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Molecules
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Design, Characterization and Applications of Functional Nanomaterials
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Design, Characterization and Applications of Functional Nanomaterials

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2021) | Viewed by 31372

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Francesco Pellegrino

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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry and NIS Inter-Departmental Centre, University of Torino, Via P. Giuria, 7, 10125 Torino, Italy
Interests: nanomaterials synthesis and characterization; photocatalysis; energy production; wastewater treatment; shape controlled nanomaterials; semiconductor catalysis; metal nanoparticles
Prof. Dr. Federico Cesano

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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, Turin University, 10125 Torino, Italy
Interests: composite/hybrid materials and nanomaterials; surface Science; microscopies and spectroscopies; catalysis and photocatalysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Marco Fabbiani

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Guest Editor
Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier, UMR 5253 CNRS-UM-ENSCM, Université de Montpellier, Place E. Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier, France
Interests: nanomaterials; surface reactivity; spectroscopy; surface science; prebiotic chemistry; peptide
Dr. Chiara Negri

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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, Center for Materials Science and Nanotechnology, University of Oslo, Sem Sælands Vei 26, 0371 Oslo, Norway
Interests: operando spectroscopy; catalysts characterization; catalytic testing; heterogeneous catalysis; oxides/metal-exchanged zeolites; air pollutants abatement; conversion of light hydrocarbons into fine chemicals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nowadays, nanomaterials based on inorganic, polymeric components, or their combinations, play a crucial role and are used in many fields of application. They are employed in different kinds of products, such as clothing, cosmetic products, food and packaging, drug delivery, imaging, and paints and coatings. Moreover, from a scientific point of view, they are exploited in several sectors such as catalysis, energy and fuel, tribology, metrology, medicine, etc. The use of nanomaterials in such a high number of fields is due to their peculiar characteristics that appear at the nanoscale. Moreover, the relevance of modeling the structures by controlling the synthetic pathways at the molecular level is crucial together with most of the functional properties of the final materials strongly depend on their morphology and other physico-chemical characteristics. For these reasons, the correlation between functional properties and their morphological and other physico-chemical characteristics is of crucial importance to understand the behavior of the nanoparticles in each of their uses.

The present Special Issue of Molecules is aimed at showing the current state-of-the-art in the synthesis, characterization, modeling, and application of nanomaterials. In particular, great emphasis will be given to works that highlight the importance of a deep characterization of a material in order to explain one or more of its applications.

Dr. Francesco Pellegrino
Prof. Dr. Federico Cesano
Dr. Marco Fabbiani
Dr. Chiara Negri
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 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. Molecules 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 2700 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

  • Nanomaterials
  • Catalysis
  • Photocatalysis
  • Electrocatalysis
  • Metrology
  • Tribology
  • Medicine
  • Hybrid materials
  • Computer-aided molecular design of nanomaterials
  • Machine Learning for material synthesis and application

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research, Review

4 pages, 194 KiB  
Editorial
Design, Characterization and Applications of Functional Nanomaterials
by Marco Fabbiani, Federico Cesano, Francesco Pellegrino and Chiara Negri
Molecules 2021, 26(23), 7097; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26237097 - 24 Nov 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1348
Abstract
Nanomaterials are commonly defined as particles existing in nature or artificially manufactured materials that have one or more external dimensions in the 1–100 nm range [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design, Characterization and Applications of Functional Nanomaterials)

