Two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials have attracted a great deal of attention since the discovery of graphene in 2004, due to their intriguing physicochemical properties and wide-ranging applications in catalysis, energy-related devices, electronics and optoelectronics. To maximize the potential of 2D nanomaterials for their technological applications, controlled assembly of 2D nanobulding blocks into integrated systems is critically needed. This mini review summarizes the reported strategies of 2D materials-based assembly into integrated functional nanostructures, from in-situ assembly method to post-synthesis assembly. The applications of 2D assembled integrated structures are also covered, especially in the areas of energy, electronics and sensing, and we conclude with discussion on the remaining challenges and potential directions in this emerging field.
Colloidal nanoparticles with anisotropic architectures have attracted a variety of interest and attention due to different physical and chemical properties compared with the isotropic counterparts, making them promising candidates in many fundamental studies and practical applications. Particularly, carbon and silica-based anisotropic nanoparticles can be one stand out by combing both intrinsic merits of carbons and silica, such as structural stability, biocompatibility, large surface area, and ease of functionalization with the anisotropic structural complexity. In this review, we aim to provide an updated summary of the research related to the anisotropic carbon and silica-based nanostructures, covering both their synthesis and applications.
DNA is a self-assembled, double stranded natural molecule that can chelate and align nickel ions between its base pairs. The fabrication of a DNA-guided nickel ion chain (Ni-DNA) device was successful, as indicated by the conducting currents exhibiting a Ni ion redox reaction-driven negative differential resistance effect, a property unique to mem-elements (1). The redox state of nickel ions in the Ni-DNA device is programmable by applying an external bias with different polarities and writing times (2). The multiple states of Ni-DNA-based memristive and memcapacitive systems were characterized (3). As such, the development of Ni-DNA nanowire device-based circuits in the near future is proposed.
All-inorganic cesium lead halide perovskite quantum dots (QDs) have been a promising candidate for optoelectronic devices in recent years, such as light-emitting diodes, photodetectors and solar cells, owing to their superb optoelectronic properties. Still, the stability issue of nanocrystals is a bottleneck for their practical application. Herein, we report a facile method for the synthesis of a series of phosphine ligand modified CsPbBr3 QDs with high PL intensity. By introducing organic phosphine ligands, the tolerance of CsPbBr3 QDs to ethanol, water and UV light was dramatically improved. Moreover, the phosphine ligand modified QD films deposited on the glass subtracts exhibit superior PL intensity and optical stability to those of pristine QD based films.
Electrochemical water splitting (EWS) is a highly clean and efficient method for high-purity hydrogen production. Unfortunately, EWS suffers from the sluggish and complex oxygen evolution reaction (OER) kinetics at anode. At present, the efficient, stable, and low-cost non-precious metal based OER electrocatalyst is still a great and long-term challenge for the future industrial application of EWS technology. Herein, we develop a simple and fast approach for gram-scale synthesis of flower-like cobalt-based layered double hydroxides nanosheet aggregates by ultrasonic synthesis, which show outstanding electrocatalytic performance for the oxygen evolution reaction in alkaline media, such as preeminent stability, small overpotential of 300 mV at 10 mA·cm−2 and small Tafel slope of 110 mV·dec−1.
Anisotropy and inhomogeneity are ubiquitous in spark plasma sintered thermoelectric devices. However, the origin of inhomogeneity in thermoelectric nanocomposites has rarely been investigated so far. Herein, we systematically study the impact of inhomogeneity in spark plasma sintered bismuth antimony telluride (BiSbTe) thermoelectric nanocomposites fabricated from solution-synthesized nanoplates. The figure of merit can reach 1.18, which, however, can be overestimated to 1.88 without considering the inhomogeneity. Our study reveals that the inhomogeneity in thermoelectric properties is attributed to the non-uniformity of porosity, textures and elemental distribution from electron backscatter diffraction and energy-dispersive spectroscopy characterizations. This finding suggests that the optimization of bulk material homogeneity should also be actively pursued in any future thermoelectric material research.
We describe a route to the preparation of (metal yolk)/(porous ceria shell) nanostructures through the heterogeneous growth of ceria on porous metal nanoparticles followed by the calcination-induced shrinkage of the nanoparticles. The approach allows for the control of the ceria shell thickness, the metal yolk composition and size, which is difficult to realize through common templating approaches. The yolk/shell nanostructures with monometallic Pt and bimetallic PtAg yolks featuring plasmon-induced broadband light absorption in the visible region are rationally designed and constructed. The superior photocatalytic activities of the obtained nanostructures are demonstrated by the selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol under visible light. The excellent activities are ascribed to the synergistic effects of the metal yolk and the ceria shell on the light absorption, electron-hole separation and efficient mass transfer. Our synthesis of the (metal yolk)/(porous ceria shell) nanostructures points out a way to the creation of sophisticated heteronanostructures for high-performance photocatalysis.
