Metal Oxides: Synthesis, Characterization, Theoretical Investigations and Applications

A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352). This special issue belongs to the section "Inorganic Crystalline Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 April 2024) | Viewed by 3446

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrel-Sheikh 33516, Egypt
Interests: hydrothermal; electrodeposition; nanostructures; semiconductor; thin films; photoelectrochemical; biosensor; solar cell; energy storage; supercapacitors; electrical, optical, structural, morphological properties; photoelectrochemical properties; solar cells; LEDs devices

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Guest Editor
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh 33516, Egypt
Interests: hydrothermal; electrodeposition; nanostructures; semiconductor; thin films; photoelectrochemical; biosensor; solar cell; energy storage; supercapacitors; electrical, optical, structural, morphological properties; photoelectrochemical properties; solar cells; LEDs devices

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Guest Editor
Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Menoufia University, Menoufia 32511, Egypt
Interests: material science

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Guest Editor
Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Tanta 31527, Egypt
Interests: low temperature plasma; RF capacitive coupled plasma; RF magnetron; RF inductive coupled plasma; atmospheric plasma jets; plasma modelling and simulation; plasma etching and deposition; semiconductor fabrication; waves; laser matter interactions; density functional theory

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Guest Editor
Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt
Interests: polymer composites; semiconductor materials; thin films; energy harvesting materials; optoelectronics; oxides-based solar cells; LEDs; organic solar cells and perovskite solar cells

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Innovations in sustainable energy technologies and environmental applications significantly depend on our ability to assemble and recognize nanomaterials of metal oxides, especially semiconductors with optimal properties. Therefore, the theoretical and experimental studies of such metal oxides, their heterojunction and nanocomposites for energy harvesting and environmental applications. So, fabrication (including low-cost methods and techniques) and characterization (including the electrical, optical, structural, and morphological properties) of such metal oxide nanomaterials is our aim to use multifunction in various energy, optoelectronics and environmental application like supercapacitors, solar cells, LEDs devices, wastewater treatment, antimicrobial, cancer imaging, drug delivery, and biosensors applications.

The main contribution of the present Special Issue is “Metal Oxides: Synthesis, Characterization, Theoretical Investigations and Applications”. We believe that this issue is theoretically and practically needed at present to discover outstanding future devices.

Prof. Dr. Abdelhamid El-Shaer
Dr. Mahmoud S. Abdelfatah
Prof. Dr. Magdy said Abo Ghazala
Dr. Mohammed Shihab
Dr. Mohamed EL-Henawey
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • fabrication (including low-cost methods and techniques)
  • characterization of metal oxide nanomaterials and semiconductors
  • theoretical Investigations
  • simulations and modeling
  • hydrothermal
  • electrodeposition
  • nanostructures
  • semiconductor
  • thin films
  • electrical, optical, properties
  • structural, morphological properties
  • photoelectrochemical properties
  • biosensor
  • solar cells
  • energy storage
  • supercapacitors
  • LEDs devices
  • wastewater treatment
  • antimicrobial, cancer imaging, and drug delivery applications

