Ashutosh Tiwari is an Associate Professor at the Biosensors and Bioelectronics Centre, Linköping University, Sweden; Editor-in-Chief, Advanced Materials Letters and Advanced Materials Reviews; Secretary General, International Association of Advanced Materials; a materials chemist and also a docent in applied physics at Linköping University, Sweden. He has published more than 350 articles, patents, and conference proceedings in the field of materials science and technology and has edited/authored about twenty books on the advanced state-of-the-art of materials science. He is a founding member of the Advanced Materials World Congress and the Indian Materials Congress.Mustafa M. Demir received his PhD degree from Sabancı University, Turkey, in 2004. From 2004 to 2007 he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute of Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany. He then moved to Izmir Institute of Technology, Turkey, where he is now Chairman of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

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• Preface xv Part 1: Principals and Prospective 1 1 Advances in Sensors? Nanotechnology 3Ida Tiwari and Manorama Singh 1.1 Introduction 3 1.2 What is Nanotechnology? 4 1.3 Significance of Nanotechnology 5 1.4 Synthesis of Nanostructure 5 1.5 Advancements in Sensors’ Research Based on Nanotechnology 5 1.6 Use of Nanoparticles 7 1.7 Use of Nanowires and Nanotubes 8 1.8 Use of Porous Silicon 11 1.9 Use of Self-Assembled Nanostructures 12 1.10 Receptor-Ligand Nanoarrays 12 1.11 Characterization of Nanostructures and Nanomaterials 13 1.12 Commercialization Efforts 14 1.13 Future Perspectives 14 References 15 2 Construction of Nanostructures: A Basic Concept Synthesis and Their Applications 19Rizwan Wahab, Farheen Khan, Nagendra K. Kaushik, Javed Musarrat and Abdulaziz A.Al-Khedhairy 2.1 Introduction 20 2.2 Formation of Zinc Oxide Quantum Dots (ZnO-QDs) and Their Applications 24 2.3 Needle-Shaped Zinc Oxide Nanostructures and Their Growth Mechanism 30 2.4 Flower-Shaped Zinc Oxide Nanostructures and Their Growth Mechanism 37 2.5 Construction of Mixed Shaped Zinc Oxide Nanostructures and Their Growth Mechanicsm 47 2.6 Summary and Future Directions 56 References 57 3 The Role of the Shape in the Design of New Nanoparticles 61G. Mayeli Estrada-Villegas and Emilio Bucio 3.1 Introduction 62 3.2 The Importance of Shape as Nanocarries 63 3.3 Influence of Shape on Biological Process 65 3.4 Different Shapes of Polymeric Nanoparticles 67 3.5 Different Shapes of Non-Polymeric Nanoparticles 71 3.6 Different Shapes of Polymeric Nanoparticles: Examples 74 3.7 Another Type of Nanoparticles 76 Acknowledgments 80 References 80 4 Molecularly Imprinted Polymer as Advanced Material for Development of Enantioselective Sensing Devices 87Mahavir Prasad Tiwari and Bhim Bali Prasad 4.1 Introduction 88 4.2 Molecularly Imprinted Chiral Polymers 90 4.3 MIP-Based Chiral Sensing Devices 91 4.4 Conclusion 105 References 105 5 Role of Microwave Sintering in the Preparation of Ferrites for High Frequency Applications 111S. Bharadwaj and S.R. Murthy 5.1 Microwaves in General 112 5.2 Microwave-Material Interactions 114 5.3 Microwave Sintering 115 5.4 Microwave Equipment 118 5.5 Kitchen Microwave Oven Basic Principle 122 5.6 Microwave Sintering of Ferrites 126 5.7 Microwave Sintering of Garnets 137 5.8 Microwave Sintering of Nanocomposites 138 References 140 Part 2: New Materials and Methods 147 6 Mesoporous