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Nanomaterials
Special Issues
Structure, Properties and Applications of Nanocrystalline Thin Films
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Structure, Properties and Applications of Nanocrystalline Thin Films

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Synthesis, Interfaces and Nanostructures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2022) | Viewed by 13935

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Edson Roberto Leite

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Guest Editor
Laboratório Nacional de Nanotecnologia (LNNano), Centro Nacional De Pesquisa em Materiais e Energia (CNPEM), Campinas, Brazil
Interests: nanocrystal synthesis and assembly; growth process; thin film deposition; materials characterization; material for energy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The controlled synthesis and assembly of nanocrystals has enabled the development of nanocrystalline thin film with a unique morphology, where the crystals of nanometric dimensions coexist with high surface area (controlled porosity) and crystallographic texture. This advance favored the development of new sensor devices, as well as electrodes for application in electronic, photovoltaic, and photoelectrochemical devices, directly impacting the performance of alternative energy devices.

Despite the progress achieved so far, many challenges still exist. For example, the controlled assembly of nanocrystals over large areas is a challenge. The use of heat treatment aiming to modify the morphology, structure, and property of nanostructure films is poorly explored. Controlled deposition of 2D materials from colloidal processes is still in its infancy. These few examples clearly show that we have a long way to go to explore the maximum processability and performance of nanocrystalline thin films.

Therefore, we invite all researchers involved with colloidal nanocrystal deposition, nanocrystal assembly, 2D materials assembly, and application of nanocrystalline films for sensors and energy devices to contribute to the upcoming Special Issue related with this theme.

Prof. Dr. Edson Roberto Leite
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 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

  • nanocrystalline thin film
  • colloidal nanocrystal deposition
  • nanocrystal assembly
  • 2D materials assembly
  • energy nanomaterials
  • sensors

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 7733 KiB  
Article
The Influence of Magnetic Field and Nanoparticle Concentration on the Thin Film Colloidal Deposition Process of Magnetic Nanoparticles: The Search for High-Efficiency Hematite Photoanodes
by Murillo Henrique de Matos Rodrigues, Joao Batista Souza Junior and Edson R. Leite
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(10), 1636; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12101636 - 11 May 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1718
Abstract
Hematite is considered a promising photoanode material for photoelectrochemical water splitting, and the literature has shown that the photoanode production process has an impact on the final efficiency of hydrogen generation. Among the methods used to process hematite photoanode, we can highlight the [...] Read more.
Hematite is considered a promising photoanode material for photoelectrochemical water splitting, and the literature has shown that the photoanode production process has an impact on the final efficiency of hydrogen generation. Among the methods used to process hematite photoanode, we can highlight the thin films from the colloidal deposition process of magnetic nanoparticles. This technique leads to the production of high-performance hematite photoanode. However, little is known about the influence of the magnetic field and heat treatment parameters on the final properties of hematite photoanodes. Here, we will evaluate those processing parameters in the morphology and photoelectrochemical properties of nanostructured hematite anodes. The analysis of thickness demonstrated a relationship between the magnetic field and nanoparticles concentration utilized to prepare the thin films, showing that the higher magnetic fields decrease the thickness. The Jabs results corroborate to influence the magnetic field since the use of a higher magnetic field decreases the deposited material amount, consequently decreasing the absorption of the thin films. The PEC measurements showed that at higher concentrations, the use of higher magnetic fields increases the JPH values, and lower magnetic fields cause a decrease in JPH when using the higher nanoparticle concentrations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structure, Properties and Applications of Nanocrystalline Thin Films)
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14 pages, 2968 KiB  
Article
Tantalum Oxide as an Efficient Alternative Electron Transporting Layer for Perovskite Solar Cells
by Meenal Deo, Alexander Möllmann, Jinane Haddad, Feray Ünlü, Ashish Kulkarni, Maning Liu, Yasuhiro Tachibana, Daniel Stadler, Aman Bhardwaj, Tim Ludwig, Thomas Kirchartz and Sanjay Mathur
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(5), 780; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12050780 - 25 Feb 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3138
Abstract
Electron transporting layers facilitating electron extraction and suppressing hole recombination at the cathode are crucial components in any thin-film solar cell geometry, including that of metal–halide perovskite solar cells. Amorphous tantalum oxide (Ta2O5) deposited by spin coating was explored [...] Read more.
Electron transporting layers facilitating electron extraction and suppressing hole recombination at the cathode are crucial components in any thin-film solar cell geometry, including that of metal–halide perovskite solar cells. Amorphous tantalum oxide (Ta2O5) deposited by spin coating was explored as an electron transport material for perovskite solar cells, achieving power conversion efficiency (PCE) up to ~14%. Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) measurements revealed that the extraction of photogenerated electrons is facilitated due to proper alignment of bandgap energies. Steady-state photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) verified efficient charge transport from perovskite absorber film to thin Ta2O5 layer. Our findings suggest that tantalum oxide as an n-type semiconductor with a calculated carrier density of ~7 × 1018/cm3 in amorphous Ta2O5 films, is a potentially competitive candidate for an electron transport material in perovskite solar cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structure, Properties and Applications of Nanocrystalline Thin Films)
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18 pages, 8398 KiB  
Article
The Effects of Stresses and Interfaces on Texture Transformation in Silver Thin Films
by Nhat Minh Dang, Zhao-Ying Wang, Chi-Hang Lin and Ming-Tzer Lin
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(3), 329; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12030329 - 20 Jan 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1586
Abstract
Thin metal films are critical elements in nano- and micro-fabricated technologies. The texture orientation of thin films has a significant effect on applied devices. For Face-Centered Cubic (FCC) metal thin films, when the critical thickness is reached, the texture orientation can transform from [...] Read more.
Thin metal films are critical elements in nano- and micro-fabricated technologies. The texture orientation of thin films has a significant effect on applied devices. For Face-Centered Cubic (FCC) metal thin films, when the critical thickness is reached, the texture orientation can transform from (111) to (100) based on the model related to the balance between interfacial energy and strain energy. This research focused on the texture transformation of thin films under two conditions: (1) with or without an adhesion layer in the thin film and (2) with or without initial stress applied through a four-point bending load. In the experiment, two samples (silicon/silver and silicon/titanium/silver) were used to apply different initial stress/strain values and different annealing times. After annealing, an X-ray Diffractometer (XRD) was used to ascertain the preferred orientation of the thin films and the percentage of (111) and (100). Finally, Electron Back-Scattered Diffraction (EBSD) was used to observe the grain size of the thin films. The results showed that, regardless of the existence of an adhesion layer, texture transformation occurred, and this was relatively significant with Ti adhesion layers. Further, the initial stress was found to be small compared to the internal stress; thus, the initial stress imposed in the tests in this research was not significantly influenced by the texture transformation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structure, Properties and Applications of Nanocrystalline Thin Films)
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Review

