News & Views |
Featured
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Article |
Surface distortion as a unifying concept and descriptor in oxygen reduction reaction electrocatalysis
Tuning surface structure is key for electrocatalytic performance and stability of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells. Surface distortion as a structural descriptor can help to clarify the role of surface defects and to design enhanced nanocatalysts.
- Raphaël Chattot
- , Olivier Le Bacq
- & Frédéric Maillard
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Article |
Impacts of surface depletion on the plasmonic properties of doped semiconductor nanocrystals
Degenerately doped semiconductor nanocrystals exhibit localized surface plasmon resonance in the infrared. Semiconducting properties such as band structure modification due to doping and surface states are now shown to strongly affect plasmonic modulation.
- Omid Zandi
- , Ankit Agrawal
- & Delia J. Milliron
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Article |
Non-specific interactions govern cytosolic diffusion of nanosized objects in mammalian cells
Nanoparticle diffusion in the cytoplasm of living cells strongly deviates from random motion. Single-particle tracking analysis show that this is due to non-specific interactions with intracellular components.
- Fred Etoc
- , Elie Balloul
- & Mathieu Coppey
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Editorial |
Perovskites keep on giving
Whether you like exploring the mysteries of light–matter interactions, playing with a versatile chemical platform, or developing the most efficient devices, metal halide perovskites could be the materials for you.
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Article |
Quantitative self-assembly prediction yields targeted nanomedicines
Molecular simulations reveal the self-assembly of small molecules into nanoparticle drug carriers. Targeting of colon and liver cancer cells by the nanoparticles via kinase inhibitors is employed in anti-tumour therapy in vivo.
- Yosi Shamay
- , Janki Shah
- & Daniel A. Heller
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News & Views |
No need to wait
In contrast with protocols reporting self-assembly of nanocrystals after synthesis, Pd nanocrystals rapidly form 3D micrometre-size superlattices during growth. The nanocrystals keep growing after assembly, tuning the size of the lattice.
- Kun Liu
- & Eugenia Kumacheva
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Article |
An intrinsic growth instability in isotropic materials leads to quasi-two-dimensional nanoplatelets
Quasi-two-dimensional CdSe nanoplatelets are shown to grow in concentrated solvent-free melts, without mixed surfactants. A model explaining such results proposes that nanoscale instability triggers anisotropic growth of isotropic materials.
- Andreas Riedinger
- , Florian D. Ott
- & David J. Norris
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Letter |
Distance-dependent magnetic resonance tuning as a versatile MRI sensing platform for biological targets
By pairing a paramagnetic enhancer with a superparamagnetic quencher, their distance-dependent interaction can be applied to image biological processes using MRI.
- Jin-sil Choi
- , Soojin Kim
- & Jinwoo Cheon
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Article |
Three-dimensional imaging of dislocation dynamics during the hydriding phase transformation
Coherent diffractive imaging during hydriding of palladium nanocrystals reveals that phase nucleation begins after dislocation nucleation at the phase boundary for large particles. The hydrogen-rich phase resembles a spherical cap.
- A. Ulvestad
- , M. J. Welland
- & G. B. Stephenson
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Letter |
Quasicrystalline nanocrystal superlattice with partial matching rules
The complex 3D structure of a quasicrystalline binary nanocrystal superlattice has been resolved by electron microscopy and tomography.
- Xingchen Ye
- , Jun Chen
- & Christopher B. Murray
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Article |
Linear topology in amorphous metal oxide electrochromic networks obtained via low-temperature solution processing
Electrochromic films based on tin-doped indium oxide nanocrystals dispersed in a niobium oxide glass are now realized from solution at room temperature. The chain-like topology of niobium oxide improves the electrochemical properties of these films.
- Anna Llordés
- , Yang Wang
- & Delia J. Milliron
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Article |
Mechanism of hard-nanomaterial clearance by the liver
The blood clearance mechanism, by the liver, of administered hard nanomaterials is reported in relation to blood flow dynamics, organ microarchitecture and cellular phenotype.
- Kim M. Tsoi
- , Sonya A. MacParland
- & Warren C. W. Chan
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Article |
Anisotropic phase segregation and migration of Pt in nanocrystals en route to nanoframe catalysts
Anisotropic phase segregation and migration of Pt in nanocrystals is important in designing enhanced catalysts. Insight into the mechanism of Pt–Ni rhombic dodecahedra growth may provide a way to produce nanocatalysts with improved performance.
- Zhiqiang Niu
- , Nigel Becknell
- & Peidong Yang
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News & Views |
Neither solid nor liquid
Nanoparticles of gallium deposited on a sapphire substrate, which are now shown to remain stable in a state of solid/liquid coexistence across a temperature window wider than 600 K, may prove useful for studying the properties of solid/liquid interfaces and in plasmonic or catalytic applications.
- Andrés Aguado
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Article |
Local triple-combination therapy results in tumour regression and prevents recurrence in a colon cancer model
A hydrogel patch delivering a combination of gene, drug and phototherapy leads to complete tumour remission and the absence of tumour recurrence in a colon cancer mouse model.
