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New Insight into Design and Properties of Nanomaterials

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 27176

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Sergei A. Kulinich

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Guest Editor

Research Institute of Science and Technology, Tokai University, Hiratsuka 259-1292, Kanagawa, Japan
Interests: superhydrophobicity; hydrophobic and superhydrophobic surfaces; ice-phobicity; anti-icing; hydrophilicity; laser ablation in liquid; nanomaterials and their characterization; thin films and coatings; anticorrosive coatings on aluminum; conversion coatings on aluminum; chemiresistive gas sensors; semiconductor nanoparticles
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Valery A. Svetlichnyi

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Co-Guest Editor

Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Technology, Siberian Physical-Technical Institute, Tomsk State University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
Interests: high-power laser excitation; pulsed laser ablation; laser spectroscopy; nonlinear optics of dyes and crystals; synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials; photocatalysis; biomedical applications of nanoparticles; surface and sensoric properties of nanostructures
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Neli Mintcheva

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Co-Guest Editor

Department of Chemistry, University of Mining and Geology, 1700 Sofia, Bulgaria
Interests: photocatalysis; semiconductor nanomaterials and their characterization; laser ablation in liquid; metallic nanoparticles; waste water treatment; wet chemistry synthesis; coordination compounds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nanomaterials comprise a large part of recent research and are milestones of nanoscience and nanotechnology. They have a broad area of development which never stops growing. Their impact on modern industry is huge, also boosting both academia and education. Thus synthesis of novel nanomaterials, aiming at new potential applications, is a fundamental part of development of high-tech industry and implementation of scientific achievements in our daily life.

The goal of the current Special Issue on New Insights into Design and Properties of Nanomaterials is to attract manuscripts that present state-of-the-art studies on preparation of novel nanomaterials with a wide range of applications, from optics and optoelectronics, to photovoltaics, catalysis, sensing, biomedicine and so on. We also welcome reports on new, or modified, approaches that lead to new nanomaterials with enhanced properties, as well as on new techniques that help to achieve such nanomaterials.

The articles will cover new approaches to preparation and characterization which permit to smoothen the route from design to realization of nanostructures with properties highly anticipated for various applications. Alghough all reports about nanomaterials prepared by means of physical, chemical and even biological processes are appreciated as contributions, special attention will be paid to products prepared via environment-friendly and reagent-saving methods. Experimental and computational studies that reveal the relationship between structure and properties, and then demonstrate synthesis of nanomaterials with desired structure and properties, are especially welcome.

In addition to more conventional inorganic nanomaterials, research on directed synthesis of molecular nanostructures (such as supramolecular assemblies, molecular frameworks, etc.) is also expected to enrich the content of this issue. Besides, understanding of how the use of molecular precursors may govern composition, morphology, and surface chemistry of nanomaterials will also meet the objectives of this project.

In summary, this Special Issue welcomes communications, full papers and reviews from all researchers working on novel nanomaterials, from their design to synthesis, characterization, and applications.

Prof. Sergei A. Kulinich
Assoc. Prof. Valery A. Svetlichnyi
Assoc. Prof. Neli Mintcheva
Guest Editors

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. 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

Novel nanomaterials
Molecular nanostructures
Physical, chemical, and biological methods for nanomaterial preparation
Optical, photovoltaic, catalytic, sensing, antibacterial properties
Structure-properties relationship

Related Special Issue

New Insight into Design and Properties of Nanomaterials II in Materials (8 articles)

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 12241 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The In Situ Hydrothermal and Microwave Syntheses of Zinc Oxides for Functional Cement Composites

by Izabela Klapiszewska, Adam Kubiak, Anna Parus, Marcin Janczarek and Agnieszka Ślosarczyk

Materials 2022, 15(3), 1069; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15031069 - 29 Jan 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 1972

Abstract

This study presents the results of research on cement mortars amended with two zinc oxides obtained by two different methods: hydrothermal ZnO-H and microwave ZnO-M. Our work indicates that, in contrast to spherical ZnO-H, ZnO-M was characterized by a columnar particle habit with a BET surface area of 8 m²/g, which was four times higher than that obtained for hydrothermally obtained zinc oxide. In addition, ZnO-M induced much better antimicrobial resistance, which was also reported in cement mortar with this oxide. Both zinc oxides showed very good photocatalytic properties, as demonstrated by the 4-chlorophenol degradation test. The reaction efficiency was high, reaching the level of 90%. However, zinc oxides significantly delayed the cement binder setting: ZnO-H by 430 min and ZnO-M by 380 min. This in turn affected the increments in compressive strength of the produced mortars. No significant change in compressive strength was observed on the first day of setting, while significant changes in the strengths of mortars with both zinc oxides were observed later after 7 and 28 days of hardening. As of these times, the compressive strengths were about 13–15.5% and 12–13% higher than the corresponding values for the reference mortar, respectively, for ZnO-H and ZnO-M. There were no significant changes in plasticity and flexural strength of mortars amended with both zinc oxides. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insight into Design and Properties of Nanomaterials)

