Mesocrystals, which are assemblies of crystallographically oriented nanocrystals, have received increasing attention due to their unique properties such as high crystallinity, high porosity, oriented subunit alignment, and similarity to highly sophisticated biominerals. However, the controlled synthesis of TiO 2 mesocrystals has not been realized until recently, probably because of the difficulty in accurately controlling the reaction processes that produce TiO 2 crystals. In this review, recent advances in the synthesis and applications of TiO 2 mesocrystals are summarized with particular attention paid to the mechanisms of their formation. Three typical pathways for the preparation of TiO 2 mesocrystals are discussed, namely topotactic transformation, direct synthesis in solution, and growth on supports. The potential applications of TiO 2 mesocrystals in lithium ion batteries, photocatalysis, enzyme immobilization, and antireflection materials are also described.
Monolayer colloidal crystals(MCCs)are two-dimensional(2D)colloidal crystals consisting of a monolayer of monodisperse colloidal particles arrayed with a 2D periodic order.In recent years,MCCs have attracted intensive interest because they can act as 2D photonic crystals and be used as versatile templates for fabrication of various 2D nanostructure arrays.In this review,we provide an overview of the recent progress in the controllable fabrication of MCCs and their inverse replicas.First,some newly-developed methods for the self-assembly of MCCs based on different strategies including interfacial assembly and convective assembly are introduced.Second,some representative novel methods regarding the fabrication of various functional2D inverse replicas of MCCs,such as 2D arrays of nanobowls,nanocaps,and hollow spheres,as well as 2D monolayer inverse opals(MIOs),are described.In addition,the potential applications of MCCs and their inverse replicas are discussed.
