Nanobowl arrays, such as gold nanobowl arrays, silver nanobowl arrays, ZnO nanobowl arrays and TiO₂ nanobowl arrays, all have ordered periodic holes, large surface area and reduced symmetry. These unique nanobowls not only provide nano-porous structures, but also bring many special physical and chemical properties. In recent years, these nanobowl arrays have attracted a great deal of attention because of their novel and/or enhanced properties arising from the porous structures. In this review, all kinds of preparation methods and fabricated processes of various nanobowl arrays are introduced. The details are as follows. Firstly, colloidal crystal template(generally silica spheres or polystyrene microspheres) is prepared via self-assembly. Secondly, different kinds of materials as required are deposited on the colloidal crystal template by physical vapor deposition, chemical deposition or electrochemical deposition. Finally, colloidal crystal template is removed via dissolving or high temperature treatment to obtain nanobowl arrays. Meanwhile, the diverse applications of the nanobowl arrays are also summarized, for example, SERS substrates, nanosensor, catalysis, optics application. What's more, the advantages and disadvantages of different fabrication methods are discussed, as well as the prospects of the nanobowl arrays and the existing problems.
Contents
1 Introduction
2 Preparation of nanobowl arrays
2.1 Preparation of colloidal crystal template
2.2 Preparation of inorganic and organic nanoshell
2.3 Removal of template
2.4 Fabrication of various nanobowl arrays
3 Applications of nanobowl arrays
3.1 Application in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy
3.2 Application in sensor
3.3 Application in catalysis
3.4 Application in optics
4 Conclusion