Recent Advances in Synthesis, Characterization and Applications of Functional Nanoparticles and Quantum Dots

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanophotonics Materials and Devices".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 9513

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Materials and Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan (ROC)
Interests: quantum dots; synthesis; inkjet printing; applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan
Interests: growth, synthesis, and device fabrication of nanomaterials; electron-beam lithography technology; solar cells; display technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Cracow University of Technology, Warszawska 24 St. 31-155 Krakow, Poland
Interests: nanomaterials; nanoparticles; synthesis of nanomaterials; hybrid nanomaterials; nanocomposites; surface engineering; solar cells; photodetectors; photocatalysis; sensors; displays
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Functional quantum dots (QDs) and nanoparticles (NPs) have been investigated in various areas and considered in widespread applications in recent decades, for example, biomedical, photoluminescence-based or electroluminescent-based lighting and displays, energy harvesting, image or environmental sensing, photocatalysis, and biomimetic and optoelectronic devices. In recent years, QDs and NPs have been gradually taking a more prominent role in our life and being applied in consumer products. One of the most successful cases is QD-color-enhanced displays (that is, so-called QLED TV), which possess an ultrawide color gamut and exhibit a very high color resolution. Moreover, exciting recent developments in QD light convertors in mini-LED or micro-LED based on inkjet printing and photolithography are also very popular research subjects in optoelectronics. On the other hand, the development of the synthesis and preparation of QDs and NPs are always a hot subject in science and industry. Various newer materials such as nontoxic QDs, perovskite QDs, carbon QDs, and so on are being developed and considered in energy harvesting and light conversion. Since January 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has been globally influencing and changing human society and daily life, and research relating to QDs-based biomedical and sensing applications is emerging that shows that QDs are a promising candidate in virus detection and test.

We invite researchers and scientists to submit original research and review papers that will progress the development of QDs/NPs in practical applications and provide potential solutions for current problems and difficulties. The Special Issue is particularly focused on QD/NP material synthesis, polymer/QD film engineering, optoelectronic devices, bio-sensing, and environmental problems. Potential topics include but are not limited to:

  • Synthesis and characterization of QDs, polymer/QDs or polymer/NPs nanocomposites;
  • Fluorescence, optoelectronic, carrier transport, stability, and other physical properties;
  • Self-assembly of QDs or NPs to different nanostructures;
  • Biosensing and biomedical applications;
  • Lighting and display applications;
  • Light harvesting, storage, and sensing;
  • OLEDs and QLEDs;
  • Explorations of new applications for QDs/NPs;
  • Environmental issues of QDs and NPs.

Prof. Dr. Hsueh-Shih (Sean) Chen
Dr. Meng-Lin Tsai
Prof. Dr. Katarzyna Matras-Postołek
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. 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 2900 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

  • synthesis and characterization of QDs, polymer/QDs or polymer/NPs nanocomposites
  • fluorescence, optoelectronic, carrier transport, stability, and other physical properties
  • self-assembly of QDs or NPs to different nanostructures
  • biosensing and biomedical applications
  • lighting and display applications
  • light harvesting, storage, and sensing
  • OLEDs and QLEDs
  • explorations of new applications for QDs/NPs
  • environmental issues of QDs and NPs

