierarchical needlelike array architecture integrates excellent EMI shielding, thermal insulation and supercapacitor performance, which offers a new inspiration for the design and construction of portable intelligent devices.

The strong excitons of donor–acceptor system in two-photon absorption are strongly enhanced by local surface plasmon resonance excited by two-photon, which reveals strong nonlinear plexciton properties.

Single Ni atom anchored on pristine and N-doped VS₂ monolayer can perform as bifunctional catalyst for ORR and OER.

The efficiency of traditional solar cells is constrained due to the Shockley–Queisser limit, to circumvent this theoretical limit, the concept of solar thermophotovoltaics (STPVs) has been introduced.

There is still a significant technical hurdle in the integration of better electrocatalysts with coordinated functional units and morphological integrity that improves reversible electrochemical activity, electrical conductivity, and mass transport capabilities.

SiO₂–TiO₂/PDMS-coated superhydrophobic fabrics with excellent durability are fabricated by the combination of micron-sized silica and nano-sized titanium dioxide, which can be used in water-proofing, UV-protection and oil–water separation.

Superhydrophilic 2D nanosheets decorated with a 3D porous nanostructure exhibit outstanding electrocatalytic activity and stability toward OER and overall water-splitting.

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.

A voltage-controllable VO₂ based metamaterial perfect absorber (MPA) is proposed for CO₂ gas sensing application.

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

A 5 × 5 ionotronic junctionless indium-tin oxide (ITO) transistor array is reported for emulating a nociceptor network based on controlling the gate-to-channel distance.

We present a hybrid composed of CeO₂ decorated Co nanoparticles supported on 3D porous carbon aerogels (Co-CeO₂/C aerogels) with superior electrocatalytic performance towards the both ORR and OER by CeCl₃/K₃Co(CN)₆-chitosan hydrogels derived method.

We devised a domino micro-reactor (BMOF-DMR) for long-term anti-infection and robust wound healing, which is achieved through sequences of domino reactions specifically triggered by an infectious microenvironment.

Using 1,4-conjugate addition reaction, PEI/TMSPA/SiO₂/DTMS fabrics with excellent superhydrophobic property are fabricated, which can be used for high-efficiency oil/water separation and oil spill cleanup.

A self-powered microRNA biosensor with triple signal amplification systems was assembled through the integration of three-dimensional DNA walkers, enzymatic biofuel cells and a capacitor.

Doping high electrical conductivity Nb₅Ge₃ precipitates into GeTe results in nanoprecipitates phonon scattering, while retaining electrical mobility. As a result, thermoelectric zT of GeTe is drastically enhanced to 2.0 at 723 K.

A new type of high-entropy oxides was synthesized by a modified solid-state reaction. The oxygen vacancies in the bulk determine the electrical conductivity, which is a key factor for the electrocatalytic performance.