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Grégoire Saerens "From classical to quantum nonlinear photonics with GaAs nanostructures" (2023) external page Thesis

Fabian Kaufmann "Optimised nanolithography and etching of lithium niobate on insulator for photonic integrated circuits" (2023) external page Thesis

Andrea Morandi "Nonlinear light generation in disordered assemblies of nanoparticles" (2023) external page Thesis

David Pohl "Integrated Lithium Niobate Photonics for Spectrometry and Modulation" (2022) external page Thesis

Viola Valentina Vogler-Neuling "Nonlinear Photonic Crystals and Metasurfaces in Soft-Nanoimprinted Barium Titanate Nanomaterials" (2021) Thesis

Marc Reig Escalé "Generation, Modulation and Detection of Light in Lithium Niobate Nanophotonic Devices" (2019) Thesis

Flavia Timpu "Linear and Nonlinear Optics with Metal Oxides: From Single Nanoparticles to Metasurfaces" (2019) Thesis

Anton Sergeyev "Nonlinear Wavemixing in Lithium Niobate Nanowires" (2016) Thesis

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Sustainable carbon nanomaterials for electrochemical energy conversion in hydrogen fuel cells, phd research project.

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Engineered nanomaterials for safe sustainable water purification

Theremoelectric nanomaterials for energy recovery, oxidic nanomaterials for high density storage in li-ion batteries, photocatalytic applications of titanium based nanomaterials: towards sustainable technologies, development of nanomaterials for targeting the bacteria–host interface in cystic fibrosis airways, studying of cancer biology with doped magnetic nanomaterials to unravelling their thermal therapeutic potentials, nanomaterials as white light emitters for low cost lighting, core and core-shell nanomaterials synthesis for optoelectronics, stress grading with novel 2d materials in cable systems rated at transmission voltages, elucidating the fate of iron and copper based nanofertilizer in soil-plant system using isotope labelling and synchrotron techniques, funded phd project (uk students only).

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phd thesis on nanomaterials

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Environmental implications and applications of nanomaterials.

Priyanka Bhattacharya , Clemson University Follow

Date of Award

Document type.

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Legacy Department

Committee chair/advisor.

Ke, Pu Chun

Committee Member

Rao , Apparao M

Sosolik , Chad E

Ladner , David A

Recent advances in material science and nanotechnology have given rise to a myriad of developments, while in the meantime call for research into the impacts of nanomaterials on the environment and human health. Although considerable progress has been made in the past decade concerning the behavior of nanomaterials in biological systems, such understanding is critically lacking with respect to the fate of nanomaterials in ecosystems. Accordingly, this dissertation addresses the interactions between nanomaterials and algae--the major constituent of the aquatic food chain (Part I, Chapter two), and exploits the physicochemistry of nanoscaled synthetic dendritic polymers for environmental applications, especially for water purification that is a focused theme of the entire dossier (Part II, Chapters two-five). This dissertation is organized as follows. Chapter one presents a general review of the physical/physicochemical properties, characterizations, implications--especially ecological implication, and applications of a host of most produced and studied nanomaterials. In addition, advances in environmental applications of nanomaterials are discussed. Chapter two examines algal responses to two major types of engineered nanomaterials - quantum dots and polystyrene. Inhibited photosynthetic activities of green algae are observed as a result of the physical adsorption of the nanomaterials. Chapter three elucidates the physicochemical properties of poly(amidoamine)-tris(hydroxymethyl)amidomethane- and amine-terminated dendrimers towards their applications in water remediation. Here, the capacities and mechanisms of the dendrimers in hosting cationic copper, anionic nitrate, polyaromatic phenanthrene, and the more heterogeneous humic acids are discussed. Based on the results of Chapter three, Chapter four presents a dendrimer-based novel optical scheme for improving the detection sensitivity and selectivity of environmental pollutants. Specifically, the surface plasmon resonance of a gold nanowire and the high hosting capacity of dendrimers are utilized for enhancing the detection limit of copper down to the nanomolar level. Chapter five exploits a promising use of dendrimers for the removal of potentially harmful discharged nanoparticles. Here fullerenols are used as a model nanomaterial, and their interactions with dendrimers of two different generations are studied using spectrophotometry and thermodynamics methods. Chapter six summarizes the key findings in this dissertation and presents future work that is stimulated by this Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) research.

Recommended Citation

Bhattacharya, Priyanka, "ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS AND APPLICATIONS OF NANOMATERIALS" (2012). All Dissertations . 970. https://open.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/970

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Electronic and optical properties of nanomaterials – PhD thesis

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The discovery of fullerene in 1985, and the discovery of nanotubes in 1991 formed from combinations of other elements have attracted tremendous interest worldwide. It led to intensified research into the science of nanostructures. Low dimension systems are those in which at least one of the three dimensions exist between those characteristic of atoms/molecules and those of the bulk material, generally in the range from 1 nm to 100 nm. For e.g. quantum dots, nanowires, nanotubes etc. In these systems, surface area to volume ratio i.e. aspect ratio is high. So, the surface states come into account and become dominant. In addition to this, the dimensional constraint on the system gives rise to quantum size effects, which can significantly change the energy spectrum of electrons and their behavior. Due to which some properties of such systems become different from those of their bulk counterparts and have extraordinary electronic, optical, thermal, mechanical and chemical properties, which may result in their use in wide range of nanotechnology.

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Nanomaterials has become one of the most prominent subjects in diverse fields of applications. Nanomaterials have emerged as one of the most promising things in different fields ranging from biomedical to pharmaceutical. The word nanomaterial originated from the Latin word 'Nanos' which means very small. Hence nanomaterials are particles of extremely small dimensions in the range of nanoscale. Nanotechnology has just added to the number of creative items in different building disciplines due to their remarkable and compensating substance, physical, and mechanical properties. One famous utilization of nanomaterials is nanotubes. Carbon nanotubes (CNT) are one of an illuminative model for the capability of nanotechnology. The elasticity of high carbon steel is around 1.2 GPa however the rigidity of carbon nanotubes (CNT) is 63 GPa. Likewise they are known to be perhaps the most grounded material having been created by nanotechnology up until this point. 1.1) WHAT ARE NANOMATERIALS? Nanomaterials can be seen as the building blocks or cornerstones of nanotechnology. Nanomaterials are defined as substances having at least one dimension in nanoscale i.e. less than approximately 100 nanometers. These materials play an important role because of the presence of unique magnetic, electrical ,optical and many other such properties at such a small scale. Many properties are seen to emerge at nanoscale range. Hence , Nanomaterials deal with substances in the range of 1-100 nm. 1.2) HISTORY The history of Nanomaterials started all after the big bang when formation of nanostructures occurred in the early meteorites. Many different nanostructures were identified after that such as sea shells. The Scientific approach of nanomaterials started however was developed much later. Michael Faraday's study on colloidal gold particles is one of such scientific reports known. Besides this , It has been more than 70 years of investigation on nanostructured catalysts. Today nanophase building extends in a quickly developing number of basic and practical materials, both inorganic and natural, permitting control of mechanical, reactant, electric, attractive, optical and electronic capacities. The creation of nanophase or group amassed materials is generally founded on the formation of isolated little bunches which at that point are melded into a mass like material or on their installation into minimized fluid or strong network materials.

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Royal Society of Chemistry

Nanomaterials: a review of synthesis methods, properties, recent progress, and challenges

ORCID logo

First published on 24th February 2021

Nanomaterials have emerged as an amazing class of materials that consists of a broad spectrum of examples with at least one dimension in the range of 1 to 100 nm. Exceptionally high surface areas can be achieved through the rational design of nanomaterials. Nanomaterials can be produced with outstanding magnetic, electrical, optical, mechanical, and catalytic properties that are substantially different from their bulk counterparts. The nanomaterial properties can be tuned as desired via precisely controlling the size, shape, synthesis conditions, and appropriate functionalization. This review discusses a brief history of nanomaterials and their use throughout history to trigger advances in nanotechnology development. In particular, we describe and define various terms relating to nanomaterials. Various nanomaterial synthesis methods, including top-down and bottom-up approaches, are discussed. The unique features of nanomaterials are highlighted throughout the review. This review describes advances in nanomaterials, specifically fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, graphene, carbon quantum dots, nanodiamonds, carbon nanohorns, nanoporous materials, core–shell nanoparticles, silicene, antimonene, MXenes, 2D MOF nanosheets, boron nitride nanosheets, layered double hydroxides, and metal-based nanomaterials. Finally, we conclude by discussing challenges and future perspectives relating to nanomaterials.

Nadeem Baig

Irshad Kammakakam

Wail Falath

1. Introduction

The term nanometer was first used in 1914 by Richard Adolf Zsigmondy. 5 The American physicist and Nobel Prize laureate Richard Feynman introduced the specific concept of nanotechnology in 1959 in his speech during the American Physical Society's annual meeting. This is considered to be the first academic talk about nanotechnology. 5 He presented a lecture that was entitled “There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom”. During this meeting, the following concept was presented: “why can’t we write the entire 24 volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica on the head of a pin?” The vision was to develop smaller machines, down to the molecular level. 6,7 In this talk, Feynman explained that the laws of nature do not limit our ability to work at the atomic and molecular levels, but rather it is a lack of appropriate equipment and techniques that limit this. 8 Through this, the concept of modern technology was seeded. Due to this, he is often considered the father of modern nanotechnology. Norio Taniguchi might be the first person who used the term nanotechnology, in 1974. Norio Taniguchi stated: “nano-technology mainly consists of the processing of, separation, consolidation, and deformation of materials by one atom or one molecule.” 5,9 Before the 1980s, nanotechnology remained only an area for discussion, but the concept of nanotechnology was seeded in the minds of researchers with the potential for future development.

The invention of various spectroscopic techniques sped up research and innovations in the field of nanotechnology. IBM researchers developed scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) in 1982, and with STM it became feasible to attain images of single atoms on “flat” ( i.e. , not a tip) surfaces. 10 Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was invented in 1986, and it has become the most crucial scanning probe microscope technique. 11 The motivation to develop hard discs with high storage density stimulated the measurement of electrostatic and magnetic forces. This led to the development of Kelvin-probe-, electrostatic-, and magnetic-force microscopy. 12 Currently, nanotechnology is rapidly evolving and becoming part of almost every field related to materials chemistry. The field of nanotechnology is evolving every day, and now powerful characterization and synthesis tools are available for producing nanomaterials with better-controlled dimensions.

Nanotechnology is an excellent example of an emerging technology, offering engineered nanomaterials with the great potential for producing products with substantially improved performances. 13 Currently, nanomaterials find commercial roles in scratch-free paints, surface coatings, electronics, cosmetics, environmental remediation, sports equipment, sensors, and energy-storage devices. 14 This review attempts to provide information in a single platform about the basic concepts, advances, and trends relating to nanomaterials via covering the related information and discussing synthesis methods, properties, and possible opportunities relating to the broad and fascinating area of nanomaterials ( Scheme 1 ). It is not easy to cover all the literature related to nanomaterials, but important papers from history and the current literature are discussed in this review. This review provides fundamental insight for researchers, quickly capturing the advances in and properties of various classes of nanomaterials in one place.

A schematic representation of nanomaterials and their applications.

2. Descriptions of terms associated with nanomaterials

Term Description Ref.
Nanotechnology Nanotechnology refers to technology at the nanoscale level in which materials, devices, or systems are developed via controlling matter at the nanoscale length to stimulate the unique properties of the material at the nano-level.
Nanomanufacturing Nanomanufacturing refers to manufacturing at the nanoscale level and accomplished via bottom-up or top-down methods.
Nanoscale A scale covering 1–100 nm.
Nanomaterial A material is called a nanomaterial if it has at least one dimension in the nanoscale range of 1–100 nm.
Nano-object A nano-object is a discrete piece of material with one, two, or three external dimensions in the nanoscale range.
Nanoparticle An object or particle is called a nanoparticle when all of its dimensions are in the nanoscale range.
Aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a nano-object is defined as the ratio of the length of the major axis to the width of the minor axis.
Nanosphere A nanosphere is a nanoparticle that has an aspect ratio of 1.
Nanorod The term nanorod is used when the shortest and longest axes have different lengths. Nanorods have a width in the range of 1 to 100 nm and an aspect ratio greater than 1.
Nanofiber A nano-object with two dimensions in the nanoscale range and a third dimension that is significantly larger.
Nanowire Nanowires are analogues to nanorods, but with a higher aspect ratio.
Nanotube Hollow nanofibers are called nanotubes.
Nanostructured material This is a term used for materials that have structural elements, molecules, crystallites, or clusters with dimensions in the range of 1–100 nm.
Nanomaterial A material is called a nanomaterial if it has at least one dimension in the nanoscale range of 1–100 nm.
Engineered nanomaterials Intentionally produced materials that have one or more dimensions in the order of 100 nm or less are called engineered nanomaterials.
Nanocomposite Nanocomposites are defined as multicomponent materials with multiple different phase domains, in which at least one of the phases has at least one dimension in the order of nanometers.

3. Approaches for the synthesis of nanomaterials

The synthesis of nanomaterials via top-down and bottom-up approaches. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2019, Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

3.1. Top-down approaches

The principle of the ball milling method. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2016, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A schematic diagram of the coaxial electrospinning technique (center), and FESEM (a and c) and TEM (b and d) images of fibers before and after calcination. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2012, Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A schematic diagram of the fabrication of 3D micro-nanostructures with an ion beam through bulk Si structuring. This involves implantation in Si through Ga FIB lithography and mask-writing at nanometer resolution, subsequent anisotropic wet etching in KOH solution, and the fabrication of Si micro-nanostructures via the selective removal of the unimplanted region. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2020, Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
A schematic diagram of the DC magnetron sputtering process. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2017, Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The conditions under which arc discharge takes place play a significant role in achieving new forms of nanomaterials. The conditions under which different carbon-based nanomaterials are formed via the arc discharge method are explained in Fig. 6 . Various carbon-based nanomaterials are collected from different positions during the arc discharge method, as their growth mechanisms differ. 44 MWCNTs, high-purity polyhedral graphite particles, pyrolytic graphite, and nano-graphite particles can be collected from either anode or cathode deposits or deposits at both electrodes. 46–48 Apart from the electrodes, carbon-based nanomaterials can also be collected from the inner chamber. Different morphologies of single-wall carbon nanohorns (SWCNHs) can be obtained under different atmospheres. For example, ‘dahlia-like’ SWCNHs are produced under an ambient atmosphere, whereas ‘bud-like’ SWCNHs are generated under CO and CO 2 atmospheres. 49 The arc discharge method can be used to efficiently achieve graphene nanostructures. The conditions present during the synthesis of graphene can affect its properties. Graphene sheets prepared via a hydrogen arc discharge exfoliation method are found to be superior in terms of electrical conductivity and have good thermal stability compared to those obtained via argon arc discharge. 50

A schematic illustration of the formation mechanisms of carbon nanomaterials on the inner wall of the chamber using different gases via a DC arc discharge approach. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2018, Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
TEM images, corresponding mean sizes, and standard deviations of palladium nanoparticles synthesized via laser ablation in water for 10 min at laser wavelengths and fluences of (a) 532 nm and 8.92 J cm , (b) 532 nm and 19.90 J cm , (c) 1064 nm and 8.92 J cm , (d) 1064 nm and 19.90 J cm , and (e) 355 nm and 0.10 J cm . Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2017, Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

3.2. Bottom-up approaches

A schematic diagram of the growth of in-plane graphene and hBN heterostructures via various techniques: (A) simultaneous in situ CVD growth, (B) sequential in situ CVD growth, (C) lithography-assisted growth, and (D) conversion growth. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2016, Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
An overview showing two sol–gel method synthesis examples: (a) films from a colloidal sol and (b) powder from a colloidal sol transformed into a gel. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2010, Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The hard template method is also called nano-casting. Well-designed solid materials are used as templates, and the solid template pores are filled with precursor molecules to achieve nanostructures for required applications ( Fig. 10 ). 78 The selection of the hard template is critical for developing well-ordered mesoporous materials. It is desirable that such hard templates should maintain a mesoporous structure during the precursor conversion process, and they should be easily removable without disrupting the produced nanostructure. A range of materials has been used as hard templates, not limited to carbon black, silica, carbon nanotubes, particles, colloidal crystals, and wood shells. 85 Three main steps are involved in the synthetic pathway for obtaining nanostructures via templating methods. In the first step, the appropriate original template is developed or selected. Then, a targeted precursor is filled into the template mesopores to convert them into an inorganic solid. In the final step, the original template is removed to achieve the mesoporous replica. 86 Via using mesoporous templates, unique nanostructured materials such as nanowires, nanorods, 3D nanostructured materials, nanostructured metal oxides, and many other nanoparticles can be produced. 87 From this brief discussion, it can be seen that a wide range of unique structured nanomaterials can be produced using soft and hard template methods.