Research

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18 pages, 3180 KiB  
Article
The Early Steps of Molecule-to-Material Conversion in Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD): A Case Study
by Davide Barreca, Ettore Fois, Alberto Gasparotto, Chiara Maccato, Mario Oriani and Gloria Tabacchi
Molecules 2021, 26(7), 1988; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26071988 - 01 Apr 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2719
Abstract
Transition metal complexes with β-diketonate and diamine ligands are valuable precursors for chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of metal oxide nanomaterials, but the metal-ligand bond dissociation mechanism on the growth surface is not yet clarified in detail. We address this question by density functional [...] Read more.
Transition metal complexes with β-diketonate and diamine ligands are valuable precursors for chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of metal oxide nanomaterials, but the metal-ligand bond dissociation mechanism on the growth surface is not yet clarified in detail. We address this question by density functional theory (DFT) and ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) in combination with the Blue Moon (BM) statistical sampling approach. AIMD simulations of the Zn β-diketonate-diamine complex Zn(hfa)2TMEDA (hfa = 1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoro-2,4-pentanedionate; TMEDA = N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylethylenediamine), an amenable precursor for the CVD of ZnO nanosystems, show that rolling diffusion of this precursor at 500 K on a hydroxylated silica slab leads to an octahedral-to-square pyramidal rearrangement of its molecular geometry. The free energy profile of the octahedral-to-square pyramidal conversion indicates that the process barrier (5.8 kcal/mol) is of the order of magnitude of the thermal energy at the operating temperature. The formation of hydrogen bonds with surface hydroxyl groups plays a key role in aiding the dissociation of a Zn-O bond. In the square-pyramidal complex, the Zn center has a free coordination position, which might promote the interaction with incoming reagents on the deposition surface. These results provide a valuable atomistic insight on the molecule-to-material conversion process which, in perspective, might help to tailor by design the first nucleation stages of the target ZnO-based nanostructures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design, Characterization and Applications of Functional Nanomaterials)
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9 pages, 1387 KiB  
Article
Probing Molybdenum Active Sites during In Situ Photoreduction of the Mo6+/SiO2 Catalyst
by Rosangela Santalucia, Giuseppe Spoto and Lorenzo Mino
Molecules 2021, 26(6), 1700; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26061700 - 18 Mar 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2073
Abstract
The photoreduction of the Mo6+/SiO2 system with CO was investigated in situ, employing a recently developed experimental setup allowing for the acquisition of transmission FT-IR spectra under simultaneous UV irradiation. Carbon monoxide, besides acting as a reducing agent in such [...] Read more.
The photoreduction of the Mo6+/SiO2 system with CO was investigated in situ, employing a recently developed experimental setup allowing for the acquisition of transmission FT-IR spectra under simultaneous UV irradiation. Carbon monoxide, besides acting as a reducing agent in such processes, is also a useful probe molecule able to detect coordinatively unsaturated sites exposed on the surface. The unprecedented quality of the spectroscopic data, obtained as a function of the reduction time, allowed us to better rationalize the different mechanisms previously proposed for the photoreduction process. These results, coupled with UV-Vis spectroscopic data, shed light on the oxidation state and surface structure of supported molybdenum species, which are key active sites for several important reactions, such as selective oxidation, polymerization, hydrodesulfurization, epoxidation and olefin metathesis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design, Characterization and Applications of Functional Nanomaterials)
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10 pages, 2103 KiB  
Article
Application of Octanohydroxamic Acid for Salting out Liquid–Liquid Extraction of Materials for Energy Storage in Supercapacitors
by Kaelan Rorabeck and Igor Zhitomirsky
Molecules 2021, 26(2), 296; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26020296 - 08 Jan 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1978
Abstract
The ability to achieve high areal capacitance for oxide-based supercapacitor electrodes with high active mass loadings is critical for practical applications. This paper reports the feasibility of the fabrication of Mn3O4-multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composites by the new salting-out [...] Read more.
