Rational engineering of functional magnetic nanoparticles

Research on magnetic nanoparticles is a rapidly expanding field, driven by advances in the understanding of nanoscale phenomena and by the development of innovative fabrication methods that enable precise control over size, composition, and increasingly complex nanoarchitecture.

Since Néel’s pioneering work in the 1950s, key phenomena such as superparamagnetism, exchange bias, exchange spring behaviour, proximity effects have been discovered and extensively investigated. Together with progress in surface chemistry, functionalization and the synergy between the catalysis and magnetism opened new avenues for the design of advanced functional magnetic materials. These scientific developments have evolved in parallel with innovations in chemical and physical synthesis routes and state-of-the-art characterization techniques, enabling the rational engineering of nanoparticles with tailored structural, magnetic, and functional responses.

The field is inherently interdisciplinary, situated at the intersection of physics, chemistry, materials science, biochemistry, and medicine. Current research focuses not only on the development of materials with enhanced performance for advanced permanent magnets, imaging contrast agents, and magnetic data storage, but also on functional systems capable of dynamically interacting with their environment. Engineered magnetic nanoparticles are now widely explored as remotely controlled actuators capable of generating motion, force, and heat, opening new opportunities in biomedicine, soft robotics, sensing, energy technologies, and sustainable and circular systems.

This Special Issue Rational Engineering of Functional Magnetic Nanoparticles will feature invited contributions from leading experts and emerging researchers, as well as original research articles covering all aspects of magnetic nanoparticles, from the design, modelling, and fabrication of novel nanoarchitectures to their implementation in targeted technologies. We especially encourage submissions that showcase innovative research in the following areas:

• Fundamentals and Theory
• Design of Magnetic Nanoparticles
• Advanced Characterization techniques
• Advanced Magnetic Nanoparticles for Targeted Applications
• Nanoarchitectures based on Magnetic Nanoparticles for Targeted Technologies
• Magnetic Nanoparticles for Sustainable and Circular Technologies

Please note that this open call is open to primary research submissions only.

Submissions to the journal should fit within the scope of Journal of Materials Chemistry C – Please see the journal’s webpage for more information on the journal’s scope, standards, article types and author guidelines. All manuscripts will undergo the normal initial assessment and peer review processes, if appropriate, in line with the journal’s high standards, managed by the journal editors. Accepted manuscripts will be added to the online collection as soon as they are published and will feature in a regular issue of the relevant journal. Please note that peer review or acceptance is not guaranteed.

If you would like to contribute to this themed collection, please submit your article directly through the journal submissions platform. Please mention that your submission is a contribution to the Rational Engineering of Functional Magnetic Nanoparticles collection in the “Themed issues” section of the submission form and is in response to the Open Call. The Editorial Office reserves the right to check the suitability of submissions in relation to the scope of both the journal and the collection, and as such, inclusion of accepted articles in the final themed collection is not guaranteed.

If you have any questions about the collection or the submissions process, please contact the editorial office and they will assist you.