Nanostructured materials fabrication by solution processing and atomic-layer-deposition for multi functional applications

Abstract

Nanostructured materials are the integral parts of nanotechnology, providing basic building blocks for fabricating complex devices with desired functions. The inherent quantum size and shape effects of nanomaterials have many important applications in electronics, optoelectronics, information processing, catalysis, biomedical science, environmental science, energy conversion and storage, advanced defense technologies, and many other fields. The usage of non-renewable energy resources (coal, oil and natural gas) has not only polluted the environment, but is also the main cause for the global warming. Apart from the pollution caused to the environment, the escalating cost of petroleum products in the international markets has created an urgency in for the utilization of alternative sources of energy. Worldwide efforts are underway to make use of sunlight for energy production, environmental protection and water purification.

In this context, nanostructured materials appear highly promising owing to their properties and the possibility to combine different materials with precise control of their interface at the nanoscale. The final devices generated through this approach using nanomaterials will have enhanced and/or new properties along with reduced size. Heterostructured materials (also termed as composites/hybrids) are materials consisting of several distinct phases, each contributing to different function. The main advantage is that coupling between different phases induced by electrical/magnetic/mechanical/optical interactions can result in new functionality which cannot be found in conventional materials. However, the synthesis of heterostructured materials through the combination of structurally or chemically different materials on a confined space of few nanometers is still very challenging. The works described in this thesis are aimed in the design and development of novel nanostructured materials through facile solution based synthetic approaches and through atomic-layer-deposition. The novelty of the research described in this thesis lies in the new materials synthesized through facile approaches, as well as the resulting material properties.