Photoelectrocatalytic treatment of p-nitrophenol using Ti/TiO2 thin-film electrode

The photoelectrochemical degradation of p-nitrophenol (PNP) was investigated using titanium dioxide thin-film photoelectrode. The effects of different supporting electrolytes, pH, applied potential and PNP concentration were examined and discussed. Complete photodegradation was obtained in perchlorate medium at pH 2 when the photoanode was biased at +1.0 V (versus SCE) during a 3-h experiment. Under these conditions, carbon removal of approximately 60% was achieved. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Schottky emission in nanoscopically crystallized Ce-doped SnO2 thin films deposited by sol-gel-dip-coating

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Photocatalytic decomposition of diclofenac potassium using silver-modified TiO(2) thin films

The effects of silver insertion on the TiO(2) photocatalytic activity for the degradation of diclofenac potassium were reported here. Techniques such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and UV-Vis spectroscopy were used to comprehend the relation between structure and properties of the silver-modified TiO(2), thin films obtained by the sol-gel method. The lattice parameters and the crystallinity of TiO(2) anatase phase were affected by inserted silver, and the film thickness increased about 4 nm for each 1 wt.% of silver inserted. The degradation of diclofenac potassium and by-products reached an efficiency of 4.6 mg(C) W(-1) when the material was modified with silver. Although the first step of degradation involves only the photochemical process related to the loss of the chlorine and hydrogen atoms. This cyclization reaction leads to the formation of intermediate, which degradation is facilitated by the modified material. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A thin layer electrochemical cell for disinfection of water contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Photocatalytic Degradation of Phenol by Thermal Titanium Dioxide Thin Layer Electrodes

Electrochemical processes in industrial effluents have been studied as a means to obtain higher efficiency in wastewater treatment. Heterogeneous photocatalysis appears as a low-cost alternative through the use of lower wattage lamps and thermal TiO2 films. Photocatalysis became a clean process for water treatment due to hydroxyl radicals generated on semiconductor surface. Such radicals are able to degrade several organic compounds. This study used different electrodes and analytical methods for degradation of phenol molecules to reduce treatment costs, improve efficiency, and identify compounds formed during the decomposition of phenolic molecules. Thermal growth of TiO2 film was observed on the titanium electrode in rutile form. Application of an electrical potential on the Ti/TiO2 working electrode increases efficiency in reducing concentration of phenol after photocatalytic treatment. Still, high energy radiation (UVC) showed best degradation rates in photolytic process. Different compounds formed during the degradation of phenol were also identified in the UVC-PE treatment.

Deposition of SiOx Thin Films on Y-TZP by Reactive Magnetron Sputtering: Influence of Plasma Parameters on the Adhesion Properties Between Y-TZP and Resin Cement for Application in Dental Prosthesis

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Semilinear parabolic problems in thin domains with a highly oscillatory boundary

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Effect of the excess of bismuth on the morphology and properties of the BaBi2Nb2O9 thin films

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Dielectric properties of Ca(Zr0.05Ti0.95)O-3 thin films prepared by chemical solution deposition

Ca(Zr0.05Ti0.95)O-3 (CZT) thin films were grown on Pt(1 1 1)/Ti/SiO2/Si(1 0 0) substrates by the soft chemical method. The films were deposited from spin-coating technique and annealed at 928 K for 4 h under oxygen atmosphere. CZT films present orthorhombic structure with a crack free and granular microstructure. Atomic force microscopy and field-emission scanning electron microscopy showed that CZT present grains with about 47 nm and thickness about 450 nm. Dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the films was approximately 210 at 100 kHz and 0.032 at 1 MHz. The Au/CZT/Pt capacitor shows a hysteresis loop with remnant polarization of 2.5 mu C/cm(2), and coercive field of 18 kV/cm, at an applied voltage of 6 V. The leakage current density was about 4.6 x 10(-8) A/cm(2) at 3 V. Dielectric constant-voltage curve is located at zero bias field suggesting the absence of internal electric fields. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of annealing on the crystallization and roughness of PLZT thin films