A schematic representation of the synthesis of materials using different types of templates. Published by The Royal Society of Chemistry.
(a) A schematic diagram showing the synthetic steps to GA-MNPs. (b) The synthesis of L-MNPs through a non-ionic reverse micelle method.

4. Unique nanomaterial features

The electronic properties of semiconductors in the 1–10 nm range are controlled by quantum mechanical considerations. Thus, nanospheres with diameters in the range of 1–10 nm are known as quantum dots. The optical properties of nanomaterials such as quantum dots strongly depend upon their shape and size. 96 A photogenerated electron–hole pair has an exciton diameter on the scale of 1–10 nm. Thus, the absorption and emission of light by semiconductors could be controlled via tuning the nanoparticle size in this range. However, in the case of metals, the mean free path of electrons is ∼10–100 nm and, due to this, electronic and optical effects are expected to be observed in the range of ∼10–100 nm. The colors of aqueous solutions of metal nanoparticles can be changed via changing the aspect ratio. Aqueous solutions of Ag NPs show different colors at different aspect ratios. A red shift in the absorption band appears with an increase in the aspect ratio ( Fig. 12 ). 21

Aqueous solutions of silver nanoparticles show wide variations in visible color depending on the aspect ratio of the suspended nanoparticles. The far left of the photograph shows silver nanospheres (4 nm in diameter) that are used as seeds for subsequent reactions, while (a–f) show silver nanorods with increasing aspect ratios from 1–10. The corresponding visible absorption spectra for (a)–(f) are also shown in the left panel. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2002, WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH, Weinheim, Fed. Rep. of Germany.

Among a range of unique properties, the following key properties can be obtained upon tuning the sizes and morphologies of nanomaterials.

4.1. Surface area

4.2. magnetism, 4.3. quantum effects, 4.4. high thermal and electrical conductivity, 4.5. excellent mechanical properties, 4.6. excellent support for catalysts, 4.7. antimicrobial activity.

Overall, these features have made nanoscale materials valuable for a wide range of applications, substantially boosting the performances of various devices and materials in a number of fields. Details of various nanomaterials, their properties, and applications in various fields will be discussed below.

5. Nanomaterials, characteristics, and applications

5.1. special carbon-based nanomaterials.

In the carbon-based nanomaterial family, fullerenes were the first symmetric material, and they provided new perspectives in the nanomaterials field. This led to the discovery of other carbon-based nanostructured materials, such as carbon nanotubes and graphene. 110 Fullerenes are present in nature and interstellar space. 111 Interestingly, fullerenes were the molecule of the year in 1991 and attracted the most research projects compared to other scientific subjects during that period. 112 Fullerenes possess several unique features that make them attractive for applications in different fields. Fullerenes display solubility to some extent in a range of solvents, and these characteristics make them unique compared to the other allotropes of carbon. 108

The chemical modification of fullerenes is an exciting subject, improving their effectiveness for applications. There are two main ways to modify fullerenes: 113 fullerene inner-space modification, and fullerene outer-surface modification.

Endohedral and exohedral doping examples are shown in Fig. 13 . 114 Fullerenes are hollow cages, and the interior acts as a robust nano-container for host target species when forming endohedral fullerene. 115 Endohedral fullerenes do not always follow the isolated pentagon rule (IPR). 116 To date, fullerene nanocages have received substantial consideration in the materials chemistry field due to their useful potential applications. Neutral and charged single atoms in free space are highly reactive and unstable. In the confined environment of fullerenes, these reactive species can be stabilized; for example, the LaC 60 + ion does not react with the NH 3 , O 2 , H 2 , or NO. Thus, reactive metals can be protected from the surrounding environment by trapping them inside fullerene cages. 117 Another emerging carbon nanomaterial is endohedral fullerene containing lithium (Li@C 60 ). 118 Lithium metal is very reactive, and extreme controlled environmental conditions are required to preserve or use it. In other words, secure structures are required for lithium storage. Li-Based endohedral fullerene shows unique solid-state properties. The encapsulation of lithium atoms in fullerene helps to protect lithium atoms from external agents. Li-Based endohedral fullerenes have the potential to open the door to nanoscale lithium batteries. 119 For the development of endohedral metallofullerenes, larger fullerenes are generally required, as they possess large cages to accommodate lanthanide and transition metal atoms more smoothly. 118 Fullerene nanocages are useful for the storage of gases. Fullerene is under consideration for hydrogen storage. 120,121

A schematic representation of the two interstitial doping sites in C , leading to exohedral and endohedral doping. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2009, WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Exohedral fullerenes carry more potential for applications as outer surfaces can be more easily modified or functionalized. The exohedral doping of metals into fullerenes strongly affects the electronic properties via shifting electrons from the metal to the fullerene nanocage. 122 The practical application of fullerenes can be achieved with tailor-made fullerene derivatives via chemical functionalization. As fullerene chemistry has matured, a wide range of functionalized fullerenes has been realized through simple synthetic routes. 123 The combination of hydrogen-bonding motifs and fullerenes has allowed the modulation of 1D, 2D, and 3D fullerene-based architectures. 124 The excellent electron affinities of fullerenes have shown great potential for eliminating reactive oxygen species. The presence of excess reactive oxygen species can cause biological dysfunction or other health issues. The surfaces of fullerenes have been functionalized via mussel-inspired chemistry and Michael addition reactions for the fabrication of C 60 –PDA–GSH. The developed C 60 –PDA–GSH nanoparticles demonstrated excellent potential for scavenging reactive oxygen species. 125

Amphiphiles have great importance in industrial processes and daily life applications. Amphiphilic molecules consist of hydrophilic and hydrophobic parts, and they perform functions in water via forming two- and three-dimensional assemblies. Recently, conical fullerene amphiphiles 126 have emerged as a new class of amphiphiles, in which a nonpolar apex is supplied by fullerenes and a hydrophilic part is achieved through functionalization. The selective functionalization of the fullerene on one side helps to achieve a supramolecule due to unique interfacial behavior. The unique supramolecular structure formed via the spontaneous assembly of one-sided selectively functionalized fullerenes through strong hydrophobic interactions between the fullerene apexes and polar functionalized portions is soluble in water. Conical fullerene amphiphiles are mechanically robust. Via upholding the structural integrity, conical fullerene amphiphiles can be readily aggregated with nanomaterials and biomolecules to form multicomponent agglomerates with controllable structural features. 127 Fullerenes, after suitable surface modification, have excellent potential for use in drug delivery, but there have only been limited explorations of their drug delivery applications. 128,129 Fullerene-based nano-vesicles have been developed for the delayed release of drugs. 130 Water-soluble proteins have great potential in the field of nanomedicine. The water-soluble cationic fullerene, tetra(piperazino)[60] fullerene epoxide (TPFE), has been used for the targeted delivery of DNA and siRNA specifically to the lungs. 131 For diseases in lungs or any other organ, efficient treatment requires the targeted delivery of active agents to a targeted place in the organ. The accumulation of micrometer-sized carriers in the lung makes lung-selective delivery difficult, as this may induce embolization and inflammation in the lungs. Size-controlled blood vessel carrier vehicles have been developed using tetra(piperazino)fullerene epoxide (TPFE). TPFE and siRNA agglutinate in the bloodstream with plasma proteins and, as a result, micrometer-sized particles are formed. These particles clog the lung capillaries and release siRNA into lungs cells; after siRNA delivery, they are immediately cleared from the lungs ( Fig. 14 ). 132

The mechanism of the lung-specific delivery of siRNA mediated by tetra(piperazino)fullerene (TPFE): (1) TPFE aggregates with siRNA to form ca. 100 nm-sized TPFE–siRNA complexes (light blue particles) via electrostatic interactions; (2) the complexes agglutinate with plasma proteins (white particles) in the bloodstream to form >6 μm particles (blue particles); (3) the particles clog and accumulate in the narrow lung capillaries; (4) the TPFE–siRNA complexes were delivered into lung cells and siRNA was released into lung cells. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2014, Springer Nature.

The supramolecular organization of fullerene (C 60 ) is a unique approach for producing shape-controlled moieties on the nano-, micro-, and macro-scale. Nano-, micro-, and macro-scale supramolecular assemblies can be controlled via manipulating the preparation conditions to achieve unique optoelectronic properties. 133 The development of well-ordered and organized 1D, 2D, and 3D fullerene assemblies is essential for achieving advanced optical and organic-based electronic devices. 134 Fullerene-based nanostructured materials with new dimensions are being developed from zero-dimensional fullerene and tuned to achieve the desired characteristics. 1D C 60 fullerene nanowires have received substantial attention over other crystalline forms due to their excellent features of potential quantum confinement effects, low dimensionality, and large surface areas. 135

Carbon nanomaterials are also used as supports for catalysts, and the main reasons to use them are their high surface areas and electrical conductivities. Carbon supports strongly influence the properties of metal nanoparticles. In fuel cells, the carbon support strongly affects the stability, electronic conductivity, mass transport properties, and electroactive surface area of the supported catalyst. 136 In fuel cells, the degradation of some catalysts, such as platinum-based examples, and carbon is correlated and reinforced as a result of both being present. Carbon support oxidation is catalyzed by platinum and the oxidation of carbon accelerates platinum-catalyst release. Overall, this results in a loss of catalytically active surface area. 137 Fullerenes are considered suitable support materials due to their excellent electrochemical activities and stability during electrochemical reactions. 138 Due to their high stability and good conductivity, fullerenes can replace conventional carbon as catalyst support materials. Fullerenes are also used for the development of efficient solar cells. 139

Apart from the applications mentioned above, fullerenes have a broader spectrum of applications where they can be used to improve outcomes considerably. Fullerenes have the potential to be used in the development of superconductors. 140 The strong covalent bonds in fullerenes make them useful nanomaterials for improving the mechanical properties of composites. 141 The combination of fullerenes with polymers can result in good flame-retardant and thermal properties. 142 Fullerenes and their derivatives are used for the development of advanced lubricants. They are used as modifiers for greases and individual solid lubricants. 138 Fullerenes have tremendous medicinal importance due to their anticancer, antioxidant, anti-bacterial, and anti-viral activities. 104

Fullerenes are vital members of the carbon-based nanomaterial family and they certainly possess exceptional properties. This discussion further emphasizes their importance for advanced applications. However, the discovery of other carbon-based nanomaterials has put fullerenes in the shade, and the pace of their exploration has been reduced. As fullerenes are highly symmetrical molecules with unique properties, they can act as performance boosters, but more attention is needed from researchers for their practical expansion. 110

Single-walled carbon nanotubes consist of a seamless one-atom-thick graphitic layer, in which carbon atoms are connected through strong covalent bonds. 146 Double-walled carbon nanotubes consist of two single-walled carbon nanotubes. One carbon nanotube is nested in another nanotube to construct a double-walled carbon nanotube. 147 In multi-walled carbon nanotubes, multiple sheets of single-layer carbon atom are rolled up. In other words, many single-walled carbon nanotubes are nested within each other. From different types of nanotubes, it can be concluded that the nanotubes may consist of one, tens, or hundreds of concentric carbon shells, and these shells are separated from each other with a distance of ∼0.34 nm. 148 Carbon nanotubes can be synthesized via chemical vapor deposition, 149 laser ablation, 150 arc-discharge, 143 and gas-phase catalytic growth. 151

Single-walled carbon nanotubes display a diameter of 0.4 to 2 nm. The inner wall distance between double-walled carbon nanotubes was found to be in the range of 0.33 to 0.42 nm. MWCNT diameters are usually in the range of 2–100 nm, and the inner wall distance is about 0.34 nm. 147,152 However, it is essential to note that the diameters and lengths of carbon nanotubes are not well defined, and they depend on the synthesis route and many other factors. The electrical conductivities of SWCNTs and MWCNTs are about 10 2 –10 6 S cm −1 and 10 3 –10 5 S cm −1 , respectively. SWCNTs and MWCNTs also display excellent thermal conductivities of ∼6000 W m −1 K −1 and ∼2000 W m −1 K −1 , respectively. CNTs remain stable in air at temperatures higher than 600 °C. 153 These properties indicate that CNTs have obvious advantages over graphite.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes can display metallic or semiconducting behavior. Whether carbon nanotubes show metallic or semiconducting behavior depends on the diameter and helicity of the graphitic rings. 154 The rolling of graphene sheets leads to three different types of CNTs: chiral, armchair, and zigzag ( Fig. 15 ). 155

The rolling up of a graphene sheet leading to the three different types of CNT. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2005, WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Carbon nanotubes demonstrate some amazing characteristics that make them valuable nanomaterials for possible practical applications. Theoretical and experimental studies of carbon nanotubes have revealed their extraordinary tensile properties. J. R. Xiao et al. used an analytical molecular structural mechanics model to predict SWCNT tensile strengths of 94.5 (zigzag nanotubes) and 126.2 (armchair nanotubes) GPa. 156 In another study, the Young's modulus and average tensile strength of millimeter-long multi-walled carbon nanotubes were analyzed and found to be 34.65 GPa and 0.85 GPa, respectively. 157 Carbon nanotubes possess a high aspect ratio. Due to their high tensile strength, carbon nanotubes are used to enhance the mechanical properties of composites.

Carbon nanotubes have become an important industrial material and hundreds of tonnes are produced for applications. 158 Their high tensile strength and high aspect ratio have made carbon nanotubes an ideal reinforcing agent. 159 Carbon nanotubes are lightweight in nature and are used to produce lightweight and biodegradable nanocomposite foams. 160 The structural parameters of carbon nanotubes define whether they will be semiconducting or metallic in nature. This property of carbon nanotubes is considered to be effective for their use as a central element in the design of electronic devices such as rectifying diodes, 161 single-electron transistors, 162 and field-effect transistors. 163 The chemical stability, nano-size, high electrical conductivity, and amazing structural perfection of carbon nanotubes make them suitable for electron field emitter applications. 164 The unique set of mechanical and electrochemical properties make CNTs a valuable smart candidate for use in lithium-ion batteries. 165 CNTs have the full potential to be used as a binderless free-standing electrode for active lithium-ion storage. CNT-based anodes can have reversible lithium-ion capacities exceeding 1000 mA h g −1 , and this is a substantial improvement compared with conventional graphite anodes. In short, the following factors play a role in controlling and optimizing the performances of CNT-based composites: 166 (i) the volume fraction of carbon nanotubes; (ii) the CNT orientation; (iii) the CNT matrix adhesion; (iv) the CNT aspect ratio; and (iv) the composite homogeneity.

For some applications, a proper stable aqueous dispersion of CNTs at a high concentration is pivotal to allow the system to perform its function efficiently and effectively. 167 One of the major issues associated with carbon nanotubes is their poor dispersion in aqueous media due to their hydrophobic nature. Clusters of CNTs are formed due to van der Waals attraction, π–π stacking, and hydrophobicity. The CNT clusters, due to their strong interactions, hinder solubility or dispersion in water or even organic-solvent-based systems. 168 This challenging dispersion associated with CNTs has limited their use for promising applications, such as in biomedical devices, drug delivery, cell biology, and drug delivery. 167 Carbon nanotube applications and inherent characteristics can be further tuned via suitable functionalization. The functionalization of carbon nanotubes helps scientists to manipulate the properties of carbon nanotubes and, without functionalization, some properties are not attainable. 169 The functionalization of nanotubes can be divided into two main categories: covalent functionalization and non-covalent functionalization.