Silica: Making “Sense” of Sensors 149Surender Duhan and Vijay K. Tomer 6.1 Introduction to Sensors 150 6.2 Fundamentals of Humidity Sensors 153 6.3 Types of Humidity Sensors 154 6.4 Humidity Sensing Materials 156 6.5 Issues with Traditional Materials in Sensing Technology 158 6.6 Introduction to Mesoporous Silica 159 6.7 M41S Materials 160 6.8 SBA Materials 162 6.9 Structure of SBA-15 164 6.10 Structure Directing Agents of SBA-15 165 6.11 Factors Affecting Structural Properties and Morphology of SBA-15 169 6.12 Modification of Mesoporous Silica 174 6.13 Characterization Techniques for Mesoporous Materials 177 6.14 Humidity Sensing of SBA-15 184 6.15 Extended Family of Mesoporous Silica 185 6.16 Other Applications of SBA-15 188 6.17 Conclusion 190 References 191 7 Towards Improving the Functionalities of Porous TiO2-Au/Ag Based Materials 193Monica Baia, Virginia Danciu, Zsolt Pap and Lucian Baia 7.1 Porous Nanostructures Based on Tio2 and Au/Ag Nanoparticles for Environmental Applications 194 7.2 Morphological Particularities of the TiO2-based Aerogels 199 7.3 Designing the TiO2  Porous Nano-architectures for Multiple Applications 201 7.4 Evaluating the Photocatalytic Performances of the TiO2-Au/Ag Porous Nanocomposites for Destroying Water Chemical Pollutants 208 7.5 Testing the Effectiveness of the TiO2-Au/Ag Porous Nanocomposites for Sensing Water Chemical Pollutants by SERS 210 7.6 In-depth Investigations of the Most Efficient Multifunctional TiO2-Au/Ag Porous Nanocomposites 216 7.7 Conclusions 221 Acknowledgments 223 References 223 8 Ferroelectric Glass-Ceramics 229Viswanathan Kumar 8.1 Introduction 230 8.2 (Ba1-xSrx)TiO3 [BST] Glass-Ceramics 232 8.3 Glass-Ceramic System (1-y) BST: y (B2O3: x SiO2) 234 8.4 Glass-Ceramic System (1-y) BST: y (BaO: Al2O3: 2SiO2) 245 8.5 Comparision of the Two BST Glass-Ceramic Systems 254 8.6 Pb(ZrxTi1-x)TiO3[PZT] Glass-Ceramics 256 References 263 9 NASICON: Synthesis, Structure and Electrical Characterization 265Umaru Ahmadu 9.1 Introduction 265 9.2 Theretical Survey of Superionic Conduction 268 9.3 NASICON Synthesis 271 9.4 NASICON Structure and Properties 273 9.5 Characterization Techniques 278 9.6 Experimental Results 291 9.7 Problems, Applications, and Prospects 299 9.8 Conclusion 300 Acknowledgments 300 References 300 10 Ionic Liquids 309Arnab De, Manika Dewan and Subho Mozumdar 10.1 Ionic Liquids: What Are They? 309 10.2 Historical Background 310 10.3 Classification of Ionic Liquids 311 10.4 Properties of Ionic Liquids, Physical and Chemical 314 10.5 Synthesis Methods of Ionic Liquids 323 10.6 Characterization of Ionic Liquids 329 10.7 Major Applications of ILs 330 10.8 ILs in Organic Transformations 331 10.9 ILs for Synthesis and Stabilization of Metal Nanoparticles 339 10.10 Challenges with Ionic Liquids 344 References 346 11 Dendrimers and Hyperbranched Polymers 369Jyotishmoy Borah and Niranjan Karak 11.1 Introduction 369 11.2 Synthesis of Dendritic Polymers 372 11.3 Characterization 385 11.4 Properties 391 11.5 Applications 398 11.6 Conclusion 403 References 404 Part 3: Advanced Structures and Properties 413 12 Theoretical Investigation of Superconducting State Parameters of Bulk Metallic Glasses 415Aditya M. Vora 12.1 Introduction 415 12.2 Computational Methodology 417 12.3 Results and Discussion 421 12.4 Conclusions 434 References 434 13 Macroscopic Polarization and Thermal Conductivity of Binary Wurtzite Nitrides 439Bijaya Kumar Sahoo 13.1 Introduction 440 13.2 The Macroscopic Polarization 