Advances in the chemical fabrication of complex multimaterial nanocrystals

A review. Recent achievements of nanochem. research in the fabrication of colloidal nanoheterostructures are reviewed through revisiting relevant papers and related patents. Attention is focused on newly conceived generations of hybrid nanocrystals (HNCs) with a topol. controlled compn., in which size and shape tailored domains of different inorg. materials are permanently assembled together in a single multifunctional particle. Strategies for accessing HNCs in various configurations, such as core/shell systems, hetero-oligomers based on nearly spherical portions, and highly asym. nanostructures comprising joint sections with different shapes, are discussed. The chem.-phys. properties and technol. advantages offered by such complex nanocrystals are also highlighted.