Sol-Gel Pt-VO Films as Selective Chemoresistive and Optical H Gas Sensors.

In this work, VO (M1/R) thin films were exploited as H gas sensors. A flat film morphology, obtained by furnace annealing, was compared with a laser-induced nanostructured one. The combination of the environmentally friendly sol-gel approach with the ultrafast laser crystallization allows for significant reductions in energy consumption and related emissions during the fabrication of VO sensors.

Optical Hydrogen Sensing Properties of e-Beam WO Films Decorated with Gold Nanoparticles.

Tungsten oxide thin films with different thicknesses, crystallinity and morphology were synthesized by e-beam deposition followed by thermal treatment and acid boiling. The films with different surface morphologies were coated with gold nanoparticles and tested as optical sensing materials towards hydrogen. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, ellipsometry and UV-VIS spectroscopy were employed to characterize the structural, morphological and optical properties of the film.

Photoelectrochemical C-H Activation Through a Quinacridone Dye Enabling Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer.

Dye-sensitized photoanodes for C-H activation in organic substrates are assembled by vacuum sublimation of a commercially available quinacridone (QNC) dye in the form of nanosized rods onto fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO), TiO , and SnO slides. The photoanodes display extended absorption in the visible range (450-600 nm) and ultrafast photoinduced electron injection (<1 ps, as revealed by transient absorption spectroscopy) of the QNC dye into the semiconductor. The proton-coupled electron-transfer reactivity of QNC is exploited for generating a nitrogen-based radical as its oxidized form, which is competent in C-H bond activation.

Enhancing Tungsten Oxide Gasochromism with Noble Metal Nanoparticles: The Importance of the Interface.

Crystalline tungsten trioxide (WO ) thin films covered by noble metal (gold and platinum) nanoparticles are synthesized via wet chemistry and used as optical sensors for gaseous hydrogen. Sensing performances are strongly influenced by the catalyst used, with platinum (Pt) resulting as best. Surprisingly, it is found that gold (Au) can provide remarkable sensing activity that tuned out to be strongly dependent on the nanoparticle size: devices sensitized with smaller nanoparticles display better H sensing performance.

Artificial photosynthesis: photoanodes based on polyquinoid dyes onto mesoporous tin oxide surface.

Dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cells represent an appealing solution for artificial photosynthesis, aimed at the conversion of solar light into fuels or commodity chemicals. Extensive efforts have been directed towards the development of photoelectrodes combining semiconductor materials and organic dyes; the use of molecular components allows to tune the absorption and redox properties of the material. Recently, we have reported the use of a class of pentacyclic quinoid organic dyes (KuQuinone) chemisorbed onto semiconducting tin oxide as photoanodes for water oxidation.

Up-Cycling of LCD Glass by Additive Manufacturing of Porous Translucent Glass Scaffolds.

Additive manufacturing technologies, compared to conventional shaping methods, offer great opportunities in design versatility, for the manufacturing of highly porous ceramic components. However, the application to glass powders, later subjected to viscous flow sintering, involves significant challenges, especially in shape retention and in the achievement of a substantial degree of translucency in the final products. The present paper disclosed the potential of glass recovered from liquid crystal displays (LCD) for the manufacturing of highly porous scaffolds by direct ink writing and masked stereolithography of fine powders mixed with suitable organic additives, and sintered at 950 °C, for 1-1.

SILAR Deposition of Metal Oxide Nanostructured Films.

Methods for the fabrication of thin films with well controlled structure and properties are of great importance for the development of functional devices for a large range of applications. SILAR, the acronym for Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction, is an evolution and combination of two other deposition methods, the Atomic Layer Deposition and Chemical Bath Deposition. Due to a relative simplicity and low cost, this method has gained increasing interest in the scientific community.

Titanate Fibroin Nanocomposites: A Novel Approach for the Removal of Heavy-Metal Ions from water.

In this study, we report the fabrication of nanocomposites made of titanate nanosheets immobilized in a solid matrix of regenerated silk fibroin as novel heavy-metal-ion removal systems. The capacity of these nanocomposite films to remove lead, mercury, and copper cations from water was investigated, and as shown by the elemental quantitative analysis performed, their removal capacity is 73 mmol/g for all of the ions tested. We demonstrate that the nanocomposites can efficiently retain the adsorbed ions, with no release of titanate nanosheets occurring even after several exposure cycles to ionic solutions, eliminating the risk of release of potentially hazardous nanosubstances to the environment.