The controlled synthesis of nanohybrids composed of noble metals (Au, Ag, Pt and Pd, as well as AuAg alloy) and metal oxides (ZnO, TiO₂, Cu₂O and CeO₂) have received considerable attention for applications in photocatalysis, solar cells, drug delivery, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy and many other important areas. The overall architecture of nanocomposites is one of the most important factors dictating the physical properties of nanohybrids. Noble metals can be coupled to metal oxides to yield diversified nanostructures, including noble metal decorated-metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs), nanoarrays, noble metal/metal oxide core/shell, noble metal/metal oxide yolk/shell and Janus noble metal–metal oxide nanostructures. In this review, we focus on the significant advances in tailored nanostructures of noble metal–metal oxide nanohybrids. The improvement in performance in the representative solar energy conversion applications including photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants, photocatalytic hydrogen generation, photocatalytic CO₂ reduction, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are discussed. Finally, we conclude with a perspective on the future direction and prospects of these controllable nanohybrid materials.

Co-axial silicon-coated carbon nanotubes (CNTs/Si) were successfully synthesized via a hydrothermal method. Sandwich-like carbon-coated CNTs/Si were obtained by an additional carbon coating. The as-prepared materials show superior cycling performance as anode materials in lithium ion batteries with a current density as high as 500 mA g⁻¹ with no observable structural changes during the charge/discharge process. In addition, stable reversible discharge capacities as high as 1508.5 mA h g⁻¹ after 1000 cycles were obtained. At higher current densities of 1 A g⁻¹ and 2 A g⁻¹, the CNTs/Si/C nanotubes also showed ideal cycling performance with reversible discharge capacities of 1216.6 mA h g⁻¹ and 932.2 mA h g⁻¹, respectively. The sandwich-like hollow tube structure of CNTs/Si/C not only alleviates the volume change during cycling, but also facilitates Li-ion and electron transport, and stabilizes the SEI layer. These results suggest that sandwich-like CNTs/Si/C nanotubes are a promising anode material for lithium ion batteries.

Porous Mn ₂ O ₃ boxes present an upward trend of reversible capacity assigned to the gradually emerging contribution of interfacial storage.