Introduction to the Nanoscale and Nanoscale Advances joint themed collection: Synthesis, physical properties and applications of advanced nanocrystalline materials

Aurora Rizzo (University of Salento – CNR NANOTEC, Italy)

Aurora Rizzo is a senior researcher at the Nanotechnology Institute NANOTEC-CNR in Lecce, Italy. She earned her PhD in materials and innovative technologies in 2008, with a thesis titled “Hybrid Colloidal Nanocrystal Organic Based LEDs”. From 2008 to 2009, she worked with the biomolecular and organic electronics group led by Prof. Inganäs at Linköping University, Sweden, focusing on “Bio-Organic Light Emitting Diodes”. In 2010, she founded the Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics (HOPV) Lab at CNR-Nanotec in Lecce, which she currently leads. Since then, she has served as a principal investigator or scientific lead for CNR-Nanotec in numerous funded projects. Rizzo has authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles in international scientific journals, holds three patents, and has contributed to two book chapters. Her research interests center on the development of hybrid organic/inorganic materials, with a focus on metal halide perovskite polycrystalline/single crystal materials and perovskite polymer composites for advanced optoelectronic and photonic applications.

Ermelinda M. S. Maçôas (University of Lisbon, Portugal)

Ermelinda Maçôas is a principal researcher at Centro de Química Estrutural, University of Lisbon, and an assistant professor at the Instituto Superior Técnico. She earned her PhD in chemistry from the University of Coimbra, Portugal, specializing in molecular spectroscopy and advanced optical microscopy. Her previous roles include senior researcher at the Nanoscience Center, University of Jyväskyla (Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship, 2006–2007), Department of Chemistry, University of Coimbra (2008), and Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Lisbon (2009–2018). Her research focuses on optically responsive molecular materials, with an emphasis on emissive nonlinear materials and organic semiconductors. Currently, she explores carbon nanomaterials for applications in imaging, therapy, and sensing using nonlinear fluorescence techniques. Her methodologies include steady-state and time-resolved optical spectroscopy, fluorescence microscopy, and electronic-structure computations.

Tayebeh Ameri (University of Kiel, Germany)

Tayebeh Ameri is a full Heisenberg professor and holds the Chair for Composite Materials in the Faculty of Engineering, Department of Materials Science at Kiel University. She is also an honorary lecturer at the University of Edinburgh. Her research centers on developing flexible functional materials for energy harvesting, storage, and advanced sensing/detection technologies. Ameri earned her PhD from Johannes Kepler University Linz (JKU) in 2010. She then pursued postdoctoral and habilitation research, leading advancements in ternary organic and hybrid photovoltaics at the Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU). Between 2018 and 2020, she was a team leader and lecturer (Privatdozent) in the Department of Physical Chemistry at the University of Munich (LMU). From December 2020 to July 2023, she served as a senior lecturer (associate professor) in the Institute for Materials and Processes, Chemical Engineering discipline, at the University of Edinburgh. Ameri has contributed over 130 peer-reviewed journal articles, patents, and book chapters in her field of expertise.

Renjie Chen (Beijing Institute of Technology, P. R. China)

Renjie Chen is a professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT). His research specializes in advanced electrochemical energy storage and conversion technologies, with an emphasis on sustainable energy solutions. He completed his post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Chemistry at Tsinghua University and served as a visiting professor in the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge. As the principal investigator, Prof. Chen has led major initiatives, including the National Key Research and Development Program of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the National High-Tech 863 Project, etc. He has published over 350 SCI-indexed papers in journals such as Chem. Rev., Chem. Soc. Rev., Natl. Sci. Rev., Adv. Mater., and Nat. Commun. He has applied for 120 invention patents, with 60 authorizations granted, secured more than 10 software copyrights, and authored two academic monographs.

Raghvendra Singh Yadav (Tomas Bata University in Zlin, Czech Republic)

Raghvendra Singh Yadav earned his PhD in physics from the University of Allahabad, India. After completing his PhD, he worked on a DST research project at the Nanotechnology Application Centre, University of Allahabad, India. Subsequently, he joined the Materials Research Centre in Brno, Czech Republic, as an Excellent Young Scientist/Researcher. Yadav currently works as a senior scientist and leader of an Independent Research Group at Tomas Bata University in Zlin, Czech Republic, a position he has held since 2017. Additionally, he has been an assistant professor at the Tomas Bata University in Zlin since 2017. He has authored over 75 publications in prestigious international journals, garnering approximately 3900 citations and achieving an h-index of 34. He has also contributed to the field through six books and two book chapters in materials science and nanotechnology. He has also been an Editorial Board Member on several journals: Crystals, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Nanomaterials, Frontiers in Materials.

