Characterization and enhanced photocatalytic performance of nanocrystalline Ni-substituted Zn ferrites synthesized by DEA-assisted sol–gel auto-combustion method

Nanocrystalline Ni-substituted Zn ferrites with compositions of Ni_xZn_1?xFe₂O₄ (x = 0–1.0) were synthesized by sol–gel auto-combustion method using metal nitrate as the reactants. Diethanolamine was selected as the fuel instead of conventional fuels such as urea, citric acid, tartaric acid or glycine. Characterization of after-calcined ferrite samples were conducted in terms of crystal structure, molecular vibrations, morphology and magnetic properties through X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope and vibrating sample magnetometer analysis, respectively. The photocatalytic activities of these ferrites were studied in term of degradation of Rhodamine B under daylight-irradiation. The corresponding results indicate that nickel loading content has significant effect on physical, magnetic, optical and photocatalytic properties of the ferrite. Comparing to the undoped Zn ferrite, Ni_0.6Zn_0.4Fe₂O₄ shows the enhancement in photocatalytic activity accompanying the degradation of Rhodamine B aqueous solution up to 77 % within 4 h. The result suggests the feasibility of this material as potential sunlight-activated photocatalyst in wastewater treatment and environment cleaning applications.     

Synthesis and characterization of nanocrystalline tin oxide by sol–gel method

Nanocrystalline SnO₂ particles have been synthesized by a sol–gel method from the very simple starting material granulated tin. The synthesis leads a sol–gel process when citric acid is introduced in the solution obtained by dissolving granulated tin in HNO₃. Citric acid has a great effect on stabilizing the precursor solution, and slows down the hydrolysis and condensation processes. The obtained SnO₂ particles range from 2.8 to 5.1 nm in size and 289–143 m² g⁻¹ in specific surface area when the gel is heat treated at different temperatures. The particles show a lattice expansion with the reduction in particle size. With the absence of citric acid, the precursor hydrolyzes and condenses in an uncontrollable manner and the obtained SnO₂ nanocrystallites are comparatively larger in size and broader in size distribution. The nanocrystallites have been characterized by means of TG-DSC, FT-IR, XRD, BET and TEM.     

Synthesis of terbium doped calcium phosphate nanocrystalline powders by citric acid sol–gel combustion method

Terbium doped calcium phosphate (Tb-doped CaP) nanocrystalline powders were synthesized by the citric acid sol–gel combustion method. The phase composition, morphology and luminescent property of Tb-doped CaP nanocrystalline powders were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, fluorescence spectrophotometer and fluorescence microscopy. At 700 °C, Tb-doped CaP nanocrystalline powders are composed of HAP (main phase) and β-TCP (minor phase) with Tb doping content of 0.5–4%. SEM and TEM observations show that the 4% Tb-doped CaP nanocrystalline powders are about 50–150 nm spherical particles. The 4% Tb-doped CaP nanocrystalline powders exhibit the strongest emission at 548 nm (λ_excitation = 240 nm) and show strong green fluorescence under fluorescence microscopy.     

Thermal,chemical and antimicrobial characterization of bioactive titania synthesized by sol–gel method

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Chemical stability, anticorrosive properties and photocatalytic activity of titanium dioxide (TiO2) are among the most important characteristics for...     

Cobalt ferrite nanoparticles synthesis by sol–gel auto-combustion method in the presence of agarose: a non-isothermal kinetic analysis

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - In this study, cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) nanoparticles were synthesized by sol–gel auto-combustion technique in the presence of agarose as a...     

Crystallization process of lanthanum-substituted bismuth titanate synthesized by a facile sol–gel method

We present a facile sol–gel route to synthesize lanthanum-substituted bismuth titanate (BLT). The chemical reactions and crystallization process of this method using the initial materials of bismuth subnitrate [4BiNO₃(OH)₂·BiO(OH)], lanthanum nitrate [La(NO₃)₃·6H₂O] and tetrabutyl titanate [Ti(C₄H₉O)₄] were investigated by thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis, IR spectroscopy, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, Raman spectroscopy and XRD. The evaporation of the dissolved CO₂ in the amorphous BLT matrix is associated with the crystallization of BLT. The BLT gel is pure BLT perovskite when calcination temperature is higher than 500 °C. The grain size of the obtained nanoparticles ranges from 15 to 82 nm. The Arrhenius curve is obtained from the representation of the reduced sizes with respect to the calcination temperature. The activation energy of grain growth in BLT nanoparticles is 0.36 eV, which shows a rapidly growth process in the temperature range of 500–850 °C.     

