Recent Advances in Metal Oxide Thin Films and Nanostructures for Diverse Applications

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "D:Materials and Processing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 454

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
1. Center for Plasma and Thin Film Technologies, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City 24301, Taiwan
2. Department of Physics and Biophysics, Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Can Tho 94000, Vietnam
Interests: metal oxide thin films and nanostructures; thermoelectric thin films; transparent conducting oxides; topological insulator materials; synthesis of nanomaterials; thin film growths; ultrafast dynamics in semiconductors; magnetoresistance; material characterizations
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We would like to invite you to submit your work to this Special Issue, focused on “Recent Advances in Metal Oxide Thin Films and Nanostructures for Diverse Applications”. This Special Issue aims to bring together papers with topics involved in thin film/coating depositions, synthesis, and characterizations of metal oxides (MOs).
The preparation techniques include molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), pulsed laser deposition (PLD), sputtering-based techniques (DC, RF, HiPIMS), thermal evaporation, ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP), spray coating, dip-coating, drop casting, electrospinning, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), anodizing oxidation, plasma electrolytic oxidation, etc., for growing MO thin films/coatings. In addition, MO nanostructures (e.g., nanoparticles, nanowires, nanofibers, nanosheets, nanobelts, nanoflowers, nanospheres) can be synthesized via various chemical approaches, such as precipitation, template-assisted fabrication, electrospinning, hydrothermal, microwave-assisted synthesis, reverse micelle, sol–gel techniques, a vapor phase approach, etc. 

The characterizations of MO materials could include the clarifications of crystal structures (XRD, HRTEM), morphology (AFM, SEM), composition–stoichiometry (EDS, XPS), Raman, electrochemical properties (HER, OER), photocatalyst and electrocatalyst, nanomechanical properties (nanoindentation), and many other functional properties. Metal oxide thin films and nanostructures have been extensively investigated for different applications, such as water remediation, photocatalysis, fuel cells, lithium-ion batteries, biomedical applications, sensing, electronic chips, memories, optoelectronics, etc.

This Special Issue aims to provide a snapshot of the state of the art in the preparations, characterizations, and applications of MO thin films and nanostructures.

In particular, the topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • MO thin film growths and characterization techniques;
  • Synthesis of MO nanostructures, properties, and applications;
  • Nanomechanical properties of MO thin films and nanostructures studied by the nanoindentation technique;
  • Photocatalytic degradation of pollutants and photoelectrochemical activity of MO thin films and nanostructures;
  • Functional properties and applications of MO thin films and nanostructures (e.g., HER, fuel cells, solar cells, hard coatings, antimicrobial activity, anti-bacteria, photodetectors, sensing, electronic devices, optoelectronics, memories, etc.);
  • Theory, modeling, atomistic simulation, and numerical analysis of MO thin films and nanostructures.

Dr. Phuoc Huu Le
Guest Editor

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. Micromachines 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

  • metal oxide thin films and nanostructures
  • thin film preparation and characterization
  • synthesis of metal oxide nanostructures
  • material processing conditions and properties
  • XRD, SEM, raman, electrochemistry, nanoindentation
  • applications metal oxides
  • molecular dynamics simulations

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

11 pages, 4954 KiB  
Article
Facile Preparation Method of TiO2/Activated Carbon for Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue
by Phuoc Huu Le, Tran Thi Thuy Vy, Vo Van Thanh, Duong Hoang Hieu, Quang-Thinh Tran, Ngoc-Van Thi Nguyen, Ngo Ngoc Uyen, Nguyen Thi Thu Tram, Nguyen Chi Toan, Ly Tho Xuan, Le Thi Cam Tuyen, Nguyen Trung Kien, Yu-Min Hu and Sheng-Rui Jian
Micromachines 2024, 15(6), 714; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15060714 - 29 May 2024
Viewed by 174
Abstract
The development of nanocomposite photocatalysts with high photocatalytic activity, cost-effectiveness, a simple preparation process, and scalability for practical applications is of great interest. In this study, nanocomposites of TiO2 Degussa P25 nanoparticles/activated carbon (TiO2/AC) were prepared at various mass ratios [...] Read more.
The development of nanocomposite photocatalysts with high photocatalytic activity, cost-effectiveness, a simple preparation process, and scalability for practical applications is of great interest. In this study, nanocomposites of TiO2 Degussa P25 nanoparticles/activated carbon (TiO2/AC) were prepared at various mass ratios of (4:1), (3:2), (2:3), and (1:4) by a facile process involving manual mechanical pounding, ultrasonic-assisted mixing in an ethanol solution, paper filtration, and mild thermal annealing. The characterization methods included XRD, SEM-EDS, Raman, FTIR, XPS, and UV-Vis spectroscopies. The effects of TiO2/AC mass ratios on the structural, morphological, and photocatalytic properties were systematically studied in comparison with bare TiO2 and bare AC. TiO2 nanoparticles exhibited dominant anatase and minor rutile phases and a crystallite size of approximately 21 nm, while AC had XRD peaks of graphite and carbon and a crystallite size of 49 nm. The composites exhibited tight decoration of TiO2 nanoparticles on micron-/submicron AC particles, and uniform TiO2/AC composites were obtained, as evidenced by the uniform distribution of Ti, O, and C in an EDS mapping. Moreover, Raman spectra show the typical vibration modes of anatase TiO2 (e.g., E1g(1), B1g(1), Eg(3)) and carbon materials with D and G bands. The TiO2/AC with (4:1), (3:2), and (2:3) possessed higher reaction rate constants (k) in photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) than that of either TiO2 or AC. Among the investigated materials, TiO2/AC = 4:1 achieved the highest photocatalytic activity with a high k of 55.2 × 10−3 min−1 and an MB removal efficiency of 96.6% after 30 min of treatment under UV-Vis irradiation (120 mW/cm2). The enhanced photocatalytic activity for TiO2/AC is due to the synergistic effect of the high adsorption capability of AC and the high photocatalytic activity of TiO2. Furthermore, TiO2/AC promotes the separation of photoexcited electron/hole (e/h+) pairs to reduce their recombination rate and thus enhance photocatalytic activity. The optimal TiO2/AC composite with a mass ratio of 4/1 is suggested for treating industrial or household wastewater with organic pollutants. Full article
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