The purpose of our best paper awards is to promote and recognize the most impactful contributions published within MDPI journals.

The editors of each journal have carefully selected reviews and research papers through a rigorous judging process based on criteria such as the scientific merit, overall impact and the quality of presentation of the papers published in the journal.

We are honored to present the winners announced in 2022 in chemistry and materials science, who were selected among an extensive competition, and congratulate the authors for their outstanding scientific publications. MDPI will continue to provide support and recognition for the academic community.

C:

• “Biochar and Energy Production: Valorizing Swine Manure through Coupling Co-Digestion and Pyrolysis”
  by Rubén González, Judith González, José G. Rosas, Richard Smith and Xiomar Gómez
  C 2020, 6(2), 43; https://doi.org/10.3390/c6020043

Coatings:

• “Introduction to Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation—An Overview of the Process and Applications”
  by Frank Simchen, Maximilian Sieber, Alexander Kopp and Thomas Lampke
  Coatings 2020, 10(7), 628; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings10070628

• “First Insights into Photocatalytic Degradation of HDPE and LDPE Microplastics by a Mesoporous N–TiO2 Coating: Effect of Size and Shape of Microplastics”
  by Brenda Estefanía Llorente-García, Juan Manuel Hernández-López, Antonio Alberto Zaldívar-Cadena, Cristina Siligardi and Erika Iveth Cedillo-González
  Coatings 2020, 10(7), 658; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings10070658

Fibers:

• “U-Jacketing Applications of Fiber-Reinforced Polymers in Reinforced Concrete T-Beams against Shear—Tests and Design”
  by Constantin E. Chalioris, Adamantis G. Zapris and Chris G. Karayannis
  Fibers 2020, 8(2), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/fib8020013

• “Laser Sources Based on Rare-Earth Ion Doped Tellurite Glass Fibers and Microspheres”
  by Elena A. Anashkina
  Fibers 2020, 8(5), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/fib8050030

Inorganics:

• “Magnetic Materials and Systems: Domain Structure Visualization and Other Characterization Techniques for Application in Materials Science and Biomedicine”
  by Roberto Nisticò, Federico Cesano and Francesca Garello
  Inorganics 2020, 8(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/inorganics8010006

• “Magnetic Composite Submicron Carriers with Structure-Dependent MRI Contrast”
  by Anastasiia A. Kozlova, Sergey V. German, Vsevolod S. Atkin, Victor V. Zyev, Maxwell A. Astle, Daniil N. Bratashov, Yulia I. Svenskaya and Dmitry A. Gorin
  Inorganics 2020, 8(2), 11; https://doi.org/10.3390/inorganics8020011

• “A Partial Anion Disorder in SrVO₂H Induced by Biaxial Tensile Strain”
  by Morito Namba, Hiroshi Takatsu, Wataru Yoshimune, Aurélien Daniel, Shoichi Itoh, Takahito Terashima and Hiroshi Kageyama
  Inorganics 2020, 8(4), 26; https://doi.org/10.3390/inorganics8040026

Magnetochemistry:

• “Magnetic Nanoparticle Systems for Nanomedicine—A Materials Science Perspective”
  by Vlad Socoliuc, Davide Peddis, Viktor I. Petrenko, Mikhail V. Avdeev, Daniela Susan-Resiga, Tamas Szabó, Rodica Turcu, Etelka Tombácz and Ladislau Vékás
  Magnetochemistry 2020, 6(1), 2; https://doi.org/10.3390/magnetochemistry6010002

• “Magnetite (Fe₃O₄) Nanoparticles in Biomedical Application: From Synthesis to Surface Functionalisation”
  by Lokesh Srinath Ganapathe, Mohd Ambri Mohamed, Rozan Mohamad Yunus and Dilla Duryha Berhanuddin
  Magnetochemistry 2020, 6(4), 68; https://doi.org/10.3390/magnetochemistry6040068

• “Saturation of Specific Absorption Rate for Soft and Hard Spinel Ferrite Nanoparticles Synthesized by Polyol Process”
  by Cristian Iacovita, Gabriela Fabiola Stiufiuc, Roxana Dudric, Nicoleta Vedeanu, Romulus Tetean, Rares Ionut Stiufiuc and Constantin Mihai Lucaciu
  Magnetochemistry 2020, 6(2), 23; https://doi.org/10.3390/magnetochemistry6020023

