Advanced Nanosheets for Carbon Neutrality and Electronic Devices

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 June 2023) | Viewed by 10321

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Organic Solar Cells and Photochemical Conversion, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin, China
Interests: inorganic solid materials; clean energy; nanocatalysts; electrocatalyst; photocatalysts; supercapacitors; secondary batteries

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Co-Guest Editor
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin, China
Interests: photocatalysis; water splitting; photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide production; cocatalyst

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets, which possess atomic or molecular thickness and infinite planar dimensions, are considered the thinnest functional nanomaterials. Due to their promising properties, a variety of nanosheets composed of inorganic or organic composites have been fabricated. These 2D nanosheets are considered to be excellent candidates for future applications in electronics and catalysis.

Carbon dioxide, as the leading contributor to greenhouse gases, has given rise to a series of severe consequences, such as the rising sea level and global temperatures, the melting of glaciers, and damage to the earth's ecological environment. Therefore, carbon neutrality is currently a hot topic in the scientific community, as solving these presented challenges demands great efforts in various fields, such as the design of efficient catalysts and electronic devices for the exploitation of clean energy. For this purpose, numerous methods, such as CO2 reduction and hydrogen production from water splitting, have been used to convert and promote the utilization of CO2, respectively.

This Special Issue will focus on advanced nanosheet fabrication with the aim of promoting carbon neutrality and the development of electronic devices to realize the exploitation of new energy. The issue will cover a wide scope of topics, including, but not limited to:

  • Synthesis of new types of nanosheets;
  • Advanced nanosheets for catalytic (or photocatalytic, electrocatalytic) CO2 utilization;
  • Advanced nanosheets for electrocatalytic water splitting, fuel cell, and metal ion batteries;
  • Advanced nanosheets for electronic devices.

Prof. Dr. Changhua An
Dr. Fan Yang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • nanosheets
  • carbon neutrality
  • new energy
  • water splitting
  • electronic devices

