On November 16-18, 2021, the VII conference "Nano Today" was held online. The event was organized by Nano Today journal, GBA National Institute for Nanotechnological Innovation (China), National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST, China) and Elsevier in partnership with Materials Today. The conference, being one of the most authoritative international events in the field of nanotechnology, brought together the best specialists who presented cutting-edge findings in the field of interdisciplinary research of nanomaterials and nanodevices.

Igor Pronin, Doctor of Engineering Sciences, Professor of the Department of Nano- and Microelectronic, PSU, made a report on the topic "Low-temperature sol-gel synthesis of nanostructured semiconductor films of zinc oxide for flexible electronics".

The presented research was carried out by a scientific collaboration including Penza State University (Igor Averin, Head of the Department of Nano- and Microelectronics, Andrey Karmanov, Associate Professor, Nadezhda Yakushova, Senior Lecturer), St. Petersburg State University (Professor Aleksey Komolov), St. Petersburg State Electrotechnical University LETI” (Professor Vyacheslav Moshnikov).

“Flexible electronics is one of the most dynamically developing areas of nano- and microelectronics. Today, its market is about $50 billion and its rapid growth is predicted. Flexible electronic devices, including color displays, are much lighter, cheaper, and more practical than traditional products. Our research group has developed approaches to the formation of nanostructured coatings based on zinc oxide on flexible substrates with a low melting point, which paves the way for manufacturing flexible sensor devices, including gas sensors and biosensors,” explained Professor Igor Pronin.

Based on the results of the conference, a collection of abstracts was published; it is planned to be indexed by the Nano Today journal.