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Although the bimetal sulfide is intensively pursued in catalytic systems, synthesis of ultrafine sized bimetal sulfide Janus subunits is still a great challenge. In this work, ultrafine NiS2/MoS2 Janus subunits organized on yolk–shell nanospheres (NSs) are synthesized by a novel and facile approach. The greatly reduced particle size of both two-dimensional MoS2 and one-dimensional NiS2 on the ultrafine NiS2/MoS2 Janus subunits endows the yolk–shell NSs with numerous intimate interfaces of bimetal sulfide hybrids greatly promoting the intimate electronic interaction and dissociation of water molecules. Benefiting from the ultrafine NiS2/MoS2 Janus subunits, abundant edge sites and the high density of interfaces, the as-prepared NiS2/MoS2 yolk–shell NSs exhibit high electrocatalytic activity with a low η10 value of 135 and 293 mV for the HER and OER, respectively. In addition, a low cell voltage (1.58 V) is achieved by using NiS2/MoS2 yolk–shell NSs as both anode and cathode. This study has significant indications in exploring the ultrafine nanoparticles for the water splitting reaction, fuel cells and organic synthesis.

Host materials that can physically confine and chemically adsorb/catalyze lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) are currently receiving intensive research interest for developing lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries. Herein, a novel host material made of micro–mesoporous carbon nanospheres (MMC NSs) with well-dispersed ultrafine NiS2-ZnS (uNiS2-ZnS) heterostructures is synthesized for the first time via a simple in situ sulfuration process. The uNiS2-ZnS/MMC materials achieve the synergistic effect of physical confinement and the efficient chemical adsorption/catalysis of LiPSs through a micro–mesoporous structure and well-dispersed uNiS2-ZnS heterostructures. In addition, compared with bulk heterostructured materials, the uNiS2-ZnS heterostructures greatly enhance the adsorption and catalytic ability toward LiPSs because the catalysis interface effect and naturally formed in-plane interfaces can be magnified by the ultrafine dispersed nanoparticles. As a result, the prepared uNiS2-ZnS/MMC-S cathodes exhibit outstanding rate capacity (675.5 mA h g−1 at 5.0C) and cyclic stability (710.5 mA h g−1 at 1.0C after 1000 cycles with a low capacity decay of 0.033% per cycle). This work provides a certain reference for the application of heterostructured materials in Li–S batteries.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and deadly malignant tumors worldwide. With unsatisfactory effects of traditional systematic chemotherapy for HCC owing to its drug resistance, novel therapeutic strategies based on nanomaterials for HCC treatments are promising solutions. To solve the challenges of nanoparticles (NPs)-based drug delivery systems for potential clinical applications, we designed water soluble amphiphilic oleic acid-NaYF4:Yb,Er/polydopamine Au nanoflower Janus NPs (OA-UCNPs/PDA-AuF JNPs) with discrete multi compartment nanostructures as dual-drug delivery systems (DDDSs). This unique nanostructure meets the requirements for containing hydrophobic hydroxycamptothecin/hydrophilic doxorubicin in divided spaces and releasing each drug from non-interfering channels under pH/near-infrared (NIR) dual-stimuli. The amphiphilic DDDSs were utilized to eradicate the tumor burden on a high-fidelity HCC model of a patient-derived xenograft (PDX), and represented an efficient strategy for defeating HCC using multi-modal imaging-guided dual-drug chemo-photothermal therapy in the second NIR window. In addition, the potential mechanisms of action for the DDDSs were evaluated.

Host materials that can physically confine and chemically adsorb/catalyze lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) are currently receiving intensive research interest for developing lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Herein, a novel host material made of micro-mesoporous carbon nanospheres (MMC NSs) with well-dispersed ultrafine NiS

A novel, facile and reproducible method was explored to construct uniform folic acid-Au@poly(acrylic acid)/mesoporous calcium phosphate Janus nanoparticles (FA-Au@PAA/mCaP JNPs), which act as an efficient nanoplatform for X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging and active-targeted chemotherapy in vitro.

Multifunctional fluorescent-magnetic pH-responsive eccentric-(concentric-Fe3O4@SiO2)@polyacrylic acid core-double shell nanocomposites (NCs) have been prepared for simultaneous cell imaging and pH-responsive drug delivery. To confirm the universality of the synthetic concept, the synthetic strategy was also extended to fabricate monodisperse eccentric-(concentric-NaYF4:Yb/Er/Gd@SiO2)@polyacrylic acid core-double shell NCs.

Using poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) as a template, a novel Fe3O4@C@TiO2 yolk-shell structure derived from heat treatment on Fe2O3@PAA@TiO2 core-shell structures is constructed, where the interior void volume and shell thickness are readily tuned. In this method, the PAA shell between the original spherical α-Fe2O3 nanoparticle (NP) core and the outer TiO2 shell replaces the common SiO2 template leaving out the tedious treatment procedure of the template. After calcination, the α-Fe2O3 core was reduced to the Fe3O4 core providing the NPs with magnetic properties and the middle carbon coating around the magnetic core could avoid the occurrence of photodissolution. Moreover, the obtained Fe3O4@C@TiO2 yolk-shell nanocomposites (NCs) exhibit fine photocatalytic activity for the photodegradation of organic contaminants in waste water.

Multifunctional fluorescent–magnetic pH-responsive eccentric-(concentric-Fe3O4@SiO2)@polyacrylic acid core–double shell nanocomposites (NCs) have been prepared for simultaneous cell imaging and pH-responsive drug delivery. To confirm the universality of the synthetic concept, the synthetic strategy was also extended to fabricate monodisperse eccentric-(concentric-NaYF4:Yb/Er/Gd@SiO2)@polyacrylic acid core–double shell NCs.

A facile synthetic route under mild conditions to the preparation of gold nanostars (GNSs) with Fe3O4 cores (Fe3O4@GNSs), possessing magnetization and tunable optical properties from the visible to near-infrared (NIR) region, was developed. Additionally, the resulting Fe3O4@GNSs described here show good catalytic activity for the reduction of potassium ferricyanide as a model reaction. Importantly, the catalyst, Fe3O4@GNSs, can be easily recycled with an external magnet and exhibits long-life, good reusability and stability. We also anticipated that Fe3O4@GNSs may provide a platform for broad potential diagnostic and therapeutic biomedical applications due to its magnetization and tunable optical properties from the visible to NIR region.