Themed collection Recent Review Articles

This minireview presents a mechanistic perspective linking molecular-level reaction pathways in MLD- and SIS-derived hybrid resists to lithographic performance, and offers design guidelines for next-generation EUV resists for high-NA lithography.

This Minireview highlights the recent advancements, challenges and future prospects in the field of the application of functionalized graphene-family materials in cement composites.

This review summarizes the progress in Cr³⁺-doped NIR CPs and proposes a multi-scale engineering strategy that enhances thermal and luminescence properties for high-performance NIR light sources.

This minireview outlines proton-based synaptic mechanisms by describing proton involvement and proton–electron coupling as two conceptual modes that elucidate how protons regulate synaptic behavior in bio-realistic devices.

Transition metal phosphides enable highly active and selective liquid formate production, offering added value without gaseous emissions or catalyst poisoning.

Gas transformations can occur inside metal–organic cages, where confinement boosts reactivity and selectivity by concentrating molecules, optimizing spatial arrangements, co-encapsulating catalysts and substrates, and exploiting cage metal properties.

The unique properties of gold nanoparticles enhance nucleic acid-based detection by enabling photothermal heating, improving sensitivity and specificity, and offering a range of detection strategies.

Lattice strain engineering bridges atomic structure and electrocatalytic performance. This review explains how strain tunes electronic structure and optimizes adsorption, boosting activity and stability in key reactions.

Organic nanoparticles can play an integral role in the biomedical field by optimizing the medication process in cancer treatment.

Delafossite CuFeO₂ has an Earth-abundant composition with a 1.3–1.7 eV band gap that straddles the hydrogen-evolution potential, positioning it as a leading p-type photocathode.

Key applications of nanomedicine in drug delivery, high impact diseases treatments, tissue regeneration and theranostics.

This review aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the potential of mitochondria-targeting nanosystems as a novel therapeutic approach for treating a wide range of diseases.

This review comprehensively discusses recent advances in the preparation, critical performance metrics, and emerging applications of CPL-active nanoparticles.

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) serve as versatile platforms for efficient removal of iodide and fluoride contaminants ( F⁻ and PFAS) from water, addressing nuclear waste and groundwater pollution challenges.

This review examines peptide-conjugated fluorescent molecular rotors (FMRs) for protein detection. Their application are also highlighted for quantifying expression, monitoring structural alterations, and detecting intermolecular interactions.

Strategies boosting AZIBs’ extreme-condition resilience via electrode/electrolyte/interface engineering, addressing dendrites, side reactions, and thermal instability.

This review summarizes the material properties, device structure, integration design, and the latest optical communication application scenarios of perovskite photodetectors.

This review explores MXene-based sensing for gas, bio, pressure/strain, acoustic, and thermal applications, highlighting how their tunable properties enable revolutionary performance across these diverse modalities.

This review presents the main types of gas sensors and their sensing materials, summarizes exhaled breath biomarkers and physical indicators for health monitoring, and discusses integration of wearable respiratory sensors with emerging technologies.

Freezing of polymer solutions plays a central role in processes such as cryopreservation, porous material synthesis, and environmental remediation.

This review summarizes the recent progress of piezoionic gels, highlighting strategies for enhancing their mechanoelectrical transduction capabilities, as well as their potential applications in energy harvesting and intelligent sensing.

Chemically stable MXene quantum dots (MQDs) exhibit exceptional optical properties and tunable surface chemistry. This review highlights their synthesis, biocompatibility, and transformative potential for next-generation technologies.

Surface modification allows for the versatile application of layered double hydroxides in biomedical fields.

Advancing clean energy catalysis, nanozymes deliver robust, low-cost, tunable activity; this review outlines applications, design strategies, challenges, and prospects.

By synergistically optimizing substrate properties and monomer structures, and harnessing advanced surface synthesis techniques, we aim to establish robust strategies for the on-surface synthesis of poly(amino acids) with atomic precision.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and CNT-based quantum dots (CNTQDs) hold significant promise for next-generation quantum and digital computing devices.

Nanomaterials have garnered significant attention due to their exceptional tribological properties.

CDs are widely used in polymers and can enhance various properties of the polymers.

Multimetallic nanostructures enable advanced environmental remediation, sensitive biosensing, and targeted medical therapies through synergistic catalytic and optical properties—paving the way for sustainable technologies.

Optimizing TE-QLEDs via several strategies: microcavity tailoring, dipole orientation control, RI engineering, and surface/interface design for superior emission extraction and directionality in advanced displays and photonic devices.

MXene have emerged as a highly promising materials, and their distinctive layered structure and tunable surface functionalization provide exceptional properties that enhance their electrochemical performance in M-ion batteries and supercapacitors.

This review systematically explores soft thermally conductive membranes, covering material design, preparation methods for continuous phonon transport, interface engineering strategies, and their diverse applications in flexible electronics.

This work reviews nature-inspired fog-harvesting strategies, mechanisms, and applications, advancing energy-efficient sustainable freshwater solutions.

Recent advancements in 2D materials, including graphene, TMDCs, Janus structures, MXenes, and perovskite-based devices, have enabled the development of diverse self-powered photodetectors that offer broad spectral responses and flexible designs. Images reproduced with permission; full details in paper.

This review focuses on active site microenvironment engineering of metal–nitrogen–carbon single-atom nanozymes (M–N–C SANs), highlighting their high catalytic activity, selectivity, and stability from synergistic metal–carrier effects.

One of the most extensively studied research areas in cancer treatment is the rapid diagnosis of cancer, which is crucial for combating this deadly disease.

Reversibly photoswitchable fluorescent proteins are genetically encoded probes that switch between dim OFF and bright ON states. Their switching mechanisms, bioimaging applications, and engineering synergistically advance biological research.

The review summarizes process advancements in the electrospinning preparation of crimped micro/nanofibers and applications of electrospun crimped micro/nanofibers in fields such as air filtration, biomedicine, sensors, energy, and thermal insulation.

This review provides a comprehensive understanding of the multifactorial determinants influencing tumor penetration of nanoparticles, highlighting how a systems-level understanding of these interdependent factors can accelerate rational design.

Development history of enhanced polishing techniques for SiC-CMP.

This review summarizes synthetic strategies for 2D conducting polymers and clarifies how controlled thickness, crystallinity, and porosity translate into ultrathin, low-noise, flexible sensors for gas, pressure, and biosensing applications.

This review summarizes recent advances in the synthesis, photophysical modulation, and deep-tissue NIR-II imaging applications of silver chalcogenide nanocrystals.

Nose-to-brain delivery is advancing with mucoadhesive and mucopenetrative nanomedicines, enabling effective intranasal transport of therapeutics like oxytocin and insulin through optimized formulations and predictive in vitro–in vivo models.

This review uniquely combines gold nanoparticle transport mechanisms, advanced in vitro models, and label-free detection to guide translational nanomedicine research.

Hybrid systems comprising TADF materials and inorganic emitters, such as semiconductor quantum dots and perovskite nanostructures, are utilized in light-emitting diodes.

Electrospray ionisation coupled with mass spectrometry provides atomic-level insights into the composition, structure, and properties of nanoclusters while also serving as a versatile methodology for material synthesis.

Carbon dots (CDs), owing to their unique core-shell structure, demonstrate promising applications in fields such as luminescence, electrocatalysis, photocatalysis, and biocompatibility, with particularly great potential in energy storage.