Yolk/shell nanoparticles: new platforms for nanoreactors, drug delivery and lithium-ion batteries

Yolk/shell or ‘rattle-typed’ nanomaterials with nanoparticle cores inside hollow shells are interesting among the complex hollow nanostructures. Yolk/shell nanoparticles (YSNs) are promising functional nanomaterials for a variety of applications such as catalysis, delivery, lithium-ion batteries and biosensors due to their tailorability and functionality in both the cores and hollow shells. This feature article provides an overview of advances in this exciting area of YSNs, covering systematic synthesis approaches and key promising applications based on the literature and our own recent work. We present some strategies for the synthesis of YSNs with controllable sizes, compositions, geometries, structures and functionalities. Applications of these new materials in a wide range of potential areas are discussed including nanoreactors, biomedicine and lithium-ion batteries. Promising future directions of this active research field are also highlighted.