Peng-Peng Wang

Colloidal nanostructures capable of generating circularly polarized light emission (CPLE) are of importance for probing nanoscale chiral light‐matter interactions and for developing solution‐processable photonic materials. However, simultaneously achieving efficient emission and pronounced polarization asymmetry within a colloidal system remains challenging. Here, we report compact and dispersible HgS@SiO ₂ ‐FAPbX ₃ colloidal nanocolloids formed by depositing achiral formamidinium lead‐halide perovskites (FAPbX ₃ , X = Br, Cl/Br, or Br/I) onto silica‐coated twisted bipyramidal α‐HgS nanoparticles. The resulting particles exhibit CPLE at 481 to 533 and 574 nm, spanning the blue, green, and yellow spectral regions. Reversing the HgS morphology from left‐ to right‐twisted reverses the CPLE sign. The observed CPLE arises from post‐emission chiroptical modulation of perovskite photoluminescence through interaction with the twisted HgS nanostructures. By integrating wavelength‐tunable emission and polarization regulation within discrete, dispersible nanoparticles, these composite nanocolloids provide solution‐processable nanoscale building blocks for CPLE‐active materials and higher‐order chiral photonic assemblies.

Precise control over reaction pathways and product selectivity is critical for advancing electrochemical CO ₂ reduction reaction (CO ₂ RR). Traditional strategies for promoting multicarbon production mainly rely on compositional tuning and architecture optimization. Here we report lattice chirality as a structural feature that biases reaction selectivity. As a proof of concept, chiral CuO nanoparticles were synthesized through thermal conversion of enantiopure Cu‐Cysteine precursors, producing lattice‐distorted nanoparticles while preserving the same crystal phase, morphology, and particle size as the achiral counterpart, which lacks lattice distortion. In CO ₂ RR, the chiral‐derived nanostructures suppress the hydrogen evolution reaction and promote multicarbon formation, increasing the C ₂₊ /C ₁ product ratio by up to 68.5% relative to the achiral counterpart. In situ spectroscopy combined with density‐functional theory calculations indicates that lattice chirality modulates the initial CO ₂ activation and alters the population and evolution of surface intermediates (e.g., *CO and *OCCO species), favoring C−C coupling toward C ₂₊ products. Furthermore, lattice distortion increases the energetic cost of oxygen removal, contributing to slower reduction and altered structural evolution of the catalysts during operation compared with achiral counterparts. These results demonstrate that lattice chirality in CuO precatalysts biases reaction pathway selectivity in CO ₂ RR, highlighting a potential parameter to modulate chemoselectivity in related multielectron catalytic reactions.

Organizing distinct nanocomponents into spatially ordered architectures offers a powerful strategy to regulate light‐matter interactions and enhance photocatalytic efficiency, yet remains largely underexplored. Herein, we report the bottom‐up construction of colloidal supraparticles (SPs) comprising photocatalytic CdS‐based and plasmonic Au nanoparticles (NPs), forming spatially ordered hybrid superstructures with tunable Au NP size and compositional ratios. The optimized CdSe@CdS‐Au SPs achieve a hydrogen evolution rate of 160 mmol h ⁻¹ g ⁻¹ under visible light, representing a significant enhancement over the mixture of the same components and outperforming previously reported similar NP‐based systems. Ultrafast spectroscopic analyses combined with finite element simulations reveal that spatial confinement facilitates plasmon‐mediated interactions between Au and CdSe@CdS NPs, leading to enhanced plasmonic local electric fields and efficient plasmon‐induced resonance energy transfer from Au to the semiconductor domains. These photophysical advantages collectively account for the markedly improved photocatalytic activity. This study demonstrates nanoscale spatial engineering as a versatile strategy for tailoring hybrid architectures toward high‐efficiency solar‐to‐chemical energy conversion.

Organizing distinct nanocomponents into spatially ordered architectures offers a powerful strategy to regulate light‐matter interactions and enhance photocatalytic efficiency, yet remains largely underexplored. Herein, we report the bottom‐up construction of colloidal supraparticles (SPs) comprising photocatalytic CdS‐based and plasmonic Au nanoparticles (NPs), forming spatially ordered hybrid superstructures with tunable Au NP size and compositional ratios. The optimized CdSe@CdS‐Au SPs achieve a hydrogen evolution rate of 160 mmol h ⁻¹ g ⁻¹ under visible light, representing a significant enhancement over the mixture of the same components and outperforming previously reported similar NP‐based systems. Ultrafast spectroscopic analyses combined with finite element simulations reveal that spatial confinement facilitates plasmon‐mediated interactions between Au and CdSe@CdS NPs, leading to enhanced plasmonic local electric fields and efficient plasmon‐induced resonance energy transfer from Au to the semiconductor domains. These photophysical advantages collectively account for the markedly improved photocatalytic activity. This study demonstrates nanoscale spatial engineering as a versatile strategy for tailoring hybrid architectures toward high‐efficiency solar‐to‐chemical energy conversion.

