Tin oxide (SnO2) hollow spheres modified with titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanowires (NWs) synthesized by sequential hydrothermal reactions were investigated as photoanodes for dye-sensitized solar cells. Not only does the hydrothermal treatment form numerous short TiO2 NWs on the surface of SnO2 spheres, but also passivates the surface of SnO2. Consequently, the specific surface area of the photoan...

We introduce high surface area ZnO nanotube photoanodes templated by anodic aluminum oxide for use in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Atomic layer deposition is utilized to coat pores conformally, providing a direct path for charge collection over tens of micrometers thickness. Compared to similar ZnO-based devices, ZnO nanotube cells show exceptional photovoltage and fill factors, in addit...

A simple and general procedure has been developed for the syntheses of ordered largepore (up to 14 nm) mesoporous metal oxides, including TiO2, ZrO2, Nb2O5, Ta2O5, Al2O3, SiO2, SnO2, WO3, HfO2, and mixed oxides SiAlOy, Al2TiOy, ZrTiOy, SiTiOy, ZrW2Oy. Amphiphilic poly(alkylene oxide) block copolymers were used as structure-directing agents in nonaqueous solutions for organizing the network-form...

Structural, electrical and optical properties of indium tin oxide or ITO (In2O3:SnO2) thin films on different substrates are investigated. A 100-nm-thick pre-deposited zinc oxide (ZnO) buffer layer is utilized to simultaneously improve the electrical and optical properties of ITO films. High purity ZnO and ITO layers are deposited with a radio frequency sputtering in argon ambient with plasma p...

Conductive and transparent multilayer thin films consisting of three alternating layers (TiO2/Ag/SiO2, TAS) have been fabricated for applications as transparent conducting oxides. Metal oxide and metal layers were prepared by electron-beam evaporation with ion-assisted deposition, and the optical and electrical properties of the resulting films as well as their energy bounding characteristics a...

The influence of SnO2 nanoparticles and method of their introduction in silver matrix on microstructure and physical properties such as density, porosity, hardness and electrical conductivity of Ag-SnO2 electrical contact materials were studied. The SnO2 nanoparticles were introduced by conventional powder mixing and by template method using different templates. All investigated samples were pr...

Band gap narrowing is important and advantageous for potential visible light photocatalytic applications involving metal oxide nanostructures. This paper reports a simple biogenic approach for the promotion of oxygen vacancies in pure zinc oxide (p-ZnO) nanostructures using an electrochemically active biofilm (EAB), which is different from traditional techniques for narrowing the band gap of na...

Growing need of potent antibacterial agents has renewed a keen interest in the development of nanomaterials with antibacterial properties. The current work demonstrated the biosynthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) using aqueous leaf extract of Cardiospermum halicacabum and its bactericidal activity. The resultant biogenic metal oxide nanoparticles were analyzed by various characteriza...

BACKGROUND Nanomaterials have unique properties compared to their bulk counterparts. For this reason, nanotechnology has attracted a great deal of attention from the scientific community. Metal oxide nanomaterials like ZnO and CuO have been used industrially for several purposes, including cosmetics, paints, plastics, and textiles. A common feature that these nanoparticles exhibit is their anti...