This article provides an up-to-date review on nanocomposites composed of inorganic nanoparticles and the polymer matrix for optical and magnetic applications. Optical or magnetic characteristics can change upon the decrease of particle sizes to very small dimensions, which are, in general, of major interest in the area of nanocomposite materials. The use of inorganic nanoparticles into the polymer matrix can provide high-performance novel materials that find applications in many industrial fields. With this respect, frequently considered features are optical properties such as light absorption (UV and color), and the extent of light scattering or, in the case of metal particles, photoluminescence, dichroism, and so on, and magnetic properties such as superparamagnetism, electromagnetic wave absorption, and electromagnetic interference shielding. A general introduction, definition, and historical development of polymer–inorganic nanocomposites as well as a comprehensive review of synthetic techniques for polymer–inorganic nanocomposites will be given. Future possibilities for the development of nanocomposites for optical and magnetic applications are also introduced. It is expected that the use of new functional inorganic nano-fillers will lead to new polymer–inorganic nanocomposites with unique combinations of material properties. By careful selection of synthetic techniques and understanding/exploiting the unique physics of the polymeric nanocomposites in such materials, novel functional polymer–inorganic nanocomposites can be designed and fabricated for new interesting applications such as optoelectronic and magneto-optic applications.

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Abstract:Organic molecules with a permanent electric dipole moment have been widely

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) have attract a great deal of interest in biomedical research and clinical applications over the past decades. Taking advantage the fact that SPIONs only exhibit magnetic properties in the presence of an applied magnetic field, they have been used in both in vitro magnetic separation and in vivo applications such as hyperthermia (HT), magnetic drug targeting (MDT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), gene delivery (GD) and nanomedicine. Successful applications of SPIONs rely on precise control of the particle's shape, size, and size distribution and several synthetic routes for preparing SPIONs have been explored. Tailored surface properties specifically designed for cell targeting are often required, although the generic strategy involves creating biocompatible polymeric or non-polymeric coating and subsequent conjugation of bioactive molecules. In this review article, synthetic routes, surface modification and functionaliztion of SPIONs, as well as the major biomedical applications are summarized, with emphasis on in vivo applications.

Single layers of materials, including numerous quasi-two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides, are of interest for emergent properties under extreme quantum confinement in reduced dimensions. A key issue, difficult to address and often neglected, is the influence of a substrate on the single-layer properties. We show that even weak van-der-Waals bonding between a single layer and its substrate can yield strong effects. The test system, single-layer TiTe2, shows a (2x2) charge density wave (CDW) below a critical temperature of TC = 92 K if it is grown on a bilayer graphene. When the same single layer is instead grown on PtTe2 films, its CDW TC becomes suppressed and varies strongly with the PtTe2 film thickness. This change in substrate PtTe2 thickness does not affect the interfacial epitaxial relationship, but the substrate transforms from a semiconductor with a sizable gap to a semimetal. The experimentally observed trend demonstrates the importance of interfacial electronic interaction. A general implication is that substrate effects are an integral part of single-layer physics.