TY - JOUR
T1 - Capturing functional two-dimensional nanosheets from sandwich-structure vermiculite for cancer theranostics
AU - Ji, Xiaoyuan
AU - Ge, Lanlan
AU - Liu, Chuang
AU - Tang, Zhongmin
AU - Xiao, Yufen
AU - Chen, Wei
AU - Lei, Zhouyue
AU - Gao, Wei
AU - Blake, Sara
AU - De, Diba
AU - Shi, Bingyang
AU - Zeng, Xiaobing
AU - Kong, Na
AU - Zhang, Xingcai
AU - Tao, Wei
N1 - Copyright the Author(s) 2021. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.
PY - 2021/2/18
Y1 - 2021/2/18
N2 - Clay-based nanomaterials, especially 2:1 aluminosilicates such as vermiculite, biotite, and illite, have demonstrated great potential in various fields. However, their characteristic sandwiched structures and the lack of effective methods to exfoliate two-dimensional (2D) functional core layers (FCLs) greatly limit their future applications. Herein, we present a universal wet-chemical exfoliation method based on alkali etching that can intelligently “capture” the ultrathin and biocompatible FCLs (MgO and Fe2O3) sandwiched between two identical tetrahedral layers (SiO2 and Al2O3) from vermiculite. Without the sandwich structures that shielded their active sites, the obtained FCL nanosheets (NSs) exhibit a tunable and appropriate electron band structure (with the bandgap decreased from 2.0 eV to 1.4 eV), a conductive band that increased from −0.4 eV to −0.6 eV, and excellent light response characteristics. The great properties of 2D FCL NSs endow them with exciting potential in diverse applications including energy, photocatalysis, and biomedical engineering. This study specifically highlights their application in cancer theranostics as an example, potentially serving as a prelude to future extensive studies of 2D FCL NSs.
AB - Clay-based nanomaterials, especially 2:1 aluminosilicates such as vermiculite, biotite, and illite, have demonstrated great potential in various fields. However, their characteristic sandwiched structures and the lack of effective methods to exfoliate two-dimensional (2D) functional core layers (FCLs) greatly limit their future applications. Herein, we present a universal wet-chemical exfoliation method based on alkali etching that can intelligently “capture” the ultrathin and biocompatible FCLs (MgO and Fe2O3) sandwiched between two identical tetrahedral layers (SiO2 and Al2O3) from vermiculite. Without the sandwich structures that shielded their active sites, the obtained FCL nanosheets (NSs) exhibit a tunable and appropriate electron band structure (with the bandgap decreased from 2.0 eV to 1.4 eV), a conductive band that increased from −0.4 eV to −0.6 eV, and excellent light response characteristics. The great properties of 2D FCL NSs endow them with exciting potential in diverse applications including energy, photocatalysis, and biomedical engineering. This study specifically highlights their application in cancer theranostics as an example, potentially serving as a prelude to future extensive studies of 2D FCL NSs.
UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-21436-5
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85101281625&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41467-021-21436-5
DO - 10.1038/s41467-021-21436-5
M3 - Article
C2 - 33602928
SN - 2041-1723
VL - 12
SP - 1
EP - 17
JO - Nature Communications
JF - Nature Communications
M1 - 1124
ER -