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 3346 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Temperature and Power Variation on the Optical, Wettability, and Anti-Icing Characteristics of AZO Coatings
by Kamlesh V. Chauhan, Sushant Rawal, Nicky P. Patel and Vandan Vyas
Crystals 2024, 14(4), 368; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst14040368 - 15 Apr 2024
Viewed by 405
Abstract
The structural, wettability, and optical characteristics of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films were studied with the objective of understanding the impact of deposition power and deposition temperature. Thin films were deposited using a radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering technique. The power output [...] Read more.
The structural, wettability, and optical characteristics of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films were studied with the objective of understanding the impact of deposition power and deposition temperature. Thin films were deposited using a radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering technique. The power output of the RF was augmented from 200 to 260 W, and the temperature was increased from 50 to 200 °C, which led to the development of a (002) peak for zinc oxide. The study of film thickness was carried out using the Swanepoel envelope method from data obtained through the UV-Vis spectrum. An increase in surface roughness value was shown to be connected with fluctuations in temperature as well as increases in deposition power. The findings revealed that as deposition power and temperature increased, the value of optical transmittance decreased, ranging from 70% to 90% based on the deposition parameters within the range of wavelengths that extend from 300 to 800 nm. The wettability properties of the samples were studied, and the maximum contact angle achieved was 110°. A Peltier apparatus was utilised in order to investigate the anti-icing capabilities, which revealed that the icing process was slowed down 3.38-fold. This work extends the understanding of the hydrophobicity and anti-icing capabilities of AZO thin films, specifically increasing both attributes which provide feasible options for purposes requiring resistance to ice. Full article
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13 pages, 5048 KiB  
Article
Structural Analysis, Characterization, and First-Principles Calculations of Bismuth Tellurium Oxides, Bi6Te2O15
by Sun Woo Kim and Hong Young Chang
Crystals 2024, 14(1), 23; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst14010023 - 26 Dec 2023
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Abstract
A single crystal of Bi6Te2O15 was obtained from the melt of the solid-state reaction of Bi2O3 and TeO3. Bi6Te2O15 crystallizes in the Pnma space group (No. 62) and [...] Read more.
A single crystal of Bi6Te2O15 was obtained from the melt of the solid-state reaction of Bi2O3 and TeO3. Bi6Te2O15 crystallizes in the Pnma space group (No. 62) and exhibits a three-dimensional network structure with a =10.5831(12) Å, b = 22.694(3) Å, c = 5.3843(6) Å, α = β = γ = 90°, V = 1293.2(3) Å3, and Z = 4. The structure was determined using single-crystal X-ray diffraction. An asymmetric unit in the unit cell, Bi3Te1O7.5, uniquely composed of four Bi3+ sites, one Te6+ site, and nine O2− sites, was solved and refined. As a bulk phase, Bi6Te2O15 was also synthesized and characterized using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared (FT-IR) spectrometry, and the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) method. Through bond valence sum (BVS) calculations from the single crystal structure, Bi and Te cations have +3 and +6 oxidation numbers, respectively. Each Bi3+ cation forms a square pyramidal structure with five O2− anions, and a single Te6+ cation forms a six-coordinated octahedral structure with O2− anions. Since the lone-pair electron (Lp) of the square pyramidal structure, [BiO5]7−, where the Bi+ cation occupies the center of the square base plane, exists in the opposite direction of the square plane, the asymmetric environments of all four Bi3+ cations were analyzed and explored by determining the local dipole moments. In addition, to determine the extent of bond strain and distortion in the unit cell, which is attributed to the asymmetric environments of the Bi3+ and Te6+ cations in Bi6Te2O15, bond strain index (BSI) and global instability index (GII) were also calculated. We also investigated the structural, electronic, and optical properties of the structure of Bi6Te2O15 using the full potential linear augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method and the density functional theory (DFT) with WIEN2k code. In order to study the ground state properties of Bi6Te2O15, the theoretical total energies were calculated as a function of reduced volumes and then fitted with the Birch–Murnaghan equation of state (EOS). The band gap energy within the modified Becke–Johnson potential with Tran–Blaha parameterization (TB-mBJ) revealed a value of 3.36 eV, which was higher than the experimental value of 3.29 eV. To explore the optical properties of Bi6Te2O15, the real and imaginary parts of the dielectric function, refraction index, optical absorption coefficient, reflectivity, the real part of the optical conductivity extinction function, and the energy loss function were also calculated. Full article
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14 pages, 5734 KiB  
Article
Influence of Deposition Time on Structural, Morphological, and Optical Properties of CdS Thin Films Grown by Low-Cost Chemical Bath Deposition
by Abdelhamid El-Shaer, Sameh Ezzat, Mohamed A. Habib, Omar K. Alduaij, Talaat M. Meaz and Samy A. El-Attar
Crystals 2023, 13(5), 788; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst13050788 - 09 May 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1631
Abstract
CdS thin films were deposited on glass substrates employing low-cost and low-temperature chemical bath deposition (CBD). The effect of deposition time on the fabricated sample’s properties was investigated by XRD, SEM, EDX, Raman, UV-vis spectrophotometry, and PL spectroscopy. XRD results indicate the formation [...] Read more.
CdS thin films were deposited on glass substrates employing low-cost and low-temperature chemical bath deposition (CBD). The effect of deposition time on the fabricated sample’s properties was investigated by XRD, SEM, EDX, Raman, UV-vis spectrophotometry, and PL spectroscopy. XRD results indicate the formation of cubic and hexagonal structures of CdS thin films. The calculated average crystal size ranged from 21–50 nm. SEM results indicate the formation of hierarchical nanoflakes where the nanoflakes are entangled with one another like plant roots. Raman study confirmed that the fabricated thin films have two distinct peaks that are centered at 298 cm−1 and 599 cm−1, which are characteristic vibration modes for CdS thin film. UV-vis absorption spectra indicate absorption band edges near 500 nm, which are related to the band gap values of CdS thin films. The estimated Eg of CdS thin films was reduced from 2.4 to 2.22 eV as the deposition time increased from 5 to 60 min. PL results show the main peak centered at 537 nm, its intensity decreasing as deposition time increases, indicating lower recombination of charge carriers. Our results reveal that CdS thin films are an excellent candidate for optoelectronic applications. Full article
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