Research on Complex Oxide Nanomaterials

A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials for Energy Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 October 2026 | Viewed by 556

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute of Mineralogy and Crystallography, “Аcad. I. Kostov”, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev St., Block 107, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
Interests: oxide nanomaterials; composites; synthesis; mechanochemical activation; photocatalysis
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Guest Editor
Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, “Acad. G. Bonchev” St., Block 11, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
Interests: oxide nanomaterials; thin oxide films–chemical synthesis; powders; spray pyrolysis; sol-gel; gas sensors; photocatalysts; corrosion resistive coatings; nano-sized materials–synthesis and characterization

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The aim of the current Special Issue, “Research on Complex Oxide Nanomaterials”, is dedicated to the synthesis, physicochemical characterization, and various applications of complex oxide nanomaterials. The method for preparation of different complex oxides and composites in various forms such as powders, films, and fibers. The various process parameters influence the properties of obtained complex oxide nanomaterials and composites as well as the synthesis of complex oxides and composite nanomaterials with enhanced photocatalytic activity and/or sorption ability. The phase composition, structure, morphology and other characteristics of prepared complex oxide nanomaterials and composites play a role on their photocatalytic activity, sorption ability, and other properties.

Dr. Katerina L. Zaharieva
Dr. Irina D. Stambolova
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • complex oxide
  • nanomaterials
  • composites
  • synthesis
  • physicochemical characterization
  • photocatalysis
  • application

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 4103 KB  
Article
Photocatalytic Activity of Cu–TiO2 Nanopowder Under UVA and Sunlight Illumination: Influence of Composition and Calcination Temperature on Charge Transfer
by Khley Cheng, Sothanith Chourn, Vichheka So, Ford David, Solida Long, Sarah Dine, Alex Lemarchand, Mamadou Traore, Christophe Colbeau-Justin and Andrei Kanaev
Crystals 2026, 16(5), 349; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst16050349 - 19 May 2026
Viewed by 200
Abstract
Cu–TiO2 nanoparticles of a broad range of compositions with 0, 0.002, 0.005, 0.02, 0.05, 0.2, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 5.0, 7.0 and 10.0 mol% Cu were synthesized via the sol–gel method using copper (II) acetate and titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) precursors at a [...] Read more.
Cu–TiO2 nanoparticles of a broad range of compositions with 0, 0.002, 0.005, 0.02, 0.05, 0.2, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 5.0, 7.0 and 10.0 mol% Cu were synthesized via the sol–gel method using copper (II) acetate and titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) precursors at a low hydrolysis ratio of H = 1.25, which favours homogeneous TiO2 nucleation and Cu dispersion in the host matrix at nanoscale. The precipitated materials were dried at 80 °C and calcined at 450, 500, and 550 °C to form crystalline nanopowders, whose photocatalytic activity was evaluated on the decomposition of a representative pollutant, methylene blue (MB), in aqueous solutions under UVA and sunlight illuminations. The compositions with small Cu content of ~0.05 mol% showed the highest activity. A gain of activity over pure titania of 4 times after calcination at 450 °C, 2.5 times at 500 °C and 20% at 550 °C was measured under UVA illumination. Even higher gain of activity observed under sunlight illumination might be due to an extension of action spectrum to the visible range due to intra-gap defect states produced by Cu2+ insertion. The time-resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC) measurements of the photoinduced charges relaxation suggest that both excessive calcination temperature and Cu content decrease the activity due to Cu-defects clustering. Modelling relates the activity to the photoinduced electron-hole pair separation; the optimal Cu content is explained by accessibility of the recombination centre by a conduction band (CB) electron. Accordingly, an increase in calcination temperature resulted in a longer pathlength of CB electron. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Complex Oxide Nanomaterials)
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