We propose a process of quantum-confined ion superfluid (QISF), which is enthalpy-driven confined ordered fluid, to explain the transmission of nerve signals. The ultrafast Na+ and K+ ions transportation through all sodium-potassium pump nanochannels simultaneously in the membrane is without energy loss, and leads to QISF wave along the neuronal axon, which acts as an information medium in the ultrafast nerve signal transmission. The QISF process will not only provide a new view point for a reasonable explanation of ultrafast signal transmission in the nerves and brain, but also challenge the theory of matter wave for ions, molecules and particles.
Platinum (Pt)-based electrocatalyst with low Pt content and high electrocatalytic performance is highly desired in fuel cell applications. Herein, we demonstrated that platinum-nickel (Pt-Ni) nanowires with an average composition of PtNi3 and a fishbone structure can be readily synthesized and used as an efficient electrocatalyst toward methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). The PtNi3 fishbone-like nanowires (PtNi3-FBNWs) present features such as richer Pt on the surface than in the bulk, high-index facets on the rough surface, and polyhedral facets at the ends of side chains. Such compositional and structural features could be determinative to the enhanced performance in the electrocatalysis of MOR. Compared with commercial 20% Pt/carbon black (Pt/C), the specific activity and mass activity of the PtNi3-FBNWs are enhanced by approximately 4.76 and 3.02 times, respectively. The stability of electrocatalysis is significantly improved as well. Such comprehensive enhancement indicates that the PtNi3-FBNWs would be a promising candidate toward MOR in fuel cells.
Electrochemical N2 reduction offers a promising alternative to the Haber-Bosch process for sustainable NH3 synthesis at ambient conditions, but it needs efficient catalysts for the N2 reduction reaction (NRR). Here, we report that FeOOH quantum dots decorated graphene sheet acts as a superior catalyst toward enhanced electrocatalytic N2 reduction to NH3 under ambient conditions. In 0.1 M LiClO4, this hybrid attains a large NH3 yield rate and a high Faradaic efficiency of 27.3 µg·h−1·mg−1cat. and 14.6% at −0.4 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode, respectively, rivalling the current efficiency of all Fe-based NRR electrocatalysts in aqueous media. It also shows strong durability during the electrolytic process.
Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) have been regarded as one of the most promising energy storage systems to break through the upper limit of lithium-ion batteries. However, the rampant diffusions of soluble lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) in the electrolyte induced the shuttle effect between anode and cathode, resulting in low sulfur utilization, low energy efficiency and short cycling life. Herein, we prove the rational design and construction of Ni nanoparticles filled in vertically grown N-doped bamboo-like carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on graphene nanosheets (Ni@NG-CNTs) as efficient polysulfide barrier for high-performance LSBs. The unique design integrates graphene nanosheets and CNTs into hierarchical architectures with one-dimensional (1D) CNTs, two-dimensional (2D) ultrathin nanosheets and abundant carbon nanocages. This design provides large surface area for lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) adsorption, accelerates electron transport and enhances electrochemical redox of LiPSs. Benefiting from the unique structural features, the LSBs with the Ni@NG-CNTs as polysulfide barrier keep high reversible specific capacities of 309.1 and 265.0 mAh·g−1 at 5 and 10 C rates after 500 cycles. This work provides a new strategy for constructing self-assembled hybrids of CNTs and graphene nanosheets with abundant carbon nanocages for high-performance LSBs.
In this work, homogeneous Ni0.33Co0.67Se hollow nanoprisms were synthesized successfully in virtue of Kirkendall effect. It is the first time for bimetallic Ni-Co compounds Ni0.33Co0.67Se to be used in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Impressively, the Ni0.33Co0.67Se hollow nanoprisms show superior specific capacity (1,575 mAh/g at the current density of 100 mA/g) and outstanding rate performance (850 mAh/g at 2,000 mA/g) as anode material for LIBs. This work proves the potential of bimetallic chalcogenide compounds as high performance anode materials for LIBs.
Living electronics that converges the unique functioning modality of biological and electrical circuits has the potential to transform both fundamental biophysical/biochemical inquiries and translational biomedical/engineering applications. This article will review recent progress in overcoming the intrinsic physiochemical and signaling mismatches at biological/electronic interfaces, with specific focus on strategic approaches in forging the functional synergy through: (1) biohybrid electronics, where genetically encoded bio-machineries are hybridized with electronic transducers to facilitate the translation/interpretation of biologically derived signals; and (2) biosynthetic electronics, where biogenic electron pathways are designed and programmed to bridge the gap between internal biological and external electrical circuits. These efforts are reconstructing the way that artificial electronics communicate with living systems, and opening up new possibilities for many cross-disciplinary applications in biosynthesis, sensing, energy transduction, and hybrid information processing.