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23 pages, 5175 KiB  
Review
Strain Engineering: A Pathway for Tunable Functionalities of Perovskite Metal Oxide Films
by Samyak Dhole, Aiping Chen, Wanyi Nie, Baeho Park and Quanxi Jia
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(5), 835; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12050835 - 1 Mar 2022
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4256
Abstract
Perovskite offers a framework that boasts various functionalities and physical properties of interest such as ferroelectricity, magnetic orderings, multiferroicity, superconductivity, semiconductor, and optoelectronic properties owing to their rich compositional diversity. These properties are also uniquely tied to their crystal distortion which is directly [...] Read more.
Perovskite offers a framework that boasts various functionalities and physical properties of interest such as ferroelectricity, magnetic orderings, multiferroicity, superconductivity, semiconductor, and optoelectronic properties owing to their rich compositional diversity. These properties are also uniquely tied to their crystal distortion which is directly affected by lattice strain. Therefore, many important properties of perovskite can be further tuned through strain engineering which can be accomplished by chemical doping or simply element substitution, interface engineering in epitaxial thin films, and special architectures such as nanocomposites. In this review, we focus on and highlight the structure–property relationships of perovskite metal oxide films and elucidate the principles to manipulate the functionalities through different modalities of strain engineering approaches. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structure, Properties and Applications of Nanocrystalline Thin Films)
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Other

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21 pages, 3163 KiB  
Perspective
Advances in Engineered Metal Oxide Thin Films by Low-Cost, Solution-Based Techniques for Green Hydrogen Production
by Ingrid Rodríguez-Gutiérrez, Karen Cristina Bedin, Beatriz Mouriño, João Batista Souza Junior and Flavio Leandro Souza
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(12), 1957; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12121957 - 7 Jun 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2401
Abstract
Functional oxide materials have become crucial in the continuous development of various fields, including those for energy applications. In this aspect, the synthesis of nanomaterials for low-cost green hydrogen production represents a huge challenge that needs to be overcome to move toward the [...] Read more.
Functional oxide materials have become crucial in the continuous development of various fields, including those for energy applications. In this aspect, the synthesis of nanomaterials for low-cost green hydrogen production represents a huge challenge that needs to be overcome to move toward the next generation of efficient systems and devices. This perspective presents a critical assessment of hydrothermal and polymeric precursor methods as potential approaches to designing photoelectrodes for future industrial implementation. The main conditions that can affect the photoanode’s physical and chemical characteristics, such as morphology, particle size, defects chemistry, dimensionality, and crystal orientation, and how they influence the photoelectrochemical performance are highlighted in this report. Strategies to tune and engineer photoelectrode and an outlook for developing efficient solar-to-hydrogen conversion using an inexpensive and stable material will also be addressed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structure, Properties and Applications of Nanocrystalline Thin Films)
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