Material Evolution with Nanotechnology, Nanoarchitectonics, and Materials Informatics: What will be the Next Paradigm Shift in Nanoporous Materials?

Abstract

discovery of materials and principles. However, the mechanisms underpinning high-performance material synthesis are inordinately complex, much beyond our expectations, owing to the requirement of a large number of necessity factors. The trial-and-error approaches and/or strategies based on human intuition and experience with conventional synthesis methodologies may never end. Overall, it is never completely clear whether we are on the right path toward the development of materials exhibiting unparalleled performance in various applications.For example, porous materials with nanospaces, such as, zeolites, activated carbons, and silica gels, are expected to be widely applicable in various fields such as environment, energy, optics, electronics, and biomedicine. [5] The increasing demand for sustainable energy and environmental remediation has accelerated the research on various technologies related to energy storage and conversion, for example, fuel cells, [6] water splitting, [7] and rechargeable batteries. [8] These technologies heavily rely on catalyst and electrode materials, [9] which can significantly increase the efficiency of the involved chemical reactions by reducing their activation energy or by modulating the reaction mechanism. [10] Nanoporous materials, [11] owing to their unique features such as high surface areas, large pore volumes, and high adsorption capability, [12] are considered as potential candidates for such catalysts and catalyst supports.Zeolite and other conventional nanoporous materials have been researched for several decades. [13] Mesoporous materials Materials science and chemistry have played a central and significant role in advancing society. With the shift toward sustainable living, it is anticipated that the development of functional materials will continue to be vital for sustaining life on our planet. In the recent decades, rapid progress has been made in materials science and chemistry owing to the advances in experimental, analytical, and computational methods, thereby producing several novel and useful materials. However, most problems in material development are highly complex. Here, the best strategy for the development of functional materials via the implementation of three key concepts is discussed: nanotechnology as a game changer, nanoarchitectonics as an integrator, and materials informatics as a super-accelerator. Discussions from conceptual viewpoints and example recent developments, chiefly focused on nanoporous materials, are presented. It is anticipated that coupling these three strategies together will open advanced routes for the swift design and exploratory search of functional materials truly useful for solving real-world problems. These novel strategies will result in the evolution of nanoporous functional materials.

A review of recent developments for the in situ/operando characterization of nanoporous materials

“…Most porous materials such as MOFs, covalent organic frameworks (COFs), and particularly zeolites are synthesized as polycrystalline powders preventing the structure determination via SC-XRD. [10][11][12][13][14] Therefore, the majority of structural investigations are carried out via XRPD. The reduction of the diffraction data to 1D diffraction patterns in XRPD, together with strongly overlapping reflections, large unit cell parameters, and often disordered porous structures make structural analysis of this class of materials challenging.…”

Biomimetic and Biological Nanoarchitectonics

“…The use of machine learning is proposed for the optimization of material production and understanding of related phenomena [ 211 , 212 , 213 ]. The use of material informatics for nanoarchitectonics on functional porous materials also has been proposed [ 214 ]. Rapidly developing methods based on artificial intelligence would be used for the creation of bio-like highly functional material systems within a short period, whereas real biological systems evolved over billions of years.…”

Multifunctional Nanomachinery for Enhancement of Bone Healing

“…[3] Inspired by the natural nanostructure of bone, nanoscale biomimetic strategies have been perceived as promising candidates for improving conventional tissue engineering materials. [4,5] However, it is challenging to develop a man-made system that can spontaneously accumulate biominerals, mineralize collagen fibrils, and regulate the osteogenic activities of host cells in situ. [6] Nanomachineries represent a new frontier in regenerative medicine.…”