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Advances in Synthesis, Properties and Application of Nanomaterials

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 September 2023) | Viewed by 3474

Special Issue Editor

Department of Physics, Oklahoma State University, 145 Physical Sciences II, Stillwater, OK 74078-3072, USA
Interests: heirarchical nanomaterials; neuromorphic materials; sensors; photonics; electronic transport in 1D nanostructures; catalysis; surface science
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Advancing technology goes hand in hand with advancing materials. Over the past two or three decades, nanomaterials have proven to be a pathway to new technologies. This journey begins with advances in the synthesis of new nanomaterials or more efficient processes for their production. This is followed by characterization of their properties, because advances in materials synthesis don’t necessarily produce nanomaterials with the desired properties and, in some cases, negatively affect their properties. The final step in the journey is demonstrating that the material’s properties lead to new or superior performance in one or more applications. Therefore, this Special Issue is seeking to publish studies that address the synthesis of materials and characterization of their physical properties in addition to demonstrating their usefulness in an application. Examples of applications include, but are not restricted to, catalysis, electronics, sensors, optics and mechanics.

Prof. Dr. David N. McIlroy
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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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

  • nanomaterials
  • synthesis
  • characterization
  • sensor
  • catalysis
  • electronics
  • optics

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 3727 KiB  
Article
Platinum-Functionalized Graphene Oxide: One-Pot Synthesis and Application as an Electrocatalyst
by Anisoara Oubraham, Daniela Ion-Ebrasu, Felicia Vasut, Amalia Soare, Ioan-Sorin Sorlei and Adriana Marinoiu
Materials 2023, 16(5), 1897; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16051897 - 24 Feb 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1120
Abstract
This paper presents the preparation of platinum on a reduced graphene oxide matrix (PtrGO) using the microwave-assisted method with three different pH solutions. The platinum concentration determined by energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) was 4.32 (weight%), 2.16 (weight %) and 5.70 (weight%), corresponding to [...] Read more.
This paper presents the preparation of platinum on a reduced graphene oxide matrix (PtrGO) using the microwave-assisted method with three different pH solutions. The platinum concentration determined by energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) was 4.32 (weight%), 2.16 (weight %) and 5.70 (weight%), corresponding to pH 3.3, 11.7 and 7.2, respectively. Pt functionalization of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) decreased the rGO specific surface, as shown by Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) analysis. An XRD spectrum of platinum-decorated reduced graphene oxide (rGO) showed the presence of the associated phases of rGO and centered cubic platinum peaks. An oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrochemical characterization performed using the rotating disk electrode (RDE) method showed that in PtGO1 synthetized in an acidic environment, with 4.32 Pt (weight%) determined by EDX, platinum is much more dispersed, which explains its better electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction performance. Koutecky–Levich (K-L) plots calculated at different potentials prove a good linear relationship. Electron transfer numbers (n) determined from the K-L plots are between 3.1 and 3.8, which confirms that the ORR for all the samples can be regarded as first-order reaction kinetics of O2 concentration formed on the Pt surface during ORR. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Synthesis, Properties and Application of Nanomaterials)
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16 pages, 2881 KiB  
Article
Piezoelectric Response and Substrate Effect of ZnO Nanowires for Mechanical Energy Harvesting in Internet-of-Things Applications
by Mateusz Wlazło, Maciej Haras, Grzegorz Kołodziej, Oliwia Szawcow, Jakub Ostapko, Wojciech Andrysiewicz, Dzmitry S. Kharytonau and Thomas Skotnicki
Materials 2022, 15(19), 6767; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15196767 - 29 Sep 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1831
Abstract
Recently, an unprecedented growth in the internet of things (IoT) is being observed, which is becoming the main driver for the entire semiconductor industry. Reliable maintenance and servicing of the IoT is becoming challenging, knowing that the IoT nodes outnumber the human population [...] Read more.
Recently, an unprecedented growth in the internet of things (IoT) is being observed, which is becoming the main driver for the entire semiconductor industry. Reliable maintenance and servicing of the IoT is becoming challenging, knowing that the IoT nodes outnumber the human population by a factor of seven. Energy harvesting (EH) can overcome those difficulties, delivering the energyautonomous IoT nodes to the market. EH converts natural or waste energies (vibrations, heat losses, air flows, light, etc.) into useful energy. This article explores the performance of ZnO nanowires under mechanical actuation to characterize their piezoelectric performance. ZnO nanowires were fabricated using ALD and a subsequent chemical bath growth. AISI 301 steel was used as a substrate of the EH device to better fit the mechanical requirements for the piezoelectric generator. We determined that a thin layer of another oxide below ZnO provides outstanding adhesion. The samples were submitted under repetitive mechanical stress in order to characterize the output piezovoltage for different conditions. They exhibited a piezoelectric signal which was stable after hundreds of actuations. This shows good promise for the use of our device based on ZnO, an Earth-abundant and non-toxic material, as an alternative to the conventional and popular but harmful and toxic PZT. The designed measurement setup demonstrated that a AISI 301 steel substrate coated with ZnO deposited by ALD and grown in a chemical bath has promising performance as a piezoelectric material. Characterized ZnO samples generate up to 80 nJ of energy during 55 s runs under matched load conditions, which is sufficient to supply a modern IoT node. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Synthesis, Properties and Application of Nanomaterials)
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