The ability to achieve high areal capacitance for oxide-based supercapacitor electrodes with high active mass loadings is critical for practical applications. This paper reports the feasibility of the fabrication of Mn3O4-multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composites by the new salting-out method, which allows direct particle transfer from an aqueous synthesis medium to a 2-propanol suspension for the fabrication of advanced Mn3O4-MWCNT electrodes for supercapacitors. The electrodes show enhanced capacitive performance at high active mass loading due to reduced particle agglomeration and enhanced mixing of the Mn3O4 particles and conductive MWCNT additives. The strategy is based on the multifunctional properties of octanohydroxamic acid, which is used as a capping and dispersing agent for Mn3O4 synthesis and an extractor for particle transfer to the electrode processing medium. Electrochemical studies show that high areal capacitance is achieved at low electrode resistance. The electrodes with an active mass of 40.1 mg cm−2 show a capacitance of 4.3 F cm−2 at a scan rate of 2 mV s−1. Electron microscopy studies reveal changes in electrode microstructure during charge-discharge cycling, which can explain the increase in capacitance. The salting-out method is promising for the development of advanced nanocomposites for energy storage in supercapacitors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design, Characterization and Applications of Functional Nanomaterials)
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15 pages, 3292 KiB  
Article
Concept Design, Development and Preliminary Physical and Chemical Characterization of Tamoxifen-Guided-Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles
by Candace M. Day, Martin J. Sweetman, Shane M. Hickey, Yunmei Song, Yongjun Liu, Na Zhang, Sally E. Plush and Sanjay Garg
Molecules 2021, 26(1), 219; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26010219 - 04 Jan 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2654
Abstract
Conventional chemotherapies used for breast cancer (BC) treatment are non-selective, attacking both healthy and cancerous cells. Therefore, new technologies that enhance drug efficacy and ameliorate the off-target toxic effects exhibited by currently used anticancer drugs are urgently needed. Here we report the design [...] Read more.
Conventional chemotherapies used for breast cancer (BC) treatment are non-selective, attacking both healthy and cancerous cells. Therefore, new technologies that enhance drug efficacy and ameliorate the off-target toxic effects exhibited by currently used anticancer drugs are urgently needed. Here we report the design and synthesis of novel mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) equipped with the hormonal drug tamoxifen (TAM) to facilitate guidance towards estrogen receptors (ERs) which are upregulated in breast tumours. TAM is linked to the MSNs using a poly-ʟ-histidine (PLH) polymer as a pH-sensitive gatekeeper, to ensure efficient delivery of encapsulated materials within the pores. XRD, HR-TEM, DLS, SEM, FT-IR and BET techniques were used to confirm the successful fabrication of MSNs. The MSNs have a high surface area (>1000 m2/g); and a mean particle size of 150 nm, which is an appropriate size to allow the penetration of premature blood vessels surrounding breast tumours. Successful surface functionalization was supported by FT-IR, XPS and TGA techniques, with a grafting ratio of approximately 29%. The outcomes of this preliminary work could be used as practical building blocks towards future formulations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design, Characterization and Applications of Functional Nanomaterials)
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11 pages, 3013 KiB  
Article
Reusable Magnetic Nanoparticle Immobilized Nitrogen-Containing Ligand for Classified and Easy Recovery of Heavy Metal Ions
by Jingyun Jing and Congling Shi
Molecules 2020, 25(14), 3204; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25143204 - 14 Jul 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2039
Abstract
Functionalized Tris[2-(dimethylamino) ethyl] amine (Me6TREN) ligands tethered-Fe3O4@Me6TREN nanoparticles (NPs) with a size of 150 nm were prepared to achieve classified and easy recovery of heavy metal ions in wastewater. The preparation of such NPs related [...] Read more.
Functionalized Tris[2-(dimethylamino) ethyl] amine (Me6TREN) ligands tethered-Fe3O4@Me6TREN nanoparticles (NPs) with a size of 150 nm were prepared to achieve classified and easy recovery of heavy metal ions in wastewater. The preparation of such NPs related to sequential silane ligand exchange and a following cure and Schiff base reactions for Fe3O4 NPs. Fe3O4@Me6TREN NPs as an effective nano-adsorbent of heavy metals exhibited significant differences in maximum adsorption capacity for Cr(III) (61.4 mg/g), Cu(II) (245.0 mg/g), Pb(II) (5.3 mg/g), and Cd(II) (1136.2 mg/g), in favor of classified removal of heavy metals from wastewater. Furthermore, Fe3O4@Me6TREN NPs can be regenerated by desorbing metal ions from NP surfaces eluted with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt (EDTA-Na2) aqueous, which endows such NPs promising potency as new nano-vectors for the removal of heavy metals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design, Characterization and Applications of Functional Nanomaterials)
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Review