Lead lanthanum zirconate titanate (PLZT) thin films with stoichiometry (9/65/35) were prepared by a dip-coating process using a polymeric organic solution. The solution viscosity was adjusted in the range of 15-56 cP. Silicon (100) substrates were previously cleaned and then immersed in the solution. The withdrawal speed of substrate from the solution was adjusted within a range of 5 to 20 mm/min. The coated substrates were thermally treated in the 450-700 degreesC temperature range. Surface roughness and crystallization of these films are strongly dependent on the annealing conditions. Infrared and X-ray diffraction data for PLZT powders heat-treated at 650 degreesC for 3 h show that the material is free of carbonate phases and crystalline. (C) 2001 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

Potassium niobate thin films prepared through polymeric precursor method

Thin films of potassium niobate were deposited on (100) Si substrates by the polymeric precursor method (Pechini method). Annealing in static air was performed at 600degrees C for 20 h. The obtained films were characterized by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Electrical characterization of the films pointed to ferroelectricity via hysteresis loop. The dielectric constant, dissipation factor and resistance were measured in frequency region from 10 Hz to 10 MHz. At 1 MHz, the dielectric constant was 158 and the dissipation factor was 0.11. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Impact of oxygen atmosphere on piezoelectric properties of CaBi2Nb2O9 thin films

CaBi2Nb2O9 (CBNO) thin films were deposited on platinum-coated silicon substrates by the polymeric precursor method, and were annealed in air and in an oxygen atmosphere. The structure, surface morphology and electrical properties of CBNO thin films have been investigated. The presence of an oxygen atmosphere during crystallization of the films affected the structure perfection and morphology, as well as ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties. A reduction in P-r and piezoelectric coefficient, an increase of V-c and displacement of the Curie point is evident in the films crystallized in an oxygen atmosphere. The impact of exposure to the oxygen atmosphere on the creation of defects caused by bismuth and oxygen vacancies between layers was also investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. (c) 2007 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Synthesis and characterization of CaBi4Ti4O15 thin films annealed by microwave and conventional furnaces

CaBi4Ti4O15 thin films were deposited by the polymeric precursor method and crystallized in a domestic microwave oven and conventional furnace. The films obtained for microwave energy are well-adhered, homogeneous and with good specularity, when treated at 700 degrees C for 10 min. The microstructure and the structure of the films can be tuned by adjusting the crystallization conditions. When microwave oven is employed, the films presented bigger grains with mean grain size around 80 nm. For comparison, films were also prepared by the conventional furnace at 700 degrees C for 2 h. (C) 2007 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Effect of precursor solution on the formation of perovskite phase of Pb(Mg-1/Nb-3(2/3))O-3 thin films

Precursor solutions for Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3 (PMN) synthesis were obtained by Pechini's method. The influence of the concentration of organic materials on the phase formation has been studied. For this purpose, PMN solutions were prepared with different precursors and were characterized by thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis. The obtained solutions were deposited onto a Si (100) substrate by dip coating and pre-treated in a hot plate at 300 degreesC for 1 h. The films were annealed at 600, 700, 800 and 900 degreesC for 1 h and characterized by X-ray diffraction. The perovskite phase was formed after annealing at 600 and 700 degreesC when the solution of PMN was prepared with a lower amount of organic material and starting with mobium oxide. By increasing the temperature to 800 or 900 degreesC, only the formation of pyrochlore phase was observed. With the solution prepared from mobium ethoxide, only the presence of pyrochlore phase was observed independently of the annealing temperature. (C) 2002 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of annealing time on morphological characteristics of Ba(Zr,Ti)O-3 thin films

Ba(Zr0.50Ti0.50)O-3 thin films were prepared by the polymeric precursor method using the annealing low temperature of 300 degrees C for 8, 16, 24, 48, 96 and 192 It in a furnace tube with oxygen atmosphere. The X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that the film annealed for 192 h presented some crystallographic planes (1 0 0), (1 1 0) and (2 0 0) in its crystalline lattice. Fourier transformed infrared presented the formation of metal-oxygen stretching at around 756 cm(-1). The atomic force microscopy analysis presented the growth of granules in the Ba(Zr0.50Ti0.50)O-3 films annealed from 8 to 96 h. The crystalline film annealed for 192 h already presents grains in its perovskite structure. It evidenced a reduction in the thickness of the thin films with the increase of the annealing time. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.