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17 pages, 7307 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Green Synthesis of Stable Spherical Monodisperse Silver Nanoparticles Using a Cell-Free Extract of Trichoderma reesei

by Orlin Gemishev, Marinela Panayotova, Gospodinka Gicheva and Neli Mintcheva

Materials 2022, 15(2), 481; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15020481 - 09 Jan 2022

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 2792

Abstract

In the current study, a green method for the preparation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is presented as an alternative to conventional chemical and physical approaches. A biomass of Trichoderma reesei (T. reesei) fungus was used as a green and renewable source of reductase enzymes and metabolites, which are capable of transforming Ag⁺ ions into AgNPs with a small size (mainly 2–6 nm) and narrow size distribution (2–25 nm). Moreover, extracellular biosynthesis was carried out with a cell-free water extract (CFE) of T. reesei, which allows for facile monitoring of the bioreduction process using UV–Vis spectroscopy and investigation of the effect of experimental conditions on the transformation of Ag⁺ ions into AgNPs, as well as the simple isolation of as-prepared AgNPs for the study of their size, morphology and antibacterial properties. In continuation to our previous results about the influence of media on T. reesei cultivation, the amount of biomass used for CFE preparation and the concentration of Ag⁺ ion solution, herein, we present the impact of temperature (4, 20, 30 and 40 °C), agitation and time duration on the biosynthesis of AgNPs and their properties. A high stability of AgNPs in aqueous colloids was observed and attributed to the capping effect of the biomolecules as shown by the zeta potential (−49.0/−51.4 mV) and confirmed by the hydrodynamic size of 190.8/116.8 nm of AgNPs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insight into Design and Properties of Nanomaterials)

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14 pages, 3613 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Exchangeable Ions in Natural and Modified Zeolites on Ag Content, Ag Nanoparticle Formation and Their Antibacterial Activity

by Neli Mintcheva, Marinela Panayotova, Gospodinka Gicheva, Orlin Gemishev and Georgy Tyuliev

Materials 2021, 14(15), 4153; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14154153 - 26 Jul 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1712

Abstract

To broaden the application of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), which are well-known antibacterial agents, they are supported on different substrates to prevent aggregation, increase their surface area and antibacterial efficiency, and to be separated from the system more effectively at the end of treatment. To produce nanocomposites that consist of silver nanoparticles on natural and modified zeolites, silver ions (Ag⁺) were loaded onto zeolite (natural, Na-modified, H-modified) and then thermally reduced to AgNPs. The effect of the exchangeable cations in zeolite on Ag⁺ uptake, AgNPs formation, size and morphology was investigated by the TEM, SEM, EDX, XPS, UV-vis, XRD and BET methods. The silver amount in the nanocomposites decreased in the following order Na-modified zeolite > natural zeolite > H-modified zeolite. Microscopic techniques showed formation of AgNPs of 1–14 nm on natural and Na-modified zeolite, while the diameter of metal particles on H-modified zeolite was 12–42 nm. Diffuse reflectance UV-vis and XPS methods revealed the presence of both silver ions and AgNPs in the materials indicating that partial reduction of Ag⁺ ions took place upon heating at 400 °C in air. Additionally, antibacterial properties of the nanocomposites were tested against Escherichia coli, and it was found that Ag–containing composites originating from the Na-modified zeolite demonstrated the highest activity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insight into Design and Properties of Nanomaterials)

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18 pages, 3558 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Bimetallic AgPd/UiO-66 Hybrid Catalysts for Propylene Glycol Oxidation into Lactic Acid

by Sergey Ten, Viktoriia V. Torbina, Vladimir I. Zaikovskii, Sergei A. Kulinich and Olga V. Vodyankina

Materials 2020, 13(23), 5471; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13235471 - 30 Nov 2020

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2477

Abstract

Different methods (the wetness impregnation of Ag and Pd precursors dissolved in water or acetonitrile solution, and the double solvent impregnation technique) were employed to immobilize Ag–Pd nanoparticles (NPs) into the pores of the microporous zirconium-based metal-organic framework known as UiO-66. The obtained materials were characterized by using nitrogen adsorption-desorption at −196 °C, powder X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis diffusion reflectance spectroscopy, and transition electron microscopy measurements. Special attention was paid to the acid and redox properties of the obtained materials, which were studied by using temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia (TPD-NH₃) and temperature-programmed reduction (TPR-H₂) methods. The use of a drying procedure prior to reduction was found to result in metallic NPs which, most likely, formed on the external surface and were larger than corresponding voids of the metal-organic framework. The formation of Ag–Pd alloy or monometallic Ag and Pd depended on the nature of both metal precursors and the impregnation solvent used. Catalytic activity of the AgPd/UiO-66 materials in propylene glycol oxidation was found to be a result of synergistic interaction between the components in AgPd alloyed NPs immobilized in the pore space and on the external surface of UiO-66. The key factor for consistent transformation of propylene glycol into lactic acid was the proximity between redox and acid-base species. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insight into Design and Properties of Nanomaterials)

