Stimuli‐Responsive Hybridized Nanostructures

Abstract

Abstract Through innovative nanosynthesis techniques and advanced surface‐passivation methods, diversified luminescent nanocrystals, like quantum dots, metal nanoclusters, carbon dots, and upconversion nanoparticles, are produced successfully to exhibit greatly improved performance in various applications, due to their color tunability and resistance to photobleaching. Their further hybridization with stimuli‐responsive polymers endows the resultant nanohybrids with unique smart functions, which can reversibly respond to external stimuli or environmental changes via alternation in luminescence. Due to their multifunctional properties, these responsive luminescent nanohybrids are attracting more and more interest in foundation research and promising applications recently. Here, important developments and achievements made in this emerging field are summarized to highlight the integration concepts and fabrication methods for luminescent nanohybrids, and their special responsive functions to temperature, pH, fields, and analytes. At the same time, their smart applications are also overviewed for demonstrating novel actions of responsive nanohybrids via various intelligent operations. The aim is to understand and accelerate more advanced developments in creating varied and intelligent nanosystems, and provide perspectives to promote a further revolution of smart materials and technology.