Metal nanocluster-based hybrid nanomaterials: Fabrication and application

Metal nanoclusters (MNCs) with molecular-like structure have attracted widespread attention owing to their distinctive photoelectrical properties. However, the weak emission and instability of MNCs prevent their practical applications. In order to solve these problems, hybridizing MNCs with various components to prepare metal nanocluster-based hybrid nanomaterials (MNCHNs) has been confirmed to be an effec-tive strategy. In particular, the synergistic effect of MNCs and the introduced components affords MNCHNs with promising optical, electrical, magnetic, and catalytic properties. For the first time, this review summarizes the progress of MNCHNs in recent years, and focuses on the synthetic strategies for fabricating MNCHNs based on dimensions of the introduced components as well as their applications in various fields, such as sensing, biomedicine, catalysis, and light emitting diode. Moreover, we discuss the current challenges of MNCHNs and their future research directions.(c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.