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26 pages, 2392 KiB  
Review
Nanoencapsulation of Promising Bioactive Compounds to Improve Their Absorption, Stability, Functionality and the Appearance of the Final Food Products
by Mirian Pateiro, Belén Gómez, Paulo E. S. Munekata, Francisco J. Barba, Predrag Putnik, Danijela Bursać Kovačević and José M. Lorenzo
Molecules 2021, 26(6), 1547; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26061547 - 11 Mar 2021
Cited by 136 | Viewed by 10011
Abstract
The design of functional foods has grown recently as an answer to rising consumers’ concerns and demands for natural, nutritional and healthy food products. Nanoencapsulation is a technique based on enclosing a bioactive compound (BAC) in liquid, solid or gaseous states within a [...] Read more.
The design of functional foods has grown recently as an answer to rising consumers’ concerns and demands for natural, nutritional and healthy food products. Nanoencapsulation is a technique based on enclosing a bioactive compound (BAC) in liquid, solid or gaseous states within a matrix or inert material for preserving the coated substance (food or flavor molecules/ingredients). Nanoencapsulation can improve stability of BACs, improving the regulation of their release at physiologically active sites. Regarding materials for food and nutraceutical applications, the most used are carbohydrate-, protein- or lipid-based alternatives such as chitosan, peptide–chitosan and β-lactoglobulin nanoparticles (NPs) or emulsion biopolymer complexes. On the other hand, the main BACs used in foods for health promoting, including antioxidants, antimicrobials, vitamins, probiotics and prebiotics and others (minerals, enzymes and flavoring compounds). Nanotechnology can also play notable role in the development of programmable food, an original futuristic concept promising the consumers to obtain high quality food of desired nutritive and sensory characteristics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design, Characterization and Applications of Functional Nanomaterials)
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13 pages, 2337 KiB  
Review
Nanostructured Gels for Energy and Environmental Applications
by Maria Cristina Cringoli, Silvia Marchesan, Michele Melchionna and Paolo Fornasiero
Molecules 2020, 25(23), 5620; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25235620 - 29 Nov 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2277
Abstract
Nanostructured gels have emerged as an attractive functional material to innovate the field of energy, with applications ranging from extraction and purification to nanocatalysts with unprecedented performance. In this review we discuss the various classes of nanostructured gels and the most recent advancements [...] Read more.
Nanostructured gels have emerged as an attractive functional material to innovate the field of energy, with applications ranging from extraction and purification to nanocatalysts with unprecedented performance. In this review we discuss the various classes of nanostructured gels and the most recent advancements in the field with a perspective on future directions of this challenging area. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design, Characterization and Applications of Functional Nanomaterials)
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36 pages, 4161 KiB  
Review
Mesoporous Silica Platforms with Potential Applications in Release and Adsorption of Active Agents
by Cristina Chircov, Angela Spoială, Cătălin Păun, Luminița Crăciun, Denisa Ficai, Anton Ficai, Ecaterina Andronescu and Ștefan Claudiu Turculeƫ
Molecules 2020, 25(17), 3814; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25173814 - 21 Aug 2020
Cited by 60 | Viewed by 5113
Abstract
In recent years, researchers focused their attention on mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) owing to the considerable advancements of the characterization methods, especially electron microscopy methods, which allowed for a clear visualization of the pore structure and the materials encapsulated within the pores, along [...] Read more.
In recent years, researchers focused their attention on mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) owing to the considerable advancements of the characterization methods, especially electron microscopy methods, which allowed for a clear visualization of the pore structure and the materials encapsulated within the pores, along with the X-ray diffraction (small angles) methods and specific surface area determination by Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) technique. Mesoporous silica gained important consideration in biomedical applications thanks to its tunable pore size, high surface area, surface functionalization possibility, chemical stability, and pore nature. Specifically, the nature of the pores allows for the encapsulation and release of anti-cancer drugs into tumor tissues, which makes MSN ideal candidates as drug delivery carriers in cancer treatment. Moreover, the inner and outer surfaces of the MSN provide a platform for further functionalization approaches that could enhance the adsorption of the drug within the silica network and the selective targeting and controlled release to the desired site. Additionally, stimuli-responsive mesoporous silica systems are being used as mediators in cancer therapy, and through the release of the therapeutic agents hosted inside the pores under the action of specific triggering factors, it can selectively deliver them into tumor tissues. Another important application of the mesoporous silica nanomaterials is related to its ability to extract different hazardous species from aqueous media, some of these agents being antibiotics, pesticides, or anti-tumor agents. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the methods of MSN synthesis and related characteristics, the available surface functionalization strategies, and the most important applications of MSN in adsorption as well as release studies. Owing to the increasing antibiotic resistance, the need for developing materials for antibiotic removal from wastewaters is important and mesoporous materials already proved remarkable performances in environmental applications, including removal or even degradation of hazardous agents such as antibiotics and pesticides. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design, Characterization and Applications of Functional Nanomaterials)
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