The dual-emissive N, S co-doped carbon dots (N, S-CDs) with a long emission wavelength were synthesized via solvothermal method. The N, S-CDs possess relatively high photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield (QY) (35.7%) towards near-infrared fluorescent peak up to 648 nm. With the advanced characterization techniques including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), etc. It is found that the doped N, S elements play an important role in the formation of high QY CDs. The N, S-CDs exist distinct pH-sensitive feature with reversible fluorescence in a good linear relationship with pH values in the range of 1.0–13.0. What is more, N, S-CDs can be used as an ultrasensitive Ag+ probe sensor with the resolution up to 0.4 μM. This finding will expand the application of as prepared N, S-CDs in sensing and environmental fields.
Utilizing vacuum-tuned-atmosphere induced dip coating method, we achieve the cross-dimensional macroscopic diverse self-assemblies by using one building block with one chemical functionality. Coordinated modulating the vacuum degree, colloid concentration and evaporation atmosphere, Au@Ag core/shell NCs can controllably assemble into diverse multi-dimensional superstructures. Under 0.08 MPa, we obtained the two-dimensional (2D) stepped superstructures with continuously tunable step width. In addition, we generated a series of tailorable nanoscale-roughened 2D Au@Ag NCs superstructures at 0.04 MPa, which exhibited the label-free ultrasensitive SERS detection for the different mutants of IAPP8-37 proteins. Under 0.01 MPa, we obtained the cross-dimensional tailorable Au@Ag NCs assemblies from random to macroscale 2D and three-dimensional (3D) densest superstructures by adjusting the capping ligand-environmental molecule interactions. This is a flexible method to generate as-prepared Au@Ag core/shell NCs into well-defined macroscopic diverse superstructures and to promote the exploitation into biological applications.
Structure–activity relationship (SAR) is the key problem of nanoscience, thus to fabricate novel and well-defined nanostructure will provide a new insight on catalyst preparation method. Highly active and low cost electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are of great importance for future renewable energy conversion and storage. Herein, NiFe-based layered double hydroxides with laminar structure (NFLS) were successfully fabricated via a one-step hydrothermal approach by using sodium dodecyl sulfate as surfactant. The as-fabricated NFLS showed a well-defined periodic layered-stacking geometry with a scale down to 1-nm. Benefitting from the unique structure, NFLS exhibited an excellent catalytic activity towards OER with current densities of 10 mA·cm−2 at overpotential of 197 mV. The synergistic effect of Ni and Fe plays a key role in electrode reactions. The present work provides a new insight to improve the OER performance by rational design of electrocatalysts with unique structures.
Elliptical metallic nanohole arrays possess much higher transmission and enhanced sensitivity compared with circular nanohole arrays. However, fabricating elliptical metallic nanohole arrays in large area with highly tunable aspect ratio remains a challenge. Herein, a brand-new method combining stretchable imprinting with colloidal lithography is figured out to fabricate deep-elliptical-silver-nanowell arrays (d-EAgNWAs). In this method, large area highly ordered silicon nanopillar arrays fabricated by colloidal lithography were taken as a master to transfer large area polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) nanohole arrays. Benefit from the high elasticity of PDMS mold, the aspect ratio of d-EAgNWAs achieved can be facilely regulated from 1.7 to 5.0. Through optimization of polarization direction and the structural parameters including nanowell depth, aspect ratio, and hole size, the sensing performance of d-EAgNWAs was finally improved up to 1,414.1 nm/RIU. The best sensing behaved d-EAgNWAs were employed as an immunoassay platform finally to prove their great potential in label-free biosensing.
Graphene nanosheets are a promising scaffold to accommodate S for achieving high performance Li/S battery. Nanosheet activation is used as a viable strategy to induce a micropore system and further improve the battery performance. Accordingly, chemical activation methods dominate despite the need of multiple stages, which slow down the process in addition to making them tiresome. Here, a three-dimensional (3D) N-doped graphene specimen was physically activated with CO2, a clean and single step process, and used for the preparation of a sulfur composite (A-3DNG/S). The A-3DNG/S composite exhibited outstanding electrochemical properties such as an excellent rate capability (1,000 mAh·g−1 at 2C), high reversible capacity and cycling stability (average capacity ~ 800 mAh·g−1 at 1C after 200 cycles), values which exceed those measured in chemically activated graphene. Therefore, these results support the use of physical activation as a simple and efficient alternative to improve the performance of carbons as an S host for high-performance Li-S batteries.
A diverse range of remarkable boron nitride (BN) nanostructures subsuming nano-horns, nano-rods, nano-platelets, and clusters of hollow nanospheres (nano-onions, arguably of greatest applied and fundamental interest) have been produced exclusively from crystalline BN precursor powder via lamp ablation. The procedure is safe, devoid of toxic reagents, simple, rapid and scalable—generating some genres of nanoparticles that had previously proved elusive. Product structure and composition were unambiguously assessed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy.