Celebrating 10th anniversary

Editor's pick

• 

  The future of plastic optical fiber

  • Yasuhiro Koike
  • Makoto Asai

  Review21 Oct 2009 NPG Asia Materials
• 

  Material characteristics and applications of transparent amorphous oxide semiconductors

  • Toshio Kamiya
  • Hideo Hosono

  Review21 Jan 2010 NPG Asia Materials
• 

  Nanostructured metal oxide-based biosensors

  • Pratima R. Solanki
  • Ajeet Kaushik
  • Bansi D. Malhotra

  Review20 Jan 2011 NPG Asia Materials
• 

  Forming nanomaterials as layered functional structures toward materials nanoarchitectonics

  Forming nanomaterials into hierarchic and organized structures is a rational way of preparing advanced functional materials. The term nanoarchitectonics can express this innovation. This review focuses on recent researches to develop functional materials by forming nanomaterials into organized structures, especially in well-ordered layered structural motifs. This layered nanoarchitectonics can be achieved by using the versatile technology of layer-by-layer assembly. Reassembly of bulk materials into novel layered structures through layered nanoarchitectonics has created many innovative functional materials in a wide variety of fields as can be seen in ferromagnetic nanosheets, sensors, flame-retardant coatings, transparent conductors, electrodes and transistors, walking devices, drug release surfaces, targeting drug carriers and cell culturing.

  • Katsuhiko Ariga
  • Qingmin Ji
  • Masakazu Aono

  ReviewOpen Access18 May 2012 NPG Asia Materials
• 

  High thermoelectric performance of oxyselenides: intrinsically low thermal conductivity of Ca-doped BiCuSeO

  We report on the promising thermoelectric performance of p-type polycrystalline BiCuSeO, which is a layered oxyselenide composed of conductive (Cu₂Se₂)²⁻ layers that alternate with insulating (Bi₂O₂)²⁺ layers. Electrical transport properties can be optimized by substituting Bi³⁺ with Ca²⁺. Moreover, BiCuSeO shows very low thermal conductivity in the temperature ranges of 300 (∼0.9 W m⁻¹K⁻¹) to 923 K (∼0.45 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹). These intrinsically low thermal conductivity values may result from the weak chemical bonds of the material as well as the strong anharmonicity of the bonding arrangement. The combination of the optimized power factor and the intrinsically low thermal conductivity results in a high ZT of ∼0.9 at 923 K for Bi_0.925Ca_0.075CuSeO.

  • Yan-Ling Pei
  • Jiaqing He
  • Li-Dong Zhao

  Original ArticleOpen Access17 May 2013 NPG Asia Materials
• 

  Cellulose nanocrystal-based materials: from liquid crystal self-assembly and glass formation to multifunctional thin films

  The chiral liquid crystalline self-organization of cellulose nanocrystals into helical arrangements, giving the resulting materials photonic crystal properties and enhanced mechanical behavior, are comprehensively summarized and compared with other rod-like nanoparticles, for example, carbon nanotubes and fd virus. The consequences of the sensitive balance between liquid crystal formation and glass/gel formation are discussed in detail, in particular regarding the development toward control of helix pitch and orientation. Important topics for future studies are identified and suggestions for novel applications are made.

  • Jan P F Lagerwall
  • Christina Schütz
  • Lennart Bergström

  ReviewOpen Access10 Jan 2014 NPG Asia Materials
• 

  Integrating large specific surface area and high conductivity in hydrogenated NiCo₂O₄ double-shell hollow spheres to improve supercapacitors

  Hydrogenated NiCo₂O₄ double-shell hollow spheres, combining large specific surface area and high conductivity, are prepared. A specific capacitance increase of >62%, from 445 to 718 F g⁻¹, is achieved at a current density of 1 A g⁻¹. A full cell combined with NiCo₂O₄ and activated carbon is assembled, and an energy density of 34.8 Wh kg⁻¹ is obtained at a power density of 464 W kg⁻¹.

  • Xiaoming Li
  • Lianfu Jiang
  • Haibo Zeng

  Original ArticleOpen Access13 Mar 2015 NPG Asia Materials
• 

  Colloidal lead halide perovskite nanocrystals: synthesis, optical properties and applications

  This review summarizes recent developments in the direct synthesis and ion exchange-based reactions leading to hybrid organic–inorganic and all-inorganic lead halide perovskite nanocrystals. Optical properties related to quantum confinement effects, single emission spectroscopy and lasing are considered. Perovskite nanocrystals have been employed as an active material in several applications such as light-emitting devices, solar cells and photodetectors.

  • He Huang
  • Lakshminarayana Polavarapu
  • Andrey L Rogach

  ReviewOpen Access18 Nov 2016 NPG Asia Materials
• 

  Tough, self-healable and tissue-adhesive hydrogel with tunable multifunctionality

  Inspired by mussel chemistry, a novel polydopamine–polyacrymide hydrogel simultaneously possesses super stretchability, stimuli-free self-healing properties, cell affinity and tissue adhesiveness. The current hydrogel lasts its adhesiveness for a long term, and can be repeatedly adhered on/stripped from a variety of substrates. The hydrogel can host various nano-building blocks and be tuned to magnetic and conductive hydrogels with above-mentioned properties.

  • Lu Han
  • Liwei Yan
  • Xiong Lu

  Original ArticleOpen Access14 Apr 2017 NPG Asia Materials