Dear Colleagues,

Recent advances in nanoscale luminescent materials have suggested interesting applications related to their various physical and chemical properties. These materials have attracted a considerable interest in the scientific community in the last one or two decades and still offer the possibility of breakthrough research results in the life science and materials science domains due to their excellent optical functionalities at the nanometer level, which are not easily practicable when considering the bulk materials. Through precisely controlling their novel physicochemical and spectroscopic properties, nanoluminescent materials can be widely used in various applications, from nanomedicine to solar energy conversion.

This Special Issue “New Frontiers in Nanophotonic Materials: Design, Properties, and Applications” attempts to present advances related to a wide range of optical nanomaterials including organic–inorganic nanoparticles and hybrids, carbon dots, quantum dots, metal-doped nanomaterials and nanoclusters, associated with their common property of light emission in the ultraviolet to mid-infrared region. A number of key areas will be covered, addressing synthesis techniques, nanoparticle design, surface modification, light emission enhancement, easy detection of light emission, and their broad applications. In addition, understanding the properties of nanomaterials is vital in terms of modelling and designing the structure of nanoparticles, their functionalities, and their future applications. The interactions of nanoparticles with the human organism are of primary importance, and therefore, for applications in the biomedical field, it is extremely significant to consider the surface features of the nanoparticles, amongst other factors. In addition, confining the luminescence emission into a specific narrow spectral band is one of the requirements for solar energy conversion, another topic whose most recent advances will be covered in this Special Issue.

This Special Issue will pay particular attention to survey and outline the progress in the design of optical nanomaterials and their emerging applications. It aims to publish high-quality research papers and reviews addressing recent advances and state-of-the-art issues in the field. Potential topics to be covered in this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Design of novel optical nanomaterials
• Development of luminescent nanoparticles for biomedical applications
• Upconversion, quantum cutting, and luminescent downshifting nanomaterials
• Nanostructured optical materials for sensing, lighting, imaging, and security applications
• Spectral conversion luminescent nanomaterials

Dr. Manoj Kumar Mahata
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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• Optical properties of nanomaterials and their applications
• Lanthanides-doped upconversion and downconversion nanomaterials
• Quantum dots
• Perovskite nanocrystals
• Core–shell optical nanoparticles
• Molecular probes
• Bioimaging
• Surface functionalization
• Interaction between nanoparticles and biological systems
• Spectral conversion materials
• Novel ratiometric sensors
• Light-emitting systems