Gold nanorods (NRs), pseudo-one-dimensional rod-shaped nanoparticles (NPs), have become one of the burgeoning materials in the recent years due to their anisotropic shape and adjustable plasmonic properties. With the continuous improvement in synthetic methods, a variety of materials have been attached around Au NRs to achieve unexpected or improved plasmonic properties and explore state-of-the-art technologies. In this review, we comprehensively summarize the latest progress on Au NRs, the most versatile anisotropic plasmonic NPs. We present a representative overview of the advances in the synthetic strategies and outline an extensive catalogue of Au-NR-based heterostructures with tailored architectures and special functionalities. The bottom-up assembly of Au NRs into preprogrammed metastructures is then discussed, as well as the design principles. We also provide a systematic elucidation of the different plasmonic properties associated with the Au-NR-based structures, followed by a discussion of the promising applications of Au NRs in various fields. We finally discuss the future research directions and challenges of Au NRs.

Particulate matter (PM) pollution has caused many serious public health issues. Whereas indoor air protection usually relies on expensive and energy-consuming filtering devices, direct PM filtration by window screens has attracted increasing attention. Recently, electrospun polymer nanofiber networks have been developed as transparent filters for highly efficient PM removal; however, it remains challenging to uniformly coat the nanofibers on window screens on a large scale and with low cost. Here, we report a blow-spinning technique that is fast, efficient, and free of high voltages for the large-scale direct coating of nanofibers onto window screens for indoor PM pollution protection. We have achieved a transparent air filter of 80% optical transparency with >99% standard removal efficiency level for PM A test on a real window (1 m × 2 m) in Beijing has proven that the nanofiber transparent air filter acquires excellent PM removal efficiency of 90.6% over 12 h under extremely hazy air conditions (PM mass concentration > 708 μg/m). Moreover, we show that the nanofibers can be readily coated on the window screen for pollution protection and can be easily removed by wiping the screen after hazardous days.

Electrochromic smart windows (ECSWs) are considered as the most promising alternative to traditional dimming devices. However, the electrode technology in ECSWs remains stagnant, wherein inflexible indium tin oxide and fluorine-doped tin oxide are the main materials being used. Although various complicated production methods, such as high-temperature calcination and sputtering, have been reported, the mass production of flexible and transparent electrodes remains challenging. Here, a nonheated roll-to-roll process is developed for the continuous production of flexible, extralarge, and transparent silver nanofiber (AgNF) network electrodes. The optical and mechanical properties, as well as the electrical conductivity of these products (i.e., 12 Ω sq at 95% transmittance) are comparable with those AgNF networks produced via high-temperature sintering. Moreover, the as-prepared AgNF network is successfully assembled into an A4-sized ECSW with short switching time, good coloration efficiency, and flexibility.

Conspectus Gold nanobipyramids (Au NBPs) and gold nanorods (Au NRs) are two types of elongated plasmonic nanoparticles with their longitudinal dipolar plasmon wavelengths synthetically tunable from the visible region to the near-infrared region. Both have highly polarization-dependent absorption and scattering cross sections because of their anisotropic geometries. In terms of their differences, each Au NBP has five equally angularly separated twinning planes that are aligned parallel to the length direction, while the most common Au NRs are single-crystalline. As a result, Au NBPs possess two sharp end tips, while Au NRs have rounded or flat ends, resulting in very different plasmonic properties. In general, Au NBPs exhibit larger local electric field enhancements, larger optical cross sections, narrower line widths, better shape and size uniformity, and higher refractive index sensitivity than Au NRs. With the recent development of reliable methods for the growth of Au NBPs with high purity and uniformity, Au NBPs have been attracting much interest for the investigation of their intriguing plasmonic properties and applications. In this Account, we provide a concise introduction to Au NBPs, including their fascinating plasmonic properties, wet-chemistry growth methods, plasmonic applications, and structure-directing function. The synthesis of uniform Au NBPs with variable sizes is of vital importance to control their plasmonic properties. In the synthesis part, we summarize the recent developments on the synthesis of Au NBPs, with a focus on the role of seeds in the seed-mediated growth of pentatwinned Au NBPs and methods to improve their number purity. The excellent plasmonic properties of Au NBPs make them promising candidates for numerous applications. To further explore the largely improved functionalities of Au NBPs, different types of Au-NBP-based hybrid nanostructures have been prepared. They exhibit synergistic interactions between Au NBPs and the other components. We highlight the widespread plasmonic applications of Au NBPs and Au-NBP-based hybrid nanostructures in the fields of spectroscopy, photocatalysis, sensing, switching, and biomedical technologies. We next turn to the structure-directing function of Au NBPs to demonstrate the Au-NBP-directed growth of metal nanostructures and their applications. The structure-directing function is enabled by the unique pentatwinned crystalline structure of Au NBPs. Finally, we conclude with remarks on the future perspectives and research directions on Au NBPs as well as the remaining challenges. We hope that this Account will act as a platform to offer fascinating opportunities and stimulate fast-growing research on the various aspects of Au NBPs.

No abstract

A kind of pollution known as electromagnetic interference (EMI), which results from ubiquitous usage of various electronic communication and military radar equipment, has been receiving increasing attention recently. However, large-area EMI shielding on transparent and/or curved surfaces, including building windows, curved glass wall, and special requirements spaces (SRSs), remains hard to achieve. In this paper, a silver nanofiber (AgNF) based flexible and transparent EMI shielding film was successfully assembled via a room-temperature roll-to-roll production method. For transparent application scenario, AgNF with 89% transmittance in visible range and 1 μm thickness shows~20 dB shielding efficiency (EMI SE). On the other hand, total shielding (>50 dB) is obtained when the thickness of AgNF increases to 10 μm, while its transmittance in visible range remains higher than 75%. Considering the facile and scale-free production technology, this material can be readily applied in large-scale, transparent, and/or SRSs EMI shielding.

Conducting metal nanowires can be assembled into thin films for flexible electronics and optoelectronics applications including transparent electrodes, nanocircuits, and electronic skin, however, the junction resistances and low aspect ratios still limit its performance. Herein we report high-quality silver nanofibers (AgNFs) synthesized by a gas-assistant solution spinning method. Compared with traditional Ag nanowires that usually have lengths below 100 μm, AgNFs are infinitely long and can be easily assembled into large-scale 2D and 3D flexible conductors with fused junctions between nanofibers. The AgNF networks showed high transparency, low sheet resistance (e. g, 6 Ω sq(-1) at ∼97% transparency), and high flexibility as transparent electrodes, whereas the 3D AgNF sponge could be used as a deformable and robust 3D conductor.

This report describes a novel method to produce fluffy and resilient nanotube aerogels by combining solution blow spinning and Atom Layer Deposition (ALD). Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) sponges obtained by blow spinning are used as templates and are deposited in ALD. After removal of template, semitransparent aerogels whose density can be as low as 0.68 mg/cm 3 were obtained. The product is heat-stable, with the ability to retain original shape and keep elastic after being kept at 900°C for 2 hours. It is also heat-insulated, with a thermal conductivity of 0.022 W/K•m at room temperature. Additionally, when compressed to 60% of the original height for 100 cycles during in-situ mechanical test, the sponges recovered to around 80% of the original shape, further indicating excellent mechanically elasticity of the aerogel. K E Y W O R D S aerogel/aerosol, elastic materials/properties, nanotubes, thermal conductivity Chencheng Xu and Haolun Wang contributed equally to this work.