Transport and Energy Conversion at the Nanoscale and Molecular Scale

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 7287

Special Issue Editors

Department of Physics, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124, USA
Interests: nanoscale quantum transport; molecular electronics; energy conversion; thermoelectricity; plasmonics; self-assembly; nanosensing; scanning probe microscopy
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
Interests: multimodal fusion; remote sensing; two-phase cooling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We would like to take this opportunity to invite you to participate in a Special Issue on “Transport and Energy Conversion at the Nanoscale and Molecular Scale”, to be published in Processes. Processes (ISSN 2227-9717; CODEN: PROCCO, Impact Factor: 3.352) is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal on processes in materials, chemistry, biochemistry, biology, and related process/systems engineering research fields.

The rapidly growing demand for faster electronics and sustainable energy consumption has posed a significant challenge for a vast array of scientific communities, including nanoscience, physics, chemistry, and engineering. To address this challenge, tremendous attention has been paid to nano- and molecular-scale systems, as they hold promise for achieving unprecedented control and manipulation of charge transport and energy conversion. A deep mechanistic understanding of charge transport and energy conversion at the nanoscale and molecular scale, therefore, is central for the development of technologies that could have a transformative impact on a wide variety of applications, spanning from quantum computing, energy harvesting, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things, to biomedical engineering and space exploration.

This Special Issue on “Transport and Energy Conversion at the Nanoscale and Molecular Scale” seeks high-quality work and topics focusing on progress in the development of new methods and mechanisms for probing and understanding charge transport and energy conversion in nano- and molecular-scale devices. The topics of interest will include, but are not limited to, nanoelectronics and molecular electronics, nanoscale thermal transport and conversion, thermoelectricity, nanoscale thermal photovoltaics, nanoplasmonics, batteries, and fuel cells.  This Special Issue will publish both original research and review articles.

The potential non-exhaustive list of topics to be covered includes:  

  • Nanoscale heat transfer;
  • Molecular electronics;
  • Nanoelectronics;
  • Nanoscale energy conversion;
  • Thermoelectricity;
  • Thermochemistry;
  • Thermal transport;
  • Nanoscale thermal photovoltaics;
  • Nanoscale photothermal phenomena;
  • Plasmon-driven photochemistry;

Prof. Dr. Kun Wang
Dr. Han Hu
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

  • nanotechnology
  • nanostructures
  • molecules
  • charge transport
  • heat transfer
  • energy conversion
  • electrochemical

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Review

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39 pages, 7530 KiB  
Review
Atomic Force Microscopy as a Tool to Study Transport Phenomena in Biological Systems
by Sneha Kandapal and Bingqian Xu
Processes 2023, 11(8), 2430; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11082430 - 12 Aug 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1316
Abstract
Biological interactions often involve the transport of molecules, ions, or other species across biological membranes or between interacting proteins. The understanding of these transport phenomena is crucial for the development of therapies for various diseases. Atomic force microscopy is a powerful tool that [...] Read more.
Biological interactions often involve the transport of molecules, ions, or other species across biological membranes or between interacting proteins. The understanding of these transport phenomena is crucial for the development of therapies for various diseases. Atomic force microscopy is a powerful tool that has been increasingly used to study biological systems at the nano scale. The high resolution, quantitative measurements, and the ability to probe biological interactions under near-physiological conditions make AFM an attractive tool for investigating transport phenomena in biological systems. In this article, we focus on the use of AFM in the study of the transport phenomena in biological systems. We discuss the principles of AFM, its instrumentation, and its application in the study of biomolecules and biological systems. We also provide a comprehensive overview of recent articles that have utilized AFM in the study of biomarkers in biological systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transport and Energy Conversion at the Nanoscale and Molecular Scale)
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15 pages, 2577 KiB  
Review
Single-Molecule Chemical Reactions Unveiled in Molecular Junctions
by Ian Bunker, Ridwan Tobi Ayinla and Kun Wang
Processes 2022, 10(12), 2574; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr10122574 - 03 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2631
Abstract
Understanding chemical processes at the single-molecule scale represents the ultimate limit of analytical chemistry. Single-molecule detection techniques allow one to reveal the detailed dynamics and kinetics of a chemical reaction with unprecedented accuracy. It has also enabled the discoveries of new reaction pathways [...] Read more.
Understanding chemical processes at the single-molecule scale represents the ultimate limit of analytical chemistry. Single-molecule detection techniques allow one to reveal the detailed dynamics and kinetics of a chemical reaction with unprecedented accuracy. It has also enabled the discoveries of new reaction pathways or intermediates/transition states that are inaccessible in conventional ensemble experiments, which is critical to elucidating their intrinsic mechanisms. Thanks to the rapid development of single-molecule junction (SMJ) techniques, detecting chemical reactions via monitoring the electrical current through single molecules has received an increasing amount of attention and has witnessed tremendous advances in recent years. Research efforts in this direction have opened a new route for probing chemical and physical processes with single-molecule precision. This review presents detailed advancements in probing single-molecule chemical reactions using SMJ techniques. We specifically highlight recent progress in investigating electric-field-driven reactions, reaction dynamics and kinetics, host–guest interactions, and redox reactions of different molecular systems. Finally, we discuss the potential of single-molecule detection using SMJs across various future applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transport and Energy Conversion at the Nanoscale and Molecular Scale)
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Other

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9 pages, 5068 KiB  
Perspective
On Macroscopic Quantum Coherence with Synchronized Atoms and Molecules: Superradiance
by Gombojav O. Ariunbold
Processes 2022, 10(9), 1885; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr10091885 - 17 Sep 2022
Viewed by 1897
Abstract
The collective behavior of quantum particles is one of the most intriguing phenomena in quantum optics. In particular, superradiance refers to spontaneous collective emissions from a group of quantum particles behaving collectively as a whole due to the buildup of macroscopic quantum coherence. [...] Read more.
The collective behavior of quantum particles is one of the most intriguing phenomena in quantum optics. In particular, superradiance refers to spontaneous collective emissions from a group of quantum particles behaving collectively as a whole due to the buildup of macroscopic quantum coherence. An important question is whether macroscopic quantum coherence is constructed by means of a quantum synchronization (i.e., a quantum analog of classical synchronization) or not. The purpose of this article is to draw attention to this question from the author’s perspective. A few selected studies relevant to synchronized atoms and molecules are discussed. The author concludes that collective behaviors of quantum particles may be formulated as quantum synchronizations, but extensive studies are still needed to confirm this hypothesis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transport and Energy Conversion at the Nanoscale and Molecular Scale)
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