441 13.3 Effective Elastic Constant, C44 442 13.4 Group Velocity of Phonons 443 13.5 Phonon Scattering Rates 444 13.6 Thermal Conductivity of InN 445 13.7 Summary 449 References 450 14 Experimental and Theoretical Background to Study Materials 453Arnab De, Manika Dewan and Subho Mozumdar 14.1 Quasi-Elastic Light Scattering (Photon Correlation Spectroscopy) 453 14.2 Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) 456 14.3 Scanning Electron Microscopy [2] 457 14.4 X-ray Diffraction (XRD) 459 14.5 UV-visible Spectroscopy 461 14.6 FT-IR Spectroscopy 462 14.7 NMR Spectroscopy 463 14.8 Mass Spectrometry 464 14.9 Vibrating Sample Magnetometer 465 References 466 15 Graphene and Its Nanocomposites for Gas Sensing Applications 467Parveen Saini, Tapas Kuila, Sanjit Saha and Naresh Chandra Murmu 15.1 Introduction 468 15.2 Principles of Chemical Sensing by Conducting Nanocomposite Materials 470 15.3 Synthesis of Graphene and Its Nanocomposites 472 15.4 Characterization of Graphene and Its Nanocomposites 473 15.5 Chemical Sensing of Graphene and Its Nanocomposites 477 15.6 Conclusion and Future Aspects 493 Acknowledgements 494 References 494 Index 501

Ashutosh Tiwari is an Associate Professor at the Biosensors and Bioelectronics Centre, Linköping University, Sweden; Editor-in-Chief, Advanced Materials Letters and Advanced Materials Reviews; Secretary General, International Association of Advanced Materials; a materials chemist and also a docent in applied physics at Linköping University, Sweden. He has published more than 350 articles, patents, and conference proceedings in the field of materials science and technology and has edited/authored about twenty books on the advanced state-of-the-art of materials science. He is a founding member of the Advanced Materials World Congress and the Indian Materials Congress.Mustafa M. Demir received his PhD degree from Sabancı University, Turkey, in 2004. From 2004 to 2007 he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute of Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany. He then moved to Izmir Institute of Technology, Turkey, where he is now Chairman of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

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• Preface xv Part 1: Principals and Prospective 1 1 Advances in Sensors? Nanotechnology 3Ida Tiwari and Manorama Singh 1.1 Introduction 3 1.2 What is Nanotechnology? 4 1.3 Significance of Nanotechnology 5 1.4 Synthesis of Nanostructure 5 1.5 Advancements in Sensors’ Research Based on Nanotechnology 5 1.6 Use of Nanoparticles 7 1.7 Use of Nanowires and Nanotubes 8 1.8 Use of Porous Silicon 11 1.9 Use of Self-Assembled Nanostructures 12 1.10 Receptor-Ligand Nanoarrays 12 1.11 Characterization of Nanostructures and Nanomaterials 13 1.12 Commercialization Efforts 14 1.13 Future Perspectives 14 References 15 2 Construction of Nanostructures: A Basic Concept Synthesis and Their Applications 19Rizwan Wahab, Farheen Khan, Nagendra K. Kaushik, Javed Musarrat and Abdulaziz A.Al-Khedhairy 2.1 Introduction 20 2.2 Formation of Zinc Oxide Quantum Dots (ZnO-QDs) and Their Applications 24 2.3 Needle-Shaped Zinc Oxide Nanostructures and Their Growth Mechanism 30 2.4 Flower-Shaped Zinc Oxide Nanostructures and Their Growth Mechanism 37 2.5 Construction of Mixed Shaped Zinc Oxide Nanostructures and Their Growth Mechanicsm 47 2.6 Summary and Future Directions 56 References 57 3 The Role of the Shape in the Design of New Nanoparticles 61G. Mayeli