Optical and Structural Characterization Techniques for Nanostructured Materials
A Special Issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944) belonging to the section "Advanced Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 February 2027 | Viewed by 153
Editor
Interests: design and synthesis of fluorescent few-atomic nanoclusters; optical-structure relationship in nanoparticles; biomimetic enzymatic properties of nanoclusters; sensor applications in biomedical and food analytics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Nanostructured materials exhibit unique physicochemical properties, which originate from their reduced size, high surface-to-volume ratio, and the related quantum confinement effect. Understanding and designing these properties requires comprehensive and complementary characterization techniques to probe both optical responses and structural features. For this purpose, this Special Issue focuses on recent breakthroughs in advanced optical and structural characterization techniques, with a particular emphasis on novel, combined, and hybrid methodologies that enable precise investigation of nanostructured systems, ranging from few-atomic nanoclusters to classical nanoparticles.
Conventional optical techniques (such as UV–Vis, steady-state/time-resolved photoluminescence, Raman, and IR spectroscopy) provide foundational insights into electronic transitions, surface states, and charge transfer. This Special Issue highlights cutting-edge developments in these fields, including in situ, operando, and ultrafast spectroscopic methods for tracking real-time dynamic processes like energy transfer and catalytic pathways. Similarly, we welcome advancements in high-resolution and specialized structural tools—such as advanced electron microscopy (HR-TEM, STEM), combined atomic force microscopy (AFM/SEM or AFM/Raman, etc.), and synchrotron-based X-ray techniques (XRD, SAXS/WAXS)—that push the boundaries of resolving morphology, crystallinity, and hierarchical organization.
A central theme of this Special Issue, entitled “Optical and Structural Characterization Techniques for Nanostructured Materials”, is correlative and multi-dimensional characterization, where the synergistic integration of optical and structural data is vital to mapping structure–property relationships. Such insights are essential for the rational design of next-generation nanomaterials tailored for applications in sensing, biomedicine, catalysis, and energy conversion.
Dr. Ditta Ungor
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- nanostructured materials
- optical spectroscopy
- structural characterization
- advanced microscopy
- synchrotron-based X-ray technique
- in situ measurement
- operando technique
- structure–property relationship
- correlative characterization
- machine learning in materials science
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