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 3438 KiB  
Article
Synthesis and Characterization of Highly Crystalline Bi-Functional Mn-Doped Zn2SiO4 Nanostructures by Low-Cost Sol–Gel Process
by Dhiraj Kumar Bharti, Rajni Verma, Sonam Rani, Daksh Agarwal, Sonali Mehra, Amit Kumar Gangwar, Bipin Kumar Gupta, Nidhi Singh and Avanish Kumar Srivastava
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(3), 538; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13030538 - 29 Jan 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1824
Abstract
Herein, we demonstrate a process for the synthesis of a highly crystalline bi-functional manganese (Mn)-doped zinc silicate (Zn2SiO4) nanostructures using a low-cost sol–gel route followed by solid state reaction method. Structural and morphological characterizations of Mn-doped Zn2SiO [...] Read more.
Herein, we demonstrate a process for the synthesis of a highly crystalline bi-functional manganese (Mn)-doped zinc silicate (Zn2SiO4) nanostructures using a low-cost sol–gel route followed by solid state reaction method. Structural and morphological characterizations of Mn-doped Zn2SiO4 with variable doping concentration of 0.03, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 wt% were investigated by using X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) techniques. HR-TEM-assisted elemental mapping of the as-grown sample was conducted to confirm the presence of Mn in Zn2SiO4. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra indicated that the Mn-doped Zn2SiO4 nanostructures exhibited strong green emission at 521 nm under 259 nm excitation wavelengths. It was observed that PL intensity increased with the increase of Mn-doping concentration in Zn2SiO4 nanostructures, with no change in emission peak position. Furthermore, magnetism in doped Zn2SiO4 nanostructures was probed by static DC magnetization measurement. The observed photoluminescence and magnetic properties in Mn-doped Zn2SiO4 nanostructures are discussed in terms of structural defect/lattice strain caused by Mn doping and the Jahn–Teller effect. These bi-functional properties of as-synthesized Zn2SiO4 nanostructures provide a new platform for their potential applications towards magneto-optical and spintronic and devices areas. Full article
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12 pages, 2982 KiB  
Article
Top-Emitting Active-Matrix Quantum Dot Light-Emitting Diode Array with Optical Microcavity for Micro QLED Display
by Kuo-Yang Lai, Shuan Yang, Tung-Chang Tsai, I-An Yao, Chiu-Lien Yang, Chih-Ching Chang and Hsueh-Shih Chen
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(15), 2683; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12152683 - 04 Aug 2022
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3286
Abstract
An electroluminescent quantum-dot light-emitting diode (QLED) device and a micro QLED device array with a top-emitting structure were demonstrated in this study. The QLED device was fabricated in the normal structure of [ITO/Ag/ITO anode]/PEDOT:PSS/PVK/QDs/[ZnO nanoparticles]/Ag/MoO3, in which the semi-transparent MoO3 [...] Read more.
An electroluminescent quantum-dot light-emitting diode (QLED) device and a micro QLED device array with a top-emitting structure were demonstrated in this study. The QLED device was fabricated in the normal structure of [ITO/Ag/ITO anode]/PEDOT:PSS/PVK/QDs/[ZnO nanoparticles]/Ag/MoO3, in which the semi-transparent MoO3-capped Ag cathode and the reflective ITO/metal/ITO (IMI) anode were designed to form an optical microcavity. Compared with conventional bottom-emitting QLED, the microcavity-based top-emitting QLED possessed enhanced optical properties, e.g., ~500% luminance, ~300% current efficiency, and a narrower bandwidth. A 1.49 inch micro QLED panel with 86,400 top-emitting QLED devices in two different sizes (17 × 78 μm2 and 74 × 40.5 μm2) on a low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS) backplane was also fabricated, demonstrating the top-emitting QLED with microcavity as a promising structure in future micro display applications. Full article
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15 pages, 4853 KiB  
Article
Substantial Improvement of Color-Rendering Properties of Conventional White LEDs Using Remote-Type Red Quantum-Dot Caps
by Gi Jung Lee, Seung Chan Hong, Jung-Gyun Lee, Jae-Hyeon Ko, Taehee Park, Young Wook Ko and Sergey Lushnikov
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(7), 1097; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12071097 - 27 Mar 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1649
Abstract
A new type of remote red quantum-dot (QD) component was designed and fabricated to improve the color-rendering properties of conventional white LED (light-emitting diode) lightings. Based on an optical simulation, the rectangular cavity-type QD cap was designed with an opening window on the [...] Read more.