- João Conde
- , Nuria Oliva
- & Natalie Artzi
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Article |
Thermally stable coexistence of liquid and solid phases in gallium nanoparticles
A real-time investigation shows that Ga nanoparticles in the solid γ-phase coexist with liquid Ga at a broad range of temperatures, as a result of nanoscale confinement, Laplace pressure and epitaxial matching with the substrate.
- Maria Losurdo
- , Alexandra Suvorova
- & April S. Brown
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Article |
Polyvinylpyrrolidone-induced anisotropic growth of gold nanoprisms in plasmon-driven synthesis
Plasmon-mediated growth of Au nanoprisms is demonstrated by using polyvinylpyrrolidone as surfactant, which extends the lifetime of the plasmon-generated hot electrons and makes them available to reduce Au precursors from solution.
- Yueming Zhai
- , Joseph S. DuChene
- & Wei David Wei
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Article |
Crystal symmetry breaking and vacancies in colloidal lead chalcogenide quantum dots
X-ray scattering and density functional theory calculations reveal that ligand-induced tensile stress can distort the rock-salt structure of small PbS and PbSe colloidal quantum dots, creating a Pb-deficient core surrounded by a Pb-enriched shell.
- Federica Bertolotti
- , Dmitry N. Dirin
- & Norberto Masciocchi
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Article |
Reconstructing solute-induced phase transformations within individual nanocrystals
The phase distribution of multiply twinned palladium nanocrystals causes spatially inhomogeneous hydrogen loading, which was imaged in situ.
- Tarun C. Narayan
- , Andrea Baldi
- & Jennifer A. Dionne
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Article |
Paramagnetic fluorinated nanoemulsions for sensitive cellular fluorine-19 magnetic resonance imaging
New paramagnetic fluorinated nanoemulsions significantly enhance the detection sensitivity of MRI compared with alternative fluorine-19 tracers.
- Alexander A. Kislukhin
- , Hongyan Xu
- & Eric T. Ahrens
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News & Views |
Order and progress
Quantification of structural disorder and electron localization in superlattices of colloidal nanocrystals shows that minimizing variations in size and epitaxial connections is key to enhance the electronic properties of these materials.
- Christophe Delerue
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Article |
Lattice engineering through nanoparticle–DNA frameworks
Designed DNA-based polyhedral frames, whose vertices are connected to nanoparticles, facilitate their self-assembly into predetermined crystalline and open three-dimensional lattices.
- Ye Tian
- , Yugang Zhang
- & Oleg Gang
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Letter |
Organically linked iron oxide nanoparticle supercrystals with exceptional isotropic mechanical properties
Crystals of spherical iron oxide nanoparticles linked by oleic acid ligands show exceptional bending modulus, hardness and strength.
- Axel Dreyer
- , Artur Feld
- & Gerold A. Schneider
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Letter |
Colloidal metal oxide nanocrystal catalysis by sustained chemically driven ligand displacement
Here the authors show that nanocrystals of hafnium oxide can be applied as stable catalytic materials using a dynamic ligand-exchange reaction mechanism.
- Jonathan De Roo
- , Isabel Van Driessche
- & Zeger Hens
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Letter |
Counting electrons on supported nanoparticles
The electronic interaction between deposited metal nanoparticles and their support material can influence their functionality. Here, a quantification of the charge transfer between platinum nanoparticles and a ceria support is presented.
- Yaroslava Lykhach
- , Sergey M. Kozlov
- & Jörg Libuda
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Article |
Metal–insulator transition in films of doped semiconductor nanocrystals
The critical concentration of dopants required to trigger an insulator-to-metal transition in films of semiconductor nanocrystals has been calculated, and experimentally verified with highly doped silicon nanocrystal films.
- Ting Chen
- , K. V. Reich
- & B. I. Shklovskii
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Article |
Thermodynamics of the hybrid interaction of hydrogen with palladium nanoparticles
The absorption and desorption mechanism of hydrogen in palladium nanoparticles is complex. Based on thermodynamic considerations a mechanism consistent with an interfacial model different from bulk Pd behaviour is now proposed.
- Ronald Griessen
- , Nikolai Strohfeldt
- & Harald Giessen
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Article |
Nanosecond homogeneous nucleation and crystal growth in shock-compressed SiO2
Multiscale molecular dynamics indicate that the crystallization of shock-compressed fused silica and quartz occurs within a few nanoseconds and is mediated by diffusion.
- Yuan Shen
- , Shai B. Jester
- & Evan J. Reed
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Article |
Hydride formation thermodynamics and hysteresis in individual Pd nanocrystals with different size and shape
The physicochemical properties of nanoparticles can sometimes prove difficult to characterize. Using plasmonic nanospectroscopy, hydride formation thermodynamics in individual Pd nanocrystals are found to be nearly size- and shape-independent.
- Svetlana Syrenova
- , Carl Wadell
- & Christoph Langhammer
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Letter |
Nanocapillarity-mediated magnetic assembly of nanoparticles into ultraflexible filaments and reconfigurable networks
Capillary forces at the nanoscale can be harnessed for the magnetically directed assembly of lipid-shell-coated nanoparticles into ultraflexible microfilaments and network structures.
