their potential for applications in bioimaging, therapy, sensing, and catalysis. [4,5] For instance, ultrathin 2D noble metal nanomaterials have attracted increasing attention due to their ultrathin nature and 2D morphology. The ultrathin nature leads to high surface area-to-volume ratio and abundant exposed catalytically-active sites. [6][7][8] The 2D morphology confers a large interfacial area in contact with the substrate compared with either 1D or 3D nanostructures (e.g., nanowire or nanoparticles), which can enhance the interactions between reactants and the surface of catalysts, contributing to high activity. [8] In view of the fascinating attributes and numerous potential applications of ultrathin 2D metal nanomaterials associated with their unique structural features, it is essential to develop feasible facile and reliable synthesis routes. [2] However, the production of ultrathin 2D metal nanomaterials, free of a solid substrate, represents a significant challenge, due to the tendency of metal atoms to form a highly isotropic 3D close-packed crystal lattice. [9] This natural tendency toward 3D growth can be suppressed by the introduction of confinement to induce anisotropic growth. [4] To date, a range of synthesis strategies have been utilized to prohibit the free 2D metal nanomaterials offer exciting prospects in terms of their properties and functions. However, the ambient aqueous synthesis of atomicallythin, 2D metallic nanomaterials represents a significant challenge. Herein, freestanding and atomically-thin gold nanosheets with a thickness of only 0.47 nm (two atomic layers thick) are synthesized via a one-step aqueous approach at 20 °C, using methyl orange as a confining agent. Owing to the high surface-area-to-volume ratio, abundance of unsaturated atoms exposed on the surface and large interfacial areas arising from their ultrathin 2D nature, the as-prepared Au nanosheets demonstrate excellent catalysis performance in the model reaction of 4-nitrophenol reduction, and remarkable peroxidase-mimicking activity, which enables a highly sensitive colorimetric sensing of H 2 O 2 with a detection limit of 0.11 × 10 −6 m. This work represents the first fabrication of freestanding 2D gold with a sub-nanometer thickness, opens up an innovative pathway toward atomically-thin metal nanomaterials that can serve as model systems for inspiring fundamental advances in materials science, and holds potential across a wide region of applications. Sub-Nanometer Thick Gold Nanosheets

Microfluidic channels moulded from the soft polymer poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) are widely used as a platform for mimicking biological environments, and can be used for the simulation of fluid filled structures such as blood and lung vessels. The control of pressure and flow rate within these structures is vital to mimic physiological conditions. The flexibility of PDMS leads to pressure-induced deformation under flow, leading to variable flow profiles along a device. Here, we investigate the change in Young’s modulus of microfluidic channels due to infiltration of mineral oil, a PDMS permeable fluid, and how this affects the resulting pressure profile using a novel pressure measurement method. We found a 53% decrease in Young’s modulus of PDMS due to mineral oil absorption over the course of 3 h accounted for lower internal pressure and larger channel deformation compared to fresh PDMS at a given flow rate. Confocal fluorescence microscopy used to image channel profiles before and after the introduction of mineral oil showed a change in pressure-induced deformation after infiltration of the oil. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanoindentation was used to measure Young’s modulus of PDMS before ($$2.80 \pm 0.03$$ 2.80 ± 0.03 MPa) and after ($$1.32 \pm 0.04$$ 1.32 ± 0.04 MPa) mineral oil absorption. Raman spectroscopy showed the infiltration of mineral oil into PDMS from channel walls and revealed the diffusion coefficient of mineral oil in PDMS.

An orthogonal, noncovalent approach to direct the assembly of higher-order DNA origami nanostructures is described. By incorporating perfluorinated tags into the edges of DNA origami tiles we control their hierarchical assembly via fluorous-directed recognition. When we combine this approach with Watson−Crick base-pairing we form discrete dimeric constructs in significantly higher yield (8x) than when either molecular recognition method is used in isolation. This integrated "catch-and-latch" approach, which combines the strength and mobility of the fluorous effect with the specificity of base-pairing, provides an additional toolset for DNA nanotechnology, one that enables increased assembly efficiency while requiring significantly fewer DNA sequences. As a result, our integration of fluorous-directed assembly into origami systems represents a cheap, atom-efficient means to produce discrete superstructures.

In article number https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.201900911, Stephen D. Evans and co‐workers develop an ambient aqueous synthesis for preparing atomically‐thin gold nanosheets (termed gold nanoseaweed, AuNSW, because of its morphology, color and aqueous growth). These AuNSWs represent the first free‐standing 2D gold with a sub‐nanometer thickness (0.47 nm, e.g., two atomic layers thick), and exhibit excellent catalysis performance in the model reaction of 4‐nitrophenol reduction, as well as remarkable peroxidase‐mimicking activity.