Recent Advances in Metallic Thin Films and Current Applications

A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412). This special issue belongs to the section "Thin Films".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2024) | Viewed by 4543

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, 67-103 Donat, 400293 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Interests: deposition of metallic thin films using physical deposition techniques; advanced plasmonic nanomaterials; applications of metallic thin films in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There has been a steady increase in the technological and societal impact of metallic thin films on material-based design and related research. New classes of advanced materials and highly efficient devices with bioinspired architecture heavily rely on fine-tuning fabrication parameters and optimizing deposition protocols of embedded metallic thin films on rigid or flexible substrates. Many applications in key societal domains such as industry,  medicine, or the environment currently benefit from the ability to tailor surface and near-surface properties to achieve desired functionalities.

This Special Issue welcomes a wide range of contributions (original or review manuscripts) that involve the deposition, synthesis, and characterization of metallic (plasmonic and nonplasmonic) of thin films on rigid or flexible substrates and their applications in detection platforms/sensors, nanostructured/tri-dimensional devices, or advanced nanomaterials. The topics should be related (but are not limited)  to the following:

  • Fabrication of metallic thin films using modern top-down/bottom-up approaches.
  • Fabrication or synthesis and characterization of new hybrid-based metallic nanostructures with applications in nano-microelectronics/nanomedicine/micro-nanofluidics or related areas.
  • New or improved smart nanomaterials based on metallic thin films with antibacterial properties.
  • Flexible and/or transparent detection nanoplatforms with applications in environmental research.
  • Flexible sensors based on metallic thin films: from advanced fabrication methods to real-life applications
  • Design of new or improved anti-counterfeiting tags on solid or flexible substrates based on metallic thin films.
  • Porous metallic thin films: theoretical and experimental aspects.
  • Highly ordered nanostructured surfaces based on metallic thin films.
  • Electrochemical and optical sensors based on noble metallic thin films.
  • Modeling and design of plasmonic thin films.

Dr. Alia Colniță
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • physical techniques for thin film deposition
  • high-resolution/in situ characterization of nanostructured metallic thin films
  • novel plasmonic substrates with various applications
  • fine-tuning of metallic thin films: modeling and characterization
  • smart metallic-based surfaces

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 6234 KiB  
Article
A Comparison of 90° Bending for Foldable Electronics
by Megan J. Cordill, Patrice Kreiml, Harald Köstenbauer and Christian Mitterer
Coatings 2024, 14(1), 98; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings14010098 - 11 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1028
Abstract
In order to assess the longevity of foldable electronics, folding or bending tests on model systems need to be performed. However, not all bending tests are created equal in that different configurations lead to different amounts of mechanical damage and thus different electrical [...] Read more.
In order to assess the longevity of foldable electronics, folding or bending tests on model systems need to be performed. However, not all bending tests are created equal in that different configurations lead to different amounts of mechanical damage and thus different electrical responses. Two 90° bending instruments were compared using two model metallic thin film systems on polyimide to establish if the two seemingly similar bending tests yield the same results. The two film systems, namely 300 nm Mo and 130 nm Al on 50 nm Mo, were magnetron-sputtered on polyimide substrates and tested in the custom-built FLEX-E-TEST and the commercially available YUASA test that is capable of in situ resistance measurements. For statistics, 10–12 samples were tested of each film system on each folding device using the same applied bending strain and number of cycles. Samples were intermittently characterized with confocal laser scanning microscopy and electrical resistance to correlate the amount of mechanical damage (crack density) with the electrical normalized resistance ratio of the damaged area. The results show that even with the same bending radius, a similar but not identical amount of mechanical damage forms for both bending devices. Additionally, the resistance as a function of cycles also differs after 10,000 cycles. A closer examination of the damage, especially in the Al/Mo film system, indicates that the speed of the bending, and if the samples experience spring back, can alter the received mechanical damage. The in situ resistance data of the YUASA test were further examined and a suggestion of standardizing how folding or bending test results are reported is provided. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Metallic Thin Films and Current Applications)
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15 pages, 5523 KiB  
Article
Insights into Interfacial Features of Metal/Eco-Composites Designed for Energy Storage
by Raluca Marinica Albu, Andreea Irina Barzic, Mihai Asandulesa, Bogdan-George Rusu, Iuliana Stoica and Ion Sava
Coatings 2023, 13(8), 1390; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings13081390 - 8 Aug 2023
Viewed by 985
Abstract
The development of innovative materials with improved properties is required for the field of energy storage. This article proves that it is possible to utilize bio-derived fillers to tune the performance of biodegradable polymers. For this scope, eco-composites were attained by loading several [...] Read more.
The development of innovative materials with improved properties is required for the field of energy storage. This article proves that it is possible to utilize bio-derived fillers to tune the performance of biodegradable polymers. For this scope, eco-composites were attained by loading several amounts of walnut leaf powder (WLP) in hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC). Basic testing was conducted to emphasize the sample’s suitability for the pursued application. The rheological behavior was altered with the addition of WLP at low shear rates, which became more pseudoplastic, resulting in composite films with higher thickness uniformity. Wettability characteristics were used to analyze the macro-level adhesion of the platinum-containing samples, and the results showed that the presence of WLP led to the augmentation of interfacial compatibilization of the composite with the metal layer. The electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy scans showed the proper distribution of the WLP in the matrix. Local adhesion data derived from DFL-height curves further showed that the inclusion of WLP improves the adhesion capabilities at the nanoscale. The dielectric spectroscopy tests proved that the used biofiller leads to an enhancement in the permittivity of the composite with respect to the neat HEC. By accounting for all results, the generated eco-composites are suggested as alternative dielectrics for usage in the energy storage domain. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Metallic Thin Films and Current Applications)
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21 pages, 6236 KiB  
Article
Enhancement of Dopamine Electrochemical Detection with Manganese Doped Crystalline Copper Oxide
by Simona Guţoiu, Florina Pogăcean, Lidia Măgeruşan, Maria Olimpia Miclăuş, Oana Grad, Ioan-Ovidiu Pană and Stela Pruneanu
Coatings 2023, 13(6), 1014; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings13061014 - 30 May 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1888
Abstract
Manganese doped crystalline copper oxide (CuO:Mn) and undoped CuO were prepared at room temperature by the hydrothermal method. The complete physico-chemical characterization of the materials was performed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission/scanning electron microscopy (TEM/SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Furthermore, their analytical [...] Read more.
Manganese doped crystalline copper oxide (CuO:Mn) and undoped CuO were prepared at room temperature by the hydrothermal method. The complete physico-chemical characterization of the materials was performed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission/scanning electron microscopy (TEM/SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Furthermore, their analytical applicability was tested in electrochemical experiments for a dopamine assay. According to the morphological investigation, the materials had a flat structure with nearly straight edges. The XRD analysis proved the formation of the CuO phase with good crystallinity, while the Mn doping was determined by XPS to be around 1 at.%. Under optimized conditions, at pH 5.0, the CuO:Mn modified electrode (CuO:Mn/SPE) showed a high signal for dopamine oxidation, with a linear response in the 0.1–1 µM and 1–100 µM ranges and a low limit of detection of 30.3 nM. Five times higher sensitivity for manganese doped copper oxide in comparison with the undoped sample was achieved. The applicability of the developed CuO:Mn/SPE electrode was also tested in a commercially available pharmaceutical drug with good results, suggesting that the developed sensor has promising biomedical application potential. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Metallic Thin Films and Current Applications)
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