This themed collection in Nanoscale and Nanoscale Advances highlights recent progress in advanced nanocrystalline materials, focusing on synthesis, physical properties, and applications. The collection opens with a review article by Xiao Wang et al., summarizing recent progress in structural engineering of noble metal-based nanozymes and their diverse biomedical applications (https://doi.org/10.1039/D4NR05514D). Yun Fan and Mengyun Chen review the preparation and applications of chiral metal–organic framework (MOF) membranes (https://doi.org/10.1039/D5NR00938C). Tzu-Yi Lee et al. discuss advances in core technologies for semiconducting fabrication, atomic layer etching, atomic layer deposition, and neutral beam etching (https://doi.org/10.1039/D4NA00784K). Further, Anulipsa Priyadarshini et al. summarizes the advancements in metal–organic framework and covalent organic frameworks for energy harvesting by piezoelectric and triboelectric nanogenerators (https://doi.org/10.1039/D4NR04570J). Furthermore, Salih Veziroglu et al. review the recent progress in photocatalytic deposition of noble metals on 0D (NPs and nanocrystals), 1D (nanotubes and nanowires), and 2D (thin films) TiO₂ structures (https://doi.org/10.1039/D4NA00623B). Together, these reviews offer a comprehensive understanding of the most recent advancements and challenges in the field of advanced nanocrystalline materials, emphasizing the motivations for bridging the gap between laboratory research and real-world applications.

In addition to insightful review articles, this collection features original research papers that highlight key advances in nanomaterials and their applications. Mashael H. Albuqami et al. developed flexible textile triboelectric nanogenerators by electronically dyeing polyester with two-dimensional tungsten disulfide (2D WS₂), which improved the triboelectric properties when combined with nylon (https://doi.org/10.1039/D4NR05209A). Their findings underscore the potential of 2D WS₂-based triboelectric nanogenerators for wearable and flexible technologies, offering a strong basis for self-powered sensing and energy-harvesting applications. Francesco Bisconti et al. reported their findings on the inclusion of polysaccharides in perovskite thin films (https://doi.org/10.1039/D4NA01036A). The results of this study demonstrate hydroxyethyl cellulose's potential as an intrinsic stabilizer for perovskite films, opening the door to more durable and scalable perovskite solar cell technologies. Gourab De et al. investigated the role of in-plane stress behavior on ferroelectric properties of scaled-up hafnium zirconium oxide superlattices (https://doi.org/10.1039/D4NR05053C). This work suggested that it is possible to scale up these superlattices while preserving identical ferroelectric properties by tuning the in-plane stress of the hafnium zirconium oxide layers and their interfaces. A. Nicolás Filippin et al. described a reproducible and economically viable method for creating organic nanowires (ONWs) and nanotrees (ONTs) as light-enhanced conductometric O₂ sensors (https://doi.org/10.1039/D4NR04761C), paving the way for the development of long-lasting gas sensors operating at room temperature. The thin film growth of [Ni(Hvanox)₂] was reported by Atharva U. Sapre et al. using spectroscopic and microscopic characterizations (https://doi.org/10.1039/D4NA01021C). Surajit Das et al. reported piezoelectric and piezophototronic properties of LN-type ZnSnS₃ nanocrystals for light-induced self-powered mechanical energy harvesting (https://doi.org/10.1039/D4NR05246C). By combining optical functionalities and piezoelectric responses, these findings establish ternary sulfide piezoelectric nanostructured material as a viable option for designing piezophototronic devices. Superparamagnetic nanoparticles were described by Maria L. Schumacher et al. as possible drug delivery vehicles for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (https://doi.org/10.1039/D4NR03407D). Olena Porodko et al. demonstrated the electrochemical performance of new lithiated high-entropy spinel-type oxyhalides in Li-ion batteries (https://doi.org/10.1039/D4NR03918A). Siyun Noh et al. presented research on a self-powered triboelectric sensor that uses stress concentration structure and GaN nanowires (https://doi.org/10.1039/D4NR03260H). According to Apoko S. Omondi et al., symmetry breaking affects the core/shell tetrametallic porous nanoparticles’ catalytic and electrocatalytic performance (https://doi.org/10.1039/D4NR03589E). High-quality Cu₂ZnSnS₄ nanoparticles were created by Amin Hasan Husien et al. using HCl purification and optimized hot injection (https://doi.org/10.1039/D4NA00843J). Stretchable photosensors that function within the 1.3 μm wavelength range were created by Jaehyeok Shin et al. using graphene and InN nanowires (NWs) as a carrier channel and light-absorbing medium, respectively (https://doi.org/10.1039/D4NR03257H). According to Fei Yin et al., surface nanoengineering can greatly enhance a metal’s mechanical characteristics and performance, including their strength, hardness, fatigue resistance, and wear resistance (https://doi.org/10.1039/D4NR02994A). Using porous CuS@CdS@Au nanoshells, Weimin Yang et al. reported dual-mode detection for the overall antioxidant capacity of skincare products (https://doi.org/10.1039/D4NR03313B). This study offers a useful tool for quality control in the skincare sector in addition to enhancing the accuracy of antioxidant evaluations. Arvin Taghizadeh Tabrizi et al. reported the core/shell boron carbon nitrides (BCN)@Cu heterostructures for direct electrochemical reduction of nitrate ions to ammonia, which has a great promise for green ammonia synthesis (https://doi.org/10.1039/D5NR02308D).

As guest editors of this themed collection, we express our sincere gratitude to all authors for their outstanding contributions. We also extend our appreciation to the editorial teams at Nanoscale and Nanoscale Advances for their invaluable support, and to our reviewers for their insightful and thorough feedback.

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