ALTHOUGH the possibility of water photolysis has been investigated by many workers, a useful method has only now been developed. Because water is transparent to visible light it cannot be decomposed directly, but only by radiation with wavelengths shorter than 190 nm (ref. 1).

Electrochemical Photolysis of Water at a Semiconductor Electrode

Although gold is the subject of one of the most ancient themes of investigation in science, its renaissance now leads to an exponentially increasing number of publications, especially in the context of emerging nanoscience and nanotechnology with nanoparticles and self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). We will limit the present review to gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), also called gold colloids. AuNPs are the most stable metal nanoparticles, and they present fascinating aspects such as their assembly of multiple types involving materials science, the behavior of the individual particles, size-related electronic, magnetic and optical properties (quantum size effect), and their applications to catalysis and biology. Their promises are in these fields as well as in the bottom-up approach of nanotechnology, and they will be key materials and building block in the 21st century. Whereas the extraction of gold started in the 5th millennium B.C. near Varna (Bulgaria) and reached 10 tons per year in Egypt around 1200-1300 B.C. when the marvelous statue of Touthankamon was constructed, it is probable that “soluble” gold appeared around the 5th or 4th century B.C. in Egypt and China. In antiquity, materials were used in an ecological sense for both aesthetic and curative purposes. Colloidal gold was used to make ruby glass 293 Chem. Rev. 2004, 104, 293−346

Gold nanoparticles: assembly, supramolecular chemistry, quantum-size-related properties, and applications toward biology, catalysis, and nanotechnology.

To use solar irradiation or interior lighting efficiently, we sought a photocatalyst with high reactivity under visible light. Films and powders of TiO 2- x N x have revealed an improvement over titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) under visible light (wavelength 2 has proven to be indispensable for band-gap narrowing and photocatalytic activity, as assessed by first-principles calculations and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy.

/pdf/visible-light-photocatalysis-in-nitrogen-doped-titanium-np6nklr9gh.pdf

Visible-Light Photocatalysis in Nitrogen-Doped Titanium Oxides

Titanium Dioxide Nanomaterials: Synthesis, Properties, Modifications, and Applications

The surface science of titanium dioxide

Metal (Cu and Ni) micropatterns were electrolessly fabricated on glass substrates using ink-jetted ZnO thin films as templates and without employing photoirradiation. The metal micropatterns confor...

Electroless Deposition of Metal Micropatterns Using Ink-jetted ZnO Thin Films as Templates

Bi12GeO20 Photoelectrical Memory.

We have used scanning probe microscopy to investigate the molecular orientation of various naphthalocyanine (Nc) thin films as a function of substrate temperature. Films deposited under ambient temperature exhibited an amorphous structure; however at elevated temperatures, metal-Nc molecules grew in a more ordered fashion with even epitaxial behavior under certain conditions. Specifically, we found that cobalt Nc (CoNc) molecules deposited onto NaCl at 250°C grew with the molecular planes perpendicular to the underlying substrate. In contrast, vanadyl-Nc (VONc) deposited onto highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) tended to show a more epitaxial growth behavior with the molecules slightly tilted with respect to the HOPG substrate.

Investigation of the structural ordering in thin naphthalocyanine films using scanning probe microscopy

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a procedure to deposit a conductive diamond thin film on silicon substrate and check the electrochemical properties of the oxygen-terminated diamond electrodes. For deposition of boron-doped diamond films, acetone/methanol mixture solution in a ratio of 9:1 are prepared. Prior to deposition, Si substrate are polished for 15 min with diamond powder on a felt polishing pad. Then the polished substrate is place on molybdenum holder in the CVD reactor for analysis. To explain the interaction of diamond surfaces with uncharged species (ascorbic acid in acidic pH), it is speculated that dipole–dipole interactions are important. The electrode kinetics were strongly influenced by the surface termination, especially, in K4Fe(CN)6 and ascorbic acid. These properties were characteristic of oxygen-terminated diamond electrodes, and were in agreement with previous reports.

Procedure 14 Deposition of boron-doped diamond films and their anodic treatment for the oxygen-terminated diamond sensor

The review presented here concentrates on recent advances in observing in situ electrode/ solution interfaces using a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) under potentiostatic control. In situ observation with the STM is important to gain insights into electrochemical processes at electrode/solution interfaces. The locally manufactured electrochemical STM apparatus/ system is briefly described. Attention is then focused on the in situ observations of the under potential deposition (UPD) of metals, various structural changes and reconstructions induced electrochemically, adsorbates on electrode surfaces, and photoelectrochemical processes on semiconductor electrodes. Additionally presented are electrochemical micro-fabrication processes which use a scanning electrochemical microscopy, the topography of nonconducting surfaces using a scanning ion-conductance microscope, and studies of the UPD of Cu onto Au surfaces using an atomic force microscope.

https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jcorr1974/39/10/39_10_564/_pdf

Akira Fujishima

Papers

Electroless Deposition of Metal Micropatterns Using Ink-jetted ZnO Thin Films as Templates

Bi12GeO20 Photoelectrical Memory.

Investigation of the structural ordering in thin naphthalocyanine films using scanning probe microscopy

Procedure 14 Deposition of boron-doped diamond films and their anodic treatment for the oxygen-terminated diamond sensor

In Situ Observations of Electrode/Solution Interfaces Using a Scanning Tunneling Microscope