Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
8.5
4.4
Journals
Nanomaterials
Special Issues
Functional Nanostructures: Exotic Metals and Semiconductors for a New Story
share announcement

Functional Nanostructures: Exotic Metals and Semiconductors for a New Story

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Synthesis, Interfaces and Nanostructures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2021) | Viewed by 8393

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Valentin A. Milichko

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Nano-Photonics & Metamaterials, ITMO University, 197101 St. Petersburg, Russia
2. Institut Jean Lamour, Université de Lorraine, UMR CNRS 7198, F-54011 Nancy, France
Interests: nanostructures; laser ablation; light–matter interaction; nonlinear optics; biophotonics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,                

Growing demands on the multifunctionality of different nanostructures have triggered interdisciplinary research efforts on material science and nanotechnology. In this sense, emerging exotic metals and semiconductors such as high entropy alloys (FeMnCrCoNi etc.), metal nitrides (TiN, ZrN, Si3N4, HfNbTiVZrN etc.), quasicrystals (Al62Cu25Fe12 etc.), and metal–dielectric hybrids (SiAu) are timely for the fabrication of novel functional nanostructures. Over the last few years, such nanostructures have attracted increasing attention in diverse application from catalysis, biosensing, and nonlinear optics to electronics. The technology of fabrication of exotic metal and semiconductor nanostructures is also in its infancy.

This Special Issue will highlight the latest advances in the design, fabrication, characterization, and application of exotic metal and semiconductor nanostructures (from thin films to nanoparticles). We invite researchers to submit their original research articles, letters, and reviews on fundamental and applied studies.

Dr. Valentin A. Milichko
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. Nanomaterials 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 2900 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

  • High entropy alloys
  • Metal nitrides
  • Quasicrystals
  • Hybrid nanoparticles
  • Plasmonics
  • Nonlinear optics
  • Catalysis
  • Thin films
  • Nanoparticles

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

9 pages, 5079 KiB  
Article
Metal-Assisted Chemical Etching for Anisotropic Deep Trenching of GaN Array
by Qi Wang, Kehong Zhou, Shuai Zhao, Wen Yang, Hongsheng Zhang, Wensheng Yan, Yi Huang and Guodong Yuan
Nanomaterials 2021, 11(12), 3179; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11123179 - 24 Nov 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2819
Abstract
Realizing the anisotropic deep trenching of GaN without surface damage is essential for the fabrication of GaN-based devices. However, traditional dry etching technologies introduce irreversible damage to GaN and degrade the performance of the device. In this paper, we demonstrate a damage-free, rapid [...] Read more.
Realizing the anisotropic deep trenching of GaN without surface damage is essential for the fabrication of GaN-based devices. However, traditional dry etching technologies introduce irreversible damage to GaN and degrade the performance of the device. In this paper, we demonstrate a damage-free, rapid metal-assisted chemical etching (MacEtch) method and perform an anisotropic, deep trenching of a GaN array. Regular GaN microarrays are fabricated based on the proposed method, in which CuSO4 and HF are adopted as etchants while ultraviolet light and Ni/Ag mask are applied to catalyze the etching process of GaN, reaching an etching rate of 100 nm/min. We comprehensively explore the etching mechanism by adopting three different patterns, comparing a Ni/Ag mask with a SiN mask, and adjusting the etchant proportion. Under the catalytic role of Ni/Ag, the GaN etching rate nearby the metal mask is much faster than that of other parts, which contributes to the formation of deep trenches. Furthermore, an optimized etchant is studied to restrain the disorder accumulation of excessive Cu particles and guarantee a continuous etching result. Notably, our work presents a novel low-cost MacEtch method to achieve GaN deep etching at room temperature, which may promote the evolution of GaN-based device fabrication. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Nanostructures: Exotic Metals and Semiconductors for a New Story)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

