One‐Dimensional Nano‐Interconnection Formation

Interconnection of one‐dimensional nanomaterials such as nanowires and carbon nanotubes with other parts or components is crucial for nanodevices to realize electrical contacts and mechanical fixings. Interconnection has been being gradually paid great attention since it is as significant as nanomaterials properties, and determines nanodevices performance in some cases. This paper provides an overview of recent progress on techniques that are commonly used for one‐dimensional interconnection formation. In this review, these techniques could be categorized into two different types: two‐step and one‐step methods according to their established process. The two‐step method is constituted by assembly and pinning processes, while the one‐step method is a direct formation process of nano‐interconnections. In both methods, the electrodeposition approach is illustrated in detail, and its potential mechanism is emphasized.     

One‐Step Fabrication of Triple‐Layered Polymeric Microparticles with Layer Localization of Drugs as a Novel Drug‐Delivery System

Particulate systems have tremendous potential to achieve controlled release and targeted delivery of drugs. However, conventional single‐layered particles have several inherent limitations, including initial burst release, the inability to provide zero‐order release, and a lack of time‐delayed or pulsatile release of therapeutic agents. Multilayered particles have the potential to overcome these disadvantages. Herein, it is shown how triple‐layered polymeric microparticles can be fabricated through a simple, economical, reliable, and versatile one‐step solvent evaporation technique. Particle morphologies and layer configurations are determined by scanning electron microscopy, polymer dissolution tests, and Raman mapping. Key fabrication parameters that affect the formation of triple‐layered polymeric microparticles comprising poly(DL ‐lactide‐co‐glycolide) (50:50), poly(L ‐lactide), and poly(ethylene‐co‐vinyl acetate) (40 wt% vinyl acetate) are discussed, along with their formation mechanisms. Layer thickness and the configurations of these microparticles are altered by changing the polymer mass ratios. Finally, it is shown that drugs can be localized in specific layers of the microparticles. This fabrication process can therefore be used to tailor microparticle designs, thus allowing such “designer” particulate drug‐delivery systems to function across a wide range of applications.     

Controlled Synthesis of One‐Dimensional Inorganic Nanostructures Using Pre‐Existing One‐Dimensional Nanostructures as Templates

Template‐directed strategy has become one of the most popular methods for the fabrication of one‐dimensional (1D) nanostructures with uniform size and controllable physical dimensions in recent years. This Review article describes the recent progress in the synthesis of 1D inorganic nanostructures by using suitable templates. A brief survey on the templating method based on the organic templates and porous membrane is firstly given. Then, the article is focused on recent emerging synthetic strategies by templating against the pre‐existing 1D nanostructures using different physical and chemical transformation techniques, including epitaxial growth, nonepitaxial growth, direct chemical transformation, solid‐state interfacial diffusion reaction, and so on. The important reactivity role of the 1D nanostructures will be emphasized in such transformation process. Finally, we conclude this paper with some perspectives and outlook on this research topic.     

One‐Way Particle Transport Using Oscillatory Flow in Asymmetric Traps

One challenge of integrating of passive, microparticles manipulation techniques into multifunctional microfluidic devices is coupling the continuous‐flow format of most systems with the often batch‐type operation of particle separation systems. Here, a passive fluidic technique—one‐way particle transport—that can conduct microparticle operations in a closed fluidic circuit is presented. Exploiting pass/capture interactions between microparticles and asymmetric traps, this technique accomplishes a net displacement of particles in an oscillatory flow field. One‐way particle transport is achieved through four kinds of trap–particle interactions: mechanical capture of the particle, asymmetric interactions between the trap and the particle, physical collision of the particle with an obstacle, and lateral shift of the particle into a particle–trapping stream. The critical dimensions for those four conditions are found by numerically solving analytical mass balance equations formulated using the characteristics of the flow field in periodic obstacle arrays. Visual observation of experimental trap–particle dynamics in low Reynolds number flow (<0.01) confirms the validity of the theoretical predictions. This technique can transport hundreds of microparticles across trap rows in only a few fluid oscillations (<500 ms per oscillation) and separate particles by their size differences.     

Low‐Dimensional Topological Crystalline Insulators

Topological crystalline insulators (TCIs) are recently discovered topological phase with robust surface states residing on high‐symmetry crystal surfaces. Different from conventional topological insulators (TIs), protection of surface states on TCIs comes from point‐group symmetry instead of time‐reversal symmetry in TIs. The distinct properties of TCIs make them promising candidates for the use in novel spintronics, low‐dissipation quantum computation, tunable pressure sensor, mid‐infrared detector, and thermoelectric conversion. However, similar to the situation in TIs, the surface states are always suppressed by bulk carriers, impeding the exploitation of topology‐induced quantum phenomenon. One effective way to solve this problem is to grow low‐dimensional TCIs which possess large surface‐to‐volume ratio, and thus profoundly increase the carrier contribution from topological surface states. Indeed, through persistent effort, researchers have obtained unique quantum transport phenomenon, originating from topological surface states, based on controllable growth of low‐dimensional TCIs. This article gives a comprehensive review on the recent progress of controllable synthesis and topological surface transport of low‐dimensional TCIs. The possible future direction about low‐dimensional TCIs is also briefly discussed at the end of this paper.     

Three‐Dimensional Nanofabrication by Block Copolymer Self‐Assembly

Thin films of block copolymers are widely seen as enablers for nanoscale fabrication of semiconductor devices, membranes, and other structures, taking advantage of microphase separation to produce well‐organized nanostructures with periods of a few nm and above. However, the inherently three‐dimensional structure of block copolymer microdomains could enable them to make 3D devices and structures directly, which could lead to efficient fabrication of complex heterogeneous structures. This article reviews recent progress in developing 3D nanofabrication processes based on block copolymers.