Titania, which exhibits superwetting under light illumination, has been widely used as an ideal material for environmental solution such as self-cleaning, water-air purification, and antifogging. There have been various studies to understand such superhydrophilic conversion. The origin of superwetting has not been clarified in a unified mechanism yet, which requires direct experimental investig...

The field of nanotechnology is one of the most active areas of research in modern materials science. New applications of nanoparticles and nanomaterials are emerging rapidly. Nanocrystalline silver particles have found tremendous applications in the field of high sensitivity biomolecular detection and diagnostics, antimicrobials and therapeutics, Catalysis and micro-electronics. The use of nano...

As a relatively new class of photovoltaic devices with a photoelectrochemical system consisting of a dye-sensitized semiconductor film and an electrolyte, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have been regarded as a promising alternative to conventional solid-state semiconductor solar cells. They are relatively cost-effective, are easy to manufacture, and can be readily shaped with flexible subst...

An efficient synthesis of polyhydroquinoline derivatives was reported via four-component coupling reactions of aldehydes, 1,3-dicarbonyl ketones (dimedone or 1,3-cyclohexanedione), ethyl acetoacetate or methyl acetoacetate and ammonium acetate in the presence of a catalytic amount of nanocrystalline TiO2 under solvent free conditions. The reported method is mild, rapid and has the advantages su...

The hot compaction of nanocrystalline TiO2 anatase powders is investigated using dilatometry. The constant rate of heating (CRH) method is applied to determine effective activation energies of the processes involved during sintering. Grain size and doping effects are studied, using dopant cations of different radius and charge: Zn, Al, Si, Nb. The results are interpreted by a mechanism includin...

An efficient synthesis of polyhydroquinoline derivatives was reported via four-component coupling reactions of aldehydes, 1,3-dicarbonyl ketones (dimedone or 1,3-cyclohexanedione), ethyl acetoacetate or methyl acetoacetate and ammonium acetate in the presence of a catalytic amount of nanocrystalline TiO2 under solvent free conditions. The reported method is mild, rapid and has the advantages su...

By exploiting colloidal properties, such as transparency, rheology and versatile chemistry, we propose to synthesize new photonic nanomaterials based on colloidal solutions and thin films. This contribution highlights our efforts to elaborate and to characterize nanostructures based on the ZnO–TiO2 system. Using a recently developed sol–gel route to synthesize new Ti@ZnO organosols, we were abl...

Cross-sections of a hole-conductor-free CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite solar cell were characterized with Kelvin probe force microscopy. A depletion region width of about 45 nm was determined from the measured potential profiles at the interface between CH3NH3PbI3 and nanocrystalline TiO2, whereas a negligible depletion was measured at the CH3NH3PbI3/Al2O3 interface. A complete solar cell can be realize...

By exploiting colloidal properties, such as transparency, rheology and versatile chemistry, we propose to synthesize new photonic nanomaterials based on colloidal solutions and thin films. This contribution highlights our efforts to elaborate and to characterize nanostructures based on the ZnO-TiO2 system. Using a recently developed sol-gel route to synthesize new Ti4+@ZnO organosols, we were a...

We present here the size-dependent decomposition of methanol (MeOH) over narrowly distributed Pt nanoparticles supported on nanocrystalline anatase TiO2 powder. Micelle encapsulation has been used to create Pt catalysts with average particle sizes of ~ 4, 6, and 8 nm. A packed bed mass flow reactor and mass spectrometry were employed to quantify the catalyst’s activity and selectivity. Among th...