Nanostructure and Nanocomposite Materials for Films and Coatings
A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanocomposite Materials".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 September 2026 | Viewed by 261
Editor
Interests: surface technology; design, fabrication and damage behavior of protective coatings for extreme environments
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Films and coatings are essential for modifying surface properties and protecting underlying materials in countless industrial and technological applications. In recent years, the integration of micro/nanostructural design and nanocomposite materials engineering has revolutionized this field. By precisely controlling the architecture and composition of thin films at the nanoscale, we can now create coatings with unprecedented functionalities—from extreme hardness and wear resistance to self-cleaning, anti-fouling and smart responsive behaviors.
The ability to embed nanoscale reinforcements within a coating matrix or engineer hierarchical micro/nanostructures on a surface allows the decoupling of bulk and surface properties. This opens up new possibilities for tailoring characteristics such as optical transparency, barrier performance, corrosion resistance and thermal management. Understanding the complex interplay between the synthesis parameters, the resulting micro/nanostructure and the ultimate performance of these film and coating materials is key to advancing the field.
This Special Issue aims to gather cutting-edge research on the development, characterization and application of micro/nanostructured films and nanocomposite coating materials. We invite contributions that explore novel fabrication techniques, elucidate fundamental structure–property relationships and demonstrate the practical potential of these advanced surface engineering solutions.
Topics of interest for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Advanced deposition techniques for nanostructured films and coating materials (e.g., PVD, CVD, ALD, spin-coating, electrodeposition);
- Nanocomposite coating materials with enhanced mechanical, tribological and barrier properties;
- Multifunctional coating materials with self-healing, anti-corrosion, anti-fouling or antibacterial functionalities;
- Micro/nanostructured surfaces for controlled wettability (superhydrophobic/superhydrophilic), adhesion and drag reduction;
- Coating materials for extreme environments (high temperature, corrosive media, space applications).
Dr. Feifei Zhou
Guest Editor
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. Nanomaterials 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
- micro/nanostructure
- nanomaterials
- thermal spraying
- physical vapor deposition
- surface modification
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