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10 pages, 4928 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Large-Scale and Localized Laser Crystallization of Optically Thick Amorphous Silicon Films by Near-IR Femtosecond Pulses

by Kirill Bronnikov, Alexander Dostovalov, Artem Cherepakhin, Eugeny Mitsai, Alexander Nepomniaschiy, Sergei A. Kulinich, Alexey Zhizhchenko and Aleksandr Kuchmizhak

Materials 2020, 13(22), 5296; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13225296 - 23 Nov 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2984

Abstract

Amorphous silicon (

α

-Si) film present an inexpensive and promising material for optoelectronic and nanophotonic applications. Its basic optical and optoelectronic properties are known to be improved via phase transition from amorphous to polycrystalline phase. Infrared femtosecond laser radiation can be considered [...] Read more.

Amorphous silicon (

α

α

-Si films that are typically opaque in UV-visible spectral range. However, so far only a few studies reported on use of near-IR radiation for laser-induced crystallization of

α

-Si providing less information regarding optical properties of the resultant polycrystalline Si films demonstrating rather high surface roughness. The present work demonstrates efficient and gentle single-pass crystallization of

α

-Si films induced by their direct irradiation with near-IR femtosecond laser pulses coming at sub-MHz repetition rate. Comprehensive analysis of morphology and composition of laser-annealed films by atomic-force microscopy, optical, micro-Raman and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, as well as numerical modeling of optical spectra, confirmed efficient crystallization of

α

-Si and high-quality of the obtained films. Moreover, we highlight localized laser-induced crystallization of

α

-Si as a promising way for optical information encryption, anti-counterfeiting and fabrication of micro-optical elements. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insight into Design and Properties of Nanomaterials)

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13 pages, 2704 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fluorination of Diamond Nanoparticles in Slow Neutron Reflectors Does Not Destroy Their Crystalline Cores and Clustering While Decreasing Neutron Losses

by Alexei Bosak, Artur Dideikin, Marc Dubois, Oleksandr Ivankov, Egor Lychagin, Alexei Muzychka, Grigory Nekhaev, Valery Nesvizhevsky, Alexander Nezvanov, Ralf Schweins, Alexander Strelkov, Alexander Vul’ and Kirill Zhernenkov

Materials 2020, 13(15), 3337; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13153337 - 27 Jul 2020

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2104

Abstract

If the wavelength of radiation and the size of inhomogeneities in the medium are approximately equal, the radiation might be intensively scattered in the medium and reflected from its surface. Such efficient nanomaterial reflectors are of great scientific and technological interest. In previous works, we demonstrated a significant improvement in the efficiency of reflection of slow neutrons from a powder of diamond nanoparticles by replacing hydrogen located on the surface of nanoparticles with fluorine and removing the residual sp² amorphous shells of nanoparticles via the fluorination process. In this paper, we study the mechanism of this improvement using a set of complementary experimental techniques. To analyze the data on a small-angle scattering of neutrons and X-rays in powders of diamond nanoparticles, we have developed a model of discrete-size diamond nanospheres. Our results show that fluorination does not destroy either the crystalline cores of nanoparticles or their clustering in the scale range of 0.6–200 nm. This observation implies that it does not significantly affect the neutron scattering properties of the powder. We conclude that the overall increase in reflectivity from the fluorinated nanodiamond powder is primarily due to the large reduction of neutron losses in the powder caused by the removal of hydrogen contaminations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insight into Design and Properties of Nanomaterials)

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14 pages, 5123 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigation of Thermal Transport in Multi-Shaped Cu Nanomaterial-Based Nanofluids

by Adnan, Syed Zulfiqar Ali Zaidi, Umar Khan, Thabet Abdeljawad, Naveed Ahmed, Syed Tauseef Mohyud-Din, Ilyas Khan and Kottakkaran Sooppy Nisar

Materials 2020, 13(12), 2737; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13122737 - 17 Jun 2020