The heating of CNTs under strongly acidic and oxidative conditions results in the formation of oxygen-containing functionalities. These functional groups, such as carboxylic acid, react further with other functional groups, such as amines or alcohols, to produce amide or ester linkages on the carbon nanotubes. 172 One of the main issues preventing the utilization of CNTs for biomedical applications is their toxicity. The cytotoxicity of pristine carbon nanotubes can be reduced via introducing carbonyl, –COOH, and –OH functional groups. Apart from functionalization through oxidized CNTs, the direct functionalization of CNTs is also possible. However, direct functionalization requires more reactive species to directly react with the CNTs, such as free radicals. Addition reactions to CNTs can cause a transformation from sp 2 hybridization to sp 3 hybridization at the point of addition. At the point where functionalization has taken place, the local bond geometry is changed from trigonal planar to tetrahedral geometry. Some addition reactions to the sidewalls of CNTs are shown in Fig. 16 . 155

An overview of possible addition reactions for the functionalization of nanotube sidewalls. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2005, WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

It is important to discuss how the covalent functionalization of carbon nanotubes comes at the price of the degradation of the carbon sp 2 network. This substantially affects the electronic, thermal, and optoelectronic properties of the carbon nanotubes. 169 Efforts are being made to introduce a new method of covalent functionalization that can keep the π network of CNTs intact. Antonio Setaro et al. introduced a new [2+1] cycloaddition reaction for the non-destructive, covalent, gram-scale functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotubes. The reaction rebuilds the extended π-network, and the carbon nanotubes retained their outstanding quantum optoelectronic properties ( Fig. 17 ). 173

(a) A molecular sketch of AuNPs covalently anchored to SH-SWNTs. (b) A TEM micrograph of the Au@SWNTs hybrid; scale bar: 5 nm; few-SWNT bundles can be observed, and AuNPs are assembled along the tubes. (c) The enhancement of the luminescence emission of SWNTs after the covalent attachment of AuNPs onto their surface: a comparison between the emission of Au@SWNTs hybrid (red curve) and that of SH-SWNTs (black curve). Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2017, Springer Nature.

Polymers are frequently combined with CNTs to enhance their dispersion capabilities. Polymers interact with CNTs through CH–π and π–π interactions. 174 Hexanes and cycloalkanes are poor CNT solvents but the good solubility or dispersion of CNTs in these solvents is required for surface coating applications. Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) macromer-grafted polymers have been prepared using PDMS macromers and pyrene-containing monomers that strongly adsorb on CNTs, thus improved the solubility of CNTs in chloroform and hexane. 176 The use of head–tail surfactants is another attractive way to achieve a fine dispersion of CNTs in an aqueous medium. In head–tail surfactants, the tail is hydrophobic and interacts with the CNT sidewalls, and the hydrophilic head groups interact with the aqueous environment to provide a fine dispersion. 177

For electrical applications, non-covalently functionalized CNTs are more preferred because the electrical properties of the CNTs are not compromised. CNTs have been non-covalently functionalized with a variety of biomolecules for the fabrication of electrochemical biosensors. 175 Non-covalently functionalized SWCNTs are used for energy applications. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have been non-covalently functionalized with 3d transition metal( II ) phthalocyanines, lowering the potential of the oxygen evolution reaction by approximately 120 mV compared with unmodified SWCNTs. 178 The toxicity of pristine CNTs toward living organisms can be lessened via using surfactant-functionalized CNTs. 170 However, in some cases, during polymer non-covalent functionalization, the polymer may wrap CNT bundles and make it difficult to separate the CNTs from each other. Polymers can develop into insulating wrapping that affects the CNT conductivity.

Term Pristine graphene Graphene oxide Reduced graphene oxide Ref.
Definition A single layer of 2D carbon atoms Heavily oxidized graphene A reduced form of graphene oxide
Composition Consists of carbon atoms Consists of C, O, and H Consists of C, O, and H
C/O ratio No oxygen 2–4 Depends upon the synthesis process; contains less oxygen (8–246)
Hybridization sp sp and sp Predominantly sp and slightly sp
Defects Defect-free Defects present Defects present
Preparation Relatively tough Easy Easy
Production cost High Low Low
Electrical conductivity Highest Poor The electrical properties are partially restored

In the literature, several graphene-related materials have been reported, such as graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide. 187 Among graphenoids, graphene oxide is a more reported and explored graphene-related material as a precursor for chemically modified graphene. The synthetic route to graphene oxide is straightforward, and it is synthesized from inexpensive graphite powder that is readily available. 188 Graphene oxide has many oxygen-containing functional groups, such as epoxy, hydroxyl, carboxyl, and carbonyl groups. The basal plane of graphene oxide is generally decorated with epoxide and hydroxyl groups, whereas the edges presumably contain carboxyl- and carbonyl-based functional groups. 189 The presence of active functional groups in graphene oxide allows its further functionalization with different polymers, small organic compounds, or other nanomaterials to realize several applications. 190

Graphene oxide, due to its oxygen functionality, is insulating in nature and displays poor electrochemical performance. The presence of oxygen functionalities in graphene oxide breaks the conjugated structure and localizes the π-electron network, resulting in poor carrier mobility and carrier concentration. 196 Its electrochemical performance is improved substantially after removing the oxygen-containing functional groups. 197 These functional groups can be removed or reduced via thermal, electrochemical, and chemical means. The product obtained after removing or reducing oxygen moieties is called reduced graphene oxide. The properties of reduced graphene oxide depend upon the effective removal of oxygen moieties from graphene oxide. The process used to remove oxygen-containing functionalities from graphene oxide will determine the extent to which reduced the properties of graphene oxide resemble pristine graphene. 198

Reduced graphene oxide is extensively used to improve the performances of various electrochemical devices. 199 It is essential to mention that even after reducing graphene oxide, some residual sp 3 carbon bonded to oxygen still exists, which somehow disturbs the movement of charge through the delocalized electronic cloud of the sp 2 carbon network. 200 Apart from this, the electrochemical activity of reduced graphene oxide is substantially high enough to manufacture electrochemical devices with improved performances. Recently, the demand for super-performance electrochemical devices has increased to overcome modern challenges relating to electronics and energy-storage devices. 201 Graphene-based materials are considered to be excellent electrode materials, and they can be proved to be revolutionary for use in energy-storage devices such as supercapacitors (SC) and batteries. Graphene-based electrodes improve the performances of existing batteries (lithium-ion batteries) and they are considered useful for developing next-generation batteries such as sodium-ion batteries, lithium–O 2 batteries, and lithium–sulfur batteries ( Fig. 18 ). Being flat in nature, each carbon atom of graphene is available, and ions can easily access the surface due to low diffusion resistance, which provides high electrochemical activity. 202

The applications of graphene in different electrochemical energy storage devices (EESDs). Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2015, Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Graphene and its derivatives are extensively used for the development of electrochemical sensors. 203 The surfaces of bare electrodes are usually not able to sense analytes at trace levels and they cannot differentiate between analytes that have close electrooxidation properties due to their poor surface kinetics. The addition of graphene layers to the surfaces of electrodes can substantially improve the electrocatalytic activity and surface sensitivity towards analytes. 204 Graphene has definite advantages over other materials that are used as electrode materials for sensor applications. Graphene has a substantially high surface-to-volume ratio and atomic thickness, making it extremely sensitive to any changes in its local environment. This is an essential factor in developing advanced sensing tools, as all the carbon atoms are available to interact with target species.

Consequently, graphene exhibits higher sensitivity than its counterparts such as CNTs and silicon nanowires. 205 Graphene has two main advantages over CNTs for the development of electrochemical sensors. First, graphene is mostly produced from graphite, which is a cost-effective route, and second, graphene does not contain metallic impurities like CNTs can. Graphene offers many other advantages when developing sensors and biosensors, such as biocompatibility and π–π stacking interactions with biomolecules. 206 Graphene-based materials are ideal for the construction of nanostructured sensors and biosensors.

The mechanical properties of graphene are used to fabricate highly desired stretchable and flexible sensors. 207 Graphene can be utilized to develop transparent electrodes with excellent optical transmittance. It displays good piezoresistive sensitivity. Researchers are making efforts to replace conventional brittle indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes with flexible graphene electrodes in optoelectronic devices such as liquid-crystal displays and organic light-emitting diodes. 208 For human–machine interfaces, transparent and flexible tactile sensors with high sensitivity have become essential. Graphene film (GF) and PET have been applied to develop transparent tactile sensors that exhibit outstanding cycling stability, fast response times, and excellent sensitivity ( Fig. 19 ). 209 Similarly, graphene is applied for the fabrication of pressure sensors. 210 Overall, graphene is an excellent material for developing transparent and flexible devices. 211,212

(a) A schematic diagram of the fabrication procedure of a tactile sensor based on GF and a PET plate. (b) An optical photograph of a bent assembled sensor; the geometrical dimensions of the sensor are shown in the inset. (c) The Raman spectrum of the GF, with typical D (≈1352 cm ), G (≈1583 cm ), and 2D (≈2686 cm ) peaks. (d) Transmittance spectra of pure PET, the GF–PET composite structure, and a multilayer stacked nanofilm sensor in the visible wavelength range from 350 to 700 nm. Published by The Royal Society of Chemistry.

The use of graphene-based materials is an effective way to deal with a broad spectrum of pollutants. 213 There are many ways to deal with environmental pollution; among these, adsorption is an effective and cost-effective method. 214,215 Graphene-based adsorbents are found to be useful in the removal of organic, 216 inorganic, and gaseous contaminants. Graphene-based materials have some obvious advantages over CNT-based adsorbents. For example, graphene sheets offer two basal planes for contaminant adsorption, enhancing their effectiveness as an adsorbent. 192 GO contains several oxygen functional groups that impart hydrophilic features. Due to appropriate hydrophilicity, GO-based adsorbents can efficiently operate in water to remove contaminants. Moreover, graphene-oxide-based materials can be functionalized further through reactive moieties with various organic molecules to enhance their adsorption capacities. 217

In short, extensive research must continue in order to develop graphene-based materials with high performance and bring them to the market. Massive focus on graphene research is also justified due to the extraordinary features described in extensive theoretical and experimental research works.

Nanodiamonds possess a core–shell-like structure and display rich surface chemistry, and numerous functional groups are present on their surface. Several functional groups, such as amide, aldehyde, ketone, carboxylic acid, alkene, hydroperoxide, nitroso, carbonate ester, and alcohol groups, are present on nanodiamond surfaces, assisting in their further functionalization for desired applications ( Fig. 20 ). 226

The critical surface chemistry of detonation-based NDs. The ND surface is usually covered with several functional groups. Different surface treatments (such as liquid phase purification and ozone oxidation) are needed to replace these functional groups with oxygen-containing species like carboxylic acids and anhydrides. Surface-treated NDs exhibit several attractive properties, such as colloidal stability, drug adsorption, uniform distribution in a polymer matrix, conjugation with biomolecules, and catalytic properties. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2018, Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Furthermore, nanodiamond surfaces can be homogenized with a single type of functional group according to the application requirements. 227 The use of nanodiamond particles as a reinforcing material in polymer composites has attracted great attention for improving the performance of polymer composite materials. The superior mechanical properties and rich surface chemistry of nanodiamonds have made them a superior material for tuning and reinforcing polymer composites. Nanodiamonds might operate via changing the interphase properties and forming a robust covalent interface with the matrix. 228 Nanodiamond (ND)-reinforced polymer composites have shown superior thermal stabilities, mechanical properties, and thermal conductivities. Nanodiamonds have shown great potential for energy storage applications. 229 Nanodiamonds and their composites are also used in sensor fabrication, environmental remediation, and wastewater treatment. 230,231 Their stable fluorescence and long fluorescence lifetimes have made nanodiamonds useful for imaging and cancer treatment. For biomedical applications, the rational engineering of nanodiamond particle surfaces has played a crucial role in the carrying of bioactive substances, target ligands, and nucleic acids, resisting their aggregation. 232,233 Nanodiamonds have a great future in nanotechnology due to their amazing surface chemistry and unique characteristics.

Carbon quantum dots can be synthesized through several chemical routes. 241–245 Some methodologies for synthesizing carbon dots are described in Fig. 21 . 246–248 Carbon itself is a black material and displays low solubility in water. In contrast, carbon quantum dots are attractive due to their excellent solubility in water. They contain a plethora of oxygen-containing functional groups on their surface, such as carboxylic acids. These functional moieties allow for further functionalization with biological, inorganic, polymeric, and organic species.

Methodologies for synthesizing carbon dots (CDs). Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2011, Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Carbon quantum dots are also called carbon nano-lights due to their strong luminescence. 248 In particular, carbon quantum dots offer enhanced chemiluminescence, 249,250 fluorescent emission, 251 two-photon luminescence under near-infrared pulsed-laser excitation, 252 and tunable excitation-dependent fluorescence. 253 The luminescence characteristics of carbon quantum dots have been used to develop highly sensitive and selective sensors. In most cases, a simple principle is involved in sensing with luminescent carbon quantum dots: their photoluminescence intensity changes upon the addition of an analyte. 254 Based on this principle, several efficient sensors have been developed using carbon quantum dots. 255–257 They can be used as sensitive and selective tools for sensing explosives such as TNT. Recognition molecules on the surfaces of carbon quantum dots can help to sense targeted analytes. Amino-group-functionalized carbon quantum dot fluorescence is quenched in the presence of TNT through a photo-induced electron-transfer effect between TNT and primary amino groups. This quenching phenomenon can help to sense the target analyte ( Fig. 22 ). 258 Chiral carbon quantum dots (cCQDs) can exhibit an enantioselective response. The PL responses of cCQDs were evaluated toward 17 amino acids and it was found that the PL intensity of the cCQDs was only substantially enhanced in the presence of L -Lys ( Fig. 22 ). 254

(A) A schematic illustration of the fabrication of a CDs@NH nanosensor and its sensing mechanism toward TNT. (B) A schematic diagram of the synthesis and application procedures of cCQDs. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2018, Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Carbon quantum dots have received significant interest in the fields of biological imaging and nanomedicine ( Fig. 23 ). 239 Direct images of RNA and DNA are essential for understanding cell anatomy. Due to the limitations of current imaging probes, tracking the dynamics of these biological macromolecules is not an easy job. Recently, membrane-penetrating carbon quantum dots have been developed for the imaging of nucleic acids in live organisms. 259 It is important to note that most of the carbon quantum dots utilized to attain cell imaging under UV excitation emit blue radiation. Some biological tissue also emits blue light, specifically that involving carbohydrates, and this interferes with cell imaging carried out with blue-emitting CQDs. This seriously hinders their potential in the field of biomedical imaging. Due to this reason, researchers are focusing on tuning CQDs in a way that their emission peak is red-shifted to avoid interference. 260 Carbon quantum dots with yellow and green fluorescence have been reported for bioimaging purposes. 261,262 The suitable doping of carbon quantum dots can red-shift the emission to enhance the bioimaging effectiveness. 263 Doped carbon quantum dots are capable of biological imaging and display advanced capabilities for scavenging reactive oxygen species. 264

The applications of CQDs in nanomedicine. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2019, Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Carbon quantum dots demonstrate photo-induced electron transfer properties 265 that make them valuable for photocatalytic, light-energy conversion, and other related applications. 266 Carbon quantum dots enhance the activities of other photocatalysts to which they are attached. Carbon quantum dots, along with photocatalysts, provide better charge separation and suppress the regeneration of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. Moreover, the proper implantation of carbon quantum dots into photocatalysts can broaden the photo-absorption region. Implanted carbon quantum dots form micro-regional heterostructures that facilitate photo-electron transport. 267 The implantation of carbon quantum dots into g-C 3 N 4 can substantially enhance charge transfer and separation efficiencies, prevent photoexcited carrier recombination, narrow the bandgap, and red shift the absorption edge. 268 The intrinsic catalytic activity of polymeric carbon nitride is improved as a result of the nano-frame heterojunctions formed with the help of CQDs. 269

Carbon quantum dots offer many advantages over conventional semiconductor-based QDs and, thus, they have attracted considerable researcher attention. 244 Due to their remarkable features, they have shown importance in recent years in the fields of light-emitting diodes, nanomedicine, solar cells, sensors, catalysis, and bioimaging. 236

(a) A TEM micrograph showing a graphitic carbon product that was generated abundantly upon CO laser ablation at room temperature. The product consisted of near-uniform-sized spherical particles with a diameter of 80 nm. (b) A magnified TEM micrograph of the graphitic carbon particles showing aggregations of tubule-like structures sticking out of the particle surface. (c) A highly magnified TEM micrograph of the edge regions of graphitic particles showing conical horn-like protrusions that are up to 20 nm-long on the particle surface with some modified shapes. Each of these carbon nanohorns was made of a single graphene sheet with closed caps, and the diameters were similar to those of fullerene molecules. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©1999, Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

The production of carbon nanohorns has some obvious advantages over carbon nanotubes, such as the ability for toxic-metal-catalyst-free synthesis and large-scale production at room temperature. Carbon nanotube synthesis involves metal particles, and harsh conditions, such as the use of strong acids, are required to remove metallic catalysts. This process introduces many defects into CNT structures and may cause a loss of carbon material. 270 Carbon nanohorns possess a wide diameter compared to CNTs. CNHs possess good absorption capabilities and their interiors are also available after partial oxidation, which provides direct access to their internal parts. Heat treatment under acidic or oxidative conditions facilitates the facile introduction of holes into carbon nanohorns. Holes in graphene sheets of single-walled carbon nanohorns can be produced with O 2 gas at high temperatures. A large quantity of material can be stored inside CNH tubes. 274 The surface area of CNHs is substantially enhanced upon opening the horns to make their interiors accessible. 275 Carbon nanohorns have great potential for energy storage, 275 electrochemiluminescence, 276 adsorption, 277 catalyst support, 278 electrochemical sensing, 279 and drug delivery system 273 uses. CNHs as catalyst supports can provide a homogeneous dispersion of Pt nanoparticles ( Fig. 25 ). The current density of Pt supported on single-walled carbon nanohorns is double compared to a fuel cell made from Pt supported on carbon black. 280 Thus, carbon nanohorns provide a better uniform dispersion that facilitates a high surface area and better catalyst performance.

TEM micrographs of a Pt catalyst supported on SWNHs (a) and on carbon black (b). Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2002, Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

5.2. Nanoporous materials

In nanoporous materials, the size distributions, volumes, and shapes of the pores directly affect the performances of porous materials for particular applications. It has become a hot area of research to develop materials with precisely controlled pores and arrangements. Recent research has focused more on the precise control of the shapes, sizes, and volumes of pores to produce nanoporous materials with high performance. Several state-of-the-art reviews are present in the literature that focus explicitly on the synthesis, properties, advances, and applications of nanoporous materials. 85,287–289 Based on the materials used, nanoporous materials can be divided into three main groups: inorganic nanoporous materials; carbonaceous nanoporous materials; and organic polymeric nanoporous materials.

Inorganic nanoporous materials include porous silicas, clays, porous metal oxides, and zeolites. The generation of pores in the material can introduce striking features into the material that are absent in non-porous materials. Nanoporous materials offer rich surface compositions with versatile characteristics. Nanoporous materials exhibit high surface-to-volume ratios. Their outstanding features and nanoporous framework structures have made these materials valuable in the fields of environmental remediation, adsorption, catalysis, sensing, energy conversion, purification, and medicine. 284,290

Porous silica is a crucial member of the inorganic nanoporous family. Over the decades, it has generated significant research interest for use in fuel cells, chemical engineering, ceramics, and biomedicine. It is essential to note that specific morphologies and pore size diameters are required for each application, and these can be achieved via tuning during the synthesis process. Nanoporous silica offers two functional surfaces: one is the cylindrical pore surfaces, and the second is the exterior surfaces of the nanoporous silica particles. The surfaces of nanoporous silica can be easily functionalized for the desired applications. The nanoporous silica surface is heavily covered with many silanol groups that act as reactive sites for functionalization ( Fig. 26 ). 291,292 For biomedical applications, mesoporous silica has emerged as a new generation of inorganic platform materials compared to other integrated nanostructured materials. Several factors make it a unique material for biomedical applications: 293,294 (a) its ordered porous structure; (b) its tunable particle size; (c) its large pore volume and surface area; (d) its biocompatibility; (e) its biodegradation, biodistribution, and excretion properties; and (f) its two functional surfaces. For instance, ordered MCM-48 nanoporous silica was used for the delivery of the poorly soluble drug indomethacin. It has been found that surface modification can control drug release. 295 Mesoporous silica-based materials have emerged as excellent materials for use in sustained drug delivery systems (SDDSs), immediate drug delivery systems (IDDSs), targeted drug delivery systems (TDDSs), and stimuli-responsive controlled drug delivery systems (CDDSs). The drug release rate from mesoporous silica can also be controlled via introducing appropriate polymers or functional groups, such as CN, SH, NH 2 , and Cl. Researchers are currently focusing on developing MSN-based (MSN = mesoporous silica nanoparticle) multifunctional drug delivery systems that can release antitumor drugs on demand in a targeted fashion via minimizing the premature release of the drug ( Fig. 27 ). 296

(A) The functionalization of mesoporous silica and the adsorption process of cadmium ions. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2018, Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. (B) A schematic illustration of the biofunctionalization of 3D nanoporous SiO film with streptavidin and antibodies. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2008, WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
(A) The in vivo process of an MSN-based controlled and targeted drug-delivery system. Two approaches for multifunctional MSN-based drug delivery systems are to design (B) a multifunctional targeting molecule that acts both as a targeting and capping agent or (C) a stimuli-responsive gatekeeper that is further modified with a target moiety to achieve multifunctional drug delivery. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2015, Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hierarchically nanoporous zeolites are a vital member of the nanoporous material family. They are crystalline aluminosilicate minerals whose structures comprise uniform, regular arrays of nanopores with molecular dimensions. The microporous structures of zeolites contain pores that are usually below 1 nm in diameter. In zeolites, the micropores are uniform in shape and size, and these pores can effectively discriminate between molecules based on shape and size. 297 Currently, based on crystallography, more than 200 zeolites have been classified. 298 Zeolites have been proved to be useful materials in the field of host–guest chemistry. In solid catalysis, about 40% of the entire solid catalyst field is taken up by zeolites in chemical industry. The excellent catalysis success of zeolites is based on their framework stability, shape-selective porosity, solid acidity, and ion-exchange capacity. Oxygen tetrahedrally coordinates with the Al atoms in most zeolite crystalline silicate frameworks, resulting in charge mismatch between the oxide framework and Al. Extra-framework Na + ions compensate for this charge mismatch. The Na + ions are exchangeable for other cations such as H + and K + . 298 The zeolite crystalline networks are remarkable in that they provide high mechanical and hydrothermal stabilities. The most crucial task facing the zeolite community is to find new structures with desired functions and apply them more effectively for different applications.

Apart from these inorganic porous materials, several other metal- and metal-oxide-based nanoporous materials have been introduced that are more prominent for use in electrode material, catalyst, photodegradation, energy storage, and energy conversion applications. 299–302 Nanoporous metal-based materials are famous due to the nanosized crystalline walls, interconnected porous networks, and numerous surface metal sites that provide them with unique physical/chemical properties compared with their bulk counterparts and other nanostructured materials. 303 For example, nanoporous WO 3 films were developed via tuning the anodization conditions for photoelectrochemical water oxidation. It has been observed that the morphology of the film strongly affected the photoelectrochemical performance. 304 Nanoporous alumina is also a unique material in the inorganic nanoporous family due to several aspects. Nanoporous alumina can be prepared in a controlled fashion with any size and shape in polyprotic aqueous media via the anodic oxidation of the aluminum surface. The parallel arrangement of pores on alumina can easily be controlled from 5 nm to 300 nm, and alumina is stable in the range of 1000 °C. The anodizing time plays a significant role in controlling the pore length. Nanoporous alumina membranes offer various unique properties, such as pores of variable widths/lengths, temperature stability, and optical transparency. Nanoporous alumina pores can be filled with magnetically and optically active elements to produce the desired applications at the nanoscale level. Photoluminescent alumina membranes can be produced via introducing cadmium sulfide, gallium nitride, and siloxenes inside nanoporous alumina using appropriate precursors. 305 Porous alumina also acts as an efficient support and template for the designing of other nanomaterials. Palladium nanowires, 306 high aspect ratio cobalt nanowires, 307 and highly aligned Cu nanowires 308 were developed using porous alumina as a template. Ni–Pd as a catalyst was supported on porous alumina for hydrogenation and oxidation reactions. 309 Nanoporous anodic alumina is also considered to be an efficient material for the development of biosensors due to the ease of fabrication, tunable properties, optical/electrochemical properties, and excellent stability in aqueous environments. 310

Nanoporous carbon-based materials are a hot topic in the field of materials chemistry. Nanoporous carbon materials have become ubiquitous choices in the environmental, energy, catalysis, and sensing fields due to their unique morphologies, large pore volumes, controlled porous structures, mechanical, thermal, and chemical stabilities, and high specific surface areas ( Fig. 28A ). 311 Nanoporous materials are found to be useful in the treatment of water. The separation of spilled oil and organic pollutants from water has emerged as a significant challenge. 312–314 The design of materials that can allow the efficient separation of organic, dye, and metal contaminants from water has become a leading environmental research area. 315,316 Nanoporous carbon can be derived from different natural and synthetic sources. 317–319 Nanoporous carbon foam can be derived from natural sources, such as flour, pectin, and agar, via table-salt-assisted pyrolysis. The agar-derived nanoporous carbon foam showed high absorption capacities, a maximum of 202 times its own weight, for oil and organic solvents. Air filtration paper developed from carbon nanoporous materials and non-woven fabrics has shown a filtration efficiency of greater than 99% ( Fig. 28B ). 320 Nanoporous carbon can also be produced from other porous frameworks, such as metal–organic frameworks. MOF- and COF-based materials are promising precursors for nanoporous carbon-based materials. The direct carbonization of amino-functionalized aluminum terephthalate metal–organic frameworks has produced nitrogen-doped nanoporous carbon that shows an adequate removal capacity of 98.5% for methyl orange under the optimum conditions. 321 Fe 3 O 4 /nanoporous carbon was also produced with Fe salts as a magnetic precursor and MOF-5 as a carbon precursor for removing the organic dye methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solutions. 322 The mesoporous carbon removal efficiency could be further enhanced via modifying or functionalizing the surface with various materials. Unmodified mesoporous carbon has shown a mercury removal efficiency of 54.5%. This efficiency can be substantially improved to 81.6% and 94% upon modification with the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate and cationic surfactant cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB), respectively. 323

(A) A schematic illustration of the synthesis, functionalization, and applications of micro- and mesoporous carbon. Reproduced from with permission from The Royal Society of Chemistry. (B) The development of nanoporous carbon foam with high efficiency for oil/organic solvent adsorption. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2020, American Chemical Society.

Ordered nanoporous carbon, CNTs, and fullerenes are extensively applied for energy and environmental applications. The complicated synthesis routes required for fullerenes and CNTs have slowed down the full exploitation of their potential for highly demanding applications. In comparison, the synthesis of highly ordered nanoporous carbon is facile, and the properties of ordered nanoporous carbon are also appealing for energy and environmental applications. 311 CO 2 is a greenhouse gas, and its sustainable conversion into value-added products has become the subject of extensive research. A nitrogen-doped nanoporous-carbon/carbon-nanotube composite membrane is a high-performance gas-diffusion electrode applied for the electrocatalytic conversion of CO 2 into formate. A faradaic efficiency of 81% was found for the production of formate. 324 Nanoporous carbon materials modified with the non-precious elements P, S, N, and B have emerged as efficient electrode materials for use in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), batteries, and fuel cells. 311,325–327

Nanoporous polymers, including nanoporous coordination polymers and crystalline nanoporous polymers, have emerged as impressive nanoporous materials. 328 Nanoporous polymers have many applications, and these materials are extensively being evaluated for gas separation and gas storage. The great interest in these applications arises from the presence of pores providing an exceptionally high Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area. Recently, new classes of metal organic framework and covalent organic framework porous materials have been reported that have shown exceptionally high and unprecedented surface areas. For instance, in 2010, a MOF was reported with a surface area of 6143 m 2 g −1 ; 329 in 2012, a MOF was reported with a surface area greater than 7000 m 2 g −1 ; 330 and in 2018, a MOF (DUT-60) was reported with a record surface area of 7836 m 2 g −1 . 331 Mesoporous DUT-60 has also shown a high free volume of 90.3% with a density of 0.187 g cm −3 . 331

Due to their exceptionally high surface areas and porous networks, these MOFs and COFs are ideal for gas storage. Air separation and post-combustion CO 2 capture have become integral parts of mainstream industries related to the energy sector in order to avoid substantial economic penalties. Due to the inefficiencies of available technology and the critical importance of this area, earnest efforts are being made to design gas-selective porous materials for the selective adsorption of desired gases. Nanoporous MOF- and COF-based materials can significantly capture CO 2 and help reach zero or minimum CO 2 emission levels. For instance, nanoporous fluorinated metal–organic frameworks have shown the selective adsorption of CO 2 over H 2 and CH 4 . 332 Hasmukh A. Patel et al. developed N 2 -phobic nanoporous covalent organic polymers for the selective adsorption of CO 2 over N 2 . The azo groups in the framework rejected N 2 , leading to CO 2 selectivity. 333 Nanoporous polymers that are superhydrophobic in nature can also be used for volatile organic compounds and organic contaminants. 334 Nanoporous polymers, due to the presence of a porous network, have been considered as highly suitable materials for catalyst supports. Furthermore, organocatalytic functional groups can be introduced pre-synthetically and post-synthetically into solid catalysts. 335

Nanoporous polymeric materials are amazingly heading towards being extremely lightweight with exceptionally high surface areas. These high surface areas and the fine-tuning of the nanopores has made these nanoporous materials, specifically MOFs and zeolites, ideal support materials for encapsulating ultrasmall metal nanoparticles inside void spaces to produce nanocatalysts with exceptionally high efficiencies. 336 In the coming years, more exponential growth of nanoporous materials is expected in the energy, targeted drug delivery, catalysis, and water treatment fields.

5.3. Ultrathin two-dimensional nanomaterials beyond graphene

However, from a material synthesis standpoint, a graphite-like layered form of Si does not exist in nature and there is no conventional exfoliation process that can generate 2D silicene, although single-walled 351 and multi-walled 352 silicon nanotubes and even monolayers of silicon have been synthesized via exfoliation methods. 353 Forming honeycomb Si nanostructures on substrates like Ag(001) and Ag(110) via molecular beam deposition, so-called “epitaxial growth”, was then proposed as a method for the architectural design of silicene sheets. 354–356 The successful synthesis of a silicene monolayer was first achieved on Ag(111) and ZrB 2 (0001) substrates in 2012; 357,358 later, various demonstrations were made using Ir(111), ZrB 2 (001), ZrC(111), and MoS 2 surfaces as the silicene growth substrates. 359–361 Despite various extensive studies to date involving the “epitaxial growth” of silicene on different substrates and investigations of the electronic properties, 357,362–364 the limited nanometer size, difficulties relating to substrate removal, and air stability issues have substantially impeded the practical applications of silicene. Bearing in mind all these known difficulties, Akinwande and co-workers recently reported a growth–transfer–fabrication process for novel silicene-based field-effect transistor development that involved silicene-encapsulated delamination with native electrodes. 365 An etch-back approach was used to define source/drain contacts in Ag film. Without causing any damage to the silicene, a novel potassium-iodide-based iodine-containing solution was used to etch Ag, avoiding rapid oxidation, unlike other commonly used Ag etchants. The results demonstrated that this was the first proof-of-concept study confirming the Dirac-like ambipolar charge transport predictions made about silicene devices. Comparative studies with a graphene system, the low residual carrier density, and the high gate modulation suggested the opening of a small bandgap in the experimental devices, proving that silicene can be considered a viable 2D nanomaterial beyond graphene.

Nonetheless, the synthesis of silicene on a large-scale is greatly limited, as “epitaxial growth” is the only promising method for obtaining high-quality silicene, and this presents an enduring challenge in relation to silicene research and development. Xu and co-workers recently introduced liquid oxidation and the exfoliation of CaSi 2 as a means for the first scalable preparation of high-quality silicene nanosheets. 366 This new synthetic strategy successfully induced the exfoliation of stacked silicene layers via the mild oxidation of the (Si 2 n ) 2 n layers in CaSi 2 into neutral Si 2 n layers without damage to the pristine silicene structure ( Fig. 29 ). The selective oxidation of pristine CaSi 2 into free-standing silicene sheets without any damage to the original Si framework was carried out via exfoliation in the presence of I 2 in acetonitrile solvent. Furthermore, the obtained silicene sheets yielded ultrathin monolayers or layers with few-layer thickness and exhibited excellent crystallinity. This 2D silicene nanosheet material was extensively explored as a novel anode, which was unlike previously developed silicon-based anodes for lithium-ion batteries. It displayed a theoretical capacity of 721 mA h g −1 at 0.1 A g −1 and superior cycling stability of 1800 cycles. Overall, during the last decade, silicene has been widely accepted as an ideal 2D material with many fascinating properties, suggesting great promise for a future beyond graphene.

(a) A schematic illustration of the synthesis of silicene from CaSi via liquid oxidation and exfoliation. SEM images of pristine bulk CaSi (b) and the as-reacted product (c), with insets showing photographs. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2018, WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Like other 2D materials, MXenes exhibit crystal geometry with a hexagonal close-packed structure based on the equivalent MAX-phase precursor, and the close-packed structure is formed from M atoms with X atoms occupying octahedral sites. 371 According to the formula, there are three representative structures of MXenes: M 2 XT x , M 3 X2T x , and M 4 X3T x . In these combinations, X atoms are formed with n layers, whereas M atoms have n + 1 layers ( Fig. 30 ). 372 Apart from graphene, MXenes are considered the most dynamic developing material, and they have incredible innovation potential amongst typical 2D nanomaterials because of their remarkable properties, such as hydrophilicity, conductivity, considerable adsorption abilities, and catalytic activity. These vital properties of MXenes suggest their use for various potential applications, including in the photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, 373,374 energy, 375 membrane-based separation, 376,377 and biological therapy 378 fields. In this section, we focus on describing new developments relating to MXenes that are utilized for electrocatalytic and energy storage applications, competing as alternatives to graphene materials.

The structures of MXenes with different formulas (M XT , M X T , and M X T ) and their compositions (mono-M MXenes and double-M MXenes). Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2019, WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Interestingly, due to the presence of abundant terminal groups, mainly –O, –OH, and –F, and their modifying nature, MXenes can exhibit outstanding hydrophilic properties and high conductivity and charge carrier mobility, making them a very attractive material for various electrocatalytic applications, such as the hydrogen evolution reaction, oxygen evolution reaction, oxygen reduction reaction, nitrogen reduction reaction, and CO 2 reduction reaction. To further increase their electrocatalytic activities, recent works involving MXenes have included incorporation with CNTs, 379 g-C 3 N 4 , 380 FeNi-LDH, 381 NiFeCo-LDH, 382 and metal–organic frameworks. 383

Cho and co-workers designed and developed MXene–TiO 2 2D nanosheets via the surface oxidation of MXene with defect-free control. These MXene–TiO 2 2D nanosheets were successfully implemented in nano-floating-gate transistor memory (NFGTM) providing a floating gate ( i.e. , multilayer MXene) and tunneling dielectric ( i.e. , the TiO 2 layer). A process of oxidation in water further represented a cost-effective and environmentally benign method, as depicted in Fig. 31 . The MXene NFGTM with an optimal oxidation process displayed exceptional nonvolatile memory features, having a great memory window, high programming/erasing current ratio, long term retention, and high durability. 384

(a) A schematic diagram of the synthesis of 2D Ti C T MXene and its controlled oxidation. (b) Cross-sectional STEM images of pristine MXene and oxidized MXene. (c) Raman spectra of pristine MXene and oxidized MXene. (d) Photographic images of MXene solution at different stages of oxidation. (e) A schematic illustration of MXene NFGTM. The right panel shows an optical microscopy (OM) image of the oxidized MXene on the SiO blocking dielectric layer. (f) The transfer characteristics of transistors with different hysteresis behavior. (g) A schematic diagram of the energy bands of MXene NFGTM corresponding to hole trapping and detrapping in the MXene floating gate. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2020, WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

There have been some exciting reports on 2D materials from the pnictogen family, particularly phosphorene. Recently, more attention has also been given to the remaining group 15 elements, 390 with the novel 2D materials arsenene, antimonene, and bismuthene being obtained from the key elements arsenic, antimony, and bismuth, respectively. It is reported that 2D monolayers of group 15 elements, including phosphorene allotropes, have five distinct honeycomb (α, β, γ, δ, and ε) and four distinct non-honeycomb (ζ, η, θ, and ι) structures, as depicted in Fig. 32 . Dissimilar crystal orientations were found for single-layered As, Sb, and Bi. Zeng and co-workers also reported comprehensive density functional theory (DFT) computations that proved the energetic stability and broad-range application of these materials in 2D semiconductors. 391 Previously, following theoretical predictions, Wu and co-workers successfully demonstrated that α-phosphorene showed lowest energy configurations in both honeycomb and non-honeycomb nanosheets. 392 In contrast, Zeng and co-workers proved that the buckled forms of 2D sheets of As, Sb, and Bi allotropes are the most stable structures, particularly their β phases. 391

Top views of relaxed group 15 monolayer allotropes with five typical honeycomb structures (α, β, γ, δ, and ε) and four typical non-honeycomb structures (ζ, η, θ, and ι). Reprinted with permission from . Copyright ©2016, WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Among monolayer group 15 family materials, 2D sheets of arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb) have gained considerable attention from researchers. 393,394 Studies have shown that As and Sb exhibit better stability than black phosphorus; they are highly stable at room temperature and less reactive to air, likely inhibiting the oxidization process. 395–398 Nevertheless, it has been demonstrated that the oxidation process is perhaps favorable for fine-tuning the electronic properties; increases in the indirect band gaps ranging from 0 to a maximum of 2.49 eV are found in free-standing arsenene and antimonene semiconductors. 399–403 Simultaneously, arsenene and antimonene can also be transformed into semiconductors with direct band gaps. These two 2D nanosheets can be used to design mechanical sensors, moving beyond common electronic and optoelectronic applications. These two extraordinary 2D nanosheets have been studied for their structural–property relationships via first-principles methods. 403–405

Continuing the characterization and structural property studies of arsenene carried out by Kamal 404 et al. and Zhang 403 et al. , Anurag Srivastava and co-workers analyzed applications of arsenene to explore the possibility of improving sensor devices that can be utilized to detect ammonia (NH 3 ) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) molecules. 406,407 They investigated the affinities of NH 3 and NO 2 molecules for pristine arsenene sheets, examining the binding energies, bonding distances, density distributions, and current–voltage features. The results showed that arsenene 2D sheets are highly durable, with significant electronic charge transfer. They also considered germanium-doped arsenene and characterized the 2D lattice based on molecular affinity relationships with respect to the dopant.

However, the incorporation of any dopants into 2D nanomaterials not only results in experimental difficulty but it also lowers the stability of 2D materials. 408 Recently, Dameng Liu and co-workers reported the electronic structures, focusing on band structures, band offsets, and intrinsic defect properties, of few-layer arsenic and antimony. 409 The spontaneous oxide passivation layer that is formed naturally on pristine antimonene provides excellent stability. 410 Very recently, Stefan Wolff and co-workers conducted DFT calculations on various single or few-layer antimony oxide structures to describe the stoichiometry and bonding type. Interestingly, the samples exhibited various structural stabilities and electronic properties with a wide range of direct and indirect band gaps. Showing band gaps between 2.0 and 4.9 eV, these 2D layers of antimonene exhibited the potential to be used as insulators or semiconductors. 411 The same group also analyzed Raman spectra and discussed identifying the predicted antimonene oxide structures experimentally. The enduring task of exploring the utility of antimonene has boosted recent research interest in 2D nanomaterials due to the broad range of potential applications, such as their use in electrochemical sensors, 412,413 stable organic solar cells, 414 and supercapacitors 415 to name a few.

Electrochemical studies of an as-prepared ultrathin 2D Co-MOF NS//activated carbon aqueous device. (a) The galvanostatic charge–discharge curves at different current densities. (b) The cyclic voltammetry curves at different scan rates. (c) Specific capacitances at different current densities. (d) Charge–discharge cycle testing at a current density of 0.5 A cm in 3.0 M KOH electrolyte (inset: a red LED powered by the aqueous device). Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2019, Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The 2D MOF nanosheets are also evaluated for the development of high-performance power-storage devices. For example, Li et al. 427 recently reported two novel Mn-2D MOFs and Ni-2D MOFs as anode materials for rechargeable lithium batteries. The Mn-based ultrathin metal–organic-framework nanosheets, due to thinner nanosheets, a higher specific surface area, and smaller metal ion radius, had structural advantages over Ni-based ultrathin metal–organic-framework nanosheets. Due to these features, the Mn-based ultrathin metal–organic-framework nanosheets displayed a high reversible capacity of 1187 mA h g −1 at 100 mA g −1 for 100 cycles and a rate capability of 701 mA h g −1 even at 2 A g −1 .

The expensive metal oxides utilized in the catalytic process can be replaced in due course by 2D-MOF-based nanosheets with exposed metal sites that impart an adjustable pore structure, ultrathin thickness, a high surface-to-volume atom ratio, and high design flexibility. As a result, 2D-MOFs have extensively been explored for various electrocatalytic applications, including the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO 2 RR). For example, Marinescu et al. 428 combined cobalt dithiolene species with benzenehexathiol (BHT) and yielded 2D-MOFs capable of acting as electrocatalysts for the HER in water ( Fig. 34 ). In the presence of 2D-MOF sheets, a high current density of 41 mA cm −2 , at −0.8 V vs. SHE and a pH value of 1.3, is observed. Similarly, Feng et al. 429 also developed single-layer Ni-based 2D-MOF sheets that are highly effective for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Later, Patra et al. 430 reported similar 2D sheets from covalent organic frameworks (2D-COFs) as metal-free catalysts for HER applications. 2D-MOFs are also being explored as active catalysts for the OER process. For example, Xu et al. 431 reported the preparation of 2D Co-MOF sheets using polyvinylpyrrolidone as a surfactant under mild solvothermal conditions. These novel 2D Co-MOFs displayed ultrathin nanosheets with many surface-based metal active sites, improving the overall OER performance.

The synthesis of the cobalt dithiolene films 1 and 2 through a liquid–liquid interfacial reaction. The synthesized films are deposited onto desired supports, generating MOS 1 and 2. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2015, American Chemical Society.

Interestingly, experimental electrochemical measurement data showed that Co-MOF sheets offer a low overpotential ( i.e. , 263 mV at 10 mA cm −2 ). Similarly, Wang et al. 432 also reported that double-metal 2D-sheets (2D NiFe MOFs) consisting of a very ultrathin structure with a thickness of ∼10 nm further offer a low overpotential of 260 mV at 10 mA cm −2 . In other reports, Zhang et al. 433 successfully performed the OER process with ultrathin 2D-MOF sheets prepared via electrochemical and chemical exfoliation strategies.

Recent work on the catalytic activity of 2D-MOFs has also been reported in relation to the ORR and CO 2 RR because of their layered crystal structures and high-volume modifiable porous structures. For example, Dincă et al. 434 demonstrated that ultrathin layered conductive sheets of the 2D-MOF Ni 3 (HITP) 2 (HITP = 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexaiminotriphenylene) could actively be utilized as a catalyst in an alkaline medium for the ORR process. These 2D-MOF sheets show high stability while retaining 88% of the initial current density over 8 h at 0.77 V vs. RHE. In another report, through fabricating Co x Zn 2− x (bim) 4 2D-sheets as precursors, Zhao et al. 435 successfully synthesized cobalt nanodots (Co-NDs) with bimetallic Co x Zn 2− x (bim) 4 nanosheets encapsulating few-layer graphene (Co@FLG). For the CO 2 RR, a cobalt–porphyrin-containing 2D-MOF was achieved for the selective electrochemical reduction of CO 2 to CO with enhanced stability by Peidong Yang and co-workers. 436 The results further proved that these thin-film catalysts have the highest selectivity for CO ( i.e. , 76%) at −0.7 V vs. RHE with the little-to-no substantial decrease in activity over 7 h at −0.7 V vs. RHE, and 16 mL of CO was produced. Besides, like many other porous materials, 2D-MOFs were also shown to be a supporting platform for catalytic nanoparticles because of their high specific surface areas and favorable porosity distributions. To this end, an example can be noted from Wang et al. 437 reporting that fine porous MOF-5 nanosheets can be utilized to immobilize Pd nanoparticles.

DNA detection with 2D MOFs (Cu–TCPP, Zn-TCPP(Fe), and Co-TCPP). (a) A schematic illustration of the 2D-MOF-nanosheet-based fluorescence assay for DNA. (b) Fluorescence spectra under different experimental conditions: (I) P1; (II) P1 + T1 + Cu–TCPP nanosheets; (III) P1 + Cu–TCPP nanosheets; and (IV) Cu–TCPP nanosheets. The concentrations of P1, T1, and Cu–TCPP nanosheets in the final solutions are 2.5 × 10 M, 20 × 10 M, and 35 μg mL , respectively. Inset: A kinetics study of the fluorescence changes of the P1 and P1/T1 duplexes in the presence of Cu–TCPP nanosheets; the excitation and emission wavelengths are 588 and 609 nm, respectively. (c) Left: The quenching efficiency (η) of Cu–TCPP nanosheets and bulk Cu–TCPP MOFs for P1 and P1/T1; right: the fluorescence intensity ratio (F /F ) values at 609 nm in the presence of Cu–TCPP nanosheets (35 μg mL ) or bulk Cu–TCPP MOFs (35 μg mL ). F is the fluorescence intensity of dsDNA (P1/T1) at 609 nm in the presence of Cu–TCPP nanosheets or bulk Cu–TCPP MOFs. F is the fluorescence intensity of ssDNA (P1) at 609 nm in the presence of Cu–TCPP nanosheets or bulk Cu–TCPP MOFs. The concentrations of P1 and T1 in the final solution are 2.5 × 10 and 20 × 10 M. (d) Fluorescence spectra of P1 (2.5 × 10 M) in the presence of T1 at different concentrations in 2D Cu–TCPP nanosheet solution (35 μg mL ). Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2015, WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
(a) An SEM image of a bare porous AAO support; (b) an image of MOF membranes obtained via filtration; and (c) an SEM top view and (d) cross-sectional view of the Ni (HITP) membrane on an AAO support. (e) Single and binary gas permeance levels through a Ni (HITP) membrane measured at 298 K and 1.2 bar (inset: the separation factors from equimolar mixed gas permeation tests). Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2020, Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

5.4. Metal-based nanostructured materials

As discussed, catalysis is one of the main uses of metal-based nanostructured materials. A continuous increase in the demand for energy, the rapid depletion of conventional energy reservoirs, and rising concerns over the emission of CO 2 have increased the challenges and urgency in the energy field. 460 Metal-based nanostructured materials are extensively being explored to produce alternative clean and renewable energy sources. A range of metal-based nanomaterials has been evaluated and is under consideration for developing robust electrodes that can be effectively applied to water splitting, batteries, and solar cells.

