Nanostructures of metal oxides

Metal oxides rank at the top of the list of functional materials. Most of these are semiconductors, but they can range from insulators to quasi-metals, with band gaps ranging from <1 eV to >5 eV, and available in multiple crystalline variants, with tolerance for stoichiometries out of equilibrium or with mixed valence cations. These characteristics make them almost unique and of interest for a myriad of possible applications. But only when combined with the possibility of obtaining these materials in the form of 0D, 1D or 2D nanostructures, with specific shapes and well-defined crystallographic facets, they disclose their great potential.