The materials sizing in nano-scale is a challenge to be overcome, because the size determined by various methods differ. In order to shed light about the nanomaterials sizing, a modified Scherrer's equation was applied to estimate more accurately the nanostructured titanium dioxide crystal size. The manufactured titanium dioxide-nanostructured powder with nominal average size about 21nm was used as the reference standard to determine the accurate of modified equation. From X-ray diffraction data, an average crystal size about 20.63 nm was achieved for unheated sample. To establish a relation between the result obtained with modified Scherrer's equation and the nominal average crystal size, a statistical treatment and a comparative assessment were performed. The average absolute divergence does not exceed 0.70 nm. The value of crystal size determined from X-ray data was in good agreement with that informed by the supplier. Additionally, the behavior of sample was studied as a function of temperature.

Tin Zinc Oxide thin films were deposited on transparent conductive oxide by chemical bath, at percentages of 5, 10 and 15% of tin (Sn) on the zinc oxide (ZnO) structure. All films were thermally treated to improve its crystallinity. The produced films with tin were characterized by x-ray diffraction and optical measurements, such as absorbance, transmittance and reflectance. The x-ray spectrum showed the formation of the ZnO wurtzite and the crystallite size of the films were calculated to be 53.74; 79.59 and 66.38 nm for the photoanodes at 5, 10 and 15% of tin (Sn), respectively, on the zinc oxide structure. The calculated band gap energy of the films revealed that the presence of tin can reduce the band gap energy to about 3.2 eV. Those films were used as photoanodes on dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC) to observe the effects of the tin (Sn) on the photovoltaic activity of the zinc oxide (ZnO) semiconductor. Parameters such as efficiency and short circuit current density were particularly affected by the presence of tin in the composition, with the 5% Sn ZnO film presenting the best results of 7.56 % efficiency and 34.35 mA/cm2, short circuit current density, the other films presented lower values for efficiency, which can be attributed to lower values of short-current density.

The use of fluorescent nanomaterials in various fields of study has become increasingly common. In this work, the use of carbon quantum dots as a corrosion marker in carbon steel is proposed. To produce the sensor, carbon quantum dots based on ethylenediamine and citric acid were used, dissolved in a polymeric matrix. The quantum dot used showed a quantum yield of 42.34%. The nanomodified coatings emitted blue light under ultraviolet radiation lamp. However, it was observed that there is a loss of photoluminescence in the coating on the carbon steel substrate compared to the coating on the polymeric substrate, which maintained photoluminescence activity after natural exposure. Thus, it is inferred that the loss of photoluminescence may be associated with the corrosion process.

Semiconductors films have many applications, energy conversion is one of the main ones. Oxides are often the material used to fabricate these films. Electrophoresis technique can deposit oxides semiconductors at different voltages and time. Films of zinc oxide (ZnO) were electrodeposited on conductive glass, adding weight percentage of tin chloride to improve its photo catalytic properties. The films and cells were characterized by X-ray, UV-Vis and EIS. The characterization showed that higher voltage decreased the band gap value from 3.3 to 3.26 eV, below the average for pure zinc oxide, around 3.30. The films acted as photoanodes in solar cells, with maximum current density of 2.88 mA/cm² and open circuit of 0.68 V. The synthesis method was efficient and can be used for further reseach into semiconductors’ films and be applied for membranes, photoanodes and other applications.

Multilayerfilms with kesterite are often used for energy conversion, such as photoanode for hydrogen production and manufacture of photovoltaic solar cells. It is due to the fact that they are efficient and use small amounts of material. Cu₂ZnSnS₄, known as CZTS, is a semiconductor belonging to the kesterite group, which can be obtained in powder or film form. Copper, zinc, tin and sulfide are precursors commonly used in the synthesis of the CZTS. The methodology used to synthesize films is crucial for the success of the final product. It is essential to develop methods which can lower synthesis costs, which can also lower the solar cell costs, for example. Besides the costs, the method must be efficient and increase the efficiency of the devices in which they are employed, and must not be harmful to the environment. This study developed a methodology to synthesize CZTS. It was used in this work dimethyl sulfoxide, copper acetate, tin chloride, zinc chloride and thiourea as precursors. The layers of the film above the glass substrate were characterized with X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet and visible analyses, scanning electron microscopy, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. The results absorbance peaks between 300 and 400 nm, in the ultraviolet range, reflectance around 40% in the visible, transmittance reaching above 50% and 50%, and direct band gap about 1.42 ± 0.02 eV associated with the kesterite. The characterization methods proved to be efficient to identify the presence of the kesterite phase at films produced by overlapping layers.

Este trabalho apresenta um modelo teórico que relaciona a potência elétrica com a potência química numa célula fotossensibilizada com corante. O mesmo é baseado na junção dos conceitos presentes nos modelos de potencial químico e de potência química. Assim, a partir destas duas considerações é possível a realização de testes sob diversas condições físicas e ambientais, durante o processo de conversão de energia solar. Consequentemente, o modelo teórico proposto permite relacionar a potência química aos parâmetros solares: ângulo sólido, temperatura da fonte de radiação, comprimento de onda e temperatura da célula fotossensibilizada com corante. A geração do fluxo de elétrons dentro da célula é promovida pela absorção da energia solar incidente sobre o corante. Por isso, a principal condição consubstanciada neste trabalho baseia-se que a superfície de absorção da energia incidente seja o corante.