High energy demands have led to more pressure to improve the performances of existing highly demanded lithium-ion batteries. Researchers have focused on improving their lifetimes, sizes, and safety. 462 Nanostructured metal-oxide-based materials are promising electrode materials for use in high-performance charge-storage devices. A metal-based nanostructured electrode is evaluated as both the anode and cathode to overcome the challenges of conventional electrodes. 463 In a conventional LIB, LiCoO 2 was used as the cathode material. Controlled morphology plays a crucial role in determining the performance of a material. Powder composed of spherical particles of LiNi 0.8 Co 0.2 O 2 showed a higher tap density compared to irregular particles and the material substantially improved the power density of secondary lithium batteries. 464 Hierarchical nanostructures of metal-based oxides (such as 3D hierarchical ZnCo 2 O 4 nanostructures) have emerged as a new trend for the development of high-capacity electrodes for lithium-ion batteries. 465 Since their commercialization by Sony in the early 1990s, LIBs have achieved tremendous success in bringing portable electronic devices to the market. However, their sustainable development on the grid-scale is hampered due to limited Li resources in nature, and this is causing a continuous increase in cost. 466 Sodium-ion batteries are in the spotlight to replace powerful lithium-ion batteries due to the widespread availability of sodium and its lower cost compared with lithium. 467 It is essential to note that, in terms of energy densities for SIBs, it is difficult to bypass LIBs because of the low standard electrochemical potential and higher weight of Na. SIBs could be proved to be ideal for those applications where cost is a critical factor compared to energy density. 466

SIBs also operate similarly to LIBs, based on an intercalation mechanism. SIBs also consist of cathode and anode electrodes separated through an electrolyte. During the charging process, sodium ions are extracted from the cathode and inserted into the anode via the electrolyte. In the discharging process, the electrons leave the anode through an external circuit to reach the cathode, providing electricity to the load, whereas Na + moves to the cathode during this process. The radius of Na + (1.02 Å) is greater than that of Li + (0.76 Å), making it challenging to intercalate into electrode materials. 468 Thus, appropriate electrode materials are required in which fast Na-ion insertion and extraction is possible. However, SIBs are suffering from a lack of appropriate electrode materials. It is important to develop electrode materials that have enough interstitial space within their crystallographic structures and better electrochemical performance. Among the various proposed electrode materials, Na x MO 2 layered transition-metal oxides (M = V, Fe, Cu, Co, Ni, Cr, Mn, and their combinations) are considered to be promising electrode materials for SIBs. Layered metal oxides are considered to be promising electrode materials due to their facile scalable synthesis, simple structures, appropriate operating potentials, and high capacities. 469,470 Large volume expansion and poor kinetics during the charge–discharge process can severely affect the cyclability and performance of SIBs. One of the effective strategies to deal with the mechanical stress triggered by large volume changes is the design of hollow or porous structures. In response, three-dimensional network-based Sb 2 O 3 @Sb composite anode materials can help to relieve the volume-change-related stress through their uniform porous networks and provide better transportation channels for Na + . 471

The large volume expansion of electrodes can also be buffered via designing 2D metal-oxide materials with large interlayer spacing. The ultrathin nanosheets provide high reversible capacity with enhanced cycling stability and contribute to providing reaction sites for electrons/ions, decreasing the diffusion distance, providing effective diffusion channels, and facilitating fast charge/discharge for sodium and lithium. 2D SnO nanosheet anodes were evaluated for SIBs. The capacity and cyclic stability improved, as the number of atomic SnO layers is decreased in the sheets. 472 Sb is a promising anode material, but during the sodiation/desodiation processes, huge volume expansion of 390% is observed, which hinders its practical use. Nanostructured Sb in the form of nanorod arrays with large interval spacing displays the great capacity to accommodate volume changes during cycling. 473 A comparison of various nanostructured metal-based electrodes for various charge storage purposes is shown in Table 3 . Overall, well-structured metal or metal-based oxide nanomaterials have the capacity to resolve current issues relating to charge storage devices.

Nanostructured metal oxide Synthesis route Charge storage device Rate capabilities Retention capacity and cyclability Ref.
Mesoporous NiCo O nanowire arrays A surfactant-assisted hydrothermal method and short post-annealing treatment LIB, SC ≈1012 mA h g at 0.5 A g , 1010 F g at 20 A g Retained 854 mA h g after 100 cycles, negligible specific capacitance decay after 5000 cycles at 8 A g
Zn V O ·nH O nanobelts A microwave hydrothermal method ZIB ∼300 mA h g at 50 mA g Capacity retention of 80% at 10C after 1000 cycles
Leaf-like CuO nanostructures In situ precipitation-induced growth and thermal annealing LIB 549 mA h g at 0.1 A g 95.5% after 200 cycles
3D porous copper skeleton supported zinc anode Electrodeposition ZIB 364 mA h g at 0.1 A g Retained a capacity of 173 mA h g at 0.4 A g after 300 cycles
ZnO–carbon black nanostructured anode materials An atomic layer deposition method LIB 2096 mA h g at 100 mA g A specific capacity of 1026 mA h g was maintained after 500 cycles
NiCo O nanoneedle array A hydrothermal method combined with post-heat treatment SIB 400 mA h g at 50 mA g ∼215 mA h g after 50 cycles
Coral-like nanostructured Sb O @Sb anode Heating in a furnace SIB 497.3 mA h g at 3000 mA g , 724.3 mA h g at 1000 mA g 574.8 mA h g at 100 mA g after 150 cycles
3D Fe GeO /N-CNSs A high-temperature calcination process SIB 350 mA h g at 0.1 A g , 180 mA h g at 22.8 A g ∼86% reversible capacity retention after 6000 cycles
MnO nanoflowers A hydrothermal method and thermal treatment SIB 487.8 mA h g at 50 mA g 103.3 mA h g at 800 mA g after 100 cycles, 133.6 mA h g at 400 mA g after 1000 cycles
2D SnO nanosheet anodes A hydrothermal method SIB 1072 mA h g at 0.1 A g (discharge), 848 mA h g at 0.1 A g (charge) 665 mA h g at 0.1 A g after 100 cycles, 452 mA h g at 1.0 A g after 1000 cycles
TiO /C nanofibers Electrospinning SIB 164.9 mA h g at 2000 mA g Nearly 100% capacity retention over 1000 cycles
Sb nanorod arrays A template method SIB 557.7 mA h g at 20 A g 84% at 0.2 A g over 250 cycles
CuCo O -nanodot-inserted N-doped carbon nanofibers Electrospinning SIB 296 mA h g at 5000 mA g 314 mA h g at 1000 mA g after 1000 cycles

Recently, an immense focus of research has been to produce H 2 fuel via water-splitting to replace conventional fossil fuels. This will help to eliminate emissions from the use of carbonaceous species. 484 Electrochemical method are considered simple water splitting approaches, as these methods only require an applied voltage and water as inputs to produce hydrogen fuel. 485 The coupling of solar irradiation to electrochemical water splitting has enhanced the performance and reduced the process cost. Due to these reasons, this has become a hot area of research. 486 During water electrolysis, H 2 is produced through the hydrogen evolution reaction at the cathode and O 2 is produced through the oxygen evolution reaction at the anode. However, water splitting is not so straightforward, and it requires an efficient catalyst that can facilitate the splitting of water. Metal- and metal-oxide-based catalysts are extensively being explored for water splitting. For the HER reaction, Pt-based catalysts are found to be suitable, whereas for OER reactions, Ir-/Ru-based compounds are found to be benchmark catalysts. Scarcity and high cost have limited the widespread use of these metals. The barrier of noble-metal cost can be mitigated through developing noble-metal nanostructured surfaces that produce more active sites or via depositing monolayers of noble metals on low-cost materials. The alloying of noble metals with other metals has enhanced site-specific activity. 484 At present, more focus is being placed on developing noble-metal-free catalysts for water splitting. 485 Usually, an efficient electrocatalyst is characterized by: 487 a low overpotential; high stability; low production costs; and high electrocatalytic activity.

The nano-structuring of catalysts is an effective tool to boost their surface areas. The electrolysis of water occurs at the surface of a catalyst, and nanostructured catalysts provide more active sites and the better diffusion of ions and electrolytes. 484 Non-noble metals that are under observation for the development of HER electrocatalysts include nickel (Ni), tungsten (W), iron (Fe), molybdenum (Mo), cobalt (Co), and copper (Cu). 487 For instance, a noble metal-free catalyst, carbon-decorated Co 3 O 4 nanoarrays on carbon paper, required a small overpotential of 370 mV to reach a current density of 10 mA cm −2 . It can maintain a current density of 100 mA cm −2 for 413.8 h and 86.8 h under alkaline and acidic conditions, respectively. 488

Metal-based semiconductor materials play a crucial role in a range of applications. For photoelectrochemical water splitting, the semiconductor material plays a central role in the solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency. Some critical features are prerequisites when it comes to selecting the right semiconductor material for the photoelectrochemical splitting of water: 489 an extraordinary capacity to absorb visible light; an appropriate bandgap; suitable valence and conduction band positions; commercial feasibility; and chemical stability.

For an ideal semiconductor for water splitting, the valence band and conduction band edge positions must straddle the oxidation and the reduction potentials of water. Metal oxides have received significant attention among semiconductors due to their wide band gap distributions, remarkable photo-electrochemical stabilities, and favorable band edge positions. 490 Semiconductor-based photoelectrodes become excited upon light irradiation, and electrons from the valence band move to the unoccupied conduction band. Some of the generated electrons at the cathode surface reduce protons to hydrogen gas, whereas holes at the photoanode produce oxygen gas via water splitting. 490 As a result, various nanostructured metal oxides can be used as photoelectrode materials, such as WO 3 , 491 Cu 2 O, 492 TiO 2 , 493 ZnO, 494 SnO 2 , 495 BiVO 4 , 496 and α-Fe 2 O 3 , 490 for the efficient splitting of water. As discussed, the nano-structuring of semiconductors can significantly impact the electrode photoelectrochemical performance during water splitting.

Metal-based nanomaterials have been used for the development of sensitive sensors. These metal-based sensors can replace the complex and expensive instruments that are conventionally used for the sensing of analytes. Metal-oxide-based sensors have the interesting characteristics of low detection limits, low cost, high sensitivity, and facile operation. 497 Mostly, semiconducting metal-oxide-based sensors are used for the sensing of toxic, flammable, and exhaust gases. Semiconductor metal oxides with a size in the range of 1–100 nm have been significantly investigated as gas sensors due to their size-dependent properties. The geometry and size of a nanomaterial can considerably affect the hole and electron movement in semiconductors. 498 The surface-to-volume ratio and surface area are substantially enhanced at the nanoscale level, and this is amazingly beneficial for sensing. Chemiresistive semiconducting metal oxides are potential candidates for gas sensing due to the following features: 499 rapid response times; fast recovery times; low cost; simple electronic interfaces; user-friendliness and low maintenance; and abilities to sense a wide range of gases.

Electrode materials decorated with metal- or metal-oxide-based nanostructured materials have shown better responses and selectivity for determining various analytes over conventional electrode materials. The nano-sized metal structures act as an electrocatalyst and electronic wires to provide rapid electron transfer between the transducers and analyte molecules. 500 The electrochemical redox reaction of H 2 O 2 can be improved via the thermally controlled anchoring of Pt NPs on the electrode surface. 501

Currently, researchers are not just concentrating on the development of randomly shaped nanomaterials; instead, they are very focused on and interested in the rational design of materials with controlled nano-architectures for boosting their performances for specific applications. As a result, extensive research has been carried out to develop metal-based materials with controlled dimensions to achieve better catalytic responses. Particle morphology is a crucial factor in the performance of nanomaterials for specific applications. Laifa Shen et al. rationally designed an electrode architecture via growing mesoporous NiCo 2 O 4 nanowire arrays on carbon textiles, which boosted the electrode performance ( Fig. 37 ). 474

(a) Low- and (b) high-magnification SEM images of a NiCo-precursor NWA/carbon textile composite, showing the nanowires completely surrounding the carbon microfiber core. (c and d) Low- and (e) high-magnification SEM images of a crystalline NiCo O NWA/carbon textile composite. (f) An SEM image of the urchin-like NiCo O microsphere prepared in the absence of carbon textiles. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2013, WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The same materials with different morphologies can produce different outcomes. For instance, MnO 2 nanoflowers have provided high initial sodium-ion storage capacity compared with MnO 2 nanorods. 481 Radha Narayanan and Mostafa A. El-Sayed have analyzed various nanoscale morphologies of Pt, such as tetrahedral, cubic, and near-spherical nanoparticles. The highest rate constant is observed with tetrahedral nanoparticles and the lowest rate constant was observed with cubic nanoparticles, whereas spherical nanoparticles exhibited an intermediate rate constant during catalysis. 502 Xiaowei Xie et al. found that Co 3 O 4 nanorods show high activity compared to conventional Co 3 O 4 nanoparticles for the low-temperature oxidation of CO. 503 The catalytic activity of metal-based nanomaterials is strongly affected by their shape. 504 Shape-defined mesoporous materials (TiO 2 ) have shown superior photoanode activities ( Fig. 38 ). 505 As a result, in the literature, several nanostructured morphologies of metal-based materials, such as nanotubes, 506,507 nanorods, 508,509 nanoflowers, 510 nanosheets, 511 nanowires, 512 nanocubes, 513 nanospheres, 514,515 nanocages, 516 and nanoboxes, 517 have been reported for a range of applications.

A schematic illustration of the controlled chemical growth of TiO nanostructures with desired morphologies. (top row) Path I: the direct growth of nanocubes, rectangular nanorods, and cross-linked nanorods synthesized from seeds in aqueous solutions; (middle row) path II: 3D dendritic structures synthesized from solution with the addition of a non-aqueous co-surfactant; and (bottom row) path III: shape-defined mesoporous TiO nanostructures synthesized from solutions with lyotropic liquid-crystal templates. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: © 2016, WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Hollow nanostructures have surfaced as an amazing class of nanostructured material, and they have received significant attention from researchers. Hollow nanostructures have the unique features of: 518,519 low density; abundant inner void spaces; large surface areas; and the ability to act as nanoscale containers with high loading capacity, nanoreactors, and nanocarriers.

Various metal-based hollow nanostructures, such as hollow SnO 2 , 520 hollow palladium nanocrystals, 521 Co–Mn mixed oxide double-shell hollow spheres, 521 hollow Cu 2 O nanocages, 522 three-dimensional hollow SnO 2 @TiO 2 spheres, 523 hollow ZnO/Co 3 O 4 nano-heterostructure, 524 triple-shell hollow α-Fe 2 O 3 , 525 and hierarchical hollow Mn-doped Ni(OH) 2 nanostructures, 526 have been developed for various applications. The presence of nanoscale hollow interiors and functional shells imparts them with great potential for gas sensing, catalysis, biomedicine, energy storage, and conversion. 519

From this discussion, it can be concluded that metal-based nanostructured materials have great potential compared to their bulk counterparts. The conversion of materials to the nanoscale is not enough to achieve high performance with better selectivity. Now, research is switching from conventional nanomaterials to more advanced and smartly designed nanomaterials. In modern research, nanomaterials are being designed with better-controlled morphologies and regulated features.

5.5. Core–shell nanoparticles

Different core/shell nanoparticles: (a) spherical core/shell nanoparticles; (b) hexagonal core/shell nanoparticles; (c) multiple small core materials coated with a single shell material; (d) a nanomatryushka material; and (e) a movable core within a hollow shell material. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2012, American Chemical Society.

A spherical nanoparticle core–shell nanostructure is a practical way to introduce multiple functionalities on the nanoscopic length scale. 528 The properties arising from the core or shell can be different, and these properties can be tuned via controlling the ratio of the constituent materials. The shape, size, and composition play a critical role in tuning the core–shell nanoparticle properties. 529 The shell material can help to improve the chemical and thermal stabilities of the core material. The core–shell design has become effective where an inexpensive material cannot be used directly due to its instability or easily oxidizable nature. The core can consist of an easily oxidizable inexpensive metal, whereas the shell might consist of noble metals, oxides, polymers, or silica. 530 For instance, magnetic nanoparticles when prepared can be sensitive toward air, acids, and bases. Magnetic nanoparticles can be protected via coating with organic or inorganic shells. 528

Core–shell metal nanoparticles are an emerging nanostructured material with great potential in the fields of energy and catalysis. 531 The first report of core–shell nanoparticles (2007) for supercapacitor applications consisted of a polyaniline/multi-walled-carbon-nanotube composite (PANI/MWNTs). 532 Metal-based core–shell structured nanoparticles have shown enhanced catalytic performance due to their shape-controlled properties. 533 Ming-Yu Kuo et al. developed Au@Cu 2 O core–shell particles with controllable shell thicknesses that acted as a dual-functional catalyst. The shell thickness of Cu 2 O increased with an increasing concentration of Cu 2+ precursor. The thicknesses of the shells of Au@Cu 2 O-1.5 (12.2 ± 1.7 nm), Au@Cu 2 O-2 (13.2 ± 1.8 nm), Au@Cu 2 O-3 (18.2 ± 2.2 nm), and Au@Cu 2 O-4 (20.8 ± 2.5 nm) due to various concentrations are shown in Fig. 40 . 534 A NiO@SiO 2 core–shell catalyst provided a higher yield of acrylic acid from acetylene hydroxycarbonylation. 535 Core–shell architecture can be used to prevent active metal nanoparticles from oxidation during operation. For instance, a plasmonic photocatalyst was developed that consisted of silver nanoparticles embedded in titanium dioxide. The direct contact of Ag with TiO 2 could lead to its oxidization; this is prevented via developing core–shell architecture in which Ag is used as the core and SiO 2 is used as a shell to protect it. 536 Another excellent option is to replace an expensive core with a non-noble metal to reduce the core–shell cost while using a thin layer of a noble metal that consumes a small amount of metal as the shell. This will ensure the prolonged stability of the catalyst during operation. 533 Overall, core–shell morphologies provide better catalytic activity due to the synergistic effect of the metallic core–shell components. 152

TEM images of (a) Au@Cu O-1.5, (b) Au@Cu O-2, (c) Au@Cu O-3, and (d) Au@Cu O-4. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2018, Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Among the several classes of nanomaterials, core–shell nanoparticles are found to be more promising for different biomedical applications. For instance, magnetic nanoparticles are considered to be useful for biomedical applications due to the following reasons: (a) aggregation is prevented due to superparamagnetism; (b) delivery and separation can be controlled using an external magnetic field; (c) they can be appropriately dispersed; and (d) there is the possibility of functionalization. A range of magnetic nanoparticles is available, such as NiO, Ni, Co, and Mn 3 O 4 . The most famous example is iron oxide, but uncoated iron oxides are unstable under physiological conditions. This may result in controlled drug delivery failure due to improper ligand surface binding and the promotion of the formation of harmful free radicals. Therefore, the formation of shells around magnetic nanoparticles has tremendous significance for biomedical applications. 537 One of the approaches is to use gold shells on magnetic nanoparticles. Au NPs are also called surface plasmons and they substantially enhanced the absorption of light in the visible and near-infrared regions. Thus, coating magnetic nanoparticles with a Au shell can result in a core–shell nanostructure that displays both optical and magnetic functionality in combination. 529

Numerous biocompatible core–shell nanoparticles are being developed for photothermal therapy, as core–shell materials are found to be useful for photothermal therapy. Hui Wang et al. have developed bifunctional core–shell nanoparticles for dual-modal imaging-guided photothermal therapy. The core–shell nanoparticles consist of a magnetic ∼9.1 nm core of Fe 3 O 4 covered by an approximately 3.4 nm fluorescent carbon shell. The Fe 3 O 4 core leads to superparamagnetic behavior, whereas the carbon shell provides near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence properties. The bifunctional nanoparticles have shown dual-modal imaging capacity both in vivo and in vitro . The iron oxide–carbon core–shell nanoparticles absorbed and converted near-infrared light to heat, facilitating photothermal therapy. 538 Au-Based core–shell structures are also being prepared for photothermal therapy. Bulk gold is biocompatible, but Au NPs can accumulate in the spleen and liver, causing severe toxicity. Koo Chul Kwon et al. have developed Au-NP-based core–shell structures that did not result in any gross or histological lesions in the major organs of mice, which revealed that this is a potent and safe agent for photothermal cancer therapy. The core–shell nanoparticles consisted of proteinticle/gold (PGCS-NP) and were developed via proteinticle surface engineering. PGCS-NP was injected intravenously into mice with tumors, and the injected core–shell nanoparticles successfully reached the EGFR-expressing tumor cells. The tumor size was significantly reduced upon exposure to near-infrared laser irradiation ( Fig. 41 ). No accumulation of Au NPs was observed in the mice organs, which indicated that PGCS-NP disassembled into many tiny gold dots, which were easily excreted by the kidneys and liver without causing any toxicity. 539 In another example, multifunctional Au@graphene oxide nanocolloid core@shell nanoparticles were developed, in which the core and shell consisted of gold and a graphene oxide nanocolloid, respectively. The developed core–shell structure showed multifunctional properties, allowing Raman bioimaging and photothermal/photodynamic therapy with low toxicity. 540 Apart from this, numerous other core–shell nanoparticles, such as polydopamine–mesoporous silica core–shell nanoparticles, 541 AuPd@PVP core–shell nanoparticles, 542 Au@Cu 2− x S core–shell nanoparticles, 543 bismuth sulfide@mesoporous silica core–shell nanoparticles, 544 and Ag@S-nitrosothiol core–shell nanoparticles, have been used for photothermal therapy. 545

(A) PGCS-NPs (40 nm) for the excellent photothermal therapy of cancer. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2014, WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim. (B) The synthetic procedure (a), multifunctionality (b), and theranosis process (c) of ZnPc–PEG–Au@GON NPs. Reprinted with permission from . Copyright: ©2015, WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Due to their unique features and the combination of properties from the shell and core, these core–shell nanoparticles have received considerable interest in many fields, ranging from materials chemistry to the biomedical field. For electrochemical reactions, the core–shell structure conductivity can be enhanced via conducting polymers, carbon materials, and metals. Core–shell nanoparticles as electrode materials showed better performance compared to single components. Most of the core materials are prepared via hydrothermal methods, and shells can be prepared via hydrothermal or electrodeposition methods. 546 Even though significant progress has been made relating to the synthesis methods of core–shell materials, a major challenge is the high-quality production of core–shell materials in more effective ways for required applications, specifically biomedical applications.

6. Challenges and future perspectives

(a) The presence of defects in nanomaterials can affect their performance and their inherent characteristics can be compromised. For instance, carbon nanotubes are one of the strongest materials that are known. However, impurities, discontinuous tube lengths, defects, and random orientations can substantially impair the tensile strength of carbon nanotubes. 547

(b) The synthesis of nanomaterials through cost-effective routes is another major challenge. High-quality nanomaterials are generally produced using sophisticated instrumentation and harsh conditions, limiting their large-scale production. This issue is more critical for the synthesis of 2D nanomaterials. Most of the methods that have been adopted for large-scale production are low cost, and these methods generally produce materials with defects that are of poor quality. The controlled synthesis of nanomaterials is still a challenging job. For example, a crucial challenge associated with carbon nanotube synthesis is to achieve chiral selectivity, conductivity, and precisely controlled diameters. 548,549 Obtaining structurally pure nanomaterials is the only way to achieve the theoretically calculated characteristics described in the literature. More focused efforts are required to develop new synthesis methods that overcome the challenges associated with conventional methods.

(c) The agglomeration of particles at the nanoscale level is an inherent issue that substantially damages performance in relevant fields. Most nanomaterials start to agglomerate when they encounter each other. The process of agglomeration may be due to physical entanglement, electrostatic interactions, or high surface energy. 550 CNTs undergo van der Waals interactions and form bundles, making it difficult to align or properly disperse them in polymer matrices. 159 Similarly, graphene agglomeration is triggered by the basal planes of graphene sheets due to π–π interactions and van der Waals forces. Due to severe agglomeration, the high surface areas and other unique graphene features are compromised. These challenges hinder the practical application of high-throughput electrode materials or composite materials for various applications. 551

(d) The efficiency of nanomaterials can be tuned via developing 3D architectures. 3D architectures have been tried with several nanomaterials, such as graphene, to improve their inherent features. 3D architectures of 2D graphene have provided high specific surface areas and fast mass and electron transport kinetics. This has become possible due to the combination of the exceptional intrinsic properties of graphene and 3D porous structures. 194,552 The combination of graphene and CNT assemblies into 3-D architectures has emerged as the most investigated nanotechnology research area. Porous architectures of other nanomaterials can be developed to enhance their catalysis performance through providing nanomaterial interior availability.

(e) 2D ultrathin materials are an outstanding class of nanomaterial with promising theoretical properties; however, very little experimental evaluation of these materials has been done, apart from the case of graphene. The synthesis and stability of 2D ultrathin materials are some of the major challenges associated with them. In the future, more focus is anticipated to be placed on their synthesis and practical utilization.

(f) Nanomaterial utilization in industry is being increased, and there is also demand for nanoscale material production at higher rates. Moreover, nanotechnology research has vast horizons; the exploration of new nanomaterials with fascinating features will continue and, in the future, more areas will be discovered. One of the significant concerns relating to nanomaterials that cannot be overlooked is their toxicity, which is still poorly understood, and this is a serious concern relating to their environmental, domestic, and industrial use. The extent to which nanoparticle-based materials can contribute to cellular toxicity is unclear. 553 There is a need for the scientific community to put efforts into reducing the knowledge gap between the rapid development of nanomaterials and their possible in vivo toxicity. A proper and systematic understanding of the interaction of nanomaterials with cells, tissues, and proteins is critical for the safe design and commercialization of nanotechnology. 14

The future of advanced technology is linked with advancements in the field of nanotechnology. The dream of clean energy production is becoming possible with the advancement of nanomaterial-based engineering strategies. These materials have shown promising results, leading to new generations of hydrogen fuel cells and solar cells, acting as efficient catalysts for water splitting, and showing excellent capacity for hydrogen storage. Nanomaterials have a great future in the field of nanomedicine. Nanocarriers can be used for the delivery of therapeutic molecules.

7. Conclusions

Conflicts of interest, acknowledgements.

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(2014) PhD thesis, University of Nottingham.

The field of nanotechnology is growing vastly, both as a field of research and in commercial applications. This rapid growth calls for synthesis methods which can produce high quality nanomaterials, while being scalable. This thesis describes an investigation into the use of a continuous hydrothermal reactor for the synthesis of nanomaterials, with potential use in three different biomedical applications – bone scaffolds, fluorescent biomarkers, and MRI contrast agents. The first chapter of this thesis provides an overview of nanotechnology: the advantages of nanoscale, the commercial industries which can benefit, and the predominant methods currently used to produce nanomaterials. Some advantages and drawbacks of each synthesis route are given, concluding with a description of the Nozzle reactor – the patented technology used for nanomaterial synthesis in this Thesis. Chapter 2 then focusses on the characterisation techniques used in this thesis, detailing the principles of how data is obtained, as well as highlighting the limitations of each method. With the background information in place, chapters 3, 4 and 5 describe more specific nanomaterials and how they can be applied to each of the aforementioned biomedical fields. These chapters provide the technical details of how various nanomaterials can be synthesised using the Nozzle reactor, and the structural data (crystallinity, particle size) obtained from these samples. Furthermore, the functional properties of these nanomaterials are tested and the results, along with a discussion of any trends, are presented. Finally, this thesis concludes with a summary of the results described and emphasises the key areas where further work can be conducted.

Item Type: Thesis (University of Nottingham only) (PhD)
Supervisors: Lester, E.
Khlobystov, A.
Subjects:
Faculties/Schools: UK Campuses > Faculty of Engineering
UK Campuses > Faculty of Engineering > Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering
Item ID: 14101
Depositing User:
Date Deposited: 04 Nov 2014 15:19
Last Modified: 13 Oct 2017 20:30
URI:

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NanoEngineering Doctoral Degree Program

The Ph.D. Program is intended to prepare students for a variety of careers in research and teaching. The emphasis is on research. PhD students, in consultation with their faculty advisors, develop appropriate course programs that will prepare them for the Preliminary Qualifying/Comprehensive, Literature Review, and Advancement/Senate Exams, and for the defense exam of their dissertation research. These programs must be planned to meet the time limits established to advance to candidacy and to complete the requirements of the degree. A Ph.D. in NanoEngineering requires the selection of a specific focus [Biomedical Nanotechnology, Molecular and Nanomaterials, or Nanotechnologies for Energy and the Environment], and consists of the successful completion of 10 courses: the 5 required core courses, 3 electives from the approved courses in the student’s selected focus area, and 2 electives from the approved courses in any of the two remaining focuses, the ENG-10X courses (for team engineering, leadership, and entrepreneur skills), or a graduate level course from a department in JSOE engineering, mathematics, or general science (Biology, Physics, Chemistry), with the faculty advisor’s consent. While only one degree title is offered, 'NanoEngineering’, the choice of a specific focus area is to ensure that the graduate student curriculum is both tailored to their interest and sufficiently in-depth to ensure a complete understanding of their field of interest.

PhD Course & Program Requirements

After completing the M.S. degree (or meeting equivalent requirements) and meeting the minimum standard of 70% on the comprehensive examination to be admitted to or continue in the Ph.D. program, a student must:

  • Meet all the university’s residency and other requirements .
  • Successfully complete 10 courses: the 5 required core courses, 3 electives from the approved courses in the student’s selected focus area, and 2 other electives. See focus areas and approved courses on the Nano MS web page.
  • Any courses that are not graduate level JSOE Engineering, Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics), or Mathematics courses, must be approved by the Graduate Affairs Committee prior to enrollment and may not be approved as an elective.
  • In addition, students must enroll in NANO 200 every quarter, (note, Nano 200 units do Not count towards degree units). See “Courses” for descriptions.
  • Pass the Literature Review Examination. This requirement must be successfully completed within one year after passing the Comprehensive Examination.
  • Pass the Ph.D. Advancement to Candidacy or Senate Exam, before the Pre-Candidacy Time Limit (PCTL) deadline, to be advanced to Ph.D. candidacy.
  • Complete 1 quarter as a Teaching Assistant in a Nano, Ceng, or STEM course, prior to the dissertation defense.
  • Successfully complete and defend a dissertation, which in the opinion of the dissertation committee, contains original work that should lead to publication of at least one significant article in an appropriate refereed journal.

All Ph.D. Students are required to pass four examinations. All exams MUST be completed in-person.

Departmental Examinations

General Exam Timeline for Ph.D. Students

  • Comprehensive Exam in the Spring of 1st year
  • Literature Review Exam (detailed below), by the end of the second year
  • Ph.D. Senate Exam (often referred to as the Advancement to Candidacy Exam), in 3rd year, no later than 4th year
  • Defend Dissertation usually by the end of the 5th year

Students planning to take the Literature Review Exam, Advancement to Candidacy / Senate Exam, Defense Exam, or who need to Reconstitute the doctoral committee, or change exam information already submitted, need to notify the department's Graduate Coordinator at least 4-5 weeks in advance of the exam date, by entering the information into the PhD Exam form .

NOTE : This examination must be completed in-person.

The examination will consist of questions from each of the five-core courses. A passing grade of 60 percent is needed for successful completion of the Master's degree, and 70 percent for Ph.D. program qualification. The examination is usually administered in the second or third week of the Spring quarter. Students typically take the exam after completion of the core courses. This exam may only be retaken ONCE. Failure to pass the retest exam component may result in termination from the Ph.D. program.

The Literature Review Examination tests the student's ability to prepare and present a comprehensive overview of a topic based on existing journal literature. It should be a comprehensive oral discussion of the literature (3-5 key papers), scientific theory, problems, or theoretical deficiencies, and possible areas of research in some area related to nanoscience or nanoengineering. The topic may be in the general area in which the student plans to pursue their research, or it may be in a unrelated field of Chemical or Nano Engineering. The topic must also be approved by the faculty member committee (3 members): your faculty advisor and 2 other faculty of the department. The prepared material should be around 40 minutes in length, but students should plan for 90 minutes to ensure adequate time for questions and discussion. The exam will conclude with a short preliminary overview of the student's research project or their research proposal (approximately the last 20% of the presentation).

