Fig. 4

a Lithiation process of silicon nanoparticles. Cracks do not occur below 150 nm in diameter. Reprinted from [2] with permission from American Chemical Society. b (left) Photographs of solutions of size-separated silicon nanoparticles. (right) Silicon nanoparticle-PVP film on PET substrate bent at bending radius of 9 mm. Reprinted from [52] (CC BY 4.0). c (left) The schematic of a structure composed of identical silicon nanoparticles and an ARC on the top. (right) A simple planar structure with silicon thickness identical to left. Reprinted from [53] (CC BY 4.0). d (left) Photograph of SiLED. (right) Schematic view of SiLED stack. Reprinted from [54] with permission from American Chemical Society. e (left) Schematic of a biological synapse. (right) Schematic of a synaptic silicon nanoparticle phototransistor. Reprinted from [55] with permission from Elsevier. f Schematic of the synthesis method of the silicon nanoparticles and their use for rutin detection. Reprinted from [56] (CC BY 4.0)