• “False Chirality, Absolute Enantioselection and CP Violation: Pierre Curie’s Legacy”
  by Laurence D. Barron
  Magnetochemistry 2020, 6(1), 5; https://doi.org/10.3390/magnetochemistry6010005         

Materials:

• “A Broadband Tunable Terahertz Metamaterial Absorber Based on Single-Layer Complementary Gammadion-Shaped Graphene”
  by Fu Chen, Yongzhi Cheng and Hui Luo
  Materials 2020, 13(4), 860; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13040860

• “3-D Printed Protective Equipment during COVID-19 Pandemic”
  by Christian Wesemann, Stefano Pieralli, Tobias Fretwurs, Julian Nold, Katja Nelson, Rainer Schmelzeisen, Elmar Hellwig and Benedikt Christopher Spies
  Materials 2020, 13(8), 1997; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13081997

• “On the Vibrations and Stability of Moving Viscoelastic Axially Functionally Graded Nanobeams”
  by Ali Shariati, Dong won Jun, Hamid Mohammad-Sedighi, Krzysztof Kamil Żur, Mostafa Habibi and Maryam Safa
  Materials 2020, 13(7), 1707; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13071707

• “Brief History of Early Lithium Battery Development”
  by Mogalahalli V. Reddy, Alain Mauger, Christian M. Julien, Andrea Paolella and Karim Zaghib
  Materials, 2020, 13(8), 1884; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13081884

• “Face Masks and Respirators in the Fight Against the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review of Current Materials, Advances and Future Perspectives”
  by Kris O’Dowd, Keerthi M. Nair, Parnia Forouzandeh, Snehamol Mathew, Jamie Gran, Ruth Moran, John Bartlet, Jerry Bird and Suresh C. Pillai
  Materials 2020, 13(15), 3363; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13153363

• “Recent Trends in the Use of Pectin from Agro-Waste Residues as a Natural-Based Biopolymer for Food Packaging Applications”
  by Cristina Mellinas, Marina Ramos, Alfonso Jiménez and María Carmen Garrigós
  Materials 2020, 13(3), 673; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13030673

Membranes:

• “Membrane Technologies in Wastewater Treatment: A Review”
  by Elorm Obotey Ezugbe and Sudesh Rathilal
  Membranes 2020, 10(5), 89; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10050089

• “Development of Hydrophilic PVDF Membrane Using Vapour Induced Phase Separation Method for Produced Water Treatment”
  by Muhammad Roil Bilad, Normi Izati Mat Nawi, Min Chean Ho, Norazanita Shamsuddin, Thanitporn Narkkun, Kajornsak Faungnawakij and Asim Laeeq Khan
  Membranes 2020, 10(6), 121; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10060121

Molecules:

• “Polymeric Nanoparticles: Production, Characterization, Toxicology and Ecotoxicology”
  by Aleksandra Zielińska, Filipa Carreiró, Ana M. Oliveira, Andreia Neves, Bárbara Pires, D. Nagasamy Venkatesh, Alessandra Durazzo, Massimo Lucarini, Piotr Eder, Amélia M. Silva et al.
  Molecules 2020, 25(16), 3731; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25163731

• “Nanomaterials for Wound Dressings: An Up-to-Date Overview”
  by Alexandra Elena Stoica, Cristina Chircov and Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu
  Molecules 2020, 25(11), 2699; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25112699

• “PROTACs and Building Blocks: The 2D Chemical Space in Very Early Drug Discovery”
  by Giuseppe Ermondi, Diego Garcia-Jimenez and Giulia Caron
  Molecules 2021, 26(3), 672; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26030672

• “LncMirNet: Predicting LncRNA–miRNA Interaction Based on Deep Learning of Ribonucleic Acid Sequences”
  by Sen Yang, Yan Wang, Yu Lin, Dan Shao, Kai He and Lan Huang
  Molecules 2020, 25(19), 4372; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25194372

• “Merging Ligand-Based and Structure-Based Methods in Drug Discovery: An Overview of Combined Virtual Screening Approaches”
  by Javier Vázquez, Manel López, Enric Gibert, Enric Herrero and F. Javier Luque
  Molecules 2020, 25(20), 4723; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25204723

• “The Protective Role of Butyrate against Obesity and Obesity-Related Diseases”
  by Serena Coppola, Carmen Avagliano, Antonio Calignano and Roberto Berni Canani
  Molecules 2021, 26(3), 682; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26030682