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 1738

Abstract

The unsteady flow of H₂O saturated by tiny nanosized particles with various shapes (platelets, blades, cylinders, and bricks) over a thin slit is reported. For this novel analysis, the influences of the magnetic field and heat generation/absorption are incorporated into the governing model. The dimensionless nanofluid model is attained after the successful implementation of similarity transformations. Then, Runge-Kutta and homotopy analysis algorithms are implemented for mathematical analysis, and the results are obtained by varying the main flow parameters. A decrease in nanofluid motion is observed for a stronger magnetic field (M). Additionally, nanofluid temperature β(η) increases for higher values of M. Decreasing trends in the shear stresses Re_x^0.5C_Fx are observed for the unsteadiness parameter S, and this declines with stronger M. Similarly, the local heat transfer rate Re_x^−0.5N_ux rises with the unsteady behavior of the fluid. It is observed that the nanofluid motion drops for variable thickness (

λ

) of the slit, whereas the motion becomes slower with stronger magnetic field effects (M). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insight into Design and Properties of Nanomaterials)

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17 pages, 2870 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Highly Defective Dark Nano Titanium Dioxide: Preparation via Pulsed Laser Ablation and Application

by Elena D. Fakhrutdinova, Anastasiia V. Shabalina, Marina A. Gerasimova, Anna L. Nemoykina, Olga V. Vodyankina and Valery A. Svetlichnyi

Materials 2020, 13(9), 2054; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13092054 - 28 Apr 2020

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 3066

Abstract

The development of methods to synthesize and study the properties of dark titania is of the utmost interest due to prospects for its use, primarily in photocatalysis when excited by visible light. In this work, the dark titania powder was prepared by pulsed laser ablation (Nd:YAG laser, 1064 nm, 7 ns) in water and dried in air. To study the changes occurring in the material, the thermal treatment was applied. The structure, composition, and properties of the obtained powders were studied using transmission electron microscopy, low-temperature N₂ adsorption/desorption, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry/differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray photoelectron, Raman and UV-vis spectroscopies, and photoluminescence methods. The processes occurring in the initial material upon heating were studied. The electronic structure of the semiconductor materials was investigated, and the nature of the defects providing the visible light absorption was revealed. The photocatalytic and antibacterial activities of the materials obtained were also studied. Dark titania obtained via laser ablation in liquid was found to exhibit catalytic activity in the phenol photodegradation process under visible light (>420 nm) and showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and bacteriostatic effect towards Escherichia coli. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insight into Design and Properties of Nanomaterials)

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10 pages, 3025 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Preparation and Photocatalytic Properties of CdS and ZnS Nanomaterials Derived from Metal Xanthate

by Neli Mintcheva, Gospodinka Gicheva, Marinela Panayotova, Wilfried Wunderlich, Aleksandr A. Kuchmizhak and Sergei A. Kulinich

Materials 2019, 12(20), 3313; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma12203313 - 11 Oct 2019

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 3085

Abstract

In this paper, we report a new, simple method for the synthesis of CdS and ZnS nanoparticles (NPs) prepared in a basic aqueous medium using metal xanthate as the sulfur source. The structure, morphology, size distribution, optical band gap, and photocatalytic properties of the newly obtained nanomaterials were investigated by UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. The results show that both CdS and ZnS crystallized in cubic phase and formed NPs with average sizes of 7.0 and 4.2 nm for CdS and ZnS, respectively. A blue shift of UV-Vis absorbance band and higher energy band gap values were observed for both materials in comparison with their bulk counterparts, which is in accordance with the quantum confinement effect. The as-prepared nanomaterials were tested in visible-light driven photocatalytic decomposition of methylene blue (MB). After irradiation for 180 min, the degradation rate of MB with a concentration of 8 × 10⁻⁶ mol/L mixed with a photocatalyst (CdS or ZnS, both 10 mg in 100 mL solution of MB) was found to be 72% and 61%, respectively. The CdS NPs showed better photocatalytic activity than ZnS, which could be explained by their lower energy band gap and thus the ability to absorb light more efficiently when activated by visible-light irradiation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insight into Design and Properties of Nanomaterials)

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10 pages, 3792 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Laser Synthesis of Iridium Nanospheres for Overall Water Splitting

by Hai-Bin Wang, Jia-Qi Wang, Neli Mintcheva, Min Wang, Shuang Li, Jing Mao, Hui Liu, Cun-Ku Dong, Sergei A. Kulinich and Xi-Wen Du

Materials 2019, 12(18), 3028; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma12183028 - 18 Sep 2019

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4126

Abstract

Engineering surface structure of catalysts is an efficient way towards high catalytic performance. Here, we report on the synthesis of regular iridium nanospheres (Ir NSs), with abundant atomic steps prepared by a laser ablation technique. Atomic steps, consisting of one-atom level covering the surface of such Ir NSs, were observed by aberration-corrected high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM). The prepared Ir NSs exhibited remarkably enhanced activity both for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in acidic medium. As a bifunctional catalyst for overall water splitting, they achieved a cell voltage of 1.535 V @ 10 mA/cm², which is much lower than that of Pt/C-Ir/C couple (1.630 V @ 10 mA/cm²). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insight into Design and Properties of Nanomaterials)

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