Themed collection Nanoscale Horizons Most Popular 2022 Articles

Hybrid inorganic/organic nanoparticles with exosomes can be applied as a novel platform for drug delivery systems. This biomimetic nanoplatform combines the functions of natural biomaterials to efficiently carry drugs to the center of cancer cells.

The cross-fertilisation between the listed disciplines with a long standing knowledge on the application of artificial intelligence protocols and electron microscopy for materials science can entail the next breakthroughs in the field.

Oleic acid and oleylamine are added in a solution containing suitable precursors and they can often form complexes with metal ions. These complexes may be thermally decomposed to yield ligand-coated nanoparticles with a tendency to form assemblies.

We discuss materials and design strategies for stretchable electroluminescent (EL) devices. We categorize stretchable EL devices into two types: (i) structurally stretchable and (ii) intrinsically stretchable EL devices.

This review presents the fascinating properties and emerging applications of liquid metals and alloys at the nanoscale.

Defect-engineered monolayer MoS₂ transistors with sulfur vacancies of ∼5 ± 0.5% behave the stable negative differential resistance effect at room temperature. The peak-to-valley ratio can be modulated via the gate electric field and light intensity.

A strong correlation between the triboelectric voltage output response and the  λ_LSPR shifts is observed which opens up the pathway for establishing self-powered LSPR-based sensors.

An AFM-Raman combined system identifies subtle differences in the biophysical properties of SnC- and non-SnC-derived small extracellular vesicles (sEVs).

Diffraction measurements following the growth of h-BN, reveal intermediate long-range ordered open network structures during the formation. DFT calculations explain their nature, outlining new routes to control the synthesis of covalent 2D networks.

Atomic-scale dent structures on the surfaces of cellulose nanofibers were detected. These dent parts constituted at least 30–40% of the total length of the dispersed nanofibers, and deep dents induced the kinking and fragmentation of nanofibers.

Van der Waals epitaxial growth of a SnS₂/MoS₂ heterostructure with trap-like vertically oriented nanostructures was designed and utilized for high-photoresponsivity and fast-response self-powered photoelectrochemical photodetectors.

The butterfly wing scales of several species exhibit dual functionalities of radiative cooling and structural coloring. Here, we artificially reconstruct a butterfly wing scale of periodically grating nanostructures with extremely high porosity.

Chemically manipulated silicon diffraction gratings serve as a toolbox for the systematic investigation on how different material properties guide bacterial attachment onto a surface, which is imperative for mediating infections and biofouling.

STM measurements and DFT calculations to study 3 bi-thermoelectric endohedral metallofullerenes, benchmarked against C₆₀, show that the fluctuations in S are correlated with the charge inhomogeneity and the geometrical disorder within the junction.

We report the proof-of-concept design of interfacial sites with a selectivity-governing and hydrogen evolution reaction-suppressing domain (Bi) and an electrokinetic-promoting domain (Cu₂S) for efficient CO₂ electroreduction to formate.

Discontinuous metal films, comprising nanoscale gold islands, exhibit correlated avalanches of electrical signals that mimic those observed in the cortex, providing an interesting platform for brain-inspired computing.

The memristor is a promising candidate to implement high-density memory and neuromorphic computing.

Painless and controlled on-demand drug delivery is the ultimate goal for the management of various chronic diseases, including diabetes.

A self-amplifying nanodrug was precisely designed to reprogram the Janus-faced nature of ferroptosis via harnessing the positive role of ferroptosis along with reversing its inherent negative role to achieve optimal ferroptotic tumor therapy.

Adsorption heights were precisely measured by X-ray standing wave for three successive stages of on-surface synthesis: organometallic intermediates, covalent phenyl–triazine networks directly on Ag(111) and after decoupling with an iodine monolayer.