In recent years, due to its unparalleled advantages, the biomimetic and bioinspired synthesis of nanomaterials/nanostructures has drawn increasing interest and attention. Generally, biomimetic synthesis can be conducted either by mimicking the functions of natural materials/structures or by mimicking the biological processes that organisms employ to produce substances or materials. Biomimetic synthesis is therefore divided here into “functional biomimetic synthesis” and “process biomimetic synthesis”. Process biomimetic synthesis is the focus of this review. First, the above two terms are defined and their relationship is discussed. Next different levels of biological processes that can be used for process biomimetic synthesis are compiled. Then the current progress of process biomimetic synthesis is systematically summarized and reviewed from the following five perspectives: i) elementary biomimetic system via biomass templates, ii) high-level biomimetic system via soft/hard-combined films, iii) intelligent biomimetic systems via liquid membranes, iv) living-organism biomimetic systems, and v) macromolecular bioinspired systems. Moreover, for these five biomimetic systems, the synthesis procedures, basic principles, and relationships are discussed, and the challenges that are encountered and directions for further development are considered.

A simple and low-cost method to fabricate Bi₂O₃/active-carbon nanocomposites with high capacitive properties was explored. In particular, the composites synthesized at a bismuth nitrate/active carbon weight ratio of 2:1 exhibited a maximum specific capacitance of 466 F g^–1 at a current density of 1 A g^–1 and retained up to 335 F g^–1 even at a current density of 5 A g^–1. In addition, these composites also showed good capacity over 3000 cycles. The excellent electrochemical properties could be due to their high specific surface area, abundant pore volume, and proper loading of Bi₂O₃ nanospheres.

Newly designed TiO₂-on-Cu₂O nanocubes have been constructed as visible-light-driven photocatalysts with high efficiency by means of a facile self-assembly approach at room temperature. In the resultant TiO₂-on-Cu₂O nanocubes, the TiO₂ nanoparticles with a diameter of 6–8 nm show a well-monodispersed distribution of the 200–300 nm-sized Cu₂O single-crystal nanocubes, which can form sub-monolayer, monolayer, and multilayer coverage through controlling the ratio of the two phases. In particular, the coupling of the wide-bandgap semiconductor TiO₂ with narrow-bandgap Cu₂O can lead to the markedly enhanced high visible-light photocatalytic activity in the TiO₂-on-Cu₂O nanocomposite systems toward the photodegradation of rhodamine B, which is induced by the bandgap-adjusting effect. This promising self-assembly route can be extended to the preparation of other nanocomposite materials.

A new strategy for the one-step synthesis of multifunctional porous-C/Fe₃O₄ nanospheres has been successfully developed by using ferrocenyl formic acid as a precursor. Based on its special structure, this sandwich structural precursor of ferrocenyl formic acid plays three roles in the synthesis process: it simultaneously serves as the carbon and iron source, templating agent, and pore-forming agent. The proposed synthesis is corroborated by characterization through SEM, TEM, XRD, FTIR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, BET surface area measurements, BJH distributions, and vibrating sample magnetometry. The average diameter of as-synthesized porous-C/Fe₃O₄ nanospheres is about 400 nm. Because of the porous structure of carbon nanospheres and its surface plasmon resonance with attached Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles, the as-synthesized porous-C/Fe₃O₄ nanospheres exhibit high activity toward the decoloration of rhodamine B. In addition, the resultant composites present ferromagnetic behavior with a magnetization saturation of 13.76 emu g⁻¹, can be easily separated and recycled by an external magnet field for use in a variety of applications.

Magnetic double-shelled Ag@C@Co pentagonalprism nanocables are fabricated using a synchronous growth and oriented assembly process, in which the second shell of Co is arranged along the edges of Ag@C pentagonalprism nanowires (NWs). The resulting Ag@C@Co pentagonalprism nanocables exhibit an average diameter of ≈400 nm and consist of Ag core NWs with diameter of ≈200 nm and C middle layers with a thickness of ≈10 nm as well as outer Co shells with a thickness of ≈100 nm. UV-vis absorption spectroscopy shows that the Co shell on Ag@C NWs can damp the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of the Ag core wires and lead to a red-shifted SPR absorption peak. Additionally, the Ag@C@Co nanocables have the ferromagnetic behavior, which can be controlled by modulating the shell density. The resulting magnetic Ag@C@Co nanocables exert excellent selected catalytic activity along the edges toward the dehydrogenation of ammonia borane aqueous under ambient conditions at room temperature.

Novel carbon material with hierarchical porous network structures was made by a method of transformed in situ route based on eggshell membrane (ESM) under inert atmosphere. The structural, physical, and chemical properties were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, and UV–visible. The results showed that materials were crosslinked with fibers in diameters ranging from 0.3 to 0.9 μm to form a network. Furthermore, the ESMs were modified to prepare ordered macroporous materials with average pore size of 1 μm. The macroporous materials were evaluated through the adsorption properties of Pb²⁺ and bovine serum albumin, indicating good selectivity of macromolecules compared with commercial activated carbon. Pore structure analysis indicated that pore size is an important factor on improving the adsorbing macromolecules ability. The materials holding mixed three-dimensional networks provide favorable transport channels for macromolecules. POLYM. COMPOS., 2011. © 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers

Newly designed magnetic FeNi–Pt match-like heterostructured nanorods were synthesized by means of induced growth of FeNi nanorods on Pt nanotips. The proposed synthesis mechanism is corroborated by SEM, TEM, XRD and XPS. The magnetic behavior shows that the magnetic saturation and coercivity are strongly dependent on both the shape and the alloy composition. The saturation magnetizations (Ms) and the coercivity (Hc) of nanorods synthesized are larger than those of nanoparticles because of the relatively large anisotropy of nanorods. Maximum saturation magnetization is obtained for Fe₈₂Ni₁₅–Pt₃ at 226.6 emu g⁻¹, whereas maximum coercivity is obtained for Fe₂₀Ni₇₇–Pt₃ at 136.8 Oe. Shape-dependent reactivity toward the reduction of chlorinated solvents was observed for the FeNi–Pt heterostructured nanomaterials. In particular, the Fe₈₂Ni₁₅–Pt₃ nanorods are highly reactive in the dechlorination process of 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane.

Combinatorial approach was first used to synthesize and optimize luminescent Gd₂O₃:Tb nanocrystals. Orthogonal Design was used to investigate their properties comprehensively. The megascopic photoluminescence properties have been observed under ultraviolet light by a 254 nm laser. The structural properties of Gd₂O₃:Tb were further studied and optimized by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The visible luminescence spectra were investigated under excitation by a 284 nm laser. Glutin reaction process was discussed as the possible mechanisms. Finally, the optimized sample was obtained with the best properties in some scope.