The use of photons to directly or indirectly drive chemical reactions has revolutionized the field of nanomaterial synthesis resulting in appearance of new sustainable laser chemistry methods for manufacturing of micro‐ and nanostructures. The incident laser radiation triggers a complex interplay between the chemical and physical processes at the interface between the solid surface and the liquid or gas environment. In such a multi‐parameter system, the precise control over the resulting nanostructures is not possible without deep understanding of both environment‐affected chemical and physical processes. The present review intends to provide detailed systematization of these processes surveying both well‐established and emerging laser technologies for production of advanced nanostructures and nanomaterials. Both gases and liquids are considered as potential reacting environments affecting the fabrication process, while subtractive and additive manufacturing methods are analyzed. Finally, the prospects and emerging applications of such technologies are discussed.

Cu-based micro-temperature detectors were fabricated using femtosecond laser reduction of CuO nanoparticles. Cu-based microstructures were directly created by laser scanning on a CuO nanoparticle solution film. Cu-rich and Cu₂O-rich microstructures were selectively formed to electrically connect two Cu thin-film electrodes for use in temperature detectors. Cu-rich and Cu₂O-rich micro-temperature detectors were fabricated at scanning speeds of 500 and 1000 µm/s, respectively, at a pulse energy of 1.2 nJ. The temperature coefficient of resistance values of the Cu-rich and Cu₂O-rich microstructures were positive and negative, respectively; these temperature behaviors are typical of metal and semiconductor materials, respectively.

Micro-temperature sensors, which composed of a Cu₂O-rich sensing part and two Cu-rich electrodes, were directly fabricated by femtosecond laser reduction patterning of CuO nanoparticles. Patterning of the microstructures was performed by laser scanning with pitches of 5, 10, and 15 µm. Cu₂O-rich micropatterns were formed at the laser scan speed of 1 mm/s, the pitch of 5 µm, and the pulse energy of 0.54 nJ. Cu-rich micropatterns that had high generation selectivity of Cu against Cu₂O were fabricated at the laser scan speed of 15 mm/s, the pitch of 5 µm, and the pulse energy of 0.45 nJ. Electrical resistivities of the Cu₂O- and Cu-rich micropatterns were approximately 10 Ω m and 9 µΩ m, respectively. The temperature coefficient of the resistance of the micro-temperature sensor fabricated under these laser irradiation conditions was −5.5 × 10⁻³/°C. This resistance property with a negative value was consistent with that of semiconductor Cu₂O.

In this work, the method of selective laser reductive sintering was used to fabricate the sensor-active copper and nickel microstructures on the surface of glass-ceramics suitable for non-enzymatic detection of glucose. The calculated sensitivities for these microsensors are 1110 and 2080 μA mM⁻¹·cm⁻² for copper and nickel, respectively. Linear regime of enzymeless glucose sensing is provided between 0.003 and 3 mM for copper and between 0.01 and 3 mM for nickel. Limits of glucose detection for these manufactured micropatterns are equal to 0.91 and 2.1 µM for copper and nickel, respectively. In addition, the fabricated materials demonstrate rather good selectivity, long-term stability and reproducibility.

Direct laser-writing techniques have attracted attention for their use in two- and three-dimensional printing technologies. In this article, we report on a micropatterning process that uses femtosecond laser reductive sintering of mixed CuO/NiO nanoparticles. The writing speed, laser fluence, and incident total energy were varied to investigate the influence of heat accumulation on the micropatterns formed by these materials. Heat accumulation and the thermal history of the laser irradiation process significantly affected the material composition and the thermoelectric properties of the fabricated micropatterns. Short laser irradiation durations and high laser fluences decrease the amount of metal oxide in the micropatterns. Selective fabrication of p-type and n-type thermoelectric micropatterns was demonstrated to be possible with control of the reduction and reoxidization reactions through the control of writing speed and total irradiation energy.