In this paper, the thermoelectric properties of In₂O₃-based materials in comparison with other thermoelectric materials are considered. It is shown that nanostructured In₂O₃ Sn-based oxides are promising for thermoelectric applications at moderate temperatures. Due to the nanostructure, specific surface properties of In₂O₃ and filtering effects, it is possible to significantly reduce the thermal conductivity and achieve an efficiency of thermoelectric conversion inaccessible to bulk materials. It is also shown that a specific surface state at the intergrain boundary, optimal for maximizing the filtering effect, can be achieved through (1) the engineering of grain boundary parameters, (2) controlling the composition of the surrounding atmosphere, and (3) selecting the appropriate operating temperature.

This review article covers all types of paper-based humidity sensor, such as capacitive, resistive, impedance, fiber-optic, mass-sensitive, microwave, and RFID (radio-frequency identification) humidity sensors. The parameters of these sensors and the materials involved in their research and development, such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, semiconductors, and polymers, are comprehensively detailed, with a special focus on the advantages/disadvantages from an application perspective. Numerous technological/design approaches to the optimization of the performances of the sensors are considered, along with some non-conventional approaches. The review ends with a detailed analysis of the current problems encountered in the development of paper-based humidity sensors, supported by some solutions.

We report on a comprehensive theoretical and experimental investigation of thermal conductivity in indium-tin-oxide (ITO) thin films with various Ga concentrations (0–30 at. %) deposited by spray pyrolysis technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy have shown a structural transformation in the range 15–20 at. % Ga from the nanocrystalline to the amorphous phase. Room temperature femtosecond time domain thermoreflectance measurements showed nonlinear decrease of thermal conductivity in the range 2.0–0.5 Wm⁻¹ K⁻¹ depending on Ga doping level. It was found from a comparison between density functional theory calculations and XRD data that Ga atoms substitute In atoms in the ITO nanocrystals retaining Ia-3 space group symmetry. The calculated phonon dispersion relations revealed that Ga doping leads to the appearance of hybridized metal atom vibrations with avoided-crossing behavior. These hybridized vibrations possess shortened mean free paths and are the main reason behind the thermal conductivity drop in nanocrystalline phase. An evolution from propagative to diffusive phonon thermal transport in ITO:Ga with 15–20 at. % of Ga was established. The suppressed thermal conductivity of ITO:Ga thin films deposited by spray pyrolysis may be crucial for their thermoelectric applications.

Approaches to surface functionalizing by gold nanoparticles of metal oxides aimed for gas sensors applications are discussed in this paper. It is demonstrated that surface modification by gold nanoparticles is accompanied by improvement of sensor performance. However, analysis of obtained results has shown that the achievement of strong improvement of gas sensor parameters is not a trivial task. For its reduction, it is necessary to ensure several specific conditions related to the size and density of gold clusters on the surface of metal oxide crystallites, the state of gold in the cluster, and to the properties of the metal oxide support used. It is also demonstrated that additional studies are required before conductometric gas sensors modified by gold nanoclusters will appear in gas-sensor market.