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Crystals
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Metal Oxide Thin Films, Nanomaterials and Nanostructures
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Metal Oxide Thin Films, Nanomaterials and Nanostructures

A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 August 2024) | Viewed by 5692

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Zahira El Khalidi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Microphysics Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
Interests: nanomaterials; thin-film elaboration; superlattices; epitaxial wafer growth; infrared detectors; gas sensors; X-ray diffraction modeling and characterization; structural properties; optical properties
Prof. Dr. Elisabetta Comini

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Sensor Lab, Department of Information Engineering, University of Brescia and CNR INO, Via Valotti 9, 25133 Brescia, Italy
Interests: metal oxides; nanowires; chemical sensors; gas sensors; heterostructures; functional materials; material synthesis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Abderrahim Moumen

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Department of Mathematical, Physical and Computer Sciences, University of Parma, IMEM-CNR, Parma, Italy
Interests: metal oxides; nanowires; thin films; metal dichalcogenides; chemical/gas sensors; nanomaterial synthesis and characterization; ultrawide-bandgap semiconductors; power devices; photodetectors

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nanomaterials and nanostructures, characterized by their nanoscale dimensions, have surged to the forefront of scientific innovation. With precise control over synthesis techniques, remarkable nanotubes, thin films, superlattices, and epitaxial wafers have emerged, revolutionizing fields ranging from electronics and energy storage to nanomedicine. These advancements have led to groundbreaking applications such as nanoelectronics, efficient energy conversion, targeted drug delivery, and plasmonic photonics. As the field advances, researchers are also addressing safety concerns and pushing the boundaries of computational modeling.  

To explore novel properties and applications and make nanomaterials and nanostructures a frontier of transformative potential, this Special Issue will address manifold topics, including growth, synthesis, and fabrication techniques that highlight innovative methods for producing nanomaterials and assembling nanoscale structures, such as bottom-up approaches (chemical synthesis and physical growth methods) and top-down processes (nanolithography and etching), as well as characterization methods that present advanced techniques for characterizing the physical, chemical, and structural properties of nanomaterials and nanoscale structures, including electron microscopy, spectroscopy, and surface analysis.

We are interested in exploring the unique properties of nanomaterials and how they can be harnessed for various applications, such as electronics, photonics, energy storage, harvesting, sensing, and catalysis. This Special Issue will cover emerging trends and breakthroughs in the field, such as two-dimensional materials like graphene, quantum dots, nanoparticle-based therapies, and advancements in nanoelectronics. We also encourage theoretical and computational approaches, including papers on theoretical modeling and computational simulations of nanomaterials and their behavior.  

We welcome papers that combine research in UV and IR sensing and advanced growth techniques. This Special Issue will explore the applications of nanomaterials in optical sensing through novel device designs and quantum-well IR photodetectors. It will also address the applications of the phenomenon of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) in biosensing and chemical sensing. Furthermore, the intricate modeling of PVD and CVD growth processes of nanomaterials will also be addressed by exploring the control of material properties, and ultimately fostering breakthroughs in areas from photonics to materials science.   

Dr. Zahira El Khalidi
Prof. Dr. Elisabetta Comini
Dr. Abderrahim Moumen
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Crystals 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 2100 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

  • nanomaterials and nanostructures
  • growth and elaboration methods
  • characterization techniques
  • modeling and simulation
  • power electronics
  • sensors
  • composites
  • growth processing modeling
  • surface plasmon resonance
  • IR and UV imaging

