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Graphene and Other 2D Layered Nanomaterials and Hybrid Structures: Synthesis, Properties and Applications (Volume II)

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Physics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 August 2024 | Viewed by 4155

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, University of Torino, Via P. Giuria, 7, 10125 Torino, Italy
Interests: 2D materials; carbons; oxides; polymers and their composite/hybrid materials and nanomaterials; piezoelectric and piezoresistive materials; functional materials; magnetic materials; interface and surface properties; microscopies and spectroscopies; electrical properties
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is dedicated to highlighting significant findings in the field of materials based on two-dimensional/layered systems, their hybrid structures, and composite materials. Graphene, together with a variety of newly developed 2D inorganic systems, has attracted a remarkable amount of attention due to its unprecedented properties/superior performance, encouraging its application in many fields. These two-dimensional systems are known for the fact that they are ultrathin, and hence, tend to be flexible, while also presenting nearly intrinsic and distinctive characteristics, including electronic, magnetic, optical, thermal conductivity, and superconducting properties. Furthermore, the combination of different structures and synergetic effects may open new and unprecedented perspectives, making these ideally assembled systems multifunctional and advanced materials. On this matter, significant examples come from the stacking together of 2D crystals, which can perfectly tune materials to the wavelengths of solar light. On the other hand, the ultralow sliding friction resulting from the contact between two crystalline materials or a crystalline material with a more disordered system makes superlubricity possible, which implies a reduction by orders of magnitude in friction compared to that measured for their 3D counterparts.

This Special Issue is primarily addressing two-dimensional (nano)structures and layered materials, from their syntheses/characterizations to their applications. Fundamental findings and theoretical studies contributing to the understanding of their basic principles are also welcomed.

The topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the preparation, properties, and applications of materials containing:

  • Few-layered materials;
  • Graphene and graphene-like systems (i.e., graphene oxide);
  • Transition metal dichalcogenides, carbides, nitrides, and carbonitrides;
  • Silicene, germanene, stanene, and phosphorene;
  • van der Waals heterostructures, and all-inorganic and organic–inorganic hybrids;
  • 2D organic framework systems and 2D polymers.

Prof. Dr. Federico Cesano
Prof. Dr. Domenica Scarano
Guest Editors

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. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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

  • 2D systems
  • graphene
  • graphene analogues
  • layered materials
  • hybrid structures
  • van der Waals heterostructures
  • synthesis
  • properties
  • characterization
  • applications

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 3073 KiB  
Article
Using Cu2O/ZnO as Two-Dimensional Hole/Electron Transport Nanolayers in Unleaded FASnI3 Perovskite Solar Cells
by Masood Mehrabian, Maryam Taleb-Abbasi and Omid Akhavan
Materials 2024, 17(5), 1064; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17051064 - 26 Feb 2024
Viewed by 599
Abstract
A Pb-free FASnI3 perovskite solar cell improved by using Cu2O/ZnO as two-dimensional-based hole/electron transport nanolayers has been proposed and studied by using a SCAPS-1D solar simulator. To calibrate our study, at first, an FTO/ZnO/MAPbI3/Cu2O/Au multilayer device [...] Read more.
A Pb-free FASnI3 perovskite solar cell improved by using Cu2O/ZnO as two-dimensional-based hole/electron transport nanolayers has been proposed and studied by using a SCAPS-1D solar simulator. To calibrate our study, at first, an FTO/ZnO/MAPbI3/Cu2O/Au multilayer device was simulated, and the numerical results (including a conversion efficiency of 6.06%, an open circuit potential of 0.76 V, a fill factor parameter of 64.91%, and a short circuit electric current density of 12.26 mA/cm2) were compared with the experimental results in the literature. Then, the conversion efficiency of the proposed FASnI3-based solar cell was found to improve to 7.83%. The depth profile energy levels, charge carrier concentrations, recombination rate of electron/hole pair, and the FASnI3 thickness-dependent solar cell efficiency were studied and compared with the results obtained for the MAPbI3-containing device (as a benchmark). Interestingly, the FASnI3 material required to obtain an optimized solar cell is one-half of the material required for an optimized MAPbI3-based device, with a thickness of 200 nm. These results indicate that developing more environmentally friendly perovskite solar cells is possible if suitable electron/hole transport layers are selected along with the upcoming Pb-free perovskite absorber layers. Full article
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8 pages, 2018 KiB  
Communication
STM Study of the Initial Stage of Gold Intercalation of Graphene on Ir(111)
by Vesna Mikšić Trontl, Ivan Jedovnicki and Petar Pervan
Materials 2023, 16(10), 3833; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16103833 - 19 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1228
Abstract
In this paper, we present a study of the sub-monolayer gold intercalation of graphene on Ir(111) using scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM). We found that Au islands grow following different kinetics than growth on Ir(111) without graphene. Graphene appears to increase the mobility of [...] Read more.
In this paper, we present a study of the sub-monolayer gold intercalation of graphene on Ir(111) using scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM). We found that Au islands grow following different kinetics than growth on Ir(111) without graphene. Graphene appears to increase the mobility of Au atoms by shifting the growth kinetics of Au islands from dendritic to a more compact shape. Graphene on top of intercalated gold exhibits a moiré superstructure, with parameters significantly different from graphene on Au(111) but almost identical to graphene on Ir(111). The intercalated Au monolayer shows a quasi-herringbone reconstruction with similar structural parameters as on Au(111). Full article
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19 pages, 4852 KiB  
Article
Combined DFT-D3 Computational and Experimental Studies on g-C3N4: New Insight into Structure, Optical, and Vibrational Properties
by Paolo Negro, Federico Cesano, Silvia Casassa and Domenica Scarano
Materials 2023, 16(10), 3644; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16103644 - 10 May 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1903
Abstract
Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has emerged as one of the most promising solar-light-activated polymeric metal-free semiconductor photocatalysts due to its thermal physicochemical stability but also its characteristics of environmentally friendly and sustainable material. Despite the challenging properties of g-C [...] Read more.
Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has emerged as one of the most promising solar-light-activated polymeric metal-free semiconductor photocatalysts due to its thermal physicochemical stability but also its characteristics of environmentally friendly and sustainable material. Despite the challenging properties of g-C3N4, its photocatalytic performance is still limited by the low surface area, together with the fast charge recombination phenomena. Hence, many efforts have been focused on overcoming these drawbacks by controlling and improving the synthesis methods. With regard to this, many structures including strands of linearly condensed melamine monomers, which are interconnected by hydrogen bonds, or highly condensed systems, have been proposed. Nevertheless, complete and consistent knowledge of the pristine material has not yet been achieved. Thus, to shed light on the nature of polymerised carbon nitride structures, which are obtained from the well-known direct heating of melamine under mild conditions, we combined the results obtained from XRD analysis, SEM and AFM microscopies, and UV-visible and FTIR spectroscopies with the data from the Density Functional Theory method (DFT). An indirect band gap and the vibrational peaks have been calculated without uncertainty, thus highlighting a mixture of highly condensed g-C3N4 domains embedded in a less condensed “melon-like” framework. Full article
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