In this study, in order to achieve effective coating of the homogeneous titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin film, UV irradiation pre-treatment was carried out to activate PC surfaces before coating. Sol-gel-based nanocrystalline TiO2 thin films were prepared by employing tetrabutyl-titanate as a precursor. Nanocrystalline TiO2 thin films were deposited by sol-gel spin coating on the treated substrates...

The doping of porous sol-gel films by adsorption of cations onto silica from aqueous solutions is demonstrated. The films are fabricated using the sol-gel method, giving nanometer scale porosity, high surface area, and homogeneity on the scale of optical wavelengths. After deposition by spin coating and initial heat treatment, the films are soaked in a salt solution of the desired dopant, and t...

A novel fiber-optic probe based on reflection-based localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) was developed to quantify the concentration of hydrofluoric acid (HF) in aqueous solutions. The LSPR sensor was constructed with a gold nanoparticle-modified PMMA fiber, integrated with a SiO(2) sol-gel coating. This fiber-sensor was utilized to assess the relationship between HF concentration and SiO...

An optical fiber sensing system, for monitoring oxygen aiming in vivo nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) applications is presented. Oxygen detection is based on the dynamic quenching of the fluorescence of a ruthenium complex trapped in the porous structure of a sol–gel silica film. Oxygen concentration is determined by phase-modulation fluorometry. Preliminary results concerning the characteriza...

The sol-gel process is a wet-chemical technique (chemical solution deposition), which has been widely used in the fields of materials science, ceramic engineering, and especially in the preparation of photocatalysts. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are prevalent components of indoor air pollution. Among the approaches to remove VOCs from indoor air, photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) is regarded ...