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Abstract Magnetic nanoparticles have continued to gain significant attention due to their unique magnetic properties and potential applications. However, it is still challenging to directly synthesize water-dispersible magnetic nanoparticles with controlled size for biomedical applications. This study investigates the influence of solvents on the continuous growth of magnetic nanoparticles, aiming to achieve controlled size and excellent water dispersibility via thermal decomposition in polyol solvents. The size of the nanoparticles gradually increases with longer polyol chain solvents. The increase in nanoparticles size is more significant under a higher reaction temperature (220 °C) compared to a lower temperature (190 °C). These monodispersed nanoparticles exhibit strong superparamagnetic properties, improving with longer solvent chain lengths at the same size. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies reveal higher relaxivities for magnetic nanoparticles synthesized in longer-chain polyols. This research offers valuable insights for synthesizing magnetic nanoparticles with precise sizes, magnetic properties, and biomedical applications. Graphical abstract 

Latent bloodstains can be visualized using a selective turn-on NIR fluorescence dye responsive to serum albumin. This non-destructive method can detect aged bloodstains and image latent blood fingerprint patterns against colorful backgrounds. 

Non-noble metal based electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) hold great potential for commercial applications. However, effective design strategies are greatly needed to manipulate the catalyst structures to achieve high activity and stability comparable to those of noble-metal based electrocatalysts. Herein, we present a facile route to synthesize layered Co 9 S 8 intercalated with Co cations (Co 2+ -Co 9 S 8 ) (with interlayer distance up to 1.08 nm) via a one-step solvothermal method. Benefiting from a large interlayer distance and efficient electron transfer between layers, the Co 2+ -Co 9 S 8 hybrid shows outstanding electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance in an acid electrolyte. The electrocatalytic performance is even better than that of 20% Pt/C at the <−0.54 V region with an overpotential of 86 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm −2 in 0.5 mol L −1 H 2 SO 4 . More importantly, the system can maintain excellent stability for more than 12 h without obvious decay. This study not only presents a novel and efficient approach to synthesize cobalt sulfide intercalated with Co cations for stable electrocatalytic HER but also provides an avenue for the design of intercalated materials used in other energy applications. 

The design and development of multifunctional nanoparticles have attracted great interest in biomedical research. This study aims to prepare pH-responsive melanin-like nanoparticles for T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and photothermal therapy. The new multifunctional nanoparticles (amino-Fe-PDANPs) are synthesized by copolymerization of dopamine and its derivative amino-N-[2-(diethylamino) ethyl]-3,4-dihydroxy-benzenepropanamide (N-Dopa) at room temperature. The size of nanoparticles can be controlled by NaOH concentration. The incorporation of N-Dopa is characterized by NMR and FT-IR. From transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the nanoparticles exhibit excellent dispersion stability in water and are spherical in shape. The MRI measurement has demonstrated that amino-Fe-PDANPs have a significant signal enhancement in responding to the acidic solution. Confirmed by the photothermal study, the nanoparticles exhibit a high photothermal conversion efficiency. The melanin-like multifunctional nanoparticles integrate both diagnosis and therapeutic functionalities, indicating the potential for theranostic application. 

The direct synthesis of highly water-soluble nanoparticles has attracted intensive interest, but systematic size control has not been reported. Here, we developed a general method for synthesizing monodisperse water-soluble iron oxide nanoparticles with nanometer-scale size increments from 4 nm to 13 nm in a single reaction. Precise size control was achieved by continuous growth in an amphiphilic solvent, diethylene glycol (DEG), where the growth step was separated from the nucleation step by sequential addition of a reactant. There was only one reactant in the synthesis and no need for additional capping agents and reducing agents. This study reveals the “living growth” character of iron oxide nanoparticles synthesised in an amphiphilic solvent. The synthetic method shows high reproducibility. The as-prepared iron oxide nanoparticles are extremely water soluble without any surface modification. Surprisingly, the synthesized 9 nm iron oxide nanoparticles exhibit extremely high transversal and longitudinal relaxivities of 425 mM −1 s −1 and 32 mM −1 s −1 respectively, which is among the highest transversal relaxivity in the literature for sub-10 nm spherical nanoparticles. This study will not only shed light on the continuous growth phenomenon of iron oxide nanoparticles in an amphiphilic solvent, but could also stimulate the synthesis and application of iron oxide nanoparticles. The continuous growth method could be further extended to other materials for the controlled synthesis of water-soluble nanoparticles.