Themed collection 2017 Nanoscale HOT Article Collection

The latest advances in modification of nanomaterials on paper cellulose were summed up.

Recent progress in the use of graphene and its derivatives as versatile templates for materials synthesis and functional applications has been elaborately demonstrated, and perspectives on potential future challenges and opportunities in this research area are discussed.

Graphitic carbon nitride was deposited as a conformal thin film on substrates at room temperature.

Two novel gold nanoclusters were synthesized and structurally resolved, and a novel double-helical-kernel evolution pattern of gold nanoclusters was observed.

Monodispersed, uniform sub-5.0 nm PtCu alloy polyhedra have been obtained through a one-pot route. These PtCu polyhedra show enhanced catalytic properties toward ORR and EOR.

A fluorescent and mesoporous carbon nanoshell loaded with the hydrophobic drug paclitaxel (PTX) could remarkably suppress tumor growth in mice bearing rat C6 glioblastoma after administration with a single intratumoral injection.

Hydrogenation enhances the structural stability and brings about the intrinsic quantum spin Hall effect in MoS₂-like MoN₂ and WN₂ sheets.

A bacterial species-identifiable magnetic nanosystem (Fe₃O₄-Ce6-Apt) has been reported for sensitive early sepsis diagnosis and extracorporeal photodynamic blood disinfection.

An extended Brownian Dynamics based algorithm incorporating hydrodynamic and thermodynamic non-ideality is presented.

Ultrasmall CsPbBr₃ nanoclusters can be converted to highly deep-blue-emitting CsPbBr₃ nanoribbons at room temperature.

The biomolecular corona promotes a switch of both the cell entry mechanism and the intracellular dynamics of liposomes.

Relative energetics of the dopant d levels and super-atomic orbitals influence the isomers and states available in monolayer-protected clusters.

Multifunctional mesoporous Au@Pt nanoparticles has been developed and used as a dual-mode phototherapeutic agent for substantially improved cancer therapy efficiency.

A simple model is developed to reveal the stacking dependence of Raman intensities of interlayer vibrations in 2D materials.

An Fe₃O₄-Fe@BCNT composite was successfully synthesized via detonation of a mixture of hexogen (C₃H₆N₆O₆) and ferrocene (C₁₀H₁₀Fe), in which bamboo-like carbon nanotubes encapsulating iron nanoparticles attached to Fe₃O₄ flakes (up to 58.1%) were formed.

A 2D metal contact is a better electrode choice compared with a 2D material/bulk metal hybrid contact for sub-10 nm BP transistors.

Nano-BE down-regulates the IL-1β-induced expression of IL-6 and IL-8 in human gingival epithelial cells through effective delivery and cellular internalization approaches.

An understanding of the structural stability and formation mechanism of ligated gold nanoclusters with triply coordinated μ₃-sulfido (μ₃-S) motifs is important not only for gold chemistry but also for the design of more effective catalysts or drug carriers for various applications.

Lightweight microwave absorbing materials have drawn tremendous attention.

A temperature-responsive surface exhibiting switchable wettability between ILphilicity and ILphobicity by an ionic liquid has been developed.

1T/2H Mo_1−xW_xS₂ phase-heterostructures were prepared via a one-step liquid-phase method, and showed composition- and phase-dependent electrochemical and electronic properties.

We demonstrate a stretchable photodetector based on crumpled graphene–AuNP hybrid structures with ∼1200% plasmonically enhanced photoresponsivity and a stretchability up to ε_tensile = 200%.

A robust silver nanowire network is achieved on cloth by a spontaneous embedding process in an initiated vapor chemical deposition copolymer.

Polymer hybrid magnetic nanocapsules encapsulating IR820 and PTX for external magnetic field-guided tumor targeting and multifunctional theranostics.

A rapid and efficient micromotor-based bacteria killing strategy is described.

We study third-harmonic generation from silicon dimer nanoantennas. We demonstrate enhanced nonlinear conversion efficiency combined with highly directional harmonic generation.

The combination of highly N-doped porous carbon structures and a conductive skeleton greatly improved supercapacitance performance.

We study the valley degeneracy splitting of the transition-metal dichalcogenide monolayer via atom adsorption by first-principles calculations.

A phase angle optical encoding dimension is developed by exploiting the luminescence kinetics of upconversion nanoparticles.

Defect-rich graphene nanoribbons were used to load stable onion-like carbon@Co nanoparticles for developing extremely active and stable non-noble metal hybrid nanocatalysts as an efficient catalyst for oxygen reactions.

A facile method for one-pot synthesis of PtRu nanodendrites in H₂ gas is developed. The as-made catalyst shows superior catalytic activity and durability towards the methanol oxidation reaction.

The development of paper electronics would enable realization of extremely cheap devices for portable, disposable, and environmentally-benign electronics.

Electroresponsive polymeric nanoparticles are successfully used for externally controlled release of insulin, while maintaining the bioactivity of the released drug.

The intracellular transport network and crosstalk of nanogels in micropinocytosis, endocytosis, exocytosis and autophagy pathways using Rab and LC3 proteins as markers.