Estrada-Villegas and Emilio Bucio 3.1 Introduction 62 3.2 The Importance of Shape as Nanocarries 63 3.3 Influence of Shape on Biological Process 65 3.4 Different Shapes of Polymeric Nanoparticles 67 3.5 Different Shapes of Non-Polymeric Nanoparticles 71 3.6 Different Shapes of Polymeric Nanoparticles: Examples 74 3.7 Another Type of Nanoparticles 76 Acknowledgments 80 References 80 4 Molecularly Imprinted Polymer as Advanced Material for Development of Enantioselective Sensing Devices 87Mahavir Prasad Tiwari and Bhim Bali Prasad 4.1 Introduction 88 4.2 Molecularly Imprinted Chiral Polymers 90 4.3 MIP-Based Chiral Sensing Devices 91 4.4 Conclusion 105 References 105 5 Role of Microwave Sintering in the Preparation of Ferrites for High Frequency Applications 111S. Bharadwaj and S.R. Murthy 5.1 Microwaves in General 112 5.2 Microwave-Material Interactions 114 5.3 Microwave Sintering 115 5.4 Microwave Equipment 118 5.5 Kitchen Microwave Oven Basic Principle 122 5.6 Microwave Sintering of Ferrites 126 5.7 Microwave Sintering of Garnets 137 5.8 Microwave Sintering of Nanocomposites 138 References 140 Part 2: New Materials and Methods 147 6 Mesoporous Silica: Making “Sense” of Sensors 149Surender Duhan and Vijay K. Tomer 6.1 Introduction to Sensors 150 6.2 Fundamentals of Humidity Sensors 153 6.3 Types of Humidity Sensors 154 6.4 Humidity Sensing Materials 156 6.5 Issues with Traditional Materials in Sensing Technology 158 6.6 Introduction to Mesoporous Silica 159 6.7 M41S Materials 160 6.8 SBA Materials 162 6.9 Structure of SBA-15 164 6.10 Structure Directing Agents of SBA-15 165 6.11 Factors Affecting Structural Properties and Morphology of SBA-15 169 6.12 Modification of Mesoporous Silica 174 6.13 Characterization Techniques for Mesoporous Materials 177 6.14 Humidity Sensing of SBA-15 184 6.15 Extended Family of Mesoporous Silica 185 6.16 Other Applications of SBA-15 188 6.17 Conclusion 190 References 191 7 Towards Improving the Functionalities of Porous TiO2-Au/Ag Based Materials 193Monica Baia, Virginia Danciu, Zsolt Pap and Lucian Baia 7.1 Porous Nanostructures Based on Tio2 and Au/Ag Nanoparticles for Environmental Applications 194 7.2 Morphological Particularities of the TiO2-based Aerogels 199 7.3 Designing the TiO2  Porous Nano-architectures for Multiple Applications 201 7.4 Evaluating the Photocatalytic Performances of the TiO2-Au/Ag Porous Nanocomposites for Destroying Water Chemical Pollutants 208 7.5 Testing the Effectiveness of the TiO2-Au/Ag Porous Nanocomposites for Sensing Water Chemical Pollutants by SERS 210 7.6 In-depth Investigations of the Most Efficient Multifunctional TiO2-Au/Ag Porous Nanocomposites 216 7.7 Conclusions 221 Acknowledgments 223 References 223 8 Ferroelectric Glass-Ceramics 229Viswanathan Kumar 8.1 Introduction 230 8.2 (Ba1-xSrx)TiO3 [BST] Glass-Ceramics 232 8.3 Glass-Ceramic System (1-y) BST: y (B2O3: x SiO2) 234 8.4 Glass-Ceramic System (1-y) BST: y (BaO: Al2O3: 2SiO2) 245 8.5 Comparision of the Two BST Glass-Ceramic Systems 254 8.6 Pb(ZrxTi1-x)TiO3[PZT] Glass-Ceramics 256 References 263 9 NASICON: Synthesis, Structure and Electrical Characterization 265Umaru Ahmadu 9.1 Introduction 265 9.2 Theretical Survey of Superionic Conduction 268 9.3 NASICON Synthesis 271 9.4 NASICON Structure and Properties 273 9.5 Characterization Techniques 278 9.6 Experimental Results 291 9.7 Problems, Applications, and Prospects 299 9.8 Conclusion 300 Acknowledgments 300 References 300 10 Ionic Liquids 309Arnab De, Manika