The exquisite structures of biological ion channels provide inspiration for designing and constructing artificial ion channels to achieve analogous functions. Hierarchically engineered heterogeneous nanochannels with excellent ion rectification, selectivity, and gating properties have attracted more and more attention. In this review, we briefly review the recent advances of hierarchically engineered nanochannel systems in terms of pore-on-pore and pore-in-pore structures, with an emphasis on the promising applications, including ion-selective transport, osmotic energy harvesting, separation, and biosensing.
- Minmin Li
- Yuchen Cao
- Guangyan Qing
