# Nanomaterial applications: templates > Graphical abstracts and posters on what nanomaterials are used for: energy storage, drug delivery and more. URL: https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/nanomaterial-applications 2 templates. All templates: https://www.labcanvas.com/templates - [Nanomaterials for energy storage](https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/nanomaterial-applications/nanomaterials-energy-storage-batteries-supercapacitors) ([Markdown](https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/nanomaterial-applications/nanomaterials-energy-storage-batteries-supercapacitors.md)): A poster-style graphical abstract on why nanostructuring helps batteries and supercapacitors: shorter Li⁺ diffusion paths, more surface, strain accommodation and surface redox, then a 0D to 3D toolbox (Si@C yolk–shell particles, CNTs and Si nanowires, MXene and graphene sheets, MOFs). - [Targeted drug delivery with nanoparticles](https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/nanomaterial-applications/targeted-drug-delivery-nanoparticles) ([Markdown](https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/nanomaterial-applications/targeted-drug-delivery-nanoparticles.md)): A 3D-style graphical abstract of nanoparticle drug delivery: the anatomy of a multifunctional liposomal carrier (targeting ligands, PEG corona, bilayer, drug payloads, imaging agent), passive tumour targeting through the EPR effect, and active targeting with receptor-mediated endocytosis and triggered drug release. ## Drawing nanomaterial applications A figure about what a nanomaterial is for has to connect three scales: the mechanism at the nanometre scale, the material that exploits it, and the device or organism where it does its job. The two templates here do this for the two applications most often drawn in reviews and graphical abstracts: energy storage in batteries and supercapacitors, and targeted drug delivery with nanoparticle carriers. Both are poster-style layouts with several panels, sized for a graphical abstract or a slide, and both follow a review that is cited on the template’s page. Particles, sheets, vessels and cells are schematic and not to scale, and the templates say so; capacities, sizes and pH values are typical literature ranges rather than data from one experiment. ### Energy storage: why nanostructuring helps, and what it costs Shrinking the active material shortens the distance lithium or sodium ions must diffuse in the solid. The time scales roughly with the square of the length, so particles a hundred times smaller can in principle be filled ten thousand times faster. Nanostructures also offer more surface for fast surface redox, the basis of pseudocapacitance, and they can accommodate strain: silicon nanowires and yolk–shell Si@C particles leave room for the large volume change of silicon on lithiation. The costs belong in the figure as well. A large surface area means more electrolyte decomposition and solid–electrolyte interphase, which consumes lithium and lowers the first-cycle Coulombic efficiency, and nanopowders pack loosely, which lowers volumetric energy density. When you compare materials, show areal or volumetric capacity and mass loading next to gravimetric capacity, as Gogotsi and Simon argued in “True performance metrics in electrochemical energy storage” (Science, 2011). ### Drug delivery: passive and active targeting The drug delivery template follows a multifunctional liposome from circulation to release. A PEG corona reduces protein adsorption and clearance, so the carrier circulates long enough to reach a tumour. Passive targeting relies on the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect: leaky tumour vessels let carriers out and poor lymphatic drainage keeps them there. Active targeting adds ligands, such as antibodies, peptides, folate or transferrin, that bind receptors on the target cells and trigger endocytosis, after which the lower pH of endosomes can release the drug. Draw the EPR effect with care. It varies widely between tumours and patients, and a meta-analysis by Wilhelm and colleagues (Nature Reviews Materials, 2016) found that a median of 0.7% of the injected nanoparticle dose reached solid tumours in the animal studies they analysed. A figure that shows carriers flooding into a tumour overstates what is known. ### Making the scales readable - **Use insets.** A 100 nm liposome and a cell tens of micrometres across cannot share one scale. Draw the organ or device, then zoom into the cell, then into the particle, with a box and lines showing where each inset comes from. - **Say what is schematic.** Add a short “not to scale” note, and give real sizes in labels where they matter. - **Keep colours consistent.** Give each component, such as the drug, the ligand, the electrolyte or the active material, one colour throughout every panel. - **Separate data from drawing.** If a panel shows measured values, plot them as a graph with units; keep the schematic panels free of numbers that look like data. ## Questions **How do I show particles and cells that differ in size by a thousand times?** Use nested insets: the organ or device, then the cell or electrode, then the particle, each with a box and connecting lines showing where it sits in the panel before. Label the real sizes and add a “not to scale” note. **Can I adapt the drug delivery template to lipid nanoparticles or polymer carriers?** Yes. Every layer is editable, so you can replace the liposome bilayer with a polymer or lipid nanoparticle, change the ligands and payloads, and keep the circulation, passive targeting and active targeting panels as they are. **Which numbers should an energy storage figure show?** Gravimetric capacity alone flatters nanomaterials. Show areal or volumetric capacity, mass loading and first-cycle Coulombic efficiency too, so readers can judge the material in a practical electrode.