Novel Materials with Target Functionalities

Dear Colleagues,

The exploration of innovative materials involves the development of new efficient materials with innovative functions for advanced applications and the explanation of a diversity of phenomena.

Scientists continuously envision and develop new compounds, often using theoretical tools to explain some of the observed properties of the novel materials. The collaboration between theory and experiment has in many cases helped to obtain synthesizable compounds with required functionalities.

Studies of fundamental physicochemical properties such as electro-negativity or phase-transition behavior developed on certain material classes have revealed novel functionalities such as thermoelectricity, piezoelectricity, transparent conductors, topological insulators, etc. Nanotechnologies permit the synthesis of certain artificial nanostructures exhibiting quantum Hall effect or Coulomb and spin blockade, and are very attractive for transistors and lasers. They also enable the synthesis of so-called exotic materials exhibiting exotic properties, such as unconventional superconductivity, reduced magnetism, reduced Pauli repulsion, etc.

Technological applications require materials with two or more properties (transparent conductors, photovoltaic absorbers, etc.) that generally cannot be obtained using traditional methods, and which require the application of material design and theoretical predictions.

In many situations, materials properties can be induced and controlled by defects. This is a difficult task, but there are important results showing that controlled doping associated to treatments (thermal, irradiation, etc.) enable the targeted functionalities to be achieved (high carrier transport, light emitting, high Curie ferromagnetic temperature, high polarization, high selective sensing, etc.). Important results have also been obtained in the development of nanocomposite materials (multicomponent nanostructures, colloids, matrix-dispersed composite materials, mesoscale particles) that exhibit target functionalities by controlling surface and interface phenomena.

This Special Issue covers all types of materials with target functionalities (inorganic, organic, hybrid, thin films, artificial structures, nanocomposites, colloids) and welcomes papers addressing topics including but not limited to the following:

• Processing methods and technologies for novel materials with target functionalities;
• Structural and functional characterization studies;
• Theoretical models and simulations for materials’ electronic structure and for phenomena observed in novel materials;
• Advanced applications of novel materials with target functionalities.

This Issue will include both reviews and original research papers that include theories and experiments on novel materials with target functionalities, on materials processing and characterization, and on all types of interactions and phenomena that explain materials’ target functionalities.

Prof. Dr. Felicia Iacomi
Dr. Isabelle Berbezier
Dr. Daniel Moraru
Prof. Dr. Tetsuya Yamamoto
Guest Editors

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