Functional Properties of Nanostructured Materials

The beginning of the XXI-st century can be seen as the start of a revolution in nanomaterials and nanotechnology which has already an impact on everyday life; this impact will grow rapidly in the near future. The need for international but also interdisciplinary cooperation and dissemination of knowledge in the field of nanoscale science and engineering is also becoming increasingly apparent. The common efforts of researchers from different countries and fields of science can bring complementary expertise to solve the rising problems in order to take the advantages of the nanoscale approach in materials sciences. Nanostructured materials are becoming of major significance, and their investigations require a comprehensive approach. The fundamental properties of these materials are remarkably altered as the size of their constituent grains or phases decreases to the nanometer scale. These novel materials made of nanosized building blocks offer unique and entirely different electrical, optical, mechanical, and magnetic properties compared to conventional micro- or millimetre-size materials owing to their distinctive size, shape, topology, surface properties, etc.

GENERAL ASPECTS.- Nanoscaled Materials: a Brief Introduction.- BASIC PROPERTIES OF NANOSCALED MATERIALS.- Electronic Properties and Characterisation of Disordered Semiconductors.- A Computer Modelling Study of Hopping Transport and Variable Range Hopping in Disordered Solids.- Electrode-Limited Currents in Thin Ternary Chalcogenide Films.- A Short Survey of Optical Properties of Metal Nanostructures.- Nanocomposite Thin Films With Improved Mechanical Properties.- TECHNIQUES AND METHODS.- Fabrication of Nanostructures.- Optical Properties of Metal Nanoparticles Formed by Ion Implantation and Modified by Laser Annealing.- Synthesis Procedures of Nanocomposites from Gels.- Phase Separation and Crystallisation in High Iron Containing Borosilicate Glasses.- Nanocomposites Based on Immiscible Borate Glasses.- Investigation of the Microstructure of Polypropylene Composites Filled with Wood Flour Modified with Monochloracetic Acid.- Physics of Deposition of Hydroxyapatite Layers by the Pulsed Laser Deposition Method.- Laser Deposition of Waveguiding Films.- Functionalized Thin Films and Structures Obtained by Novel Laser Processing Issues.- Nanostructured Films on Silicon Surfaces.- On the Origin of Impurities in the Window Layers of CdTe/CdS Solar Cells.- NANOSCALED THIN FILMS.- Deposition, Characterization and Application of Nanocrystalline Diamond Films.- Nano-Scale, Multi-Functional, Cubic Boron Nitride Coatings.- Nanocrystalline Cubic Boron Nitride Films.- Boron Nitride Thin Layers Prepared Using a Krypton Fluoride Excimer Laser.- Metal Induced Crystallisation - an Advanced Method for Polycrystalline SI Films Preparation.- Modification of the Optical and Structural Properties of a-Si1-XCX:H Films by Ion Implantation.- Application of Stain Etched Porous Silicon in Solar Cells and Light Emitting Diodes.- Structural Properties of Poly-Si Thin Films on ZnO:Al Coated Glass Substrates Obtained by Aluminiuminduced Crystallization in Different Atmospheres.- Cvd-Transition Metal Oxide Films As Functional Layers in “Smart Windows” and X-Ray Mirrors.- Plasma Assisted Deposition of Tungsten Oxide / Silicon Oxide Multilayer Films with Sub-Nanometer Single Layers.- Electrical and Polarization Properties of Nano-Sized ZrO2 on Polycrystalline Silicon.- Characterization of Optical Coatings for Artwork Protection by Means of Neutron Reflectometry.- Functional Nanostructured Metal Oxide Thin Films for Applications in Optical Gas Detection.- Structural Characterization of Er:Yag Thin Films Grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition.- Optical Behavior of Vacuum Deposited Amorphous and Nano-Crystalline AS2S3 Films before and after Irradiation.- On the Determination of the Optical Constants of Very Thin Metallic Films.- SPECIAL NANOSTRUCTURES: FULLERENES, NANOTUBE, NANOWIRES.- Nanostructured Carbon Materials.- Encapsulates: Nd-Fe-B@C and Fe@C for Drug Delivery Systems and Contrast Elements, Study of Structure, Chemical Composition and Magnetic Properties.- Carbon-Based Nanostructures Through Laser Interaction with Reactive Gaseous Mixtures.- Growth and Properties of Zincsulfide Nanowires.- Smart Materials and Martensite Microstructures in Copper Based Shape Memory Alloys.- APPLICATIONS.- SEMICONDUCTOR NANOSTRUCTURES FOR FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS AND OPTOELECTRONIC APPLICATIONS.- NANOSTRUCTURED MATERIALS BASED DEVICES AND SENSORS.- ATMOSPHERIC PARAMETERS SENSING USING NANOTECHNOLOGY BASED SENSORS AND IMAGE PROCESSED REAL-TIME SATELLITE DATA.- OPTICAL AND ELECTRONIC DATA STORAGE WITH PHASE CHANGE MATERIALS: FROM CRYSTAL STRUCTURES TO KINETICS.- CHALCOGENIDE ALLOYS AS ABASIS FOR NEW NON-VOLATILE RANDOM ACCESS MEMORIES.- NANOCRYSTALLINE Mg - BASED HYDROGEN STORAGE ALLOYS SYNTHESIZED BY MECHANICAL ALLOYING - A REVIEW.- NANOCRYSTALLINE Mg BASED ALLOYS OBTAINED BY MECHANICAL ALLOYING AS PRECURSORS FOR HIGH-CAPACITY NEGATIVE ELECTRODES IN RECHARGEABLE Ni/MH BATTERIES.- ELECTROCHEMICAL BEHAVIOR OF NANOCRYSTALLINE ?-Fe2O3 ANODE MATERIAL FOR LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES.- NANO-SIZED VANADIUM BRONZES AS CATHODE MATERIAL FOR RECHARGEABLE LI BATTERIES.- SOL-GEL PRODUCED MESOPOROUS TiO2/Ag COATINGS EFFECTIVE IN RHODAMINE B PHOTOOXIDATION.- NANOCOMPOSITE THIN FILMS FOR BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS.- BIOACTIVITY OF NANOSTRUCTURED SURFACES.- EFFECT OF DYSTROPHIN GENE IMMOBILIZED NANOSTRUCTURED THERAPEUTIC TEMPLATES ON AGING SKELETAL MUSCLES.- IMMOBILIZATION OF RNA AND PROTEIN BIOMOLECULES ON NANOCRYSTALLINE DIAMOND FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW BIOSENSORS.