Sol–Gel Synthesis of Tunable Cerium Titanate Materials

Cerium titanate structures present a high technological interest because of their optical and catalytic properties. This work reports the synthesis of these materials by a sol–gel methodology that allows mixed oxides with TiIV/CeIII, TiIV/CeIV or TiIV/CeIII–CeIV species to be obtained. Crystallization of CeO2–TiO2 mixed oxides and Ce2Ti2O7 pyrochlore phase was corroborated by XRD and Raman spectroscopy. Magnetic and EPR measurements were performed in order to clarify the oxidation state of the cerium ions in the system as a result of the easy oxidation of CeIII. The firing atmosphere is crucial for the CeIII/CeIV ratio, which is responsible for the different structure, but it also affects t…

Study of Synthesis Methods to Obtain the Ceramic Pigment Pink Coral, Fe-ZrSiO<sub>4</sub>

CuInS2 Films for Photovoltaic Applications Deposited by a Low-Cost Method.

We report an atmospheric-pressure deposition method for preparing well-adhered and compact CuInS 2 films. The precursor film is obtained by a solution-coating technique and is subjected to a low-cost and safe one-step reduction-sulfurization treatment. A maximum thickness of 300 nm is achieved per layer, and up to three layers were sulfurized at a time. The obtained films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and visible-near-infrared (vis-NIR) spectrophotometry.

A Study of the Method of Synthesis and Chromatic Properties of the Cr-SnO2 Pigment