We report selective electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide on gold nanoparticles (NPs) in 0.5 M KHCO3 at 25 °C. Among monodisperse 4, 6, 8, and 10 nm NPs tested, the 8 nm Au NPs show the maximum Faradaic efficiency (FE) (up to 90% at -0.67 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode, RHE). Density functional theory calculations suggest that more edge sites (active for CO evolution) than corner sites (active for the competitive H2 evolution reaction) on the Au NP surface facilitates the stabilization of the reduction intermediates, such as COOH*, and the formation of CO. This mechanism is further supported by the fact that Au NPs embedded in a matrix of butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate for more efficient COOH* stabilization exhibit even higher reaction activity (3 A/g mass activity) and selectivity (97% FE) at -0.52 V (vs RHE). The work demonstrates the great potentials of using monodisperse Au NPs to optimize the available reaction intermediate binding sites for efficient and selective electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 to CO.

Nanovehicles can efficiently carry and deliver anticancer agents to tumour sites. Compared with normal tissue, the tumour microenvironment has some unique properties, such as vascular abnormalities, hypoxia and acidic pH. There are many types of cells including tumour cells, macrophages, immune and fibroblasts cells, fed by defective blood vessels in the solid tumour. Exploiting the tumour microenvironment can benefit the design of nanoparticles for enhanced therapeutic effectiveness. In this review article, we summarized the recent progress in various nanoformulations for cancer therapy, with special emphasis on tumour microenvironment stimuli-responsive ones. Numerous tumour microenvironment modulation strategies with promising cancer therapeutic efficacy have also been highlighted. Future challenges and opportunities of design consideration are also discussed in details. We believe that these tumour microenvironment modulation strategies offer a good chance for the practical translation of nanoparticle formulas into clinic.

Hierarchical assembling of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) allows one to engineer the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peaks to the near-infrared (NIR) region for enhanced photothermal Therapy (PTT). Herein we report a novel theranostic platform based on biodegradable plasmonic gold nanovesicles for photoacoustic (PA) Imaging and PTT. The disulfide bond (S-S) termed PEG-b-PCL block copolymer graft allows dense packing of GNPs during the assembly process and induces ultra-strong plasmonic coupling effect between adjacent GNPs. The strong NIR absorption induced by plasmon coupling and very high photothermal conversion efficiency (η= 37 %) enable simultaneous thermal/PA imaging and enhanced PTT efficacy with improved clearance of the dissociated particles after the completion of PTT. These vesicle-architectures assembling of various nanocrystals with tailored optical, magnetic, and electronic properties opens new possibilities for constructing multifunctional biodegradable platforms for biomedical applications, particularly in cancer theranotics.

Conspectus The development of highly effective medicine requires the on-time monitoring of the medical treatment process. This combination of monitoring and therapeutics allows a large degree of control on the treatment efficacy and is now commonly referred to as “theranostics”. Magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) provide a unique nano-platform for theranostic applications due to their comparable sizes with various functional biomolecules, their biocompatibility and their responses to the external magnetic field. Recent efforts in studying magnetic NPs for both imaging and therapeutic applications have led to great advances in NP fabrication with controls in dimension, surface functionalization and magnetic property. These magnetic NPs have been proven to be robust agents that can be target-specific for enhancing magnetic resonance imaging sensitivity and magnetic heating efficiency. These, plus the deep tissue penetration of magnetic field, make magnetic NPs the most promising candidates for successful theranostics in the future. In this Account, we review the recent advances in the synthesis of magnetic NPs of iron oxide, Fe, as well as FePt and FeCo NPs for imaging and therapeutic applications. We will first introduce briefly nanomagnetism, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and magnetic fluid hyperthermia (MFH). We will then focus on chemical synthesis of monodisperse magnetic NPs with controlled sizes, morphologies, and magnetic properties. Typical examples in using monodisperse magnetic NPs for MRI and MFH are highlighted.

A new kind of ultrasmall dissociable AuNR@PEG/PLGA vesicles (≈60 nm) (AuNR = gold nanorod; PEG = poly(ethylene glycol); PLGA = poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)) assembled from small AuNRs (dimension: ≈8 nm × 2 nm) is reported. They exhibit several striking features: prolonged circulation and prominent tumor accumulation; rapid excretion from the body as AuNR@PEG after therapy; enhanced photoacoustic and photo thermal properties; and high photothermal cancer therapy efficacy.