13 pages, 2595 KiB  
Article
Increased Crystallization of CuTCNQ in Water/DMSO Bisolvent for Enhanced Redox Catalysis
by Zakir Hussain, Ayman Nafady, Samuel R. Anderson, Abdullah M. Al-Enizi, Asma A. Alothman, Rajesh Ramanathan and Vipul Bansal
Nanomaterials 2021, 11(4), 954; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11040954 - 8 Apr 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2318
Abstract
Controlling the kinetics of CuTCNQ (TCNQ = 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane) crystallization has been a major challenge, as CuTCNQ crystallizing on Cu foil during synthesis in conventional solvents such as acetonitrile simultaneously dissolves into the reaction medium. In this work, we address this challenge by using [...] Read more.
Controlling the kinetics of CuTCNQ (TCNQ = 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane) crystallization has been a major challenge, as CuTCNQ crystallizing on Cu foil during synthesis in conventional solvents such as acetonitrile simultaneously dissolves into the reaction medium. In this work, we address this challenge by using water as a universal co-solvent to control the kinetics of crystallization and growth of phase I CuTCNQ. Water increases the dielectric constant of the reaction medium, shifting the equilibrium toward CuTCNQ crystallization while concomitantly decreasing the dissolution of CuTCNQ. This allows more CuTCNQ to be controllably crystallized on the surface of the Cu foil. Different sizes of CuTCNQ crystals formed on Cu foil under different water/DMSO admixtures influence the solvophilicity of these materials. This has important implications in their catalytic performance, as water-induced changes in the surface properties of these materials can make them highly hydrophilic, which allows the CuTCNQ to act as an efficient catalyst as it brings the aqueous reactants in close vicinity of the catalyst. Evidently, the CuTCNQ synthesized in 30% (v/v) water/DMSO showed superior catalytic activity for ferricyanide reduction with 95% completion achieved within a few minutes in contrast to CuTCNQ synthesized in DMSO that took over 92 min. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Nanostructures: Exotic Metals and Semiconductors for a New Story)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

8 pages, 1931 KiB  
Article
Electrically-Driven Zoom Metalens Based on Dynamically Controlling the Phase of Barium Titanate (BTO) Column Antennas
by Ning Xu, Yuan Hao, Kaiqian Jie, Shuai Qin, Hui Huang, Li Chen, Hongzhan Liu, Jianping Guo, Hongyun Meng, Faqiang Wang, Xiangbo Yang and Zhongchao Wei
Nanomaterials 2021, 11(3), 729; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11030729 - 14 Mar 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2681
Abstract
The zoom metalens has been a research hotspot for metasurfaces in recent years. There are currently a variety of zoom methods, including dual metalenses, micro-electromechanical system metalenses, polydimethylsiloxane metalenses and Alvarez metalenses. However, for most metalenses, zooming is achieved by manipulating the relative [...] Read more.
The zoom metalens has been a research hotspot for metasurfaces in recent years. There are currently a variety of zoom methods, including dual metalenses, micro-electromechanical system metalenses, polydimethylsiloxane metalenses and Alvarez metalenses. However, for most metalenses, zooming is achieved by manipulating the relative displacement of two or more metasurfaces. Therefore, these methods seem inadequate when faced with more precise zooming requirements, and the precise control of the phase distribution cannot be achieved. In this paper, we innovatively propose an electrically-driven zoom metalens (EZM) of one-dimensional based on dynamically controlling barium titanate (BaTiO3, BTO) antennas. Using the electro-optic effect of BTO crystals, we can apply a voltage to change the refractive index of BTO nanopillars (n = 2.4–3.6), thereby accurately controlling the phase distribution of column antennas. The proposed EZM can achieve 5× zoom (f = 10–50 μm), with advantages, such as high-speed optical amplitude modulation, ultra-compactness, flexibility and replicability. It can be applied in fields that require ultra-compact beam focusing, zoom imaging, and microscopic measuring. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Nanostructures: Exotic Metals and Semiconductors for a New Story)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop