The synthesis and characterization of spinel cobalt-based metal oxides (MCoO) with varying 3d-transition metal ions (Ni, Fe, Cu, and Zn) were explored using a hydrothermal process (140 °C for two hours) to be used as alternative counter electrodes for Pt-free dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed distinct morphologies for each metal oxide, such as NiCoO nanosheets, Cu CoO nanoleaves, Fe CoO diamond-like, and Zn CoO hexagonal-like structures. The X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the cubic spinel structure for the prepared MCoO films.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this work, iron oxide (FeO) magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets were prepared via the co-precipitation technique and the Modified Hummer method. FeO MNPs and GO nanosheets were combined to prepare FeO/GO nanocomposite and subsequently conjugated with Digitonin (DIG) in order to obtain a dual-targeted delivery system based on DIG/FeO/GO nanocomposite. SEM images reveal the presence of FeO MNPs at a scale of 100 nm, exhibiting dispersion between the GO nanosheets.
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