A hollow multishell structure (HoMS) is an assembly of multiple shells with voids between the individual shells. Accessible through nanopores, these voids represent separate reaction environments in the same assembly, such that HoMSs have unique properties that are applicable to diverse fields. These applications have mostly exploited the large specific surface area, high loading capacity and/or buffering effect of HoMSs, benefiting the mass/energy transmission and effective surface area. In comparison, the temporal–spatial ordering of reactions, as well as the dynamic smart behaviour of HoMSs, have been less explored but are also emphasized in this Perspective. We first describe the synthesis of HoMSs and the thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of their formation. We then consider the composition and structural functionalization of each shell within a HoMS and then highlight how these enable applications based on temporal–spatial ordering and dynamic smart behaviour.

空心多壳结构 (HoMS) 是多个壳的组合体，各个壳之间有空隙。这些空隙可通过纳米孔进入，代表同一组件中的独立反应环境，因此 HoMS 具有适用于不同领域的独特特性。这些应用大多利用了 HoMS 的大比表面积、高负载能力和/或缓冲作用，有利于质量/能量传输和有效表面积。相比之下，反应的时空顺序以及 HoMS 的动态智能行为研究较少，但在本观点中也得到了强调。我们首先描述了 HoMS 的合成及其形成的热力学和动力学方面。