Engineering functional nanomaterials with high therapeutic efficacy and minimum side effects has increasingly become a promising strategy for cancer treatment. Herein, a reactive oxygen species (ROS) enhanced combination chemotherapy platform is designed via a biocompatible metal-polyphenol networks self-assembly process by encapsulating doxorubicin (DOX) and platinum prodrugs in nanoparticles. Both DOX and platinum drugs can activate nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidases, generating superoxide radicals (O ). The superoxide dismutase-like activity of polyphenols can catalyze H O generation from O . Finally, the highly toxic HO free radicals are generated by a Fenton reaction. The ROS HO can synergize the chemotherapy by a cascade of bioreactions. Positron emission tomography imaging of Zr-labeled as-prepared DOX@Pt prodrug Fe nanoparticles (DPPF NPs) shows prolonged blood circulation and high tumor accumulation. Furthermore, the DPPF NPs can effectively inhibit tumor growth and reduce the side effects of anticancer drugs. This study establishes a novel ROS promoted synergistic nanomedicine platform for cancer therapy.

We report a facile synthesis of ultrathin (2.5 nm) trimetallic FePtPd alloy nanowires (NWs) with tunable compositions and controlled length (<100 nm). The NWs were made by thermal decomposition of Fe(CO)(5) and sequential reduction of Pt(acac)(2) (acac = acetylacetonate) and Pd(acac)(2) at temperatures from 160 to 240 °C. These FePtPd NWs showed composition-dependent catalytic activity and stability for methanol oxidation reaction. Among FePtPd and FePt NWs as well as Pd, Pt, and PtPd nanoparticles (NPs) studied in 0.2 M methanol and 0.1 M HClO(4) solution, the Fe(28)Pt(38)Pd(34) NWs showed the highest activity, with their mass current density reaching 488.7 mA/mg Pt and peak potential for methanol oxidation decreasing to 0.614 V from 0.665 V (Pt NP catalyst). The NW catalysts were also more stable than the NP catalysts, with the Fe(28)Pt(38)Pd(34) NWs retaining the highest mass current density (98.1 mA/mg Pt) after a 2 h current-time test at 0.4 V. These trimetallic NWs are a promising new class of catalyst for methanol oxidation reaction and for direct methanol fuel cell applications.

Design of active and stable Pt-based nanoscale electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) will be the key to improving the efficiency of fuel cells that are needed to deliver reliable, affordable and environmentally friendly energy. Here, by exploring the ORR on Pt single crystals, cubo-octahedral (polyhedral) Pt NPs with different sizes (ranging from 2 to 7 nm), and 7-8 nm Pt NPs with different shapes (cubo-octahedral vs. cube vs. octahedral), we presented surface science approach capable of rationalizing, and ultimately understanding, fundamental relationships between stability of Pt NPs and activity of the ORR in acidic media. By exploring the potential induced dissolution/re-deposition of Pt between 0.05 and 1.3 V, we found that concomitant variations in morphology of Pt(111) and Pt(100) lead to narrowing differences in activity between Pt single crystal surfaces. We also found that regardless of an initial size or shape, NPs are metastable and easily evolve to thermodynamically equilibrated shape and size with very similar activity for the ORR. We concluded that while initially clearly observed, the particle size and shape effects diminish as the particles age to the point that it may appear that the ORR depends neither on the particle size nor particle shape. IntroductionThe last two decades have witnessed remarkable progress in our ability to chemically synthesize metal nanoparticles (NPs) ranging in size from 1 to 10 nm with unique electrocatalytic properties. 1-4 Because the electronic properties of metal NPs in this size range are not unique, 5 (electro)catalyst research with such materials has focused on the variations in the reaction rate or selectivity with characteristic dimensions of metallic catalysts. While Boronin and co-workers 6 pioneered this approach to understand the "crystalline size effect" in heterogeneous catalysis, Kinoshita 7 and others 8,9 used this tactic to understand the "particle size effect" in electrocatalysis. There is no simple ideal structure that will model all the aspects of NP catalysts, particularly in the configuration that are used in electrolytic cells. However, if one considers the equilibrium shape of a face-centered cubic (fcc) metal NP such as a cubooctahedron, consisting of (111) and (100) facets bounded by edge atom rows that are like the topmost rows in the (110) surface, single-crystal surfaces may serve as a reasonable model for