Assemblies and composites of gold nanostructures for functional devices: Nanoscience: Special Issue Dedicated to Professor Paul S. Weiss

Gold has been one of the most vastly used noble metals due to its unique properties. In modern manufacturing, gold is extensively used in electronics industry as electrical connectors due to the high conductivity and corrosion resistance. With advancements in gold chemistry and nanofabrication technologies, gold materials can be tailored down to the dimension of nanoscale, which enables various novel properties. However, it is still a huge challenge to realize practical functional devices by rational utilizing these gold nanostructures-based materials. Herein, the recent developments in the design and fabrication of various functional devices based on assemblies and composites of gold nanostructures are summarized. Starting from the plasmonic effect, optical colorimetric sensors, optoelectronics and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy sensors are introduced. Followed by conductive devices with novel properties, flexible transparent conductors, stretchable electronics, wearable and implantable devices are discussed. Both bottom-up and top-down approaches to prepare assemblies and composites are covered. In addition, the challenges and future developments in the field are also addressed. It is believed that further developments in gold nanostructures-based materials will greatly contribute to the next-generation biosensors, optoelectronics, wearable and implantable electronics.