Zero→Two-Dimensional Metal Nanostructures: An Overview on Methods of Preparation, Characterization, Properties, and Applications

Metal nanostructured materials, with many excellent and unique physical and mechanical properties compared to macroscopic bulk materials, have been widely used in the fields of electronics, bioimaging, sensing, photonics, biomimetic biology, information, and energy storage. It is worthy of noting that most of these applications require the use of nanostructured metals with specific controlled properties, which are significantly dependent on a series of physical parameters of its characteristic size, geometry, composition, and structure. Therefore, research on low-cost preparation of metal nanostructures and controlling of their characteristic sizes and geometric shapes are the keys to their development in different application fields. The preparation methods, physical and chemical properties, and application progress of metallic nanostructures are reviewed, and the methods for characterizing metal nanostructures are summarized. Finally, the future development of metallic nanostructure materials is explored.