Traditional catalytic strategies are based on composition engineering, active site modification and structural tuning to optimize performance. More recently, chirality has emerged as a novel design paradigm, enabling modulation of catalytic activity, selectivity, and enantioselective outcomes. In particular, chiral inorganic nanomaterials, which integrate intrinsic catalytic functions with unique asymmetric nanostructures, have demonstrated impressive chirality‐dependent performance in various catalytic processes, including water splitting, CO ₂ reduction, and enantioselective organic transformations. Despite these developments, the rational design of chiral nanomaterials and mechanistic understanding of their chirality‐governed catalytic behaviors remain limited. This review systematically summarizes recent progress in the synthesis, characterization, and catalytic applications of chiral inorganic nanomaterials. It covers both bottom‐up and top‐down synthetic strategies and highlights advanced techniques for probing their chiral structures and properties. Representative material systems are classified based on their composition, including metals, semiconductors, and hybrid materials. Key chirality‐related effects relevant to catalysis, such as chiroptical responses, structural asymmetry, and spin regulation, are discussed, along with their implications on typical photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, and enantioselective transformations. Finally, major challenges and prospective directions are outlined to guide further research and practical applications in this evolving field.

The assembly of multiple colloidal building blocks into supraparticles provides a promising strategy for designing and fabricating functional nanomaterials. Emulsion droplets possess homogeneous colloidal microspaces that facilitate a tunable assembly process, enabling versatile and controllable supraparticles with tailored composition, size, shape and properties. In this review, we introduce the development and representative examples of nanocrystal supraparticles synthesized via the emulsion route. Key influencing factors, including size and concentration ratio effect, ligand effect, temperature effect, and surfactant effect, have been discussed in detail. Besides, the novel collective properties arising from the ordered stacking of multi-component nanocrystal supraparticles are highlighted, as well as the corresponding impressive applications. In addition, we propose the current challenges and future prospects in this exciting field. We hope this review inspires further research into multi-component nanocrystal supraparticles with diverse and innovative functionalities.

Symmetry‐breaking in inorganic materials can induce chirality, enabling the integration of structural robustness with the functional advantages of chirality, which holds immense potential across numerous fields. However, achieving stable intrinsic chirality in inorganic materials and optimizing their catalytic performance remains a significant challenge. Here, a series of symmetry‐breaking ironbased oxide chiral nanostructured films, synthesized via a solution‐based symmetry‐breaking approach that induces tunable intrinsic chirality are presented. These films demonstrate efficient control over spin‐related processes in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), leveraging chirality‐induced spin selectivity to achieve significantly enhanced catalytic performance compared to achiral counterparts. Nickel incorporated into the chiral framework further reduces overpotentials and boosts OER efficiency, showcasing the synergistic effects of symmetry‐breaking and compositional tuning. This work offers a rational framework for seamlessly integrating inorganic chirality with existing catalytic design approaches, paving the way for advanced chiral catalysts in spin‐selective energy conversion and beyond.

Transition metal‐based chiral nanomaterials have emerged as a highly promising class of electrocatalysts, uniquely combining the intrinsic electrocatalytic activity of transition metals with properties that arise specifically from chirality. In particular, the chirality‐induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect, which modulates electron spin polarization, has provided a powerful approach to controlling reaction pathways and enhancing catalytic performance. Substantial advances are achieved in both the synthesis and application of these transition metal‐based chiral nanomaterials, leading to improvements in a variety of electrocatalytic reactions. Nevertheless, a deeper understanding of the formation mechanisms of diverse chiral structures and the mechanistic relationship between chiral configurations and improved electrocatalytic performance is still needed. This review systematically examines synthetic strategies for constructing transition metal‐based chiral nanomaterials with different structural features. An in‐depth discussion of the CISS effect and its role in a wide range of electrocatalytic reactions is then provided. Finally, the current challenges in both synthesis and application are assessed, and offer perspectives on future research directions such as leveraging machine learning‐assisted chiral design and advanced in situ spectroscopy to accelerate the development of chiral‐enabled, spin‐selective electrocatalytic systems.

Chiral inorganic materials with unique asymmetries hold promising potential in several fields, including catalytic processes. However, imparting structural chirality to inorganic materials presents substantial challenges that hinders their exploration in many application. In this study, we report a simple two-step method for synthesizing structurally chiral nickel oxides (NiO) nanostructures and demonstrate that the chiral-induced spin-selective mechanism enhances the catalytic performance during electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Compared to their achiral NiO counterparts, the chiral NiO nanostructures not only improve the reaction kinetics (a 60 mV reduction in overpotential), but also effectively modulate the reaction pathway to inhibit the byproduct hydrogen peroxide generation. Under neutral conditions, this modulation results in a 4.5-fold reduction in hydrogen peroxide production. This work enriches the variety of chiral inorganic nanomaterials and paves the way for the development and application of chiral inorganic nanomaterials in spin-dependent processes.

Chiral inorganic materials possess unique asymmetric properties that could significantly impact various fields. However, their practical application has been hindered by challenges in creating structurally robust chiral materials. We report the synthesis of well-defined chiral-shaped hollow cobalt oxide nanostructures, extendable to a family of chalcogenides including sulfide, selenide, and telluride through topological transformations. Taking chiral cobalt oxide nanostructures as a representative material, we demonstrate precise control over their chiral architectures, enabling fine-tuning of parameters, such as twist degrees, handedness, and compositions. These chiral nanostructures exhibit high spin selectivity effects that influence the electron transfer processes in catalytic reactions. Leveraging this spin-selective behavior, the chiral cobalt oxide nanoarchitectures demonstrate enhanced electrocatalytic performance in the oxygen evolution reaction compared to their achiral counterparts. Our findings not only expand the library of chiral inorganic materials but also advance the application of chiral effects in fields such as catalysis, spintronics, and beyond.