• “Cyanogenic Glycoside Analysis in American Elderberry”
  by Michael K. Appenteng, Ritter Krueger, Mitch C. Johnson, Harrison Ingold, Richard Bell, Andrew L. Thomas and C. Michael Greenlief
  Molecules 2021, 26(5), 1384; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26051384

• “Amygdalin: Toxicity, Anticancer Activity and Analytical Procedures for Its Determination in Plant Seeds”
  by Ewa Jaszczak-Wilke, Żaneta Polkowska, Marek Koprowski, Krzysztof Owsianik, Alyson E. Mitchell and Piotr Bałczewski
  Molecules 2021, 26(8), 2253; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26082253

Nanomaterials:

• “Perfect Dual-Band Absorber Based on Plasmonic Effect with the Cross-Hair/Nanorod Combination”
  by Yuan-Fong Chou Chau, Chung-Ting Chou Chao, Hung Ji Huang, Muhammad Raziq Rahimi Kooh, N. T. R. N. Kumara, Chee Ming Lim and Hai-Pang Chiang
  Nanomaterials 2020, 10(3), 493; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10030493

• “Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles: Prospects and Applications in Medicine”
  by Daniel Ziental, Beata Czarczynska-Goslinska, Dariusz T. Mlynarczyk, Arleta Glowacka-Sobotta, Beata Stanisz, Tomasz Goslinski and Lukasz Sobotta
  Nanomaterials 2020, 10(2), 387; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10020387

• “High Quality Factor, High Sensitivity Metamaterial Graphene—Perfect Absorber Based on Critical Coupling Theory and Impedance Matching”
  by Chunlian Cen, Zeqiang Chen, Danyang Xu, Liying Jiang, Xifang Chen, Zao Yi, Pinghui Wu, Gongfa Li and Yougen Yi
  Nanomaterials 2020, 10(1), 95; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10010095

• “An Overview of Micro- and Nanoemulsions as Vehicles for Essential Oils: Formulation, Preparation and Stability”
  by Lucia Pavoni, Diego Romano Perinelli, Giulia Bonacucina, Marco Cespi and Giovanni Filippo Palmieri
  Nanomaterials 2020, 10(1), 135; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10010135

• “Making Nd³⁺ a Sensitive Luminescent Thermometer for Physiological Temperatures—An Account of Pitfalls in Boltzmann Thermometry”
  by Markus Suta, Željka Antić, Vesna Ðorđević, Sanja Kuzman, Miroslav D. Dramićanin  and Andries Meijerink
  Nanomaterials 2020, 10(3), 543; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10030543

• “Metal-Based Nanoparticles as Antimicrobial Agents: An Overview”
  by Elena Sánchez-López, Daniela Gomes, Gerard Esteruelas, Lorena Bonilla, Ana Laura Lopez-Machado, Ruth Galindo, Amanda Cano, Marta Espina, Miren Ettcheto, Antoni Camins et al.
  Nanomaterials 2020, 10(2), 292; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10020292

Polymers:

• “Core–Shell Eudragit S100 Nanofibers Prepared via Triaxial Electrospinning to Provide a Colon-Targeted Extended Drug Release”
  by Yanfei Ding, Cheng Dou, Shuyue Chang, Zhengming Xie, Deng-Guang Yu, Yanan Liu and Jun Shao
  Polymers 2020, 12(9), 2034; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12092034

• “The Inhibition Property and Mechanism of a Novel Low Molecular Weight Zwitterionic Copolymer for Improving Wellbore Stability”
  by Weichao Du, Michal Slaný, Xiangyun Wang, Gang Chen and Jie Zhang
  Polymers 2020, 12(3), 708; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12030708

• “Solid Polymer Electrolytes with Flexible Framework of SiO₂ Nanofibers for Highly Safe Solid Lithium Batteries”
  by Jin Cui, Zehao Zhou, Mengyang Jia, Xin Chen, Chuan Shi, Ning Zhao and Xiangxin Guo
  Polymers 2020, 12(6), 1324; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12061324

• “Conducting Polymers in the Design of Biosensors and Biofuel Cells”
  by Simonas Ramanavicius and Arunas Ramanavicius
  Polymers 2021, 13(1), 49; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13010049

About MDPI Awards:

In order to reward the academic community, especially young researchers, and enhance communication among scientists, MDPI journals regularly offer various awards to researchers in specific fields. These awards, serving as a source of inspiration and recognition, help raise the influence of talented individuals who have been credited with outstanding achievements and are making a significant contribution to the advancement of their fields.

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