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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 April 2023) | Viewed by 19095

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Cheng Hu

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Guest Editor

School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, China
Interests: energy storage materials; Li-S batteries; Li-metal anodes; nanoporous carbons; surface and interface science; metallic material engineering

Prof. Dr. Chuanzhong Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, China
Interests: metal materials and heat treatment; laser strengthening and modification of material surface; micro-arc oxidation; biomedical materials; micro and nano films and material failure and protection

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Surfaces and interfaces are fundamental to many important properties designated to specific material applications, ranging from corrosion- and wear-resistance of structural materials to the biocompatibility of biomedical materials. The application of nanomaterials further expands the measures that can be taken for the optimizations of surfaces and interfaces towards improved performance. The potential is demonstrated by the recent advancements of functional materials in important applications such as energy-storage and catalysis. Novel nanomaterials or nano-structures have been introduced to achieve dedicated performance in extreme conditions. Processing plays an important role for the regulation of final properties. Apart from the use of nanomaterials as the “feedstocks” of processing, nano-structures with special functionalities can also be formed in-situ under finely tuned processing parameters. Understanding the processing-performance relationship with respect to surfaces and interfaces is expected to further promote the development of this field. This Special Issue invites submissions that reflect, but are not limited to, the following aspects involving nanomaterials and unique nano-structures:

Anticorrosive and wear-resistant coatings;
Biomedical materials using advanced processing methods;
Surface modifications of metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites with special functionalities;
New synthesis methods for the optimization of surfaces and interfaces in energy-storage, catalysis and solar cells;
Surfaces and interfaces in additive manufacturing;
Applications of emerging low-dimensional materials with unique surface and interface effects;
Processing-structure-performance relationship in the surface treatment of materials;
Advanced characterization and simulation methods for the study of surfaces and interfaces.

Prof. Dr. Cheng Hu
Prof. Dr. Chuanzhong Chen
Guest Editors

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Keywords

surface modifications
additive manufacturing
metal materials and heat treatment
optimization of surfaces and interfaces
anticorrosive and wear-resistant coatings
biomedical materials using advanced processing methods
advanced characterization and simulation methods

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

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9 pages, 4308 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Structural and Optical Properties of Tungsten Disulfide Nanoscale Films Grown by Sulfurization from W and WO₃

by Pangihutan Gultom, Jiang-Yan Chiang, Tzu-Tai Huang, Jung-Chuan Lee, Shu-Hsuan Su and Jung-Chung Andrew Huang

Nanomaterials 2023, 13(7), 1276; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13071276 - 04 Apr 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2145

Abstract

Tungsten disulfide (WS₂) was prepared from W metal and WO₃ by ion beam sputtering and sulfurization in a different number of layers, including monolayer, bilayer, six-layer, and nine-layer. To obtain better crystallinity, the nine-layer of WS₂ was also prepared from W metal and sulfurized in a furnace at different temperatures (800, 850, 900, and 950 °C). X-ray diffraction revealed that WS₂ has a 2-H crystal structure and the crystallinity improved with increasing sulfurization temperature, while the crystallinity of WS₂ sulfurized from WO₃ (WS₂-WO₃) is better than that sulfurized from W-metal (WS₂-W). Raman spectra show that the full-width at half maximum (FWHM) of WS₂-WO₃ is narrower than that of WS₂-W. We demonstrate that high-quality monocrystalline WS₂ thin films can be prepared at wafer scale by sulfurization of WO₃. The photoluminescence of the WS₂ monolayer is strongly enhanced and centered at 1.98 eV. The transmittance of the WS₂ monolayer exceeds 80%, and the measured band gap is 1.9 eV, as shown by ultraviolet-visible-infrared spectroscopy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Processing, Surfaces and Interfaces of Nanomaterials)

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13 pages, 11706 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Nano Nd₂O₃ on the Microstructure and High-Temperature Resistance of G@Ni Laser Alloying Coatings on Ti-6Al-4V Alloy

by Zifan Wang, Xiaoxi Meng, Zhihuan Zhao, Chuanzhong Chen and Huijun Yu

Nanomaterials 2023, 13(6), 1112; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13061112 - 20 Mar 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1084

