Gold (Au), a transition metal with an atomic number of 79 in the periodic table of elements, was discovered in approximately 3000 B.C. Due to the ultrahigh chemical stability and brilliant golden color, Au had long been thought to be a most inert material and was widely utilized in art, jewelry, and finance. However, it has been found that Au becomes exceptionally active as a catalyst when its size shrinks to the nanometer scale. With continuous efforts toward the exploration of catalytic applications over the past decades, Au nanomaterials show critical importance in many catalytic processes. Besides catalysis, Au nanomaterials also possess other promising applications in plasmonics, sensing, biology and medicine, due to their unique localized surface plasmon resonance, intriguing biocompatibility, and superior stability. Unfortunately, the practical applications of Au nanomaterials could be limited because of the scarce reserves and high price of Au. Therefore, it is quite essential to further explore novel physicochemical properties and functions of Au nanomaterials so as to enhance their performance in different types of applications.

中文翻译：

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湿化学合成控制金纳米材料的晶相

金（Au）是一种元素周期表中原子序数为79的过渡金属，大约在公元前3000年被发现。由于超高的化学稳定性和亮金色，长期以来人们一直认为Au是最惰性的材料，被广泛用于艺术，珠宝和金融。然而，已经发现，当Au的尺寸缩小至纳米级时，其作为催化剂变得异常活跃。在过去的几十年中，通过不断努力探索催化应用，Au纳米材料在许多催化过程中显示出至关重要的重要性。除了催化作用以外，金纳米材料还因其独特的局部表面等离振子共振，引人入胜的生物相容性和优异的稳定性而在等离激元学，传感，生物学和医学领域中也具有其他有希望的应用。不幸，由于金的储量稀少且价格昂贵，金纳米材料的实际应用可能受到限制。因此，进一步探索金纳米材料的新的理化性质和功能，以增强其在不同类型应用中的性能，是十分必要的。