Nanoscience and nanotechnology

A series of themed issues

Nanoscience is the interface between chemistry and physics, between molecules and solids, between quantum mechanics and classical physics and chemistry. In recent years nanoscience has shown itself to be one of the most exciting areas in science, with experimental developments being driven by pressing demands for new technological applications. It is a highly multidisciplinary research field and the experimental and theoretical challenges for researchers in the physical sciences are substantial. PCCP, an international journal with a history of publishing cutting edge multidisciplinary research, is therefore the obvious place to publish a series of themed special issues highlighting the latest nanoscience and technology research. The Guest Editors for the themed issues are Phil Bartlett (Southampton), Tim Jones (Imperial) and Paul Mulvaney (Melbourne), and I would like to thank them for their invaluable help that has enabled these issues to come to fruition.

The aim of these issues is to provide a snapshot of the current state of play, to highlight some of the exciting multidisciplinary work being done, to show you some of the breathtaking technology that is evolving from basic nanoscience and to illustrate that the science action is still in basic chemistry and physics.

This is the first of the print issues featuring papers from the nanoscience themed series. Like ‘regular’ issues of PCCP, this themed issue contains a variety of article types: urgent Communications, full Research Papers, and Invited Articles, which give an authoritative state-of-the-art account of the selected research field.

In this issue there are two Invited Articles: Niederberger and Cölfen (DOI: 10.1039/b604589h) present a review of mesocrystals and oriented attachment, whilst Möhwald et al. (DOI: 10.1039/b604745a) give a general overview of the synthetic techniques available to date for the construction of self-assembled nanocrystals.

In their urgent Communication, Zhao et al. (DOI: 10.1039/b604645m) describe a new sonication technique, which could provide an alternative route for the preparation of nanostructures with various morphologies and functions from small organic molecules.

The research papers in this issue further highlight the multidisciplinary nature of nanoscience research. Ashwell et al. (DOI: 10.1039/b604092f) present molecular rectification ratios which are substantially higher than intrinsic ratios reported from other organic films. Tok et al. (DOI: 10.1039/b604627b) investigate the nucleation and growth of nanoparticles on surfaces; Ghosh et al. (DOI: 10.1039/b603273g) report the preparation and photoluminescent properties of Y₂SiO₅:Eu³⁺ nanocrystals, with results that might be of importance for future design of luminescent materials, whilst Morgen and Madden (DOI: 10.1039/b604390a) simulate the wurtzite to rock salt phase transition in nanocrystals.

Kooji and Poelsema (DOI: 10.1039/b518389h) carry out DDA calculations to shed light on the optical properties of small metal particles of different shapes. Finally, there are two further theoretical papers: Heine et al. (DOI: 10.1039/b604737h) analyse the structural, mechanical and electronic properties of C₂₈ fullerites, which may have applications as hydrogen storage materials, whilst Giordano and Pacchioni (DOI: 10.1039/b604288k) use DFT to investigate how far the properties of ultra-thin oxide films deposited on metal surfaces are affected by the presence of the underlying metal.

The articles in this issue, along with all of the other themed issue articles are collected together on a single webpage—http://www.rsc.org/pccpnano—for ease of browsing. New articles are being added to this page as soon as they are published online as Advance Articles. Please do take the time to visit the webpage and read some of the exciting research. More print nanoscience themed issues will be printed over the coming weeks.

I hope you enjoy the range of articles from the international groups who have contributed to this series of special ‘Nanoscience and nanotechnology’ editions of PCCP.

Philip Earis

Deputy Editor, PCCP

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