Surface Functionalization and Engineering for Advanced Materials

Dear Colleagues,

The interaction of a material with its environment largely depends on the surface chemistry, interfacial energy, roughness and surface micro/nano structure. It is normally the case that materials possess excellent bulk properties but do not show the suitable surface properties required for given applications. For this reason, the functionalization and the surface modification of materials are commonly used to confer particular properties not present in the pristine ones.

Surface modification refers to a wide range of processes leading to the alteration of the surface chemistry or of the surface morphology of a given material in order to impart properties tailored to specific applications.

The term “functionalization” refers to grafting desired chemical groups on the material surface, enabling the subsequent attachment of other, more or less complex objects. This process may be composed of several steps where, at any time, the surface is remodeled by adding chemical entities possessing specific reactivity towards precise chemical objects, specific polarity or steric properties. This sequence of steps is generally called surface engineering since one designs each of the modification steps to build a surface composed by elements all concurring to define the final properties and the way in which the material will interact with the environment.

As observed, the surface modification encompasses also the alteration of its morphology. This may occur at the micro- or at the nano-scale, thus affecting the interactions at different levels. In the first case, changes in the surface morphology influence the interactions on this length scale. For example, surface corrugation at the micro-scale influences the interaction with living organisms or the wettability of the surface. Modification of the morphology at the nano-level changes the surface interactions at the molecular level. Generally, in both cases, the modifications of the morphology are accompanied by changes in surface chemistry to enhance the desired properties.

For the vast implications involved, an important sector of surface science and technology is that regarding the surface modification techniques enabling the transformation of a wide range of materials into commercial products. For this reason, many processes have been developed to modify the material surface. This latter is commonly carried out through two classes of methods, namely the physical and the chemical modifications, which are selected also on the basis of the required application.

Modification of the surface morphology is used to tune the adhesion or antiadhesion properties, the hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity or to promote specific bonding with other species. These are key features in several applications, such as protective coatings, adhesion or anti-adhesion films and anti-friction and wear coatings. Functionalization leads to better coupling in composites, prepares surfaces for microelectronics and thin-film technology, is crucial for molding and lithography and to prepare technical fabrics and is a key step in biomaterials, in sensing and, in particular, in biosensing.

The aim of this Special Issue is to present a survey of some novel results, perspectives and applications of material surface functionalization with the intention of disseminating the experiences of leading scientists and offering non-conventional and emerging routes for the processing of materials and systems for advanced applications.

Dr. Giorgio Speranza
Dr. Mariangela Fedel
Dr. Luca Minati
Guest Editors

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• surface chemistry
• surface characterization
• surface engineering, sensing
• nanodevices, photonics
• heterostructures
• catalysts
• energy conversion and storage
• environment
• sensing
• nanodevices
• photonics
• nanocomposites
• membranes