A reflection on 'A shape-memory scaffold for macroscale assembly of functional nanoscale building blocks'

Controllable and precise fabrication of macroscopic assembly of nanoscale building blocks is a key step towards practical application of nanotechnology. In 2014, Yu et al. presented a novel approach to fabricate a series of functional macroscale assemblies using a shape-memory chitosan scaffold (H.-L. Gao, Y. Lu, L.-B. Mao, D. An, L. Xu, J.-T. Gu, F. Long and S.-H. Yu, Mater. Horiz., 2014, 1, 69, https://doi.org/10.1039/c3mh00040k). Here, they briefly review the development process of the assembly strategy directed by the pre-designed scaffold to further explore the potential of the strategy in constructing the artificial macroscopic assemblies with versatile properties.