Abstract

Titanium and its alloys are widely used in high-end manufacturing fields. However, their low high-temperature oxidation resistance has limited their further application. Recently, laser alloying processing has attracted researchers to improve the surface properties of Ti, for which Ni coated graphite system is an excellent prospect due to its outstanding properties and metallurgical bonding between coating and substrate. In this paper, nanoscaled rare earth oxide Nd₂O₃ addition was added to Ni coated graphite laser alloying materials to research its influence on the microstructure and high-temperature oxidation resistance of the coating. The results proved that nano-Nd₂O₃ has an outstanding effect on refining coating microstructures, thus the high-temperature oxidation resistance was improved. Furthermore, with the addition of 1. 5 wt.% nano-Nd₂O₃, more NiO formed in the oxide film, which effectively strengthened the protective effect of the film. After 100 h of 800 °C oxidation, the oxidation weight gain per unit area of the normal coating was 14.571 mg/cm², while that of the coating with nano-Nd₂O₃ addition was 6.244 mg/cm², further proving that the addition of nano-Nd₂O₃ substantially improved the high-temperature oxidation properties of the coating. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Processing, Surfaces and Interfaces of Nanomaterials)

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10 pages, 2680 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Remarkably Enhanced Lattice Oxygen Participation in Perovskites to Boost Oxygen Evolution Reaction

by Aditya Narayan Singh, Amir Hajibabaei, Muhammad Hanif Diorizky, Qiankai Ba and Kyung-Wan Nam

Nanomaterials 2023, 13(5), 905; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13050905 - 27 Feb 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1560

Abstract

Enhancing the participation of the lattice oxygen mechanism (LOM) in several perovskites to significantly boost the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is daunting. With the rapid decline in fossil fuels, energy research is turning toward water splitting to produce usable hydrogen by significantly reducing overpotential for other half-cells’ OER. Recent studies have shown that in addition to the conventional adsorbate evolution mechanism (AEM), participation of LOM can overcome their prevalent scaling relationship limitations. Here, we report the acid treatment strategy and bypass the cation/anion doping strategy to significantly enhance LOM participation. Our perovskite demonstrated a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² at an overpotential of 380 mV and a low Tafel slope (65 mV dec⁻¹) much lower than IrO₂ (73 mV dec⁻¹). We propose that the presence of nitric acid-induced defects regulates the electronic structure and thereby lowers oxygen binding energy, allowing enhanced LOM participation to boost OER significantly. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Processing, Surfaces and Interfaces of Nanomaterials)

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12 pages, 2733 KiB

Open AccessArticle

High-Energy Excimer Annealing of Nanodiamond Layers

by Klaudia Hurtuková, Nikola Slepičková Kasálková, Dominik Fajstavr, Ladislav Lapčák, Václav Švorčík and Petr Slepička

Nanomaterials 2023, 13(3), 557; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13030557 - 30 Jan 2023

Viewed by 1308

Abstract

Here, we aimed to achieve exposure of a nanodiamond layer to a high-energy excimer laser. The treatment was realized in high-vacuum conditions. The carbon, in the form of nanodiamonds (NDs), underwent high-temperature changes. The induced changes in carbon form were studied with Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) and we searched for the Q-carbon phase in the prepared structure. Surface morphology changes were detected by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). NDs were exposed to different laser energy values, from 1600 to 3000 mJ cm⁻². Using the AFM and SEM methods, we found that the NDs layer was disrupted with increasing beam energy, to create a fibrous structure resembling Q-carbon fibers. Layered micro-/nano-spheres, representing the role of diamonds, were created at the junction of the fibers. A Q-carbon structure (fibers) consisting of 80% sp³ hybridization was prepared by melting and quenching the nanodiamond film. Higher energy values of the laser beam (2000 and 3000 mJ cm⁻²), in addition to oxygen bonds, also induced carbide bonds characteristic of Q-carbon. Raman spectroscopy confirmed the presence of a diamond (sp³) phase and a low-intensity graphitic (G) peak occurring in the Q-carbon form samples. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Processing, Surfaces and Interfaces of Nanomaterials)

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19 pages, 2874 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Universal Character of Breaking of Wormlike Surfactant Micelles by Additives of Different Hydrophobicity

by Andrey V. Shibaev, Alexander S. Ospennikov, Elizaveta K. Kuznetsova, Alexander I. Kuklin, Teimur M. Aliev, Valentin V. Novikov and Olga E. Philippova

Nanomaterials 2022, 12(24), 4445; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12244445 - 14 Dec 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1434

