The recent discovery of "black" TiO2 nanoparticles with visible and infrared absorption has triggered an explosion of interest in the application of TiO2 in a diverse set of solar energy systems; however, what a black TiO2 nanoparticle really is remains a mystery. Here we elucidate more properties and try to understand the inner workings of black TiO2 nanoparticles with hydrogenated disorders i...

Sol-gel method has been used to fabricate nanocomposite films on glass substrates composed halloysite clay mineral and nanocrystalline TiO2. The methodology for the synthesis involves a simple chemistry method utilized nonionic surfactant molecule as pore directing agent along with the acetic acid-based solgel route with the absence of water molecules. The thermal treatment of composite films a...

Titanium and titanium alloys exhibit a unique combination of strength and biocompatibility, which enables their use in medical applications and accounts for their extensive use as implant materials in the last 50 years. Currently, a large amount of research is being carried out in order to determine the optimal surface topography for use in bioapplications, and thus the emphasis is on nanotechn...

To enhance biocompatibility and osseointegration between titanium implants and surrounding bone tissue, numerous efforts have been made to modify the surface topography and composition of Ti implants. In this paper, Lenti-BMP-2-loaded TiO2 nanotube coatings were fabricated by lyophilization in the presence of trehalose to functionalize the surface. We characterized TiO2 nanotube layers in terms...

Biomaterial implantation in a living tissue triggers the activation of macrophages in inflammatory events, promoting the transcription of pro-inflammatory mediator genes. The initiation of macrophage inflammatory processes is mainly regulated by signaling proteins of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and by nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) pathways. W...

The research here described presents an investigation over the efficiency of nanostructured TiO2 films as photocatalysts either in air purification systems or to be integrated in light devices, based on the exploitation of UV or Vis irradiation to induce the degradation of hazardous chemical compounds. Gas pollutants (NO) and dyes (rhodamine B) will be considered as model reactants. Several oxi...

A thriving field in nanotechnology is to develop synergetic functions of nanomaterials by taking full advantages of unique properties of each component. In this context, combining TiO2 nanocrystals and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) offers enhanced photosensitivity and improved photocatalytic efficiency, which is key to achieving sustainable energy and preventing environmental pollution. Hence, it has...

Herein we show that heating 2D Ti3C2 in air results in TiO2 nanocrystals enmeshed in thin sheets of disordered graphitic carbon structures that can handle extremely high cycling rates when tested as anodes in lithium ion batteries. Oxidation of 2D Ti3C2 in either CO2 or pressurized water also resulted in TiO2-C hybrid structures. Similarly, other hybrids can be produced, as we show here for Nb2...

Self-organized TiO2-nanotube layers can be used for immunoassay-type sensing in combination with amplifying CdTe labels in a direct and very sensitive electrochemiluminescent (ECL) configuration. Key properties for this method are the conductivity of the TiO2 nanotubes, and their transparency for light emitted from the CdTe labels at approximately 2.4 eV. To demonstrate the potential of this pl...

Immobilized TiO2 nanotube arrays (NTAs) co-modified with Pt and CdS nanoparticles were fabricated by using the combination of photoreduction and chemical bath deposition methods. XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS, UV-Vis and EDX methods were employed to characterize the microstructure and composition of samples, and the results showed that CdS and Pt NPs were uniformly deposited on the surface of TiO2 nanotub...