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 4683 KiB  
Article
Syzygium aromaticum Bud Extracted Core–Shell Ag–Fe Bimetallic Nanoparticles: Phytotoxic, Antioxidant, Insecticidal, and Antibacterial Properties
by Farah Murtaza, Naseem Akhter, Muhammad Azam Qamar, Asma Yaqoob, Anis Ahmad Chaudhary, Bhagyashree R. Patil, Salah Ud-Din Khan, Nasir Adam Ibrahim, Nosiba S. Basher, Mohammed Saad Aleissa, Iqra Kanwal and Mohd Imran
Crystals 2024, 14(6), 510; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst14060510 - 27 May 2024
Viewed by 1153
Abstract
Today, there is the roar of sustainable material development around the globe. Green nanotechnology is one of the extensions of sustainability. Due to its sustainable approach, the green fabrication of nanoparticles has recently surpassed their classical synthesis in popularity. Among metal nanoparticles, contemporary [...] Read more.
Today, there is the roar of sustainable material development around the globe. Green nanotechnology is one of the extensions of sustainability. Due to its sustainable approach, the green fabrication of nanoparticles has recently surpassed their classical synthesis in popularity. Among metal nanoparticles, contemporary findings have demonstrated that bimetallic nanoparticles possess more potential for different applications than monometallic nanoparticles due to the synergistic effects of the two metals. So, we are presenting facile, one-vessel, and one-step phyto-fabrication of Ag–Fe BMNPs using the bud extract of Syzygiumaromaticum. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by UV-VIS, XRD, EDX, FTIR, and SEM. The synthesized NPs and the extract underwent biological studies. The radical scavenging potential of the NPs and the extract was found to be 64% and 73%, and the insecticidal potential was found to be 80% and 100%, respectively. Similarly, the NPs and the extract both exhibited good antibacterial activity. The zone of inhibition using 100 mg/mL of extract and NPs was found to be 1 cm against all bacterial species, i.e., K. pneumonia, E. coli, and S. aureus. It was 1.5 cm, 1.3 cm, and 1 cm against K. pneumonia, E. coli, and S. aureus, respectively, showing that the antibacterial activity of the extract is higher than that of the NPs. So, this study unlocks the synthesis of Ag–Fe bimetallic nanoparticles using eco-safe, cost-effective, facile, and least-harmful green methodology with potential applications of both NPs and SA extract in medical and agricultural fields, a step towards sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metal Oxide Thin Films, Nanomaterials and Nanostructures)
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20 pages, 10466 KiB  
Article
Manufacturing of TiO2, Al2O3 and Y2O3 Ceramic Nanotubes for Application as Electrodes for Printable Electrochemical Sensors
by Alexandru Florentin Trandabat, Romeo Cristian Ciobanu, Oliver Daniel Schreiner, Mihaela Aradoaei and Sebastian Teodor Aradoaei
Crystals 2024, 14(5), 454; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst14050454 - 11 May 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1244
Abstract
This paper describes the process to obtain ceramic nanotubes from titanium dioxide, alumina and yttrium oxide by a feasible, replicable and reliable technology, including three stages, starting from an electrospinning process of poly(methyl methacrylate) solutions. A minimum diameter of 0.3 μm was considered [...] Read more.
This paper describes the process to obtain ceramic nanotubes from titanium dioxide, alumina and yttrium oxide by a feasible, replicable and reliable technology, including three stages, starting from an electrospinning process of poly(methyl methacrylate) solutions. A minimum diameter of 0.3 μm was considered optimal for PMMA nanofibers in order to maintain the structural stability of covered fibers, which, after ceramic film deposition, leads to a fiber diameter of 0.5–0.6 μm. After a chemical and physical analysis of the stages of obtaining ceramic nanotubes, in all cases, uniform deposition of a ceramic film on PMMA fibers and, finally, a uniform structure of ceramic nanotubes were noted. The technological purpose was to use such nanotubes as ingredients in screen-printing inks for electrochemical sensors, because no study directly targeted the subject of ceramic nanotube applications for printed electronics to date. The printing technology was analyzed in terms of the ink deposition process, printed electrode roughness vs. type of ceramic nanotubes, derived inks, thermal curing of the electrodes and the conductivity of electrodes on different support (rigid and flexible) at different curing temperatures. The experimental inks containing ceramic nanotubes can be considered feasible for printed electronics, because they offer fast curing at low temperatures, reasonable conductivity vs. electrode length, good printability on both ceramic or plastic (flexible) supports and good adhesion to surface after curing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metal Oxide Thin Films, Nanomaterials and Nanostructures)
