Bottom-Up Multifunctional Nanocomposites: Self-Assembly with Sol-Gel Chemistry for Nano -Electronic, Magnetic, Magnetoelectric and Photonic Applications

Multifunctional materials combine multiple functions including electronic, magnetic, mechanical, photonic and biological functions. They are capable of exhibiting various controllable and predictable physical responses when subjected to diverse external conditions. Multifunctional composites have drawn much attention since they show new classes of physical properties. These new classes of physical properties are characterized by a secondary coupling of individual physical properties of each component of a composite system. Solution-based self-assembly bottom up paradigm is a promising route toward nanoscale multifunctional materials synthesis. In this book, a method that combines sol-gel chemistry with self-assembly and phase separation to produce multifunctional thin film nanostructures or bi-crystals with a tailored morphology will be introduced.