Sb-doped SnO2 (ATO) thin films have been prepared using the spin coating method by selecting the proper amount of acetylacetone as solution modifier. All ATO powders and films exhibited the cassiterite rutile-like structure in a crystal size below 10 nm under all the experimental conditions and a nonpreviously reported crystal structure was observed at high acetylacetone loads. The acetylacetone molar ratio influenced notably the optical and electrical properties of ATO films. When prepared at an acetylacetone molar ratio of 4, ATO films exhibited optical transparencies above 90% in the visible region and above 40% in the UV region for thicknesses of 100 and 300 nm. Films in a thickness of 100 nm and at an annealing temperature of 650 °C accounted for a high transparency of 97% in the visible wavelength. Films prepared at an acetylacetone molar ratio of 4 exhibited an electric resistivity of 1.33×10-3 Ω·cm at an annealing temperature of 650 °C. The optimal Sb content for ATO films was found to be 8 at%. The relationships among the properties of starting solutions, the experimental parameters, and properties of ATO films are discussed.

•Pure cubic LLZO is firstly prepared by field assisted sintering technology.•Cubic LLZO is obtained at lower temperature within a very short sintering time.•The prepared LLZO has the highest Li ionic conductivity in the present research.•This work provides a new and very promising method for this material.High performance lithium ion conducting Li7La3Zr2O12 solid electrolytes are prepared for the first time by field assisted sintering technology (FAST). The effect of sintering temperature on the phase compositions, microstructure and Li ionic conductivity is systematically investigated. The results show that pure cubic phase LLZO can be obtained at a range of temperatures from 1100 to 1180 °C for no more than 10 min. For the sample sintered at 1150 °C, a maximum relative density of 99.8% with a total ionic conductivity as high as 5.7 × 10−4 S cm−1 are obtained at room temperature. This value is the highest among the present research. Compared with the traditional preparation methods, the current FAST is very promising to obtain high performance LLZO for its advantages of very short sintering time, a single preparation step of reaction-densification processing, and relatively lower sintering temperature.

Graphene/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) modification has been demonstrated to be an efficient route to improve the photocatalytic performance of various photocatalysts by promoting the effective separation of photogenerated electrons and holes. It is highly required to develop facile and environmental-friendly methods for the preparation of graphene-based photocatalytic materials. In this study, the Ag/AgCl/rGO heterostructure photocatalyst was fabricated by a mild oxidization reaction of hydrothermally prepared Ag/rGO in FeCl3 solution. It was found that the reduction of graphene oxide (GO) was accompanied with the in situ formation of metallic Ag in a Ag[(NH3)2]+-immobilized GO solution during hydrothermal treatment, while the following in situ oxidation of metallic Ag by FeCl3 solution resulted in the formation of strongly coupled Ag/AgCl/rGO heterostructure photocatalyst. The photocatalytic experimental results indicated that all the resultant Ag/AgCl/rGO nanocomposite photocatalysts exhibited a much higher photocatalytic activity than the Ag/AgCl and physically mixed Ag/AgCl/rGO composite, and the Ag/AgCl/rGO (3.2 wt % rGO) showed the highest photocatalytic performance. The enhanced photocatalytic performance of Ag/AgCl/rGO heterostructures can be attributed to the cooperation effect of the effective separation of photogenerated carriers via strongly coupled rGO cocatalyst and the enrichment of organic molecules on the rGO nanosheets. Considering the facile preparation and its high photocatalytic activity, it is possible for the present Ag/AgCl/rGO nanocomposites to be widely applied in various fields such as air purification and wastewater treatment.Keywords: Ag/AgCl; graphene; heterostructure; interface; photocatalysis;

Epitaxial (0001)-oriented Zn1−xCoxO (x= 0.01, 0.05 and 0.1) thin films were grown on c-sapphire substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The XRD analysis, optical transmittance and XPS measurements revealed that the Co2+ substituted Zn2+ ions were incorporated into the lattice of ZnO in Zn1−xCoxO thin films. The electrical properties measurements revealed that the Co concentration had a nonmonotonic influence on the electrical properties of the Zn1−xCoxO thin films due to the defects resulted from imperfections induced by Co substitution. The resistivity remarkably increased and the carrier concentration remarkably decreased in Zn1−xCoxO thin films after oxygen annealing at 600 ° under 15 Pa O2 pressure for 60 mins. Room-temperature ferromagnetic was observed and the ferromagnetic Co amount was smaller than the nominal Co concentration for Zn1−xCoxO samples before oxygen annealing. After oxygen annealing, the Zn1−xCoxO thin films exhibited paramagnetic behavior. It is suggested that the room-temperature ferromagnetic of Zn1−xCoxO thin films may attribute to defects or carriers induced mechanism.

Antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO) nanoceramics used for sputtering targets are successfully prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) technology using commercial ATO nanoparticles with particle size of 10–15 nm. The effect of sintering temperature on the microstructure and electrical property of the obtained ATO nanoceramics is investigated. By means of XPS, the Sb5+/Sb3+ ratio of ATO nanoceramics sintered at different temperatures is determined. The results suggest that when the sintering temperature is 1000 °C, ATO nanoceramics show a density of 97.2% and electrical resistivity of 7.9 × 10−2 Ω cm which attribute to an elevated Sb5+/Sb3+ ratio. The main mechanism of conduction is explained through the carrier concentration determined on the antimony content and its oxidation state in the tin oxide lattice.

Zn1−xCoxO (x = 0.01, 0.05 and 0.1) bulk ceramics were prepared through a two-step, solid state reaction method combined with spark plasma sintering technique. The single phase Zn1−xCoxO powders were synthesized using ZnO and Co3O4 at 935 °C in air for 3 h. The Zn1−xCoxO bulks were prepared at sintering temperature from 900 to 1,100 °C for 5 min by SPS. The relative density of Zn1−xCoxO bulk ceramics sintered at 1,100 °C is higher than 99% of the theoretical value. The Structure, composition analysis, optical absorption, Raman and XPS measurements revealed that the Co2+ substituted Zn2+ ions and was incorporated into the lattice of ZnO in both of the single phase Zn1−xCoxO powders and bulk ceramics. Room- and low-temperature magnetization measurements reveal a paramagnetic behavior and that the paramagnetic Co amount is smaller than the nominal Co concentration for all of Zn1−xCoxO samples at 4 K. The paramagnetic magnetism of bulk ceramics is apparently larger than that of powders with the same composition. The electrical properties measurements reveal that the Co concentration has a slight influence on the electrical properties of Zn1−xCoxO bulk ceramics. The carriers concentration is about 1 × 1020 cm−3 and with the Co concentration increases the resistivity slightly increases from 3.56 × 10−3 (x = 0.01) to 5.58 × 10−3 (x = 0.1) Ωcm.