State-of-the-art developments in metal and carbon-based semiconducting nanomaterials: applications and functions in spintronics, nanophotonics, and nanomagnetics

Nanomaterials composed of metals and metal alloys are the most valuable components in emerging micro- and nano-electronic devices and innovations to date. The composition of these nanomaterials, their quantum chemical and physical properties, and their production methods are in critical need of summarization, so that a complete state of the art of the present and future of nanotechnologies can be presented. In this review, we report on the most recent activities and results in the fields of spintronics, nanophotonics, and nanomagnetics, with particular emphasis on metallic nanoparticles in alloys and pure metals, as well as in organic combinations and in relation to carbon-based nanostructures. This review shows that the combinatory synthesis of alloys with rare metals, such as scandium, yttrium, and rare earths imparts valuable qualities to high-magnetic-field compounds, and provides unique properties with emphasis on nanoelectronic and computational components. In this review, we also shed light on the methods of synthesis and the background of spintronic, nanomagnetic, and nanophotonic materials, with applications in optics, diagnostics, nanoelectronics, and computational nanotechnology. The review is important for the industrial development of novel materials, and for summarizing both fabrication and manufacturing methods, as well as principles and functions of metallic nanoparticles.