Recent Progress on Asymmetric Carbon- and Silica-Based Nanomaterials: From Synthetic Strategies to Their Applications

Abstract

Highlights The synthetic strategies and fundamental mechanisms of various asymmetric carbon- and silica-based nanomaterials were systematically summarized. The advantages of asymmetric structure on their related applications were clarified by some representative applications of asymmetric carbon- and silica-based nanomaterials. The future development prospects and challenges of asymmetric carbon- and silica-based nanomaterials were proposed. Abstract Carbon- and silica-based nanomaterials possess a set of merits including large surface area, good structural stability, diversified morphology, adjustable structure, and biocompatibility. These outstanding features make them widely applied in different fields. However, limited by the surface free energy effect, the current studies mainly focus on the symmetric structures, such as nanospheres, nanoflowers, nanowires, nanosheets, and core–shell structured composites. By comparison, the asymmetric structure with ingenious adjustability not only exhibits a larger effective surface area accompanied with more active sites, but also enables each component to work independently or corporately to harness their own merits, thus showing the unusual performances in some specific applications. The current review mainly focuses on the recent progress of design principles and synthesis methods of asymmetric carbon- and silica-based nanomaterials, and their applications in energy storage, catalysis, and biomedicine. Particularly, we provide some deep insights into their unique advantages in related fields from the perspective of materials’ structure–performance relationship. Furthermore, the challenges and development prospects on the synthesis and applications of asymmetric carbon- and silica-based nanomaterials are also presented and highlighted.

Synergistically Enhancing the Therapeutic Effect on Cancer, via Asymmetric Bioinspired Materials

“…Additionally, after the discovery of Janus by Gennes et al in 1991 [ 12 ], the asymmetric structures have gradually attracted increasing attention; thus, various asymmetric structures have been discovered in the last two decades. Nowadays, asymmetric structures contain various shapes with different surface properties [ 13 , 32 , 33 ].…”

“…Additionally, after the discovery of Janus by Gennes et al in 1991 [ 12 ], the asymmetric structures have gradually attracted increasing attention; thus, various asymmetric structures have been discovered in the last two decades. Nowadays, asymmetric structures contain various shapes with different surface properties [ 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Janus particles, bowl-shaped [ 16 ], snowman-shaped [ 17 ], disk-shaped [ 18 ], and raspberry-shaped structures [ 19 ], are examples of asymmetric nanomaterials.…”

Ratiometric fluorescence enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay based on carbon dots@SiO2@CdTe quantum dots with dual functionalities for alpha-fetoprotein

“…19 Silica nanoparticles with a fine suspendability in aqueous solution have been verified to be an ideal candidate. 20,21 Chen et al synthesized fluorescent perovskite quantum dots encapsulated in superhydrophobic silica for wide color gamut backlight displays. 22 Song et al utilized carbon dots-encapsulated silica nanospheres for the labelling of a secondary antibody to determine Escherichia coli .…”

Tailoring head–tail mesoporous silica nanoparticles for enhanced gene transfection

“…Over recent years, there emerged a number of synthesis strategies to fabricate asymmetric nanostructures in a wellcontrolled manner, which showed exciting properties for various applications. 28,29 Our group has previously reported the synthesis of MSNs with an intriguing head-tail asymmetric morphology, which showed higher cellular internalization and peptide antigen delivery performance compared to the symmetric counterparts. 30,31 In this study, a series of head-tail mesoporous silica nanoparticles (HTMSNs) with tailored tail lengths as non-viral gene vectors were synthesized, and the relationship between nanoparticles' tail length and pDNA delivery performance was systematically investigated both in vitro and in vivo.…”