A multicolor photodetector based on the heterojunction of n-Si(111)/TiO₂ nanorod arrays responding to both ultraviolet (UV) and visible light is developed by utilizing interface engineering. The photodetector is fabricated via a consecutive process including chemical etching, magnetron sputtering, hydrothermal growth, and assembling. Under a small reverse bias (from 0 to ≈−2 V), only the photogenerated electrons in TiO₂ are possible to tunnel through the low barrier of ΔE_C, and the device only responses to UV light; as the reverse bias increases, the photogenerated holes in Si also begin to tunnel through the high barrier of ΔE_V. As a result, the device is demonstrated to have the capacity to detect both UV and visible lights, which is useful in the fields of rapid detection and multicolor imaging. It has been also observed that the crystal orientation of Si affects the characteristics of bias-controlled spectral response of the n-Si/TiO₂ heterojunctions.

Molybdenum oxide (MoOx) nanosheets with high near-infrared (NIR) absorbance and pH-dependent oxidative degradation properties were synthesized, functionalized with polyethylene glycol (PEG), and then used as a degradable photothermal agent and drug carrier. The nanosheets, which are relatively stable under acidic pH, could be degraded at physiological pH. Therefore, MoOx-PEG distributed in organs upon intravenous injection would be rapidly degraded and excreted without apparent in vivo toxicity. MoOx-PEG shows efficient accumulation in tumors, the acidic pH of which then leads to longer tumor retention of those nanosheets. Along with the capability of acting as a photothermal agent for effective tumor ablation, MoOx-PEG can load therapeutic molecules with high efficiencies. This concept of inorganic theranostic nanoagent should be relatively stable in tumors to allow imaging and treatment, while being readily degradable in normal organs to enable rapid excretion and avoid long-term retention/toxicity.

Molybdenum oxide (MoOx) nanosheets with high near-infrared (NIR) absorbance and pH-dependent oxidative degradation properties were synthesized, functionalized with polyethylene glycol (PEG), and then used as a degradable photothermal agent and drug carrier. The nanosheets, which are relatively stable under acidic pH, could be degraded at physiological pH. Therefore, MoOx-PEG distributed in organs upon intravenous injection would be rapidly degraded and excreted without apparent in vivo toxicity. MoOx-PEG shows efficient accumulation in tumors, the acidic pH of which then leads to longer tumor retention of those nanosheets. Along with the capability of acting as a photothermal agent for effective tumor ablation, MoOx-PEG can load therapeutic molecules with high efficiencies. This concept of inorganic theranostic nanoagent should be relatively stable in tumors to allow imaging and treatment, while being readily degradable in normal organs to enable rapid excretion and avoid long-term retention/toxicity.

Copper chalcogenides have been demonstrated to be a promising photothermal agent due to their high photothermal conversion efficiency, synthetic simplicity, and low cost. However, the hydrophobic and less biocompatible characteristics associated with their synthetic processes hamper widely biological applications. An alternative strategy for improving hydrophilicity and biocompatibility is to coat the copper chalcogenide nanomaterials with silica shell. Herein, the rational preparation design results in successful coating mesoporous silica (mSiO₂) on as-synthesized Cu₉S₅ nanocrystals, forming Cu₉S₅@mSiO₂-PEG core-shell nanostructures. As-prepared Cu₉S₅@mSiO₂-PEG core-shell nanostructures show low cytotoxicity and excellent blood compatibility, and are effectively employed for photothermal ablation of cancer cells and infrared thermal imaging. Moreover, anticancer drug of doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded Cu₉S₅@mSiO₂-PEG core-shell nanostructures show pH sensitive release profile and are therefore beneficial to delivery of DOX into cancer cells for chemotherapy. Importantly, the combination of photothermal- and chemotherapies demonstrates better effects of therapy on cancer treatment than individual therapy approaches in vitro and in vivo.

In the fabrication of flexible devices, highly ordered nanoscale texturing, such as semiconductor metal oxide nanorod arrays on flexible substrates, is critical for optimal performance. Use of transparent conducting films, metallic films, and polymer substrates is limited by mechanical brittleness, chemical and thermal instability, or low electrical conductivity, low melting point, and so on. A simple and general nanocrystal-seed-directed hydrothermal route has now been developed for large-scale growth of nanorod arrays of various semiconductor metal oxides (MO), including TiO₂, ZnO, MnO₂, CuO, and ZrO₂ on both sides of flexible graphene (G) sheets to form sandwichlike MO/G/MO heterostructures. The TiO₂/G/TiO₂ heterostructures have much higher photocatalytic activity than TiO₂ nanorods, with a photocatalytic degradation rate of methylene blue that is four times faster than that of the TiO₂ nanorods, and are thus promising candidates for photocatalytic decontamination.

Highly selective, absorbent, free-standing, paper-like membranes made of ammonium vanadium oxide (NH₄V₄O₁₄) nanobelts have been engineered by taking advantage of the nanoscaled self-assembly of architectures that display a mesh structure with an average periodic pore size of about 5 to 10 nm. The NH₄V₄O₁₄ nanobelts are synthesized by using a simple hydrothermal process, and exhibit the same orientation and assemble into bundles, each about 40 to 80 nm in width, 3 to 5 nm in thickness, and up to several millimeters in length. Importantly, the as-obtained NH₄V₄O₁₄ nanobelt membranes can highly selectively absorb a variety of organic solvents, covering both polar and non-polar solvents, for example, the absorbent capacity of glycol is 28 times as high as the initial weight of the membrane, and it can even separate organic solvents with similar polarities and absorb solid contaminants in organic solvents. These highly selective, absorbent membrane materials can be an ideal candidate for the separation and removal of pollution in industrial and environmental applications.

A prerequisite for designing and constructing wireless biological nanorobots is to obtain an electrical source that is continuously available in the operational biological environment. Herein the first preparation of 980-nm laser-driven photovoltaic cells (980LD-PVCs) by introducing of a film of rare-earth up-converting nanophosphors in conventional dye-sensitized solar cells is reported. Under the irradiation of a 980-nm laser with a power of 1 W, the visible up-converting luminescence of rare-earth nanophosphors can be efficiently absorbed by the dyes in 980LD-PVCs so that they exhibit a maximal output power of 0.47 mW. In particular, after being covered with 1 to 6 layers of pig intestines (thickness: ca. 1 mm per layer) as a model of biological tissues, 980LD-PVCs still possess a maximal output power of between 0.28 and 0.02 mW, which is efficient enough to drive many kinds of biodevices. This research opens up the possibility of preparing and/or developing novel electrical sources for wireless biological nanorobots and many other biodevices.