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13 pages, 3401 KiB  
Article
Effect of Precursors Concentrations on the Photocatalysis Performance Stability of Electrodeposited ZnO Nanorods and Their Robustness in Aqueous Environments
by Abdullah S. Alshammari, Mansour Mohamed, Ziaul Raza Khan, Mohamed Bouzidi and Mohamed Gandouzi
Crystals 2024, 14(5), 393; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst14050393 - 24 Apr 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 990
Abstract
ZnO nanostructured materials have been widely utilized in several environmental depollution applications. In the current work, ZnO nanorods were grown using the electrodeposition method with different precursor concentrations. A variation in the dimensions of the nanorods grown with the different precursor concentrations was [...] Read more.
ZnO nanostructured materials have been widely utilized in several environmental depollution applications. In the current work, ZnO nanorods were grown using the electrodeposition method with different precursor concentrations. A variation in the dimensions of the nanorods grown with the different precursor concentrations was noticed, as expected. The ability of the fabricated nanorods to remove water pollutants under UV irradiation and their photocatalytic performance stability was also evaluated over a prolonged period of time. Interestingly, the samples grown in different conditions exhibited different capabilities to maintain their morphology and their photocatalytic performance after they were kept in contaminated water for a long time. Moreover, some samples also were found to remain photocatalytically active for approximately 47% longer than other samples. These findings indicate that the performance stability of ZnO nanorods for pollutants removal and their robustness can be greatly improved by controlling their growth parameters, which will favorably impact the use of ZnO nanorods for water-treatment applications and their economic aspects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metal Oxide Thin Films, Nanomaterials and Nanostructures)
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15 pages, 5732 KiB  
Article
Microstructure Effects on Anodizing High-Silicon Aluminium Alloy AlSi12Cu1(Fe) under Various Surface Conditions and Power Modes
by Emel Razzouk, Dániel Koncz-Horváth and Tamás I. Török
Crystals 2024, 14(4), 352; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst14040352 - 9 Apr 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1320
Abstract
This study investigates the impact of the surface characteristics and the inner close-to-surface characteristics of die-cast Al-Si-Cu alloy on the anodizing process under steady-state voltage and current modes. Samples of industrial-pressure die-cast aluminium–silicon alloy AlSi12Cu1(Fe) underwent anodization in as-die-cast surface conditions and after [...] Read more.
This study investigates the impact of the surface characteristics and the inner close-to-surface characteristics of die-cast Al-Si-Cu alloy on the anodizing process under steady-state voltage and current modes. Samples of industrial-pressure die-cast aluminium–silicon alloy AlSi12Cu1(Fe) underwent anodization in as-die-cast surface conditions and after surface-grinding operations with material removal of 0.1, 0.5, and 1 mm. After surface grinding operations, the anodic layer thickness was significantly greater when subjected to a steady-state voltage of 35 V compared to that formed under a steady-state voltage of 20 V, showing an increase in the range of 2 to 2.5 times more than the thickness at 20 V. Additionally, anodizing under steady-state current mode (1.6 A·dm−2) yielded thicker layers compared to steady-state voltage mode (35 V, 1.6 A·dm−2 max) across all surface states (as-cast, ground). SEM-EDS analysis with element mapping revealed the subsequent effects of element distribution on anodic layer growth and structure. Grinding prior to anodization resulted in larger cavity sizes and lengths, attributed to microstructural variations induced by grinding. Grinding also exposed areas with slower solidification rates, fostering a homogeneous Al phase that facilitated enhanced oxide growth. Moreover, the formation of oxide was directly correlated with the presence of alloying elements, particularly silicon particles, which influenced the presence of the unanodized aluminium regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metal Oxide Thin Films, Nanomaterials and Nanostructures)
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