This review summarizes pathways to obtain LDH nanosheets for various applications, provides an overview of the current understanding of mechanistic studies, and promotes a better understanding of the fundamental chemistry, which will in turn be beneficial for the wider scientific community, and will present potential future directions of the research areas.

In this review paper, the state-of-the-art knowledge of the core–shell multifunctional nanoparticles (MNPs), especially with unique physiochemical properties, is presented. The synthesis methods were summarized from the aspects of both the advantages and the demerits. The core includes the inexpensive and easily oxidized metals and the noble shells include the relatively noble metals, carbon, silica, other oxides, and polymers. The properties including magnetic, optical, anti-corrosion and the surface chemistry of the NPs are thoroughly reviewed. The current status of the applications is reviewed with the detailed examples including the catalysis, giant magnetoresistance (GMR) sensing, electromagnetic interface shielding or microwave absorption, biomedical drug delivery, and the environmental remediation.

Room temperature phosphorescence materials have inspired extensive attention owing to their great potential in optical applications. However, it is hard to achieve a room temperature phosphorescence material with simultaneous long lifetime and high phosphorescence quantum efficiency. Herein, multi-confined carbon dots were designed and fabricated, enabling room temperature phosphorescence material with simultaneous ultralong lifetime, high phosphorescence quantum efficiency, and excellent stability. The multi-confinement by a highly rigid network, stable covalent bonding, and 3D spatial restriction efficiently rigidified the triplet excited states of carbon dots from non-radiative deactivation. The as-designed multi-confined carbon dots exhibit ultralong lifetime of 5.72 s, phosphorescence quantum efficiency of 26.36%, and exceptional stability against strong oxidants, acids and bases, as well as polar solvents. This work provides design principles and a universal strategy to construct metal-free room temperature phosphorescence materials with ultralong lifetime, high phosphorescence quantum efficiency, and high stability for promising applications, especially under harsh conditions.

The non-flammability of ionic liquids (ILs) is often highlighted as a safety advantage of ILs over volatile organic compounds (VOCs), but the fact that many ILs are not flammable themselves does not mean that they are safe to use near fire and/or heat sources; a large group of ILs (including commercially available ILs) are combustible due to the nature of their positive heats of formation, oxygen content, and decomposition products.