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Processes
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Thin Films and Nanostructures: Material Properties, Processing, and Applications
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Thin Films and Nanostructures: Material Properties, Processing, and Applications

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Processes".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 November 2023) | Viewed by 5192

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Maria Josè Lo Faro

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Guest Editor
Physics Department, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
Interests: nanomaterials; photonics; sensing; chemical etching; thin film technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Alessia Irrera

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
URT LAB SENS, Beyond Nano—CNR, c/o Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale Ferdinando Stagno d’Alcontres 5, 98166 Messina, Italy
Interests: nanomaterials; Si nanostructures; luminescence; sensors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Rosaria Anna Picca

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Chemistry Department, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via E. Orabona 4, IT-70125 Bari, Italy
Interests: nanomaterials; X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy; electrochemistry; antimicrobials; sensors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Low dimensional materials fostering novel chemical and physical properties arise interest in innovative applications for a wide variety of fields including energy, sensing, photocatalysis, optics, electronics, opto-electronics, spintronics, and so on.

Several materials can be processed as thin films or nanostructures depending on their final application with a plethora of synthesis approaches, from top-down to bottom-up techniques by means of a variety of physical or chemical methods, such as magnetron sputtering, molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), pulsed laser deposition (PLD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), spray coating, electrochemical and wet syntheses, etc.

This Special Issue aims at covering several aspects of thin film technology, including synthesis, characterization, and intended use including device integration.

Examples of materials include (but are not limited to):

  • Organic polymers
  • Inorganic semiconductors
  • Metal/metal oxide nanoparticles
  • C-based materials
  • Self-assembled monolayers
  • Soft matter and biomaterials

Original works about operando/in situ approaches for think film characterization will be also considered.

Moreover, topics include several applications such as:

  • (Bio)sensors
  • Photovoltaics
  • Catalysis
  • Optics, photonics, plasmonics
  • Electronics
  • Energy

Manuscripts reporting novel physical, chemical, electrochemical, and alternative green processes for thin film and materials preparation, characterization, and theoretical performance prediction are welcomed.

Dr. Maria Josè Lo Faro
Dr. Alessia Irrera
Dr. Rosaria Anna Picca
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. Processes 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 2400 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

  • low dimensional materials
  • nanomaterials, nanoparticles and nanocomposite thin films
  • thin-film modeling
  • characterization techniques
  • surfaces and interfaces
  • energy
  • catalysis
  • sensing
  • opto-electronics

