Yttrium oxide (Y₂O₃) nanocrystallites were synthesized by mean of a sol-gel method using two different precursors. Raw materials used were yttrium nitrate and yttrium chloride, in methanol. In order to promote oxygen vacancies, P-123 poloxamer was incorporated. Synthesized systems were heat-treated at temperatures from 700 °C to 900 °C. Systems at 900 °C were prepared in the presence and absenc...

Bioactive composites that enable the formation of calcium phosphates have received increased attention over the last decade, in the development of osteoconductive biomaterials for orthopaedic applications. In this work, tripolyphosphate (TPP)-cross-linked chitosan/gelatin composites (TPP-CG) were prepared for the growth of shape- and size-controlled calcium phosphates on/in the composites. The ...

The property changes of urinary nanocrystallites in 13 patients with calcium oxalate (CaOx) stones were studied before and after ingestion of potassium citrate (K3cit), a therapeutic drug for stones. The analytical techniques included nanoparticle size analysis, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The studied properties included the ...

Shape- and size-controlled supported metal and intermetallic nanocrystallites are of increasing interest because of their catalytic and electrocatalytic properties. In particular, intermetallics PtX (X = Bi, Pb, Pd, Ru) are very attractive because of their high activity as fuel-cell anode catalysts for formic acid or methanol oxidation. These are normally synthesized using high-temperature tech...

Semiconductor doped glasses containing CdSxSe12x nanocrystallites embedded in a silicate glass matrix were investigated. The dimensions of the nanocrystallites are in the range of a few nanometers and vary as a function of a secondary heat treatment. The confinement of such quantum dots for elementary excitations depends strongly on their size. In order to obtain a mean particle size and the si...

This paper highlights several significant achievements in dye-sensitized solar cells using hierarchically structured photoelectrodes that consist of spherical or one-dimensional assemblies of ZnO or TiO2 nanocrystallites. It shows that, besides providing a large surface area for dye adsorption, more importantly, the hierarchically structured photoelectrodes may improve the solar cell’s performa...