Functional Oxide and Oxynitride Coatings

A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2017) | Viewed by 17083

Special Issue Editors


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Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
Interests: plasma-assisted surface modification and thin film growth; surface and coating characterization; nanostructured materials and surfaces; biomaterials
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E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24-10129 Torino, Italy
Interests: aerogels; nanoparticles; vibrational spectroscopy (m-IR and Raman); UV-Vis spectroscopy; luminescence; thin films; surface chemistry; hydrothermal synthesis; electrochemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is dedicated to the most recent research in the field of functional oxide and oxinitride coatings. These thin-film materials are of great interest for their physical and chemical properties, as well as for their wide range of applications. In addition to their use in microelectronics, oxides and oxinitrides thin-films are also of considerable importance for optics, optoelectronics, photovoltaics, sensor technololgy, mechanics, tribology, as well as biomedical applications.

Oxide and oxinitride coatings can be synthesized by means of several different deposition techniques, including thermal CVD, PECVD, PLD, sputtering, as well as CAD, obtaining thin-films with a wide range of structures, such as amorphous, nanocrystalline, microcrystalline, as well as monocrystalline. Additionally, mixed phases are possible, such as amorphous silicon oxides or oxinitrides with embedded silicon nanocrystals. These different structures provide an interesting spectrum of different physico-chemical properties, even among coatings which share the same chemical composition.

This Special Issue of Coatings is intended to cover original research articles and critical reviews concerning the most recent advances in the field of oxide and oxinitride coatings. Both fundamental studies and researches aimed to study advanced applications of these materials are of interest.

In particular, topics of interest include, but are not limited to

  • Advances in the study of the fundamental properties of oxide and oxinitride thin-films
  • Nanostructured oxide and oxinitride coatings
  • Advanced methods for the deposition of oxide and oxinitride coatings
  • Advanced methods for the characterization of oxides and oxinitrides coatings
  • Oxide and oxinitride coatings for microelectronics
  • Oxide and oxinitride coatings for optics and optoelectronics
  • Oxide and oxinitride coatings for mechanical applications
  • Oxide and oxinitride coatings for corrosion protection
  • Oxide and oxinitride coatings for biomedical applications

Dr. Pietro Mandracci
Dr. Paola Rivolo
Guest Editors

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 22340 KiB  
Article
CuO and CuO/Graphene Nanostructured Thin Films as Counter Electrodes for Pt-Free Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
by Chih-Hung Tsai, Po-Hsi Fei, Chia-Ming Lin and Shiao-Long Shiu
Coatings 2018, 8(1), 21; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings8010021 - 3 Jan 2018
Cited by 37 | Viewed by 10447
Abstract
Copper oxide (CuO) and CuO/graphene nanostructured thin films were used as counter electrodes (CEs) for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). CuO and CuO/graphene pastes were prepared and coated on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrates using a doctor-blade coating method. The substrates were then [...] Read more.
Copper oxide (CuO) and CuO/graphene nanostructured thin films were used as counter electrodes (CEs) for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). CuO and CuO/graphene pastes were prepared and coated on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrates using a doctor-blade coating method. The substrates were then sintered at 350 °C for 30 min to form CuO and CuO/graphene nanostructures. The material properties of the CuO and CuO/graphene CEs were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, energy-dispersive spectrometer, thermogravimetric analysis instrument, X-ray diffractometer, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectrometer, ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer, and cyclic voltammetry instrument. The CuO and CuO/graphene CEs were used to fabricate DSSCs, and the device characteristics were analyzed using current density–voltage, incident photo-to-current conversion efficiency, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. The results showed that when CuO and CuO/graphene were used as the CEs, the device conversion efficiencies were 2.73% and 3.40%, respectively. CuO is a favorable replacement for expensive platinum (Pt) because it features a simple fabrication process and is inexpensive and abundant. Furthermore, graphene, which exhibits high carrier mobility, may be added to enhance the electrical and catalytic abilities of CuO/graphene CEs. This is the first study to examine the use of CuO and CuO/graphene for developing Pt-free CEs in DSSCs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Oxide and Oxynitride Coatings)
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2683 KiB  
Article
In-Situ Growth and Characterization of Indium Tin Oxide Nanocrystal Rods
by Yan Shen, Youxin Lou, Zhihao Wang and Xiangang Xu
Coatings 2017, 7(12), 212; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings7120212 - 25 Nov 2017
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 6008
Abstract
Indium tin oxide (ITO) nanocrystal rods were synthesized in-situ by a vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) method and electron beam evaporation technique. When the electron-beam gun bombarded indium oxide (In2O3) and tin oxide (SnO2) mixed sources, indium and tin droplets [...] Read more.
Indium tin oxide (ITO) nanocrystal rods were synthesized in-situ by a vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) method and electron beam evaporation technique. When the electron-beam gun bombarded indium oxide (In2O3) and tin oxide (SnO2) mixed sources, indium and tin droplets appeared and acted as catalysts. The nanocrystal rods were in-situ grown on the basis of the metal catalyst point. The nanorods have a single crystal structure. Its structure was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The surface morphology was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). During the evaporation, a chemical process was happened and an In2O3 and SnO2 solid solution was formed. The percentage of doped tin oxide was calculated by Vegard’s law to be 3.18%, which was in agreement with the mixture ratio of the experimental data. The single crystal rod had good semiconductor switch property and its threshold voltage of single rod was approximately 2.5 V which can be used as a micro switch device. The transmission rate of crystalline nanorods ITO film was over 90% in visible band and it was up to 95% in the blue green band as a result of the oxygen vacancy recombination luminescence. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Oxide and Oxynitride Coatings)
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