This exam must occur within one year of the student having passed the Comprehensive Examination. The following  rubric  are some expectations for the Literature Review Exam. Students should work closely with their faculty advisor and committee in determining expectations for the exam. 

Graduate Students must notify the Graduate Coordinator of their intent to hold the Literature Review Exam at least four weeks prior to the exam via the  Ph.D. Exam Form .

The Ph.D. Senate Exam is often known as the Advancement to Candidacy Exam. Prior to taking this exam, the candidate must have complete the Comprehensive Exam, Literature Review Exam, obtained a faculty research advisor, and must have initial progress on a chosen dissertation project. Each student will be required to take an oral qualifying examination that will advance the student to candidacy in the Ph.D. program. The Senate Exam must be successfully completed before the Pre-Candidacy Time Limit (PCTL) found on their Student Portal.

Membership of the Ph.D. committee must comply with the  Manual of the San Diego Division, Academic Senate, Regulation 715 . The candidate will establish, with consultation of their faculty advisor, a dissertation committee. The committee with include the student's Ph.D. advisor as the Chair of the committee, who will have the majority of responsibility for the student's research and dissertation.

  • Minimum of 4 member with UC San Diego faculty appointments
  • At least 1 member must have a primary appointment in a different department than the chair's primary department
  • At least 2 member must be from the student's home department or program
  • At least 1 member must be tenured or emeritus

The committee conducts the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination, during which the student must demonstrate the ability to engage in thesis research. The process involves the presentation of a plan for a thesis research project. Students should work closely with their faculty advisor and committee in determining expectations for the exam. 

Upon successful completion of the exam, subject to the UC San Diego time limit policy, the student is advanced to candidacy and is awarded the Candidate in Philosophy degree (see "Graduate" section in this catalog). Please note that there is a $50 candidacy fee upon completion of the exam.

Prior to the  dissertation defense, the candidate must have served at least one quarter as a teaching assistant.

The Dissertation Defense is the final Ph.D. examination. Upon completion of the dissertation research project, the student writes a dissertation that must be successfully defended in an oral examination and public presentation conducted by the doctoral committee. The final defense must be open to the public.

A complete copy of the student’s dissertation must be submitted to each member of the doctoral committee two weeks before the defense. It is understood that this copy of the dissertation given to the committee members will not be the final copy, and that the committee members may suggest changes in the text at the time of the defense. This examination may not be conducted earlier than three (3) quarters after the date of the Advancement to Doctoral Candidacy. Acceptance of the dissertation by Graduate Education & Postdoctoral Affairs (GEPA) and the University Librarian represents the final step in completion of all requirements for the Ph.D. degree.

Graduate Students must notify the department’s Graduate Coordinator of their intent to hold the Literature Review Exam at least four weeks prior to the exam via the  Ph.D. Exam Form .

Pre-Candidacy status is limited to four (4) years. Doctoral students are eligible for university support for six (6) years. The defense and submission of the doctoral dissertation must be within seven (7) years.

During the Spring quarter of each year, the faculty advisor evaluates each doctoral student’s overall performance in course work, research, and prospects for financial support for future years. A written assessment is given to the student after the evaluation. If a student’s work is found to be inadequate, faculty may determine that the student is not fit to continue in the Ph.D. program.

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Shodhganga : a reservoir of Indian theses @ INFLIBNET

  • Shodhganga@INFLIBNET
  • Anna University
  • Faculty of Technology
Title: Investigations on certain metal oxide based semiconductor nanomaterials for photocatalytic activities
Researcher: Rajeswari, R
Guide(s): 
Keywords: Engineering and Technology
Engineering
Engineering Chemical
Semiconductor nanomaterials
Metal oxide
University: Anna University
Completed Date: 2020
Abstract: Photocatalysis is an acceleration of a photoreaction using semiconductor catalyst by the activation of a light energy. It can be referred to the combination of both photochemistry and catalysis. As compared to metal, semiconductors are the best photocatalysts due to their distinctive bandgap structure which makes the photoexcitation. They also act as sensitizers due to their filled valence band and empty conduction band in the light induced redox reaction. Indeed, most of the semiconductor nanomaterials have some intriguing properties such as less toxic, cost efficient, reusable, stable, insoluble and easy to fabrication. Among them, the semiconductor metal oxides (ZnO, MoO3 and Nb2O5), metal sulfide (MoS2) and their heterostructure (ZnO-MoS2) are greatly attracted in the field of heterogeneous photocatalyst for the toxic dye removal applications due to their unique band gap energy and tunable physico-chemical properties. Thus, our focuses on the synthesis of different semiconductor nanomaterials by simple and ecofriendly method for waste water treatment applications. The preparation of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) by green synthesis route using carica papaya leaf extract for photocatalytic application has been demonstrated. In this work, the phase pure ZnO NPs were synthesized via facile green synthesis method, where zinc acetate dihydrate was used as precursor and papaya leaf extract as reducing agent. The structure and phase formation of the synthesized material was confirmed by X-Ray diffraction and FT-IR analysis. The bandgap energy for the prepared ZnO NPs was calculated from the DRS spectra and it is found to be 3.32 eV. The surface morphology and phase purity of ZnO NPs was characterized by FE-SEM and EDX analysis, respectively. Electron microscopic analysis indicates that ZnO NPs are spherical in shape with particle size of ~50 nm. Importantly, the as synthesized ZnO NPs were used as efficient photocatalyst for Methylene Blue (MB) dye degradation. It is persistent to note that the prepared ZnO NPs almost completely degraded the MB dye under UV light condition after 180 min illumination tim newline
Pagination: xxiii,121 p.
URI: 
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CNRS - National Center for Scientific Research

  • CNRS - National Center for Scientific Research
  • Posted on: 3 May 2024

PhD Thesis (M/F) on "Dislocations in layered carbon nanomaterials"

The Human Resources Strategy for Researchers

Job Information

Offer description.

The Location: The PhD is at the Institute of Materials de Nantes Jean Rouxel (IMN - https://www.cnrs-imn.fr ), in the Physics of Materials and Nanostructures group. The IMN is one of France's primary materials research laboratories, run by the CNRS national research organisation at Nantes University. It has a strong international reputation in applied materials modelling and nanocarbon materials. Nantes is a lively and active city, on the edge of Brittany, western France (2h train from Paris)

Defects dominate the behaviour of layered materials such as graphite, BN and MoS2, but research to date has focused on 0D point defects like vacancies; 1D dislocations have been largely overlooked, despite being common and observed in all layered materials1. Dislocation theory has been developed for 3D crystalline solids since the 1950s, and is responsible for key materials behaviour such as plastic deformation, mechanical strengthening, impurity migration and aggregation, optoelectronic processes, and crystal growth. Conventional theory does not take into account the anisotropy and new physics possible in 2D-layered materials. Dislocated layered materials are *fundamentally different* compared to their non-dislocated equivalent. For example, screw dislocations turn a stack of separate layers into a continuous spiral surface, and dominate graphite formation processes.

The Project: This atomic-scale modelling PhD will explore the structure, formation and behaviour of screw and edge dislocations in layered materials, focussing initially on graphite, but extending to BN and other layered materials if time permits. We will explore their spectroscopic signatures, intercalation behaviour (critical for battery electrodes), and potential key role in superlubrication. We will use a range of modelling techniques such as density functional theory, xTB, and potentially machine learning approaches. The project will involve close collaboration with project partners in Lyon, Bordeaux, the UK, Spain and Australia, with the potential for experimental work in spectroscopic characterisation of relevant samples. This PhD is funded by the CNRS as part of the ANR program.

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The covering letter must detail your interest in this specific post (generic applications will not be treated)

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phd thesis on nanomaterials

MDPI’s Best PhD Thesis Awards are granted to promising young scholars whose PhD theses are deemed exceptional within their respective research fields. These awards aim to encourage young scholars to continue their outstanding accomplishments and further contribute to their field.

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the 54 winners of the 2023 Best PhD Thesis Awards and wish them success with their future research endeavors.

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  1. PhD Thesis

    Viola Valentina Vogler-Neuling. "Nonlinear Photonic Crystals and Metasurfaces in Soft-Nanoimprinted Barium Titanate Nanomaterials" (2021) Thesis. Marc Reig Escalé. "Generation, Modulation and Detection of Light in Lithium Niobate Nanophotonic Devices" (2019) Thesis. Flavia Timpu.

  2. PDF Titanium dioxide nanomaterials, synthesis, stability and mobility in

    TITANIUM DIOXIDE NANOMATERIALS, SYNTHESIS, STABILITY AND MOBILITY IN NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC POROUS MEDIA by Ghulam Raza A Thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences The University of Birmingham December 2016

  3. PDF In situ electron microscopy of nanomaterials dynamics in heterogeneous

    This thesis demonstrates that in situ TEM coupled with an understanding of the physical and chemical environments can provide insight into the nanostructure dynamics, which could contribute to revealing the degradation mechanisms of functional materials. Thesis supervisor: Frances M. Ross Title: Professor of Materials Science and Engineering

  4. PDF Synthesis, surface patterning and self-assembly of plasmonic nanoparticles

    assembly in clusters. This thesis describes three ways to control nanoparticle properties via (i) synthesis, (ii) surface patterning and (iii) self-assembly. As the synthesis of nanoparticles often involves multiple reagents, the optimization of reaction conditions is time- and labor-intensive, combining machine learning and microfluidics

  5. PDF As the Editor-in-Chief of Nanomaterials 2021 BEST PHD THESIS ...

    2021 BEST PHD THESIS AWARD. cia e Tecnologia-Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Lisbon, PortugalThe winner will receive 800 CHF, a certificate. and a chance to publish a paper free of charge in Nanomaterials in 2022.On behalf of the assessment committee. I would like to congratulate Ana Carolina Marques on her accomplishment. We would also ...

  6. nanomaterials PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships

    Theremoelectric Nanomaterials for Energy Recovery. University of Reading School of Chemistry & Food. Thermoelectric materials offer the unique capability to convert waste heat directly into electrical energy. Efficiency is related to a figure of merit (ZT S2sT/k), that is determined by the Seebeck coefficient (S), electrical conductivity (s ...

  7. "ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS AND APPLICATIONS OF NANOMATERIALS" by

    Chapter six summarizes the key findings in this dissertation and presents future work that is stimulated by this Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) research. Recent advances in material science and nanotechnology have given rise to a myriad of developments, while in the meantime call for research into the impacts of nanomaterials on the environment and ...

  8. Nanomaterials

    Nanomaterials, an international, peer-reviewed Open Access journal. Journals. Active Journals Find a Journal Proceedings Series. Topics. Information. ... Best PhD Thesis Award. Application deadline: 31 July 2025. View more arrow_forward. Best Paper Award. Winner announcement date: 30 June 2025.

  9. Electronic and optical properties of nanomaterials

    1 Electronic and optical properties of nanomaterials - PhD thesis - by Ferdinand Schulz 2013 University of Osnabrueck Physics Department 2 3 Contents 1. Introduction 1.1 Graphene 1.2 Carbon nanotubes 1.3 Basic electronic structure of graphene and carbon nanotubes 5 14 23 2. Theoretical background 2.1 DFT 2.2 GWA 2.3 Bethe-Salpeter equation ...

  10. Nanomaterials: a review of synthesis methods, properties, recent

    A review article that covers various aspects of nanomaterials, such as their history, definition, synthesis methods, properties, applications, and challenges. It discusses different types of nanomaterials, such as fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, graphene, and metal-based nanomaterials, and their potential for energy, water, and environmental applications.

  11. Nanomaterials: A review of synthesis, properties, recent progress, and

    Nanomaterials have emerged as an amazing class of ma terials that consists of a broad spectrum of examples. with at least one dimension in the range of 1 to 100 nm. E xceptionally high surface ...

  12. Synthesis of nanomaterials for biomedical applications

    The field of nanotechnology is growing vastly, both as a field of research and in commercial applications. This rapid growth calls for synthesis methods which can produce high quality nanomaterials, while being scalable. This thesis describes an investigation into the use of a continuous hydrothermal reactor for the synthesis of nanomaterials, with potential use in three different biomedical ...

  13. Electrochemical synthesis of water splitting nanomaterials

    This project was a step forward in electrochemically synthesizing nanomaterials for the water splitting reaction which directly produces hydrogen and oxygen. The thesis investigated the performances of newly developed nanomaterials for the energetically demanding water splitting reaction. In order to understand the reaction mechanism, thorough ...

  14. NanoEngineering Doctoral Degree Program

    Learn about the Ph.D. program in NanoEngineering at UC San Diego, which offers three focus areas: Biomedical Nanotechnology, Molecular and Nanomaterials, and Nanotechnologies for Energy and the Environment. Find out the course requirements, exams, time limits, and dissertation process for this research-oriented degree.

  15. Journal of Nanomaterials

    Over the past couple of decades, nanomaterials have advanced the research in materials; biomedical, biological, and chemical sciences; etc., owing to their peculiar properties at the nanoregime compared to their bulk composition. Applications of nanoparticles in the fields like medicine and agriculture have been boosted due to the development ...

  16. Nanomaterials

    As the Editor-in-Chief of Nanomaterials, it is my great pleasure to announce the winner of the Nanomaterials 2022 Best PhD Thesis Award. The award has been granted to: The winner will receive 800 CHF, a certificate, and the winner and nominator has a chance to publish a paper free of charge as corresponding authors in Nanomaterials in 2023.

  17. Shodhbhagirathi @ IITR: DOCTORAL THESES (Nano tech)

    thesis: oct-2015: development of albumin based nanoparticles for biomedical applications: bhushan, bharat: gopinath, p. thesis: may-2016: development of carbon dots based multifunctional nanomaterials for potential applications: sachdev, abhay: gopinath, p. thesis: dec-2015: synthesis of pure and doped cuo nanostructures and their ...

  18. PDF Best Phd Thesis Award Winner

    Dear Colleagues, As the Editor-in-Chief of Nanomaterials, it is my great pleasure to announce the winner of the Nanomaterials 2022 Best PhD Thesis Award. Nanomaterials Editorial O˜ ice MDPI, St. Alban-Anlage 66 CH-4052, Basel, Switzerland [email protected]

  19. Shodhganga : a reservoir of Indian theses @ INFLIBNET

    This thesis reports the synthesis and characterization of zinc oxide, molybdenum oxide and molybdenum disulfide nanoparticles for waste water treatment applications. The nanoparticles were prepared by green synthesis method and used as photocatalysts for dye degradation under UV light.

  20. PDF By

    This is to certify that the thesis entitled "A Detail investigation to observe the effect of zinc oxide and Silver nanoparticles in biological system" is submitted by Barnali Ashe, (Roll NO- 607bm004) to this Institute in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the degree of Master of Technology by Research in Department of

  21. PDF D THESIS AWARD Please feel free to contact us at Nanomaterials ...

    The Nanomaterials 2022 Best PhD Thesis Award was established in 2018 by the Nanomaterials journal. This prize will be awarded to a PhD student who is intending to graduate or participate in a graduation thesis. The applications will be assessed by an evaluation committee consisting of senior scholars from the Nanomaterials Editorial Board.

  22. PhD Thesis (M/F) on "Dislocations in layered carbon nanomaterials"

    The Project: This atomic-scale modelling PhD will explore the structure, formation and behaviour of screw and edge dislocations in layered materials, focussing initially on graphite, but extending to BN and other layered materials if time permits. We will explore their spectroscopic signatures, intercalation behaviour (critical for battery ...

  23. Awards

    2022 Best PhD Thesis Award. Closed. Andrea Schirato. Nanomaterials. 2021 Best Ph.D. Thesis Award. Closed. Ana Carolina Marques. Displaying award 1-50 on page 1 of 1. MDPI is a publisher of peer-reviewed, open access journals since its establishment in 1996.

  24. MDPI's 2023 Best PhD Thesis Awards—Winners Announced

    MDPI's Best PhD Thesis Awards are granted to promising young scholars whose PhD theses are deemed exceptional within their respective research fields. These awards aim to encourage young scholars to continue their outstanding accomplishments and further contribute to their field. ... Nanomaterials: Mingze He, Vanderbilt University, USA ...