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

26 pages, 9195 KiB  
Article
Redox Performance and Optimization of the Chemical Composition of Lanthanum–Strontium–Manganese-Based Perovskite Oxide for Two-Step Thermochemical CO2 Splitting
by Hiroki Sawaguri, Daichi Yasuhara and Nobuyuki Gokon
Processes 2023, 11(9), 2717; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11092717 - 11 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 863
Abstract
The effects of substitution at the A- and B sites on the redox performance of a series of lanthanum–strontium–manganese (LSM)-based perovskite oxides (Z = Ni, Co, and Mg) were studied for application in a two-step thermochemical CO2 splitting cycle to produce liquid [...] Read more.
The effects of substitution at the A- and B sites on the redox performance of a series of lanthanum–strontium–manganese (LSM)-based perovskite oxides (Z = Ni, Co, and Mg) were studied for application in a two-step thermochemical CO2 splitting cycle to produce liquid fuel from synthesis gas using concentrated solar radiation as the proposed energy source and CO2 recovered from the atmosphere as the prospective chemical source. The redox reactivity, stoichiometry of oxygen/CO production, and optimum chemical composition of Ni-, Co-, and Mg-substituted LSM perovskites were investigated to enhance oxygen/CO productivity. Furthermore, the long-term thermal stabilities and thermochemical repeatabilities of the oxides were evaluated and compared with previous data. The valence changes in the constituent ionic species of the perovskite oxides were studied and evaluated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) for each step of the thermochemical cycle. From the perspectives of high redox reactivity, stoichiometric oxygen/CO production, and thermally stable repeatability in long-term thermochemical cycling, Ni0.20-, Co0.35-, and Mg0.125-substituted La0.7Sr0.3Mn perovskite oxides are the most promising materials among the LSM perovskite oxides for two-step thermochemical CO2 splitting, showing CO productivities of 387–533 μmol/g and time-averaged CO productivities of 12.9–18.0 μmol/(min·g) compared with those of LSM perovskites reported in the literature. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thin Films and Nanostructures: Material Properties, Processing, and Applications)
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10 pages, 3565 KiB  
Article
Synthesis of ZnO Nanorods at Very Low Temperatures Using Ultrasonically Pre-Treated Growth Solution
by Khairul Anuar Wahid, Irfan Abdul Rahim, Syafiqah Nur Azrie Safri and Ahmad Hamdan Ariffin
Processes 2023, 11(3), 708; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11030708 - 27 Feb 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1454
Abstract
This paper investigates how the pre-treatment of the growth solution with ultrasonic energy affects the annealing temperatures and the growth temperatures of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods. The ultrasonic pre-treatment of the growth solution resulted in the successful growth of ZnO nanorods at a [...] Read more.
This paper investigates how the pre-treatment of the growth solution with ultrasonic energy affects the annealing temperatures and the growth temperatures of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods. The ultrasonic pre-treatment of the growth solution resulted in the successful growth of ZnO nanorods at a very low annealing temperature of 40 °C. The size and density of ZnO nanorods were found to increase proportionally with the increasing duration of pre-ultrasonic treatment, as indicated by characterisations performed with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). At an annealing temperature of 40 °C, coupled with ultrasonic waves, the SEM results showed that ZnO nanorods’ length and diameter increased by 37 and 25%. A similar pattern was also observed at an annealing temperature of 60 and 80 °C, where the length and diameter of ZnO nanorods increased. In addition, the conductivity and acidity of the aqueous solution that had been sonicated were measured. The results showed that solution conductivity and acidity increased as the ultrasonic treatment continued for longer periods. After 3 min of sonication, the final conductivity and acidity of the solutions were found to be 9164 µS/cm and 6.64, respectively. The results also indicated that the ultrasonic pre-treatment of the growth solution increased the zinc nutrient concentration, which would affect the formation of ZnO nanorods. In addition to the ultrasonic effect, the annealing temperature influenced the active nucleation sites essential to the ZnO nanorods’ expansion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thin Films and Nanostructures: Material Properties, Processing, and Applications)
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12 pages, 3637 KiB  
Article
Conductive MoO3–PEDOT:PSS Composite Layer in MoO3/Au/MoO3–PEDOT:PSS Multilayer Electrode in ITO-Free Organic Solar Cells
by Md Maniruzzaman, Rahim Abdur, Md Abdul Kuddus Sheikh, Son Singh and Jaegab Lee
Processes 2023, 11(2), 594; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11020594 - 16 Feb 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2433
Abstract
The solution-processed and conductive MoO3–PEDOT:PSS (Mo–PPSS) composite layer in a MoO3/Au/MoO3–PEDOT:PSS (MoAu/Mo–PPSS) multilayer electrode in ITO-free organic solar cells (OSCs) was optimized in terms of electrical conductivity, interfacial contact quality, work function, and process wettability of the [...] Read more.
The solution-processed and conductive MoO3–PEDOT:PSS (Mo–PPSS) composite layer in a MoO3/Au/MoO3–PEDOT:PSS (MoAu/Mo–PPSS) multilayer electrode in ITO-free organic solar cells (OSCs) was optimized in terms of electrical conductivity, interfacial contact quality, work function, and process wettability of the conductive composite thin film. The surface composition of the PEDOT:PSS film onto different electrodes was observed by using X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy. The PEDOT:PSS-MoO3 composite protects the dissolution of individual MoO3 with PEDOT:PSS, which was confirmed by Auger Electron Spectroscopy. The UV-Visible spectroscopy showed that the photoactive layer of P3HT:PCBM absorbs in the wavelength range of 300–650 nm with the maximum absorption at 515 nm (2.40 eV). The device performance of 3.97% based on an MoAu/Mo–PPSS conductive composite electrode exhibited comparable enhancement and only 6% enhancement compared to an ITO-based electrode (3.91%). The enhancement of device efficiency was mainly due to relatively higher conductivity, a low work function of the conductive metal oxide-metal-metal oxide/polymer composite, and an enhancement of interfacial contact quality between the hole transport layer (HTL) and the mixed organic polymeric photoactive layer. These results indicate that the solution-processable Mo–PPSS conductive composite layer of the MoO3/Au multilayer electrode can replace the ITO-based electrode in the bulk of heterojunction organic photovoltaics (OPVs). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thin Films and Nanostructures: Material Properties, Processing, and Applications)
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