Colored semi-transparent Cu-Si oxide thin films have been prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering from a single cathode of copper-silicon composition. Thin films of different composition and optical response were obtained by changing process parameters like the relative amount of copper in the target and the O2/Ar mixture of the reactive plasma gas. The film characteristics…
Transparent thin film electrodes made of vertically aligned nanocolumns of TiO2 with well-controlled oblique angles were grown by physical vapor deposition at glancing incidence (PVD-GLAD). For an electrode thickness of 500 nm, we report a 40% variation on solar cell efficiency (from 0.6% to 1.04%) when the deposition angle was modified between 60° and 85°.…
The microstructural features of amorphous TiO2 thin films grown by the electron beam physical vapour deposition technique at oblique angles have been experimentally and theoretically studied. The microstructural features of the deposited films were characterized by considering both the column tilt angle and the increase in the column thickness with height. A Monte Carlo model…
Some aspects of metal-catalyzed heterogeneous enantioselective reactions are reviewed with specific reference to four different systems where the phenomena that control enantioselection appear to be very different. In the case of glucose electro-oxidation, it is clear that any intrinsic chirality present at the metal surface plays a vital role. With α-keto hydrogenation, achiral surfaces modified…
Orthopaedic materials may improve its capacity to resist bacterial adherence, and subsequent infection. Our aim was to test the bacterial adherence to alpha-tocopherol (frequently named vitamin E, VE) doped or blended UHMWPE with S. aureus and S. epidermidis, compared to virgin material. Collection strains and clinical strains isolated from patients with orthopaedic infections were used,…
Plasma-related methods have been widely used in the fabrication of carbon nanotubes and nanofibres (NFs) and semiconducting inorganic nanowires (NWs). A natural progression of the research in the field of 1D nanostructures is the synthesis of multicomponent NWs and NFs. In this paper we review the state of the art of the fabrication by plasma…
TiO2 and SiO2 porous thin films consisting of tilted nanocolumns prepared by glancing angle evaporation (GLAD) have been infiltrated with guest derivatives belonging to the family of perchlorinated trityl radicals, novel guest molecules presenting an open-shell electronic configuration associated with paramagnetism, fluorescence, and electroactivity. The main driving forces for infiltration from aqueous solutions of the…
An enhanced fluorescent emission in the near infrared is observed when the Rhodamine 800 (Rh800) and 6G (Rh6G) dyes are coadsorbed in porous SiO 2 optical thin films prepared by glancing angle deposition (GLAD). This unusual behavior is not observed in solution and it has been ascribed to the formation of a new type of…
Nanocrystalline anatase (TiO2) thin films prepared by a physical vapour deposition method were nitrided by annealing in flowing NH3 at temperatures ranging between 650 °C and 700 °C. It was established that there was a narrow window of temperatures which allowed both incorporation of interstitial nitrogen into the films with retention of the anatase phase…
