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Crystals
Special Issues
Strain-Engineered Nanocomposites towards Multifunctionalities
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Strain-Engineered Nanocomposites towards Multifunctionalities

A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352). This special issue belongs to the section "Crystal Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 November 2022) | Viewed by 4368

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Di Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
Interests: functional thin film; electron microscopy; plasmonic; ferroelectrics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jijie Huang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Materials, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong 510275, China
Interests: pulsed laser deposition; functional thin film
Dr. Shikhar Misra

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh 208016, India
Interests: functional thin film; ceramic nanocomposite; epitaxy
Dr. Xuejing Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
Interests: functional nanocomposites; hybrid plasmonics; 2D heterostructures
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Strain engineering has become an important research theme in the field of materials science because the elastic strain states induced by lattice mismatch or local defects within crystalline materials would remarkably alter the physical properties of materials, such as the transition temperatures (Tc) of ferroelectricity, ferromagnetism, and superconductivity, etc., which opens up enormous opportunities in device applications.

Other than the strain tuning in single-phase oxides, where the biaxial strain between the film and substrate plays the dominant role in altering carrier mobility and physical properties of the epitaxial films, the strain states within functional nanocomposites are much more complex where both in-plane and out-of-plane strains significantly impact the physical properties as well as functionalities of the nanocomposites.

Therefore, this Special Issue aims to share the latest research results in strain engineering of nanocomposite thin films which exhibit tunable properties and functionalities. We warmly welcome researchers to contribute to this Special issue in the form of research articles, letters, reviews, and communications, as well as all suitable forms. The potential topics may include, but are not limited to:

  • The growth and synthesis of nanocomposite thin films;
  • The characterization of functional nanocomposites;
  • The simulation and theoretical prediction of physical properties;
  • Strain-induced property tuning;
  • Lattice strain calculation at heterointerface;
  • Growth parameter tuning and optimization;
  • Heterostructure interface characterization;
  • Device applications of functional nanocomposites.

Dr. Di Zhang
Dr. Jijie Huang
Dr. Shikhar Misra
Dr. Xuejing Wang
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. Crystals 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

  • thin film
  • nanocomposite
  • crystal growth
  • functionality
  • strain engineering
  • lattice mismatch
  • epitaxy
  • heterointerface
  • microstructural characterization
  • property tuning
  • device application

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 5557 KiB  
Article
NO2 Adsorption Sensitivity Adjustment of As/Sb Lateral Heterojunctions through Strain: First Principles Calculations
by Li Yang, Dengkui Wang, Dan Fang, Hao Yan, Yingjiao Zhai, Xueying Chu, Jinhua Li and Xuan Fang
Crystals 2023, 13(9), 1325; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst13091325 - 30 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 632
Abstract
Strain engineering is an effective way to adjust the sensing properties of two-dimensional materials. In this paper, lateral heterojunctions (LHSs) based on arsenic and antimony have been designed along the armchair (AC) or zigzag (ZZ) edges. The adsorption and sensing characteristics of As/Sb [...] Read more.
Strain engineering is an effective way to adjust the sensing properties of two-dimensional materials. In this paper, lateral heterojunctions (LHSs) based on arsenic and antimony have been designed along the armchair (AC) or zigzag (ZZ) edges. The adsorption and sensing characteristics of As/Sb LHSs to NO2 before and after applying different types of strain are calculated by first principles. The band gaps of all As/Sb heterostructures are contributed by As-p and Sb-p orbitals. In addition, the adsorption energy of As/Sb ZZ-LHS with −4% compression strain is the largest. Furthermore, its work function changes significantly before and after the adsorption of NO2. Meanwhile, strong orbital hybridizations near the Fermi level are observed and a new state is yielded after applying compressive strain. These results indicate that the As/Sb LHS with ZZ interface under −4% compression strain possesses the best sensing properties to NO2. This work lays the foundation for the fabrication of high-performance NO2 gas sensors. High-performance gas sensors can be used to track and regulate NO2 exposure and emission, as well as to track NO2 concentrations in the atmosphere and support the assessment of air quality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strain-Engineered Nanocomposites towards Multifunctionalities)
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6 pages, 1689 KiB  
Communication
Intercalation of Cocamide Diethanolamine into Swellable Clay by Solid-State Process
by Yang-Su Han and In Park
Crystals 2022, 12(9), 1253; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst12091253 - 04 Sep 2022
Viewed by 1258
Abstract
Coconut fatty acid diethanolamine (cocamide-DEA (CDEA)), CH3(CH2)16CON(CH2CH2OH)2 was intercalated into montmorillonite using both solution and solid-state reaction methods. In a typical solution process, the CDEA aqueous solution was mixed with a montmorillonite [...] Read more.
Coconut fatty acid diethanolamine (cocamide-DEA (CDEA)), CH3(CH2)16CON(CH2CH2OH)2 was intercalated into montmorillonite using both solution and solid-state reaction methods. In a typical solution process, the CDEA aqueous solution was mixed with a montmorillonite (Kunipia-F) aqueous suspension, which resulted in a CDEA–montmorillonite layer complex with a basal spacing of 13.8 Å. A CDEA–montmorillonite complex was also easily prepared by the solid–solid reaction method. A mixture of CDEA and Na–montmorillonite was ground at ambient temperature. The basal spacing of the mixture increased to approximately 44 Å after grinding for 30 min. Upon washing, the basal spacing decreased to approximately 10 Å, which was close to that of pristine Na–montmorillonite owing to the deintercalation of the CDEA molecules. The basal spacing of the CDEA–montmorillonite composite starting from protonated montmorillonite decreased to 13.5 Å upon washing, indicating the parallel monolayer arrangement of CDEA molecules between the silicate layers. This finding strongly suggests that acid–base intralayer complexation is responsible for the solid-state intercalation reaction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strain-Engineered Nanocomposites towards Multifunctionalities)
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10 pages, 3716 KiB  
Article
TiN–Fe Vertically Aligned Nanocomposites Integrated on Silicon as a Multifunctional Platform toward Device Applications
by Matias Kalaswad, Di Zhang, Bethany X. Rutherford, Juanjuan Lu, James P. Barnard, Zihao He, Juncheng Liu, Haohan Wang, Xiaoshan Xu and Haiyan Wang
Crystals 2022, 12(6), 849; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst12060849 - 16 Jun 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1872
Abstract
Transition metal nitrides such as titanium nitride (TiN) possess exceptional mechanical-, chemical-, and thermal-stability and have been utilized in a wide variety of applications ranging from super-hard, corrosion-resistive, and decorative coatings to nanoscale diffusion barriers in semiconductor devices. Despite the ongoing interest in [...] Read more.
Transition metal nitrides such as titanium nitride (TiN) possess exceptional mechanical-, chemical-, and thermal-stability and have been utilized in a wide variety of applications ranging from super-hard, corrosion-resistive, and decorative coatings to nanoscale diffusion barriers in semiconductor devices. Despite the ongoing interest in these robust materials, there have been limited reports focused on engineering high-aspect ratio TiN-based nanocomposites with anisotropic magnetic and optical properties. To this end, we explored TiN–Fe thin films with self-assembled vertical structures integrated on Si substrates. We showed that the key physical properties of the individual components (e.g., ferromagnetism from Fe) are preserved, that vertical nanostructures promote anisotropic behavior, and interactions between TiN and Fe enable a special magneto-optical response. This TiN–Fe nanocomposite system presents a new group of complex multifunctional hybrid materials that can be integrated on Si for future Si-based memory, optical, and biocompatible devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strain-Engineered Nanocomposites towards Multifunctionalities)
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