Inorganic shell nanostructures to enhance performance and stability of metal nanoparticles in catalytic applications

In this article, we review the recent progress and our research activity on the synthesis of inorganic shell nanostructures to enhance the catalytic performance and stability of metal nanoparticles in catalytic applications. First, we introduce general synthetic strategies for the fabrication of inorganic nanoscale shell layers, including template-assisted sol-gel coating, hydrothermal (or solvothermal) synthesis and the self-templating process. We also discuss recent examples of metal nanoparticles (NPs) with nanoscale shell layers, namely core–shell, yolk–shell and multiple NPs-embedded nanoscale shell. We then discuss the performance and stability of metal particles in practical catalytic applications. Finally, we conclude with a summary and perspective on the further progress of inorganic nanostructure with nanoscale shell layers for catalytic applications.