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 3360 KiB  
Article
Solid-State Construction of CuO–Cu2O@C with Synergistic Effects of Pseudocapacity and Carbon Coating for Enhanced Electrochemical Lithium Storage
by Guifen Du, Piyu Gong, Chuansheng Cui, Lei Wang and Changhua An
Nanomaterials 2024, 14(17), 1378; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14171378 - 23 Aug 2024
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1114
Abstract
The pseudocapacitive effect can improve the electrochemical lithium storage capacity at high-rate current density. However, the cycle stability is still unsatisfactory. To overcome this issue, a multivalent oxide with a carbon coating represents a plausible technique. In this work, a CuO–Cu2O@C [...] Read more.
The pseudocapacitive effect can improve the electrochemical lithium storage capacity at high-rate current density. However, the cycle stability is still unsatisfactory. To overcome this issue, a multivalent oxide with a carbon coating represents a plausible technique. In this work, a CuO–Cu2O@C composite has been constructed by a one-step bilayer salt-baking process and utilized as anode material for lithium-ion batteries. At a current density of 2.0 A g−1, the as-prepared composite delivered a stable discharge capacity of 431.8 mA h g−1 even after 600 cycles. The synergistic effects of the multivalence, the pseudocapacitive contribution from copper, and the carbon coating contribute to the enhanced electrochemical lithium storage performance. Specifically, the existence of cuprous suboxide improves the electrochemical conductivity, the pseudocapacitive effect enhances the lithium storage capacity, and the presence of carbon ensures cycle stability. The testing results show that CuO–Cu2O@C composite has broad application prospects in portable energy storage devices. The present work provides an instructive precedent for the preparation of transition metal oxides with controllable electronic states and excellent electrochemical performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Nanosheets for Carbon Neutrality and Electronic Devices)
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13 pages, 7385 KiB  
Article
A Comprehensive Study of NF3-Based Selective Etching Processes: Application to the Fabrication of Vertically Stacked Horizontal Gate-All-around Si Nanosheet Transistors
by Xin Sun, Jiayang Li, Lewen Qian, Dawei Wang, Ziqiang Huang, Xinlong Guo, Tao Liu, Saisheng Xu, Liming Wang, Min Xu and David Wei Zhang
Nanomaterials 2024, 14(11), 928; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14110928 - 24 May 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 4051
Abstract
In this paper, we demonstrate a comprehensive study of NF3-based selective etching processes for inner spacer formation and for channel release, enabling stacked horizontal gate-all-around Si nanosheet transistor architectures. A cyclic etching process consisting of an oxidation treatment step and an [...] Read more.
In this paper, we demonstrate a comprehensive study of NF3-based selective etching processes for inner spacer formation and for channel release, enabling stacked horizontal gate-all-around Si nanosheet transistor architectures. A cyclic etching process consisting of an oxidation treatment step and an etching step is proposed and used for SiGe selective etching. The cyclic etching process exhibits a slower etching rate and higher etching selectivity compared to the direct etching process. The cycle etching process consisting of Recipe 1, which has a SiGe etching rate of 0.98 nm/cycle, is used for the cavity etch. The process achieved good interlayer uniformity of cavity depth (cavity depth ≤ 5 ± 0.3 nm), while also obtaining a near-ideal rectangular SiGe etch front shape (inner spacer shape = 0.84) and little Si loss (0.44 nm@ each side). The cycle etching process consisting of Recipe 4 with extremely high etching selectivity is used for channel release. The process realizes the channel release of nanosheets with a multi-width from 30 nm to 80 nm with little Si loss. In addition, a selective isotropic etching process using NF3/O2/Ar gas mixture is used to etch back the SiN film. The impact of the O2/NF3 ratio on the etching selectivity of SiN to Si and the surface roughness of SiN after etching is investigated. With the introduction of O2 into NF3/Ar discharge, the selectivity increases sharply, but when the ratio of O2/NF3 is up to 1.0, the selectivity tends to a constant value and the surface roughness of SiN increases rapidly. The optimal parameter is O2/NF3 = 0.5, resulting in a selectivity of 5.4 and a roughness of 0.19 nm. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Nanosheets for Carbon Neutrality and Electronic Devices)
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9 pages, 2117 KiB  
Article
Microstructure and Oxygen Evolution Property of Prussian Blue Analogs Prepared by Mechanical Grinding
by Abhishek Meena, Chinna Bathula, Mohammad Rafe Hatshan, Ramasubba Reddy Palem and Atanu Jana
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(17), 2459; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13172459 - 30 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1941
Abstract
Solvent-free mechanochemical synthesis of efficient and low-cost double perovskite (DP), like a cage of Prussian blue (PB) and PB analogs (PBAs), is a promising approach for different applications such as chemical sensing, energy storage, and conversion. Although the solvent-free mechanochemical grinding approach has [...] Read more.
Solvent-free mechanochemical synthesis of efficient and low-cost double perovskite (DP), like a cage of Prussian blue (PB) and PB analogs (PBAs), is a promising approach for different applications such as chemical sensing, energy storage, and conversion. Although the solvent-free mechanochemical grinding approach has been extensively used to create halide-based perovskites, no such reports have been made for cyanide-based double perovskites. Herein, an innovative solvent-free mechanochemical synthetic strategy is demonstrated for synthesizing Fe4[Fe(CN)6]3, Co3[Fe(CN)6]2, and Ni2[Fe(CN)6], where defect sites such as carbon–nitrogen vacancies are inherently introduced during the synthesis. Among all the synthesized PB analogs, the Ni analog manifests a considerable electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with a low overpotential of 288 mV to obtain the current benchmark density of 20 mA cm−2. We hypothesize that incorporating defects, such as carbon–nitrogen vacancies, and synergistic effects contribute to high catalytic activity. Our findings pave the way for an easy and inexpensive large-scale production of earth-abundant non-toxic electrocatalysts with vacancy-mediated defects for oxygen evolution reaction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Nanosheets for Carbon Neutrality and Electronic Devices)
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19 pages, 4766 KiB  
Article
Non-Noble FeCrOx Bimetallic Nanoparticles for Efficient NH3 Decomposition
by Meng Du, Lingling Guo, Hongju Ren, Xin Tao, Yunan Li, Bing Nan, Rui Si, Chongqi Chen and Lina Li
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(7), 1280; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13071280 - 5 Apr 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2428
Abstract
Ammonia has the advantages of being easy to liquefy, easy to store, and having a high hydrogen content of 17.3 wt%, which can be produced without COx through an ammonia decomposition using an appropriate catalyst. In this paper, a series of FeCr [...] Read more.
Ammonia has the advantages of being easy to liquefy, easy to store, and having a high hydrogen content of 17.3 wt%, which can be produced without COx through an ammonia decomposition using an appropriate catalyst. In this paper, a series of FeCr bimetallic oxide nanocatalysts with a uniform morphology and regulated composition were synthesized by the urea two-step hydrolysis method, which exhibited the high-performance decomposition of ammonia. The effects of different FeCr metal ratios on the catalyst particle size, morphology, and crystal phase were investigated. The Fe0.75Cr0.25 sample exhibited the highest catalytic activity, with an ammonia conversion of nearly 100% at 650 °C. The dual metal catalysts clearly outperformed the single metal samples in terms of their catalytic performance. Besides XRD, XPS, and SEM being used as the means of the conventional characterization, the local structural changes of the FeCr metal oxide catalysts in the catalytic ammonia decomposition were investigated by XAFS. It was determined that the Fe metal and FeNx of the bcc structure were the active species of the ammonia-decomposing catalyst. The addition of Cr successfully prevented the Fe from sintering at high temperatures, which is more favorable for the formation of stable metal nitrides, promoting the continuous decomposition of ammonia and improving the decomposition activity of the ammonia. This work reveals the internal relationship between the phase and structural changes and their catalytic activity, identifies the active catalytic phase, thus guiding the design and synthesis of catalysts for ammonia decomposition, and excavates the application value of transition-metal-based nanocomposites in industrial catalysis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Nanosheets for Carbon Neutrality and Electronic Devices)
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