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Advances in Nanomaterials: Synthesis, Characterization and Application
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Advances in Nanomaterials: Synthesis, Characterization and Application

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanotechnology and Applied Nanosciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 November 2026 | Viewed by 930

Editors

Dr. Riccardo Scarfiello

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CNR NANOTEC—Institute of Nanotechnology c/o Campus Ecotekne, University of Salento, Via Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Interests: inorganic colloidal nanocrystals; synthetic mechanism; surface chemistry; solution processability; deposition techniques; photocatalysis; thermal catalysis; electrocatalysis electrochromic application; photovoltaic
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Armando Genco

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133, Milano, Italy
Interests: optics and photonics of nanomaterials; 1D and 2D materials and heterostructures; excitons in quantum confined systems; optical nanoresonators; light–matter interactions; advanced microscopy; ultrafast spectroscopy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nanocrystals and nanomaterials are considered ideal building blocks or nano-tools for the fabrication of more complex functional materials and functional devices. Their applications span form fine chemical manufacturing to greenhouse gas mitigation. Thus, their development has been continuously investigated. Even though tremendous progress has been made for nanomaterial synthetic approaches that are able to exert rigorous control over size, shape, and composition in solution-processable nanocrystals, together with a post synthetic surface science, they are still limited in technology and real-life applicability to industrial conditions. In this respect, colloidal nanocrystals are presented as powerful building blocks for functional materials. Various assembly, processing, or deposition techniques of the nanocrystals can be arranged for operative architectures over several orders of length scales. Moreover, by combining different nanocrystals, properties can be fine-tuned or selected for a specific application, opening up fascinating opportunities to create specific functionalities.

We are pleased to invite you to contribute an original research article or comprehensive review to this Special Issue.

This Special Issue aims to enable a link between insights into nanomaterial production, as well as their surface science and realistic operative conditions in electronic functional devices.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Riccardo Scarfiello
Dr. Armando Genco
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences 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 2400 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

  • nanomaterial synthesis and characterization
  • nanomaterial devices and applications
  • colloidal nanocrystals
  • nanowires
  • functional nanomaterials
  • nanomanipulation
  • nanofabrication
  • electronic devices

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 3100 KB  
Article
Synthesis, Structure and Properties of ZnS Nanocrystals Deposited into SiO2 porous/Si Ion-Track Templates by Electrochemical Deposition
by Aiman Akylbekova, Liudmila A. Vlasukova, Abay Usseinov, Vera Yuvchenko, Irina Parkhomenko, Sergey Miskiewicz, Abdirash T. Akilbekov, Aida T. Tulegenova, Madi Aitzhanov, Anatoli I. Popov, Elena Popova and Marina Konuhova
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(13), 6796; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16136796 - 7 Jul 2026
Abstract
ZnS is one of the most promising wide-bandgap semiconductors for optoelectronic and sensing applications owing to its efficient ultraviolet–blue emission, high exciton binding energy, and chemical stability. However, the synthesis of ZnS nanocrystals in silicon-compatible porous matrices remains largely unexplored. In this work, [...] Read more.
ZnS is one of the most promising wide-bandgap semiconductors for optoelectronic and sensing applications owing to its efficient ultraviolet–blue emission, high exciton binding energy, and chemical stability. However, the synthesis of ZnS nanocrystals in silicon-compatible porous matrices remains largely unexplored. In this work, ordered arrays of ZnS nanocrystals were synthesized for the first time in SiO2/Si track templates fabricated by swift heavy ion irradiation followed by selective chemical etching. ZnS nanocrystals were deposited by electrochemical deposition from aqueous solutions containing ZnCl2 and thiourea precursors. The structural, optical, and electrical properties of the resulting ZnS/SiO2/Si nanocomposites were investigated using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and electrical measurements. The fabricated templates contained vertically aligned pores with a density of approximately 108 cm−2 and an average diameter of about 500 nm. Electrochemical deposition resulted in a pore filling efficiency of approximately 88%. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the formation of crystalline ZnS with a cubic zinc blende structure. The nanocomposites exhibit intense ultraviolet–blue photoluminescence in the 335–477 nm range, with pronounced emission peaks at 372 and 400 nm characteristic of ZnS nanocrystals. Current–voltage measurements indicate predominantly electronic conductivity, with a conductivity of 1.54 × 10−6 Ohm−1·cm−1, comparable to values reported for polycrystalline ZnS films. To support the experimental observations, the electronic structure of ZnS was analyzed using density functional theory within the LCAO framework. The calculated bandgap of 3.4 eV is consistent with previously reported theoretical and experimental data. The obtained results demonstrate that SiO2/Si track templates provide a promising platform for the fabrication of ordered ZnS nanoarrays with potential applications in silicon-compatible optoelectronic and sensing devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Nanomaterials: Synthesis, Characterization and Application)
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20 pages, 3302 KB  
Article
Laser Propulsion in Confinement Regime: The Role of Film Thickness in the Impulse Generation Process
by Pietro Battocchio, Meriem Bembli, Nicola Bazzanella, Mattia Biesuz, Marina Scarpa, Gian Domenico Sorarù and Antonio Miotello
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(1), 224; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16010224 - 25 Dec 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 587
Abstract
A small amount of mass is generally ejected with high exhaust velocities from the surface of materials irradiated by intense laser pulses, so that a net impulse is generated on the target because of momentum conservation. This phenomenon proved to be a potential [...] Read more.
A small amount of mass is generally ejected with high exhaust velocities from the surface of materials irradiated by intense laser pulses, so that a net impulse is generated on the target because of momentum conservation. This phenomenon proved to be a potential solution to generate thrust on far objects, with promising application in space debris removal and control of nanosatellites. Among the different tested strategies, the deposition on the surface of the target of a layer transparent to laser radiation results in a considerable increase in the generated impulse, due to the confinement of the expansion of the ablation plume. In this work impulse generation was measured, using aluminum as target, and PVC, SiO2, TiO2 and CNCs (cellulose nanocrystals) as confinement layers with thickness 0.3∼5 μm. The results show that the generated impulses increase with the thickness of the ejected confinement layer. Additionally, the kinetic energy of the confinement layer, for a given material, does not depend on its thickness, but it is affected by the energy dissipation paths during the interaction with the laser pulse, where the strength of substrate–film adhesion and the Young’s modulus of the latter are shown to play an important role. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Nanomaterials: Synthesis, Characterization and Application)
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