Dewan and Subho Mozumdar 10.1 Ionic Liquids: What Are They? 309 10.2 Historical Background 310 10.3 Classification of Ionic Liquids 311 10.4 Properties of Ionic Liquids, Physical and Chemical 314 10.5 Synthesis Methods of Ionic Liquids 323 10.6 Characterization of Ionic Liquids 329 10.7 Major Applications of ILs 330 10.8 ILs in Organic Transformations 331 10.9 ILs for Synthesis and Stabilization of Metal Nanoparticles 339 10.10 Challenges with Ionic Liquids 344 References 346 11 Dendrimers and Hyperbranched Polymers 369Jyotishmoy Borah and Niranjan Karak 11.1 Introduction 369 11.2 Synthesis of Dendritic Polymers 372 11.3 Characterization 385 11.4 Properties 391 11.5 Applications 398 11.6 Conclusion 403 References 404 Part 3: Advanced Structures and Properties 413 12 Theoretical Investigation of Superconducting State Parameters of Bulk Metallic Glasses 415Aditya M. Vora 12.1 Introduction 415 12.2 Computational Methodology 417 12.3 Results and Discussion 421 12.4 Conclusions 434 References 434 13 Macroscopic Polarization and Thermal Conductivity of Binary Wurtzite Nitrides 439Bijaya Kumar Sahoo 13.1 Introduction 440 13.2 The Macroscopic Polarization 441 13.3 Effective Elastic Constant, C44 442 13.4 Group Velocity of Phonons 443 13.5 Phonon Scattering Rates 444 13.6 Thermal Conductivity of InN 445 13.7 Summary 449 References 450 14 Experimental and Theoretical Background to Study Materials 453Arnab De, Manika Dewan and Subho Mozumdar 14.1 Quasi-Elastic Light Scattering (Photon Correlation Spectroscopy) 453 14.2 Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) 456 14.3 Scanning Electron Microscopy [2] 457 14.4 X-ray Diffraction (XRD) 459 14.5 UV-visible Spectroscopy 461 14.6 FT-IR Spectroscopy 462 14.7 NMR Spectroscopy 463 14.8 Mass Spectrometry 464 14.9 Vibrating Sample Magnetometer 465 References 466 15 Graphene and Its Nanocomposites for Gas Sensing Applications 467Parveen Saini, Tapas Kuila, Sanjit Saha and Naresh Chandra Murmu 15.1 Introduction 468 15.2 Principles of Chemical Sensing by Conducting Nanocomposite Materials 470 15.3 Synthesis of Graphene and Its Nanocomposites 472 15.4 Characterization of Graphene and Its Nanocomposites 473 15.5 Chemical Sensing of Graphene and Its Nanocomposites 477 15.6 Conclusion and Future Aspects 493 Acknowledgements 494 References 494 Index 501

Ashutosh Tiwari is an Associate Professor at the Biosensors and Bioelectronics Centre, Linköping University, Sweden; Editor-in-Chief, Advanced Materials Letters and Advanced Materials Reviews; Secretary General, International Association of Advanced Materials; a materials chemist and also a docent in applied physics at Linköping University, Sweden. He has published more than 350 articles, patents, and conference proceedings in the field of materials science and technology and has edited/authored about twenty books on the advanced state-of-the-art of materials science. He is a founding member of the Advanced Materials World Congress and the Indian Materials Congress.Mustafa M. Demir received his PhD degree from Sabancı University, Turkey, in 2004. From 2004 to 2007 he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute of Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany. He then moved to Izmir Institute of Technology, Turkey, where he is now Chairman of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