Nano MgFe2O4 synthesized by sol–gel auto-combustion method as anode materials for lithium ion batteries

In this work, spinel structure MgFe₂O₄ nano-crystals were synthesized by sol–gel auto-combustion method. Morphology and structure of the synthesized MgFe₂O₄ material is characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). And its electrochemical properties were investigated at different active material ratio. Galvanostatic charge/discharge and cyclic voltammograms (CVs) measurements show that the electrode with a ratio of 40:40:20, which is the ratio of active material: super-P carbon (SP): polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), presents relatively superior performance with the initial discharge capacity of 1,123 mAh g^?1 and charge/discharge efficiency of 96.7 %. And after 50 cycles, it still maintains at 635 mAh g^?1, which is nearly double that of the other two electrodes with active material ratio of 60:25:15 and 80:15:5. Electrochemical impedance spectra testing shows that the charge transfer resistance (Rct) decreases along with the increasing amount of SP, which is benefit for reducing the polarization and improving the cycling stability of the electrode to a certain extent.     

Dielectric,piezo and ferroelectric properties of microwave sintered PbTiO3 synthesized by sol–gel method

Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology - Of all the piezoelectric ceramics, lead titanate (PbTiO3) has an important place as an electromechanical transducer. In the present article PbTiO3...     

Preparation and characterization of CaCu3Ti4O12 powders by non-hydrolytic sol–gel method

CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂ (CCTO) powders were prepared via a non-hydrolytic sol–gel (NHSG) method by using acetylacetone as chelating agent and ethylene glycol as solvent. The samples were characterized by TG–DSC, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope. The dielectric properties of ceramics were also measured. The pure perovskite-like CCTO powders were obtained by heat treatment at 800 °C for 2 h. The average particle sizes of CCTO powders calcined at 800 °C were approximately 350–450 nm. The samples sintered at 1,000 °C showed the mean grain size of 2.5–4 μm. Specially, the ceramics exhibited high dielectric constant (1.19 × 10⁵–1.40 × 10⁵) and low dielectric loss (0.051–0.1) in the temperature range of 30–110 °C. Moreover, with the NHSG method the period of synthesis process was greatly shortened.     

Thermal studies of Mn2+-doped ZnO powders formation by sol–gel method

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - In the present contribution, the study of nanostuctured powders of Mn2+-doped ZnO with different doping concentration (1, 2, 5 at%) was...     

Microwave sintering of nickel ferrite nanoparticles processed via sol–gel method

Magnetic nickel ferrite (NiFe₂O₄) was prepared by sol–gel process and calcined in the 2.45 GHz singlemode microwave furnace to synthesize nickel nanopowder. The sol–gel method was used for the processing of the NiFe₂O₄ powder because of its potential for making fine, pure and homogeneous powders. Sol–gel is a chemical method that has the possibility of synthesizing a reproducible material. Microwave energy is used for the calcining of this powder and the sintering of the NiFe₂O₄ samples. Its use for calcination has the advantage of reducing the total processing time and the soak temperature. In addition to the above combination of sol–gel and microwave processing yields to nanoscale particles and a more uniform distribution of their sizes. X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and vibrating sample magnetometer were carried out to investigate structural, elemental, morphological and magnetic aspects of NiFe₂O₄. The results showed that the mean size and the saturation magnetization of the NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles are about 30 nm and 55.27 emu/g, respectively. This method could be used as an alternative to other chemical methods in order to obtain NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles.     

Preparation and characterization of nanocrystalline Ca-doped CeO2 by sol–gel process

The reactivity of CeO₂ is determined by grain size and oxygen vacancies, which can be achieved by doping elements with less oxidation state into CeO₂. In this study nanocrystalline Ca-doped CeO₂ sol was synthesized from the reaction of hydrate cerium (III) nitrate and calcium nitrate tetrahydrate in alcohol solution after being calcined at 600?°C. X-ray diffraction as well as selected area electron diffraction gave evidence that the synthesized Ca-doped CeO₂ samples were well crystalline and had a cubic fluorite structure. TEM observation revealed that Ca-doped CeO₂ was composed by nanoparticles with grain size around 8?nm. The Raman spectrum of pure CeO₂ consists of a single triple degenerate F_2g model characteristic of the fluorite-like structure. In the Ca-doped CeO₂ sample, two additional low-intensity Raman bands were detected, thus confirming the formation of the solid solution. The synthesized nanometric powder is expected to be used in solid oxide fuel cells as well as in the catalytic treatment of automobile exhaust fumes.     