Abstract

Wormlike surfactant micelles are widely used in various applications including fracturing technology in oil industry, template synthesis of different nanoobjects, micellar copolymerization of hydrophilic and hydrophobic monomers, and so forth. Most of those applications suggest the solubilization of different additives in the micelles. The present paper is aimed at the comparative study of the effect of the solubilization of hydrophobic (n-decane and 1-phenylhexane) and hydrophilic (N-isopropylacrylamide and acrylamide) substances on the rheological properties and structure of the micelles using several complementary techniques including rheometry, small angle neutron scattering, dynamic light scattering, and diffusion ordered NMR spectroscopy. For these studies, mixed micelles of potassium oleate and n-octyltrimethylammonium bromide containing the excess of either anionic or cationic surfactants were used. It was shown that hydrophobic additives are completely solubilized inside the micelles being localized deep in the core (n-decane, 1-phenylhexane) or near the core/corona interface (1-phenylhexane). At the same time, only a small fraction of hydrophilic additives (14% of N-isopropylacrylamide and 4% of acrylamide) penetrate the micelles being localized at the corona area. Despite different localization of the additives inside the micelles, all of them induce the breaking of wormlike micelles with the formation of either ellipsoidal microemulsion droplets (in the case of hydrophobic additives) or ellipsoidal surfactant micelles (in the case of hydrophilic additives). The breaking of micelles results in the drop of viscosity of the solution up to water value. The main result of this paper consists in the observation of the fact that for all the additives under study, the dependences of the viscosity on the volume fraction of additive lie on the same master curve being shifted along the volume fraction axis by a certain factor depending on the hydrophobicity of the added species. Those data are quite useful for various applications of wormlike surfactant micelles suggesting the solubilization of different additives inside them. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Processing, Surfaces and Interfaces of Nanomaterials)

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11 pages, 2747 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Diffusive Formation of Au/Ag Alloy Nanoparticles of Governed Composition in Glass

by Ekaterina Babich, Igor Reduto and Andrey Lipovskii

Nanomaterials 2022, 12(23), 4202; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12234202 - 26 Nov 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1087

Abstract

For the first time we show that the introduction of silver ions in the glass containing gold nanoparticles (NPs) and additional heat treatment of the glass in the air lead to the formation of Au/Ag alloy NPs. The proposed approach makes it possible to position localized surface plasmon resonance of the NPs by selecting the heat treatment temperature, which determines the silver proportion in the alloy NPs. This allows for expanding customizability of NPs for applications in surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy, catalysis and biochemistry. Developed technique benefits from the presence of silver in the glass in ionic form, which prevents the oxidation of silver and provides stable preparation of Au/Ag alloy NPs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Processing, Surfaces and Interfaces of Nanomaterials)

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13 pages, 2918 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Anisotropy Engineering of ZnO Nanoporous Frameworks: A Lattice Dynamics Simulation

by Na Sa, Sue-Sin Chong, Hui-Qiong Wang and Jin-Cheng Zheng

Nanomaterials 2022, 12(18), 3239; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12183239 - 18 Sep 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1500

Abstract

The anisotropy engineering of nanoporous zinc oxide (ZnO) frameworks has been performed by lattice dynamics simulation. A series of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoporous framework structures was designed by creating nanopores with different sizes and shapes. We examined the size effects of varying several features of the nanoporous framework (namely, the removal of layers of atoms, surface-area-to-volume ratio, coordination number, porosity, and density) on its mechanical properties (including bulk modulus, Young’s modulus, elastic constant, and Poisson ratio) with both lattice dynamics simulations. We also found that the anisotropy of nanoporous framework can be drastically tuned by changing the shape of nanopores. The maximum anisotropy (defined by Y_max/Y_min) of the Young’s modulus value increases from 1.2 for bulk ZnO to 2.5 for hexagon-prism-shaped ZnO nanoporous framework structures, with a density of 2.72 g/cm³, and, even more remarkably, to 89.8 for a diamond-prism-shape at a density of 1.72 g/cm³. Our findings suggest a new route for desirable anisotropy and mechanical property engineering with nanoporous frameworks by editing the shapes of the nanopores for the desired anisotropy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Processing, Surfaces and Interfaces of Nanomaterials)

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14 pages, 6065 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Rapid Synthesis of Kaolinite Nanoscrolls through Microwave Processing

by Md Shahidul Islam Khan and John B. Wiley

Nanomaterials 2022, 12(18), 3141; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12183141 - 10 Sep 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1301

Abstract

Kaolinite nanoscrolls (NScs) are halloysite-like nanotubular structures of great interest due to their ability to superimpose halloysite’s properties and applicability. Especially attractive is the ability of these NScs to serve as reaction vessels for the uptake and conversion of different chemical species. The synthesis of kaolinite NScs, however, is demanding due to the various processing steps that lead to extended reaction times. Generally, three intercalation stages are involved in the synthesis, where the second step of methylation dominates others in terms of duration. The present research shows that introducing microwave processing throughout the various steps can simplify the procedure overall and reduce the synthesis period to less than a day (14 h). The kaolinite nanoscrolls were obtained using two final intercalating agents, aminopropyl trimethoxy silane (APTMS) and cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC). Both produce abundant NScs, as corroborated by microscopy measurements as well as the surface area of the final products; APTMS intercalated NScs were 63.34 m²/g, and CTAC intercalated NScs were 73.14 m²/g. The nanoscrolls averaged about 1 μm in length with outer diameters of APTMS and CTAC intercalated samples of 37.3 ± 8.8 nm and 24.9 ± 6.1 nm, respectively. The availability of methods for the rapid production of kaolinite nanoscrolls will lead to greater utility of these materials in technologically significant applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Processing, Surfaces and Interfaces of Nanomaterials)