A new type of remote red quantum-dot (QD) component was designed and fabricated to improve the color-rendering properties of conventional white LED (light-emitting diode) lightings. Based on an optical simulation, the rectangular cavity-type QD cap was designed with an opening window on the top surface. Red QD caps were fabricated using a typical injection molding technique and CdSe/ZnS QDs with a core/shell structure whose average size was ~6 nm. Red QD caps were applied to conventional 6-inch, 15-W white LED downlighting consisting of 72 LEDs arrayed concentrically. The red QD caps placed over white LEDs enhanced the red components in the long-wavelength range resulting in the increase of the color rendering index (CRI) from 82.9 to 94.5. The correlated color temperature was tuned easily in a wide range by adopting various configurations consisting of different QD caps. The spatial and angular homogeneities were secured on the emitting area because QD caps placed over the white LEDs did not exhibit any substantial optical path length difference. The present study demonstrates that adopting QD caps in conventional LED lightings provides a flexible and efficient method to realize a high color-rendering property and to adjust correlated color temperature appropriately for a specific application. Full article
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16 pages, 1362 KiB  
Article
First Study on the Electronic and Donor Atom Properties of the Ultra-Thin Nanoflakes Quantum Dots
by Laaziz Belamkadem, Omar Mommadi, Reda Boussetta, Mohamed Chnafi, Juán A. Vinasco, David Laroze, Laura M. Pérez, Abdelaziz El Moussaouy, Yahya M. Meziani, Esin Kasapoglu, Viktor Tulupenko and Carlos A. Duque
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(6), 966; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12060966 - 15 Mar 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1933
Abstract
Nanoflakes ultra-thin quantum dots are theoretically studied as innovative nanomaterials delivering outstanding results in various high fields. In this work, we investigated the surface properties of an electron confined in spherical ultra-thin quantum dots in the presence of an on-center or off-center donor [...] Read more.
Nanoflakes ultra-thin quantum dots are theoretically studied as innovative nanomaterials delivering outstanding results in various high fields. In this work, we investigated the surface properties of an electron confined in spherical ultra-thin quantum dots in the presence of an on-center or off-center donor impurity. Thus, we have developed a novel model that leads us to investigate the different nanoflake geometries by changing the spherical nanoflake coordinates (R, α, ϕ). Under the infinite confinement potential model, the study of these nanostructures is performed within the effective mass and parabolic band approximations. The resolution of the Schrödinger equation is accomplished by the finite difference method, which allows obtaining the eigenvalues and wave functions for an electron confined in the nanoflakes surface. Through the donor and electron energies, the transport, optoelectronic, and surface properties of the nanostructures were fully discussed according to their practical significance. Our findings demonstrated that these energies are more significant in the small nanoflakes area by altering the radius and the polar and azimuthal angles. The important finding shows that the ground state binding energy depends strongly on the geometry of the nanoflakes, despite having the same surface. Another interesting result is that the presence of the off-center shallow donor impurity permits controlling the binding energy, which leads to adjusting the immense behavior of the curved surface nanostructures. Full article
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14 pages, 5022 KiB  
Article
Bifunctional Metal Oleate as an Alternative Method to Remove Surface Oxide and Passivate Surface Defects of Aminophosphine-Based InP Quantum Dots
by Pin-Ru Chen, Minh-Son Hoang, Kuo-Yang Lai and Hsueh-Shih Chen
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(3), 573; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12030573 - 08 Feb 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2682
Abstract
The optical properties of indium phosphide (InP) quantum dots (QDs) are significantly influenced by their surface native oxides, which are generally removed by treating InP cores with hydrofluoric acid (HF). Besides the harmful health effects of HF, its etching may cause over-etching or [...] Read more.
The optical properties of indium phosphide (InP) quantum dots (QDs) are significantly influenced by their surface native oxides, which are generally removed by treating InP cores with hydrofluoric acid (HF). Besides the harmful health effects of HF, its etching may cause over-etching or QD size broadening, and surface oxidation can also reoccur rapidly. In the present study, a safer bifunctional metal oleate treatment was developed to simultaneously remove the surface oxide layer and passivate the surface defects for aminophosphine-based InP QDs. Compared to conventional HF etching, the bifunctional metal oleate was able to more efficiently remove the surface oxide of InP cores and effectively preserve the oxide-free surface, leading to a 20% narrower photoluminescence (PL) bandwidth after growing a ZnSe/ZnS shell. The metal oleate treatment is thus considered a greener and safer post-synthetic method to remove InP surface oxide and provide additional passivation to improve the optical properties of aminophosphine-based InP QDs, which could have potential in industrial mass production. Full article
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