Small-angle scattering of synchrotron radiation investigations of nanostructured alumina membranes synthesized by sol–gel method

Alumina asymmetric ceramic membranes were prepared by sol–gel method. Research on structure of alumina membrane active layer is conducted by methods of physical nitrogen adsorption and small-angle scattering of synchrotron radiation, the obtained data confirms and supplements each other. Surface area for the studied material varies from 255 to 264 m²/g, average pore diameter varies from 5.3 nm to 5.4 nm.     

Synthesis and characterization of lead oxide nano-powders by sol–gel method

Our goal in this research was to obtain lead oxide nano-powders by sol–gel method. In this method, lead oxide nano-powders were synthesized through the reaction of citric acid (C₆H₇O₈·H₂O) solution and lead acetate [Pb(C₂H₃O₂)₂] solution as stabilizer and precursor, respectively. The effect of different parameters including calcination temperature, (molar ratio of citric acid to lead acetate) and drying conditions were investigated. The prepared lead oxide nano-powders were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy. The prepared PbO samples consist of the particles in the range of 50–120 nm or the thick plate like structures with thickness of 53 nm depending on the drying conditions.     

Synthesis and characterization of nanostructured aluminum borate by sol–gel method

Nanostructured aluminum borate was synthesized using sol?Cgel technique. X-ray diffraction study revealed that the synthesized aluminum borate was single crystal. These nanorods have very uniform diameter. High-resolution transmission electron microscope images indicate that aluminum borate is well crystallized. The alternating current (AC) conductivity of the aluminum borate was studied as a function of temperature and frequency. The AC conductivity mechanism of the aluminum borate was found to be proportional to ??^s. The exponent s is almost independent with temperature. This suggests that AC conductivity mechanism of the aluminum borate can be interpreted by localized hopping model.     

Titanium coated with high-performance nanocrystalline ruthenium oxide synthesized by the microwave-assisted sol–gel procedure

Ruthenium oxide coating on titanium was prepared by the sol–gel procedure from well-defined colloidal oxide dispersions synthesized by the microwave (MW)-assisted hydrothermal route under defined temperature and pressure heating conditions. The dispersions were characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The electrochemical properties were analyzed as capacitive performances gained by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and as the electrocatalytic activity for oxygen evolution from acid solution. The obtained dispersions were polydisperse and contained regular particles and agglomerates of increasing surface energy and decreasing particle size as the MW-assisted heating conditions were intensified. Owing to these features of the precursor dispersions, the obtained coatings had considerably improved capacitive performances and good electrocatalytic activity for oxygen evolution at high overpotentials.     

Preparation of barium ferrite films with high Fe/Ba ratio by sol–gel method

Hexagonal BaFe₁₂O₁₉ ferrite (BaM) thin films were prepared on Si (100) substrate successfully by sol–gel technology and post annealing. The results showed the BaM phase can be formed and crystallized into c-axis textured grains even when the Fe/Ba ratio of the precursor varied from 6.5 to 9.5. However, the behavior of the saturation magnetization (M _s) and intrinsic coercivity (H _c) depended strongly on the Fe/Ba ratio and annealing temperature (T _a) varied from 700 to 900 °C. The M _s and H _c values deceased with an increase of Fe/Ba ratio, for instance, were about 290 emu/cm³ and 4,200 Oe for the Fe/Ba = 6.5 film but only 116 emu/cm³ and 2,300 Oe for the Fe/Ba = 9.5 film. The M _s and H _c values of the Fe/Ba ratio = 6.5 film increased monotonously with increasing T _a, were about 120 emu/cm³ and 2,500 Oe at T _a = 800 °C, and reached to 345 emu/cm³ and 4,600 Oe at T _a = 950 °C.     

Review of mullite synthesis routes by sol–gel method

The sol–gel method for the mullite synthesis is reviewed, with particular emphasis on the characterization of monophasic and diphasic gels at low, intermediate and high temperatures and the factors that influence the hydrolysis and condensation rate of the sol–gel process, which in turn determine the properties of the final material. A wide range of studies about mullite precursors synthesized via sol–gel is discussed here.