Ravi Trivedi

Melamine is an adulterant widely present in milk and milk powder industries, and has important effects on human health, therefore proposing an accurate and selective hybrid material for the detection of this molecule is of importance. In this work, the SERS effect of binding the melamine molecule to a nano‐structured hybrid rGO‐Ag ₃ system has been studied by density functional theory (DFT) and its time‐dependant variant (TD‐DFT) calculations by adopting a range‐separated ω B97X‐D functional. Theoretical analysis based on the UV–vis spectra and the natural transition orbitals (NTO) of the melamine‐adsorbed hybrid rGO‐Ag ₃ nanostructure system gives insights into effective enhancement factors, including static chemical enhancements and charge‐transfer (CT) enhancements. Moreover, the calculations allow proposing an explanation for the SERS spectra of melamine absorbed on silver nanoparticle in the presence and in the absence of rGO. This suggests that, theoretical methods, in particular DFT and TD‐DFT, can be used to gain microscopic insights into the functionalized graphene‐assisted SERS mechanism in nano‐structured hybrid materials for practical applications.

Ferroelectric materials are unique materials that possess spontaneous polarization, which can be reversed by the application of external electric field, making them versatile in the array of modern technologies. Their unique properties, such as high dielectric permittivity, piezoelectricity, pyroelectricity, and electro‐optic responses, make them applicable into the broad spectrum of applications such as sensors, nonvolatile memory devices, energy harvesting systems, actuators, microelectronic components. This review paper discusses the different ferroelectric materials and their synthesis techniques of the ferroelectric material which is used to determine the functionality and performance of these materials. Synthesis methods such as sol–gel processing, pulsed laser deposition, and chemical vapor deposition offer exact control over crystallinity, thickness of the film, and composition which influence material behavior. Furthermore, this review paper also discusses the applications of the ferroelectric materials and showcases the recent advancements that are shaping the future of ferroelectric technology. Ferroelectric materials ability to couple the electrical, mechanical, thermal, and optical responses makes them perfect fit for the multifunctional and adaptive devices. From miniaturized electronics to the adaptive devices, ferroelectric materials are at the cutting edge of the innovation in the field of clean energy.