Double-shelled nanotubes composed of inner shell Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) and outer shell TiO2 are successfully fabricated by a spin coating of each sol-gel solution on porous anodic alumina template. Field emission transmission electron microscopy images show that they have a ~ 10 nm wall thickness. The selected area electron diffraction patterns show that they have two mixed crystalline phases of tetragonal PZT and anatase TiO2. The analyses of scanning transmission electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirm their uniform distribution of each element.

A facile hydrothermal route assisted by polyethylene glycol (PEG) 400 was utilized to synthesize single-phase Bi2Fe4O9 crystallites. X-ray diffraction results showed the products with PEG 400 of 30 g/L exhibited a preferred growth along the (001) plane. Transmission electron microscopy indicated that the morphology of the as-prepared Bi2Fe4O9 crystallites with PEG 400 were plake-like and rod-like. Strong absorption in visible-light region of the products was characterized by UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectrum (UV-DRS). The photocatalytic activity of Bi2Fe4O9 crystallites was evaluated on degradation of methyl orange (MO) under visible light irradiation. For 3 h irradiation, the degradation ratio was increased to 93% with the aid of a small amount of H2O2. The analysis of FT-IR spectra proved that the Bi2Fe4O9 catalysts were remained stable after the photocalytic reactions.

We analyze the effect of charged defects on the electrical domains, phase transition characteristics and electrical properties of ferroelectric thin films with thin dead layers using a non-linear thermodynamic model. Depending on their density and field strength, defects can pin and couple to electrical domains in the film. For ultrathin films, depolarizing effects dominate and the transition from the paraelectric state is into the multidomain ferroelectric state during cooling and is strongly smeared. The competition between defect induced extrinsic effects and the dead layer related limit is demonstrated.

Integration of nanoparticles in electronic devices such as sensors, actuators, batteries, solar and fuel cells is a key technological development for advancing their performance and miniaturization. Frequently, however, the benefit of nanoscale is lost by poor electrical conductivity through such nanoparticle structures. As a result, it is challenging to achieve both attractive conductivity and maximal performance by the device. Recently it was demonstrated that flame-made nanoparticles can be directly deposited onto substrates to form porous thick films of controlled thickness for application as gas sensors. The mechanical stability of FSP-deposited layers can be greatly increased by in situ annealing showing compatibility even with fragile CMOS-based substrates. Here, a novel asymmetric electrode assembly is described that greatly reduces the resistance of a nanostructured layer and maximizes its performance: Nanoparticles with tailored conductivity (e.g. Ag, CuO, Au) serving as electrodes are stochastically deposited by a scalable technique either below or above a functional (e.g. SnO2, TiO2, WO3) film decreasing the effective length of the resistive components. As the distance between electrodes is at the nanoscale, the total film resistance is drastically decreased. The feasibility of this assembly is demonstrated with solid state sensors having controlled resistance and exceptionally high sensitivity.

We performed group-theoretical analysis of the symmetry relationships between lattice structures of R, M1, M2, and T phases of vanadium dioxide in the frameworks of the general Ginzburg-Landau phase transition theory. The analysis leads to a conclusion that the competition between the lower-symmetry phases M1, M2, and T in the metal-insulator transition is pure symmetry driven, since all the three phases correspond to different directions of the same multi-component structural order parameter. Therefore, the lower-symmetry phases can be stabilized in respect to each other by small perturbations such as doping or stress.