New Trends in Functional Materials and Devices

A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412). This special issue belongs to the section "Selected Papers from International Conferences and Workshops".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 January 2024) | Viewed by 9302

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Faculty of Physics, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, 700506 Iasi, Romania
Interests: physics of advanced materials–nanoparticle synthesis; thin film deposition (sputtering, thermal vacuum deposition, spin coating); characterization (XRD, XPS, UV-Vis, FTIR, EPR) transport phenomena; functional properties (electrical properties, effect hall, optical properties, magnetic properties, sensing properties); advanced applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Center of Materials Technology and Photonics, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71004 Heraklion, Crete, Greece
2. National Institute for R&D in Microtechnologies - IMT Bucharest 126A Erou Iancu Nicolae St., 077190 Bucharest, Romania
Interests: nanotechnology; materials rngineering and applications: photocatalytic materials, materials for envinronmental and clean energy applications; composite materials for electromagnetic shielding; transparent electrode materials development including graphene (synthesis, deposition and functionalization); colloidal synthesis of metal nanoparticles; surface modification of metal oxide; graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide films using metal nanoparticles for plasmonic effects on optical properties and silicon rubber based composite insulators for high voltage applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. National Institute for R&D in Microtechnologies - IMT Bucharest 126A Erou Iancu Nicolae St., 077190 Bucharest, Romania
2. Center of Materials Technology and Photonics, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71004 Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Interests: nanomaterials; polymer nanocomposites; electrochromic layers; thermochromic layers; metal oxides; carbon allotropes; electromagnetic shielding; transparent electrodes; photocatalysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Functional materials are of high interest due to their exploitation in many advanced areas: energy storage and conversion, environment, healthcare, sensors and actuators, modern electronics, spintronics, photonics, textile, wearable electronics, etc. This Special Issue is devoted to current progress in functional material design, simulation models, preparation, characterization, and devices for advanced applications.

The issue covers all types of functional materials with electrical, magnetic, ferroic, multiferroic, optical, sensing, piezoelectric, superconducting, catalytic, photocatalytic, thermoelectric, phase transforming, shape memory, and memristor properties and includes but is not limited to the following topics:

  • Thin and thick films, nanostructures, nanocomposites, nanostructured coating systems;
  • High surface area systems: colloids, nanoparticles, large interfaces;
  • Fabrication technologies and characterization techniques;
  • Surface and interface processes;
  • Transport phenomena;
  • Design and simulation models;
  • Device developments: sensors, biosensors, actuators, memristors, solar cells, fuel cells, photonic, electronic, spintronic devices, etc.

We invite participants in the 13th International Conference on Physics of Advanced Materials, Sant Feliu de Guixols, September 24-30, 2021, to send their manuscript to this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Felicia Iacomi
Dr. Mirela Suchea
Prof. Dr. Emmanouel Koudoumas
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. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2600 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

  • functional thin films
  • functional coatings
  • functional properties
  • surface processes
  • simulation models
  • applications