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• Preface xv Part 1: Principals and Prospective 1 1 Advances in Sensors? Nanotechnology 3Ida Tiwari and Manorama Singh 1.1 Introduction 3 1.2 What is Nanotechnology? 4 1.3 Significance of Nanotechnology 5 1.4 Synthesis of Nanostructure 5 1.5 Advancements in Sensors’ Research Based on Nanotechnology 5 1.6 Use of Nanoparticles 7 1.7 Use of Nanowires and Nanotubes 8 1.8 Use of Porous Silicon 11 1.9 Use of Self-Assembled Nanostructures 12 1.10 Receptor-Ligand Nanoarrays 12 1.11 Characterization of Nanostructures and Nanomaterials 13 1.12 Commercialization Efforts 14 1.13 Future Perspectives 14 References 15 2 Construction of Nanostructures: A Basic Concept Synthesis and Their Applications 19Rizwan Wahab, Farheen Khan, Nagendra K. Kaushik, Javed Musarrat and Abdulaziz A.Al-Khedhairy 2.1 Introduction 20 2.2 Formation of Zinc Oxide Quantum Dots (ZnO-QDs) and Their Applications 24 2.3 Needle-Shaped Zinc Oxide Nanostructures and Their Growth Mechanism 30 2.4 Flower-Shaped Zinc Oxide Nanostructures and Their Growth Mechanism 37 2.5 Construction of Mixed Shaped Zinc Oxide Nanostructures and Their Growth Mechanicsm 47 2.6 Summary and Future Directions 56 References 57 3 The Role of the Shape in the Design of New Nanoparticles 61G. Mayeli Estrada-Villegas and Emilio Bucio 3.1 Introduction 62 3.2 The Importance of Shape as Nanocarries 63 3.3 Influence of Shape on Biological Process 65 3.4 Different Shapes of Polymeric Nanoparticles 67 3.5 Different Shapes of Non-Polymeric Nanoparticles 71 3.6 Different Shapes of Polymeric Nanoparticles: Examples 74 3.7 Another Type of Nanoparticles 76 Acknowledgments 80 References 80 4 Molecularly Imprinted Polymer as Advanced Material for Development of Enantioselective Sensing Devices 87Mahavir Prasad Tiwari and Bhim Bali Prasad 4.1 Introduction 88 4.2 Molecularly Imprinted Chiral Polymers 90 4.3 MIP-Based Chiral Sensing Devices 91 4.4 Conclusion 105 References 105 5 Role of Microwave Sintering in the Preparation of Ferrites for High Frequency Applications 111S. Bharadwaj and S.R. Murthy 5.1 Microwaves in General 112 5.2 Microwave-Material Interactions 114 5.3 Microwave Sintering 115 5.4 Microwave Equipment 118 5.5 Kitchen Microwave Oven Basic Principle 122 5.6 Microwave Sintering of Ferrites 126 5.7 Microwave Sintering of Garnets 137 5.8 Microwave Sintering of Nanocomposites 138 References 140 Part 2: New Materials and Methods 147 6 Mesoporous Silica: Making “Sense” of Sensors 149Surender Duhan and Vijay K. Tomer 6.1 Introduction to Sensors 150 6.2 Fundamentals of Humidity Sensors 153 6.3 Types of Humidity Sensors 154 6.4 Humidity Sensing Materials 156 6.5 Issues with Traditional Materials in Sensing Technology 158 6.6 Introduction to Mesoporous Silica 159 6.7 M41S Materials 160 6.8 SBA Materials 162 6.9 Structure of SBA-15 164 6.10 Structure Directing Agents of SBA-15 165 6.11 Factors Affecting Structural Properties and Morphology of SBA-15 169 6.12 Modification of Mesoporous Silica 174 6.13 Characterization Techniques for Mesoporous Materials 177 6.14 Humidity Sensing of SBA-15 184 6.15 Extended Family of Mesoporous Silica 185 6.16 Other Applications of SBA-15 188 6.17 Conclusion 190 References 191 7 Towards Improving the Functionalities of Porous TiO2-Au/Ag Based Materials 193Monica Baia, Virginia Danciu, Zsolt Pap and Lucian Baia 7.1 Porous Nanostructures Based on Tio2 and Au/Ag Nanoparticles for Environmental Applications 194 7.2 Morphological Particularities of the TiO2-based Aerogels 199 7.3 Designing the TiO2  Porous Nano-architectures for Multiple Applications 201 7.4 Evaluating