Abstract
Mesocrystals (MCs) are superstructures with a crystallographically ordered alignment of nanoparticles. Owing to their organized structures, MCs posses some unique characteristics such as a high surface area, pore accessibility, and good electronic conductivity and thermal stability; thus, MCs could be beneficial for many areas of research and application. This review begins with a description of the common synthesis strategies for, and characterization and fundamental properties of metal oxide MCs. Newly developed analytical methods (that is, photoconductive atomic force microscopy and single-molecule, single-particle fluorescence microscopy) for unraveling the charge transport and photocatalytic properties of individual MCs are then introduced. Further, recent developments in the applications of various metal oxide MCs, especially in the fields of energy conversion and storage, are also reviewed. Finally, several perspectives in terms of future research on MCs are highlighted. Mesocrystals are superstructures with a crystallographically ordered alignment of nanoparticles and posses unique characteristics such as a high surface area, pore accessibility, and good electronic conductivity and thermal stability. This review summarizes the recent developments of metal oxide mesocrystals in the fields of energy conversion and storage. Mesocrystals are periodic arrangements of nanoparticles that form larger structures of several hundreds of nanometers, or even micrometers, in size. Takashi Tachikawa and Tetsuro Majima from Osaka University in Japan review the potential of metal oxide mesocrystals for applications in energy generation and energy storage. Nanoparticles can have very different properties compared to the regular bulk material from which they originate. For example, the larger surface area of mesocrystals is more efficient for water splitting or catalysis. Additionally, the nanoparticles in mesocrystals are held in place, which can further improve their properties — such as the ability to transport electrical charges. Mesocrystals containing titanium dioxide nanoparticles are of particular interest for use in catalytic processes or as electrodes in lithium batteries. Nevertheless, the assembly of these nanoparticle superstructures, which can require complex fabrication processes, has hampered technological applications so far.
Highlights
The self-assembly of nanoparticle building blocks into highly ordered superstructures is one of the actively pursued research topics in materials science and technology.[1,2,3,4] Such hierarchical architectures have potentially tunable electronic, optical and magnetic properties, which promise various applications ranging from catalysis to optoelectronics
A mesocrystal (MC), which was first introduced by Colfen in the early years of 2000s, is defined as a superstructure consisting of nanoparticles on the scale of several hundred nanometers to micrometers.[5,6,7,8,9,10,11]
SUMMARY AND PERSPECTIVES The focus of current researches in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology is shifting from the synthesis of individual NCs to the preparation and characterization of their MC superstructures and the realization of their applications
Summary
The self-assembly of nanoparticle building blocks into highly ordered superstructures is one of the actively pursued research topics in materials science and technology.[1,2,3,4] Such hierarchical architectures have potentially tunable electronic, optical and magnetic properties, which promise various applications ranging from catalysis to optoelectronics. Ion-mediated growth of a single crystal, the particle-mediated growth mechanisms of MCs are termed as non-classical crystallization (Figure 1) This definition has been developed in recent years, where. It has been suggested that the dense packing of TiO2 nanocrystals (NCs) enhances the photocatalytic activity and performance of dyesensitized solar cells owing to the efficient interparticle electron transfer between NCs.[77,78,79,80,81,82,83] For example, the Choi group reported that mesoporous TiO2 consisting of compactly packed nanoparticles showed higher photocatalytic activity for H2 evolution than that shown by colloidal and commercial TiO2 samples in both UV and visible light (dye-sensitized) systems.[78] In addition, transient. We summarize our contribution together with some future research directions in various aspects
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