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

29 pages, 7962 KiB  
Article
A Study on Poly(ethylene oxide)-Based Supercapacitors Doped with Various Dopants
by Chi-Yuen Hui, Chi-Wai Kan and Kam-Hong Chau
Coatings 2023, 13(8), 1373; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings13081373 - 04 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 679
Abstract
In this study, different concentrations of lithium perchlorate (LiClO4) and various types of nanocarbons were applied to form poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-based electrochemical double-layer (EDL) supercapacitors. For samples doped with various concentrations of LiClO4, 1 g/L of LiClO4 was [...] Read more.
In this study, different concentrations of lithium perchlorate (LiClO4) and various types of nanocarbons were applied to form poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-based electrochemical double-layer (EDL) supercapacitors. For samples doped with various concentrations of LiClO4, 1 g/L of LiClO4 was prepared and mixed with PEO solution in different ratios for different concentrations of PEO:Li+ mixtures for further solution casting. It was found that the maximum current density and specific capacitance of the sample prepared under the ratio of 100:1 of PEO:Li+ were 1.84 μA/cm2 with a scanning rate of 100 mV/s and 33.56 nF/cm2 at 40 Hz, respectively. These were 10 times and nearly 18 times better than the control capacitor prepared without LiClO4. In addition, nanocarbons with four different structures, including mesoporous carbon nanopowders (Meso) and multi-walled (MW), double-walled (DW) and single-walled (SW) carbon nanotubes, were mixed with PEO solution to prepare samples via solution casting. The comparison of four types of nanocarbons showed that DW contributed the highest maximum current density and the specific capacitance at 10.51 μA/cm2 under a scanning rate of 100 mV/s and 32.798 nF/cm2 at 40 Hz, 60 times and 17 times higher than that of the control sample casted without any dopants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Trends in Functional Materials and Devices)
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12 pages, 2921 KiB  
Article
Study of Optical and Electrical Properties of RF-Sputtered ZnSe/ZnTe Heterojunctions for Sensing Applications
by Ana-Maria Panaitescu and Vlad-Andrei Antohe
Coatings 2023, 13(1), 208; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings13010208 - 16 Jan 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1772
Abstract
Cadmium (Cd)-free photodiodes based on n-type Zinc Selenide/p-type Zinc Telluride (n-ZnSe/p-ZnTe) heterojunctions were prepared by Radio Frequency-Magnetron Sputtering (RF-MS) technique, and their detailed optical and electrical characterization was performed. Onto an optical glass substrate, 100 nm gold (Au) thin film was deposited by [...] Read more.
Cadmium (Cd)-free photodiodes based on n-type Zinc Selenide/p-type Zinc Telluride (n-ZnSe/p-ZnTe) heterojunctions were prepared by Radio Frequency-Magnetron Sputtering (RF-MS) technique, and their detailed optical and electrical characterization was performed. Onto an optical glass substrate, 100 nm gold (Au) thin film was deposited by Thermal Vacuum Evaporation (TVE) representing the back-contact, followed by the successive RF-MS deposition of ZnTe, ZnSe, Zinc Oxide (ZnO) and Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) thin films, finally resulting in the Au/ZnTe/ZnSe/ZnO/ITO sub-micrometric “substrate”-type configuration. Next, the optical characterization by Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-VIS) spectroscopy was performed on the component thin films, and their optical band gap values were determined. The electrical measurements in the dark and under illumination at different light intensities were subsequently performed. The Current–Voltage (I–V) characteristics in the dark are nonlinear with a relatively high asymmetry, following the modified Shockley–Read equation. From their analysis, the series resistance, shunt resistance, the ideality factor and saturation current were determined with high accuracy. It is worth noting that the action spectrum of the structure is shifted to short wavelengths. A sensibility test for the 420–500 nm range was performed while changing the intensity of the incident light from 100 mW/cm2 down to 10 mW/cm2 and measuring the photocurrent. The obtained results provided sufficient information to consider the present sub-micrometric photodiodes based on n-ZnSe/p-ZnTe heterojunctions to be more suitable for the UV domain, demonstrating their potential for integration within UV photodetectors relying on environmentally-friendly materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Trends in Functional Materials and Devices)
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9 pages, 2612 KiB  
Article
Electromagnetic Shielding of Composite Films Based on Graphite, Graphitized Carbon Black and Iron-Oxide
by Volodymyr Khomenko, Oksana Butenko, Oksana Chernysh, Viacheslav Barsukov, Mirela Petruta Suchea and Emmanouel Koudoumas
Coatings 2022, 12(5), 665; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings12050665 - 13 May 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2574
Abstract
The present work regards the development of paint-like composites based on mixtures of carbon materials with magnetite in polyvinyl butyral matrix, and the investigation of the dependence on the electrical characteristics and the frequency of their electromagnetic shielding properties. It was found that [...] Read more.
The present work regards the development of paint-like composites based on mixtures of carbon materials with magnetite in polyvinyl butyral matrix, and the investigation of the dependence on the electrical characteristics and the frequency of their electromagnetic shielding properties. It was found that high electromagnetic shielding effectiveness requires not only the presence of a high content of carbon components in the composite, but also the absence of an agglomeration of filler particles. Using these paint-like materials, a shielding effectiveness of up to −35 dB of UHF radiation can be obtained. A combination of fillers based on carbon-graphite materials of different morphology and magnetite was found to enhance shielding efficiency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Trends in Functional Materials and Devices)
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12 pages, 3994 KiB  
Article
WO3 Films Grown by Spray Pyrolysis for Smart Windows Applications
by Kyriakos Mouratis, Ioan Valentin Tudose, Cosmin Romanitan, Cristina Pachiu, Marian Popescu, Georgios Simistiras, Stelios Couris, Mirela Petruta Suchea and Emmanuel Koudoumas
Coatings 2022, 12(4), 545; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings12040545 - 18 Apr 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2615
Abstract
WO3 nanostructured thin films were grown using spray deposition on FTO coated glass. The effect of the precursor concentration and the solution quantity, which determines the deposition time, on the electrochemical, electrochromic and optical properties of the WO3 films was investigated. [...] Read more.
WO3 nanostructured thin films were grown using spray deposition on FTO coated glass. The effect of the precursor concentration and the solution quantity, which determines the deposition time, on the electrochemical, electrochromic and optical properties of the WO3 films was investigated. The films were found to exhibit a good electrochromic activity with a reasonably good durability of charge exchange and optical modulation under harsh electrochemical cycling in Li-ion-conducting electrolyte. Associated compositional and structural characteristics were probed by several techniques, indicating that the observed improved durability may be due to the unique WO3 thin films’ structuring, the surface of the films consisting of wall-like structures combined with bubble-like islands on a polycrystalline WO3 granular background, that requires further study in greater detail. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Trends in Functional Materials and Devices)
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