- Bhuvnesh Bharti
- , Anne-Laure Fameau
- & Orlin D. Velev
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Editorial |
Mighty linkers
The versatility of DNA linkers as selective binders is accelerating the rational design of the assembly of nanoparticle crystals with unprecedented structural complexity.
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News & Views |
Flip-flop lattices
The structure of crystals made of DNA-bridged nanoparticles can be selectively switched between various lattices by reprogramming the DNA-mediated interactions between the nanoparticles.
- Erika Eiser
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News & Views |
Exploiting shape complementarity
Improved control over the shape of nanoparticles and the interactions between them allows the rational construction of intricate microscale assemblies.
- Jean-Philippe Sobczak
- & Hendrik Dietz
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Commentary |
DNA-linked superlattices get into shape
Advances in the control of the shape, bonding direction and valency of DNA-coated nanoparticles allow the synthesis of nanoparticle crystallites of ever increasing complexity.
- Bert Nickel
- & Tim Liedl
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Review Article |
Molecular-based design and emerging applications of nanoporous carbon spheres
Major strategies for the preparation and rational design of nanoporous carbon spheres as well as the investigation of their properties for energy conversion and storage, catalysis and biomedical applications are now critically reviewed.
- Jian Liu
- , Nilantha P. Wickramaratne
- & Mietek Jaroniec
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News & Views |
Low-energy electron therapy
The fabrication of a self-sustaining source of low-energy electrons in a single-atom layer could help unravel fundamental mechanisms of radiobiological damage and lead to improved cancer therapies.
- Léon Sanche
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Letter |
Subnanometre ligand-shell asymmetry leads to Janus-like nanoparticle membranes
X-ray scattering and molecular dynamics simulations show that asymmetries in the ligand-shell thickness of self-assembled nanoparticle membranes at air/water interfaces affect the macroscopic properties of the membranes.
- Zhang Jiang
- , Jinbo He
- & Xiao-Min Lin
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Article |
Anisotropic nanoparticle complementarity in DNA-mediated co-crystallization
The structural properties of the DNA-mediated assembly of co-crystals of anisotropic nanoparticles can be controlled through the shape and size complementarity of the DNA-coated nanoparticles.
- Matthew N. O’Brien
- , Matthew R. Jones
- & Chad A. Mirkin
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Article |
Selective transformations between nanoparticle superlattices via the reprogramming of DNA-mediated interactions
The selective transformation of a DNA–nanoparticle superlattice into three-dimensional ‘daughter’ lattices is achieved by modifying interparticle interactions via reprogramming DNA strands.
- Yugang Zhang
- , Suchetan Pal
- & Oleg Gang
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Review Article |
Photochemical transformations on plasmonic metal nanoparticles
Optically excited plasmonic nanoparticles can activate chemical reactions on their surfaces. The underlying physical mechanisms responsible for the chemical activity and advances in photocatalysis on plasmonic metallic nanostructures are discussed.
- Suljo Linic
- , Umar Aslam
- & Matthew Morabito
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News & Views |
Energy transfer is speeded up in 2D
When efficient energy transfer under high carrier densities is required, two-dimensional nanoplatelets are the material of choice, combining an exceptional suppression of nonlinear fluorescence quenching with ultrafast transfer capabilities.
- Iwan Moreels
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Letter |
Picosecond energy transfer and multiexciton transfer outpaces Auger recombination in binary CdSe nanoplatelet solids
Fast fluorescence resonance energy transfer between CdSe nanoplatelets on a picosecond timescale is measured. This process is faster than Auger recombination and leads to the observation of multiexcitonic energy transfer in these materials.
- Clare E. Rowland
- , Igor Fedin
- & Richard D. Schaller
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News & Views |
Enantioselective photoactivation
Circularly polarized light actualizes the formation of chiral twisted ribbons from achiral semiconductor nanoparticles.
- Bart Kahr
- & Alexander G. Shtukenberg
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Letter |
Chiral templating of self-assembling nanostructures by circularly polarized light
It is shown that circularly polarized light produces enantiomeric excesses, above 30%, of twisted nanoribbons self-assembled from racemic dispersions of CdTe nanoparticles.
- Jihyeon Yeom
- , Bongjun Yeom
- & Nicholas A. Kotov
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Article |
Heterogeneous nucleation and shape transformation of multicomponent metallic nanostructures
The detailed nucleation and growth kinetics and the crystal structure of catalytically relevant CoPt3/Au, FePt/Au and Pt/Au metal dumbbell nanoparticles have been obtained by in situ synchrotron small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering techniques.
- Soon Gu Kwon
- , Galyna Krylova
- & Elena V. Shevchenko
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Article |
Multimodal plasmonics in fused colloidal networks
Harnessing the optical properties of noble metals down to the nanoscale is crucial for fast information processing. Lateral confinement and delocalization of surface plasmons is now observed in self-assembled network chains of fused gold nanoparticles.
- Alexandre Teulle
- , Michel Bosman
- & Erik Dujardin