Characterization of Nanostructures and Heterostructures

Dear Colleagues,

The tremendous advances in material science that we have witnessed in recent decades are accompanied with advances in both preparation and characterization of materials on the nanoscale. Nanostructures and heterostructures often show modified, sometimes even opposite properties when compared to the same materials in bulk. The list of phenomena modified by spatial confinement to the nm range is large: from spin current tunneling in thin films and proximity effects in heterostructures (for example, the interplay between magnetism and superconductivity) to the change of magnetic ground states in thin films. The characterization of devices based on nanoscale materials ranges from detecting macroscopic phenomena (voltage, tunneling current or magnetization) to microscopic characterization with scanning microscopy (STM, AFM, etc.) and electron microscopy (SEM, TEM, STEM). On the other hand, nanoparticles are also used extensively in medicine applications for drug delivery, diagnostics, wound treatment or cell repair. For devices using nanorods or core–shell particles, microscopic characterization is an essential tool.

This Special Issue is dedicated to the characterization of materials that are confined to the nanometric scale, and for the audience ranging from spintronics to drug design.

It is my pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript for this Special Issue. Full papers, communications, and reviews are all welcome.

Prof. Neven Biškup
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. 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.

• electron microscopy
• SEM, TEM, STEM, EELS
• epitaxial strain
• interfaces
• proximity effect
• core–shell particles
• nanorods
• nanoparticles