sensors-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Nanostructured Materials Systems for Optical Sensing

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Optical Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2024 | Viewed by 3609

Special Issue Editor

Centro de Investigação em Materiais Cerâmicos e Compósitos, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: SERS, Raman imaging and TERS applied to nanoscale materials; nanostructured composites based on carbon materials; colloidal nanoparticles for optical sensing applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nanotechnology has demonstrated great potential in the preparation of new nanostructured materials with different properties, new functions, and added value. Numerous studies have been carried out with the aim to improve the properties and performance of optical functional materials through the application of nanocomposites, metallic nanoparticles or carbon materials.

Over the last decade, optical-sensing-based nanostructured materials have arisen as a key research topic in both fundamental and applied sciences. It is known that the optical response of nanostructured materials depends on their environment, namely, pressure, temperature, pH, and humidity, resulting in sensor materials with increased sensitivities, multiplexing capabilities, and high efficiency in detecting and monitoring chemical or biological molecules.

For example, the use of surface plasmon resonances in metallic nanostructured particles for surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) applications has gain special interest, in the last years. This is fundamentally due to two reasons: the technological evolution observed at the level of Raman's equipment and the development of techniques/methods to enhanced the molecular probe's signal using nanostructured materials. 

This Special Issue is addressed at all types of nanostructured materials that can be applied in optical sensing and detection of biomolecules, aiming to collect the latest trends and progress in the field of “Nanostructured Materials Systems for Optical Sensing”.

Dr. Sara Fateixa
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. Sensors 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

  • Composites
  • Nanostructured materials
  • Chemical and biological sensors
  • Nanoparticles
  • Optical detection
  • Nanofabrication
  • Plasmons
  • Sensing
  • Surface

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

12 pages, 2216 KiB  
Article
Starch-g-Acrylic Acid/Magnetic Nanochitin Self-Healing Ferrogels as Flexible Soft Strain Sensors
by Pejman Heidarian and Abbas Z. Kouzani
Sensors 2023, 23(3), 1138; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/s23031138 - 19 Jan 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1356
Abstract
Mechanically robust ferrogels with high self-healing ability might change the design of soft materials used in strain sensing. Herein, a robust, stretchable, magneto-responsive, notch insensitive, ionic conductive nanochitin ferrogel was fabricated with both autonomous self-healing and needed resilience for strain sensing application without [...] Read more.
Mechanically robust ferrogels with high self-healing ability might change the design of soft materials used in strain sensing. Herein, a robust, stretchable, magneto-responsive, notch insensitive, ionic conductive nanochitin ferrogel was fabricated with both autonomous self-healing and needed resilience for strain sensing application without the need for additional irreversible static chemical crosslinks. For this purpose, ferric (III) chloride hexahydrate and ferrous (II) chloride as the iron source were initially co-precipitated to create magnetic nanochitin and the co-precipitation was confirmed by FTIR and microscopic images. After that, the ferrogels were fabricated by graft copolymerisation of acrylic acid-g-starch with a monomer/starch weight ratio of 1.5. Ammonium persulfate and magnetic nanochitin were employed as the initiator and crosslinking/nano-reinforcing agents, respectively. The ensuing magnetic nanochitin ferrogel provided not only the ability to measure strain in real-time under external magnetic actuation but also the ability to heal itself without any external stimulus. The ferrogel may also be used as a stylus for a touch-screen device. Based on our findings, our research has promising implications for the rational design of multifunctional hydrogels, which might be used in applications such as flexible and soft strain sensors, health monitoring, and soft robotics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanostructured Materials Systems for Optical Sensing)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

22 pages, 8539 KiB  
Review
Nanostructured Vanadium Dioxide Materials for Optical Sensing Applications
by Jongwon Yoon, Woong-Ki Hong, Yonghun Kim and Seung-Young Park
Sensors 2023, 23(15), 6715; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/s23156715 - 27 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1563
Abstract
Vanadium dioxide (VO2) is one of the strongly correlated materials exhibiting a reversible insulator–metal phase transition accompanied by a structural transition from a low-temperature monoclinic phase to high-temperature rutile phase near room temperature. Due to the dramatic change in electrical resistance [...] Read more.
Vanadium dioxide (VO2) is one of the strongly correlated materials exhibiting a reversible insulator–metal phase transition accompanied by a structural transition from a low-temperature monoclinic phase to high-temperature rutile phase near room temperature. Due to the dramatic change in electrical resistance and optical transmittance of VO2, it has attracted considerable attention towards the electronic and optical device applications, such as switching devices, memory devices, memristors, smart windows, sensors, actuators, etc. The present review provides an overview of several methods for the synthesis of nanostructured VO2, such as solution-based chemical approaches (sol-gel process and hydrothermal synthesis) and gas or vapor phase synthesis techniques (pulsed laser deposition, sputtering method, and chemical vapor deposition). This review also presents stoichiometry, strain, and doping engineering as modulation strategies of physical properties for nanostructured VO2. In particular, this review describes ultraviolet-visible-near infrared photodetectors, optical switches, and color modulators as optical sensing applications associated with nanostructured VO2 materials. Finally, current research trends and perspectives are also discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanostructured Materials Systems for Optical Sensing)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop