Carbon-Based Stimuli-Responsive Nanomaterials: Classification and Application

Abstract

Carbon-based nanomaterials, including carbon nanotubes, carbon nanospheres, and carbon nanofibers, are becoming a research hotspot due to their unique structure and good mechanical, thermal, electrical, optical, and chemical properties. With the development of material synthesis technology, they can be functionalized and used in various fields such as energy, environment, and biomedicine. In particular, stimuli-responsive carbon-based nanomaterials have stood out in recent years because of their smart behavior. Researchers have applied carbon-based nanomaterials to different disease treatments based on their stimulus-response properties. In this paper, based on stimuli-responsive carbon-based nanomaterials’ morphology, we categorize them into carbon nanotubes, carbon nanospheres, and carbon nanofibers according to their morphology. Then, their applications in probes, bioimaging, tumor therapy, and other fields are discussed. Finally, we address the advantages and disadvantages of carbon-based stimuli-responsive nanomaterials and discuss their future perspective.