New Advances into Nanostructured Oxides, 3rd Edition

A special issue of Inorganics (ISSN 2304-6740). This special issue belongs to the section "Inorganic Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 1094

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Materials Science, University of Milano-Bicocca, U5, INSTM, Via R. Cozzi 55, 20125 Milano, Italy
Interests: biomaterials; catalysis; ceramics; functional coatings; energy; environmental remediation; ferrites; iron oxides; magnetic materials; metal oxides; nanocomposites; nanomaterials; smart materials; surface functionalization
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Co-Guest Editor
Department of Materials Science, University of Milano-Bicocca, U5, INSTM, Via R. Cozzi 55, 20125 Milano, Italy
Interests: catalysis; metal oxides; photocatalysis; environmental remediation; magnetic materials; nanocomposites; nanomaterials; synthesis methods; heterojunctions; materials characterization

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The first edition of this Special Issue, entitled “New Advances in Nanostructured Oxides”, was published in Inorganics in November 2022 and collected 13 high-level contributions, receiving more than 39,000 views; meanwhile, the second edition of this Special Issue, entitled “New Advances into Nanostructured Oxides, 2nd Edition”, closed in December 2024, collecting 11 interesting contributions and receiving more than 16,000 views. Due to the success of the previous editions and interest in this topic, we have decided to propose a third edition of this Special Issue, entitled “New Advances into Nanostructured Oxides, 3rd Edition”. In this Special Issue, we aim to continue discussions regarding this important class of inorganic materials and offer platform for the dissemination of research and ideas.

In recent years, inorganic oxidic nanomaterials have been extensively investigated due to their outstanding properties, which enable their utilization within a range of fields, including (photo)catalysis and the development of functional nanocomposites. Nanoscopic metal (eventually mixed) oxides are often fabricated via soft-chemistry approaches (e.g., sol–gel processes), which are able to favor specific morphologies, particle dimensions, and surface porosities through different synthetic methods and templating processes. In this context, surface functionalities and reactivity play a major role in the determination of the final properties of nanomaterials. For this reason, further surface functionalization with specific chemical moieties is often recommended to extend their field of application. This Special Issue aims to enhance our understanding of the mechanisms involved in the synthesis (and templating) of inorganic oxidic nanomaterials, as well as in their surface functionalization and reactivity. Additionally, this Special Issue aims to enhance our knowledge regarding the use of these systems in catalysis, environmental clean-up processes, energy storage, controlled transport and/or release, biomedicine, sensing, the development of smart-materials, stimuli-responsive materials, and nanocomposites. The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, alumina, silica, transition metal oxides (e.g., cobalt oxides, copper oxides, nickel oxide, titania, zinc oxide, zirconia), rare earth oxides, aluminosilicates (e.g., clays, zeolites), ferrites, perovskites, hybrids and (nano)composites. Furthermore, this Special Issue welcomes the submission of studies that describe alternative ecofriendly preparation methods.

Therefore, we invite you to contribute with original, high-quality papers and review articles that discuss significant advances regarding the synthesis, characterization, structure–property relationship, and application of inorganic oxidic nanomaterials.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Roberto Nisticò
Dr. Tatiana Rodriguez-Flores
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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Inorganics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2200 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

  • adsorption
  • Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs)
  • aerogels
  • biomaterials
  • biomedicine
  • catalysis
  • controlled transport and/or release
  • drug-delivery systems
  • electrocatalysis
  • energy storage and production
  • environmental remediation
  • functional coatings
  • heterogeneous catalysis
  • inorganic chemistry
  • magnetic materials
  • membrane and separation technology
  • mesoporous materials
  • metal oxides
  • microporous materials
  • mixed-metal oxides
  • monoliths
  • nanocomposites
  • photocatalysis
  • sensing
  • smart materials
  • sol–gel
  • solid-state characterization
  • stimuli-responsive materials
  • surface functionalization
  • templating processes
  • thin films
  • wastewater treatments
  • zeolites

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

13 pages, 25357 KB  
Article
Low-Temperature Formation of Aluminum Nitride Powder from Amorphous Aluminum Oxalate via Carbothermal Reduction
by Wenjing Tang, Yaling Yu, Zixuan Huang, Weijie Wang, Shaomin Lin, Ji Luo, Chenyang Zhang and Zhijie Zhang
Inorganics 2025, 13(10), 317; https://doi.org/10.3390/inorganics13100317 - 25 Sep 2025
Viewed by 808
Abstract
Aluminum nitride (AlN) powder, a cornerstone material for advanced ceramics. This study examines the low-temperature formation of AlN crystals as well as their phase transformation by employing amorphous aluminum oxalate (AAO) as a novel precursor for carbothermal reduction, contrasting it with conventional aluminum [...] Read more.
Aluminum nitride (AlN) powder, a cornerstone material for advanced ceramics. This study examines the low-temperature formation of AlN crystals as well as their phase transformation by employing amorphous aluminum oxalate (AAO) as a novel precursor for carbothermal reduction, contrasting it with conventional aluminum hydroxide (Al(OH)3). Through characterization using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope (HRTEM), 27Al Magic-Angle Spinning Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (27Al-MAS-NMR) energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), we unraveled the phase evolution pathways and the formation of AlN. Key findings reveal striking differences between the two precursors. When Al(OH)3 was used, no AlN phase was detected at 1350 °C, and even at 1500 °C, the AlN obtained with significant residual alumina impurities. In contrast, the AAO precursor demonstrated exceptional efficiency: nano-sized α-Al2O3 formed at 1050 °C, followed by the emergence of AlN phases at 1200 °C, ultimately gaining the pure AlN at 1500 °C. The phase transformation sequence—Al(OH)3 → γ-Al2O3 (950 °C) → (α-Al2O3 + δ-Al2O3) (1050 °C) → (AlN + α-Al2O3) (1200 °C~ 1350 °C) → AlN (≥1500 °C)—highlights the pivotal role of nano-sized α-Al2O3 in enabling low-temperature nano AlN synthesis. By leveraging the unique properties of AAO, we offer a transformative strategy for synthesizing nano-sized AlN powders, with profound implications for the ceramics industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advances into Nanostructured Oxides, 3rd Edition)
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