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Inorganic hollow spheres have attracted considerable interest due to their singular properties and wide range of potential applications. In this critical review, we provide a comprehensive overview of the preparation and applications of inorganic hollow spheres. We first discuss the syntheses of inorganic hollow spheres by use of polymers, inorganic nonmetals, metal-based hard templates, small-molecule emulsion, surfactant micelle-based soft-templates, and the template-free approach. For each method, a critical comment is given based on our knowledge and related research experience. We go on to discuss some important applications of inorganic hollow spheres in 0D, 2D, and 3D arrays. We conclude this review with some perspectives on the future research and development of inorganic hollow spheres (235 references).

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Although the concept of Janus particles was raised in the early 1990s, the related research has not attracted considerable interest until recently due to the special properties and applications of these colloidal particles as well as the advances in new fabrications. Janus particles can be divided into three categories: polymeric, inorganic, and polymeric-inorganic, and each kind of Janus particles can be spherical, dumbbell-like, half raspberry-like, cylindrical, disk-like, or any of a variety of other shapes. Different Janus particles may share common preparation principles or require specific fabrication processes, and may have different assembly behaviours and properties. This critical review discusses the main fabrication methods of the three kinds of Janus particles, and then highlights the important properties and applications of these Janus particles developed in recent years, and finally proposes some perspectives on the future of Janus particle research and development.

Single‐crystalline ZnS nanobelts with sharp ultraviolet‐light emission (∼337 nm) at room temperature have been assembled as UV Sensors. The high spectral selectivity, combined with high photosensitivity and fast response time, justifies the effective utilization of the present ZnS nanobelts as “visible‐light‐blind” UV photodetectors in different areas.

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Metal halide perovskites (MHPs) have been a hot research topic due to their facile synthesis, excellent optical and optoelectronic properties, and record‐breaking efficiency of corresponding optoelectronic devices. Nowadays, the development of miniaturized high‐performance photodetectors (PDs) has been fueling the demand for novel photoactive materials, among which low‐dimensional MHPs have attracted burgeoning research interest. In this report, the synthesis, properties, photodetection performance, and stability of low‐dimensional MHPs, including 0D, 1D, 2D layered and nonlayered nanostructures, as well as their heterostructures are reviewed. Recent advances in the synthesis approaches of low‐dimensional MHPs are summarized and the key concepts for understanding the optical and optoelectronic properties related to the PD applications of low‐dimensional MHPs are introduced. More importantly, recent progress in novel PDs based on low‐dimensional MHPs is presented, and strategies for improving the performance and stability of perovskite PDs are highlighted. By discussing recent advances, strategies, and existing challenges, this progress report provides perspectives on low‐dimensional MHP‐based PDs in the future.

Inspired by nanoscience and nanoengineering, numerous nanostructured materials developed by multidisciplinary approaches exhibit excellent photoelectronic properties ranging from ultraviolet to terahertz frequencies. As a new class of building block, nanoscale elements in terms of quantum dots, nanowires, and nanolayers can be used for fabricating photodetectors with high performance. Moreover, in conjunction with traditional photodetectors, they exhibit appealing performance for practical applications including high density of integration, high sensitivity, fast response, and multifunction. Therefore, with the perspective of photodetectors constructed by diverse low-dimensional nanostructured materials, recent advances in nanoscale photodetectors are discussed here; meanwhile, challenges and promising future directions in this research field are proposed.