the Photocatalytic Performances of the TiO2-Au/Ag Porous Nanocomposites for Destroying Water Chemical Pollutants 208 7.5 Testing the Effectiveness of the TiO2-Au/Ag Porous Nanocomposites for Sensing Water Chemical Pollutants by SERS 210 7.6 In-depth Investigations of the Most Efficient Multifunctional TiO2-Au/Ag Porous Nanocomposites 216 7.7 Conclusions 221 Acknowledgments 223 References 223 8 Ferroelectric Glass-Ceramics 229Viswanathan Kumar 8.1 Introduction 230 8.2 (Ba1-xSrx)TiO3 [BST] Glass-Ceramics 232 8.3 Glass-Ceramic System (1-y) BST: y (B2O3: x SiO2) 234 8.4 Glass-Ceramic System (1-y) BST: y (BaO: Al2O3: 2SiO2) 245 8.5 Comparision of the Two BST Glass-Ceramic Systems 254 8.6 Pb(ZrxTi1-x)TiO3[PZT] Glass-Ceramics 256 References 263 9 NASICON: Synthesis, Structure and Electrical Characterization 265Umaru Ahmadu 9.1 Introduction 265 9.2 Theretical Survey of Superionic Conduction 268 9.3 NASICON Synthesis 271 9.4 NASICON Structure and Properties 273 9.5 Characterization Techniques 278 9.6 Experimental Results 291 9.7 Problems, Applications, and Prospects 299 9.8 Conclusion 300 Acknowledgments 300 References 300 10 Ionic Liquids 309Arnab De, Manika Dewan and Subho Mozumdar 10.1 Ionic Liquids: What Are They? 309 10.2 Historical Background 310 10.3 Classification of Ionic Liquids 311 10.4 Properties of Ionic Liquids, Physical and Chemical 314 10.5 Synthesis Methods of Ionic Liquids 323 10.6 Characterization of Ionic Liquids 329 10.7 Major Applications of ILs 330 10.8 ILs in Organic Transformations 331 10.9 ILs for Synthesis and Stabilization of Metal Nanoparticles 339 10.10 Challenges with Ionic Liquids 344 References 346 11 Dendrimers and Hyperbranched Polymers 369Jyotishmoy Borah and Niranjan Karak 11.1 Introduction 369 11.2 Synthesis of Dendritic Polymers 372 11.3 Characterization 385 11.4 Properties 391 11.5 Applications 398 11.6 Conclusion 403 References 404 Part 3: Advanced Structures and Properties 413 12 Theoretical Investigation of Superconducting State Parameters of Bulk Metallic Glasses 415Aditya M. Vora 12.1 Introduction 415 12.2 Computational Methodology 417 12.3 Results and Discussion 421 12.4 Conclusions 434 References 434 13 Macroscopic Polarization and Thermal Conductivity of Binary Wurtzite Nitrides 439Bijaya Kumar Sahoo 13.1 Introduction 440 13.2 The Macroscopic Polarization 441 13.3 Effective Elastic Constant, C44 442 13.4 Group Velocity of Phonons 443 13.5 Phonon Scattering Rates 444 13.6 Thermal Conductivity of InN 445 13.7 Summary 449 References 450 14 Experimental and Theoretical Background to Study Materials 453Arnab De, Manika Dewan and Subho Mozumdar 14.1 Quasi-Elastic Light Scattering (Photon Correlation Spectroscopy) 453 14.2 Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) 456 14.3 Scanning Electron Microscopy [2] 457 14.4 X-ray Diffraction (XRD) 459 14.5 UV-visible Spectroscopy 461 14.6 FT-IR Spectroscopy 462 14.7 NMR Spectroscopy 463 14.8 Mass Spectrometry 464 14.9 Vibrating Sample Magnetometer 465 References 466 15 Graphene and Its Nanocomposites for Gas Sensing Applications 467Parveen Saini, Tapas Kuila, Sanjit Saha and Naresh Chandra Murmu 15.1 Introduction 468 15.2 Principles of Chemical Sensing by Conducting Nanocomposite Materials 470 15.3 Synthesis of Graphene and Its Nanocomposites 472 15.4 Characterization of Graphene and Its Nanocomposites 473 15.5 Chemical Sensing of Graphene and Its Nanocomposites 477 15.6 Conclusion and Future Aspects 493 Acknowledgements 494 References 494 Index 501