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15 pages, 6380 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Modulation of Cell Behavior by 3D Biocompatible Hydrogel Microscaffolds with Precise Configuration

by Wei-Cai Zhang, Mei-Ling Zheng, Jie Liu, Feng Jin, Xian-Zi Dong, Min Guo and Teng Li

Nanomaterials 2021, 11(9), 2325; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11092325 - 07 Sep 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2414

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) micronano structures have attracted much attention in tissue engineering since they can better simulate the microenvironment in vivo. Two-photon polymerization (TPP) technique provides a powerful tool for printing arbitrary 3D structures with high precision. Here, the desired 3D biocompatible hydrogel microscaffolds (3D microscaffold) with structure design referring to fibroblasts L929 have been fabricated by TPP technology, particularly considering the relative size of cell seed (cell suspension), spread cell, strut and strut spacing of scaffold. Modulation of the cell behavior has been studied by adjusting the porosity from 69.7% to 89.3%. The cell culture experiment results reveal that the obvious modulation of F-actin can be achieved by using the 3D microscaffold. Moreover, cells on 3D microscaffolds exhibit more lamellipodia than those on 2D substrates, and thus resulting in a more complicated 3D shape of single cell and increased cell surface. 3D distribution can be also achieved by employing the designed 3D microscaffold, which would effectively improve the efficiency of information exchange and material transfer. The proposed protocol enables us to better understand the cell behavior in vivo, which would provide high prospects for the further application in tissue engineering. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Processing, Surfaces and Interfaces of Nanomaterials)

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10 pages, 2382 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Transformative Gold Patterning through Selective Laser Refining of Cyanide

by Jaemook Lim, Jimin Ham, Woohyun Lee, Eunseung Hwang, Won Chul Lee and Sukjoon Hong

Nanomaterials 2021, 11(8), 1921; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11081921 - 26 Jul 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2384

Abstract

Gold is an essential noble metal for electronics, and its application area is increasing continuously through the introduction of gold nanoparticle ink that enables rapid prototyping and direct writing of gold electrodes on versatile substrates at a low temperature. However, the synthesis of gold nanoparticles has certain limitations involving high cost, long synthesis time, large waste of material, and frequent use of chemicals. In this study, we suggest simultaneous laser refining of gold cyanide and selective fabrication of gold electrodes directly on the substrate without a separate synthesis step. Gold cyanide is commonly the first product of gold from the primitive ore, and the gold can be extracted directly from the rapid photothermal decomposition of gold cyanide by the laser. It was confirmed that laser-induced thermocapillary force plays an important role in creating the continuous gold patterns by aligning the refined gold. The resultant gold electrodes exhibited a low resistivity analogous to the conventional direct writing method using nanoparticles, and the facile repair process of a damaged electrode was demonstrated as the proof-of-concept. The proposed transformative approach for gold patterning, distinguished from the previous top-down and bottom-up approaches, has the potential to replace the well-known techniques and provide a new branch of electrode manufacturing scheme. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Processing, Surfaces and Interfaces of Nanomaterials)

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Review

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30 pages, 8195 KiB

Open AccessReview

MXene-Based Porous Monoliths

by Yang Yang, Kaijuan Li, Yaxin Wang, Zhanpeng Wu, Thomas P. Russell and Shaowei Shi

Nanomaterials 2022, 12(21), 3792; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12213792 - 27 Oct 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1975

Abstract

In the past decade, a thriving family of 2D nanomaterials, transition-metal carbides/nitrides (MXenes), have garnered tremendous interest due to its intriguing physical/chemical properties, structural features, and versatile functionality. Integrating these 2D nanosheets into 3D monoliths offers an exciting and powerful platform for translating their fundamental advantages into practical applications. Introducing internal pores, such as isotropic pores and aligned channels, within the monoliths can not only address the restacking of MXenes, but also afford a series of novel and, in some cases, unique structural merits to advance the utility of the MXene-based materials. Here, a brief overview of the development of MXene-based porous monoliths, in terms of the types of microstructures, is provided, focusing on the pore design and how the porous microstructure affects the application performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Processing, Surfaces and Interfaces of Nanomaterials)

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