Yousra Litaiem

In the pursuit of sustainable and flexible electronics, polymer-based conductive films offer a promising solution due to their biodegradability, mechanical flexibility, and cost-effective fabrication. This study presents the development of a highly conductive and flexible nanocomposite material based on polyaniline-grafted chitosan (PANI-g-Chs) and Vinavil (Vi, a vinyl glue specifically designed for enhancing the sealability of textiles and paper), serving as a matrix for applications in flexible electronics. The PANI-g-Chs nanocomposite was synthesized via in situ oxidative polymerization, where chitosan nanoparticles (Chs) served as a stabilizing template to prevent PANI aggregation, reducing the particle size from 1700 nm (pristine PANI) to 180 nm (PANI-g-Chs). The resulting composite exhibited exceptional electrical conductivity (77.79 S/m at 25 wt% PANI-g-Chs). Hall effect measurements showed that the carrier mobility increased up to 1162.7 cm²/V·s and the carrier density rose to 6.5.1017 cm⁻³, confirming efficient charge transport and network formation. Mechanical analysis revealed a 300% increase in the storage modulus for PANI-g-Chs, and thermal studies confirmed stability up to 300 °C. Optical characterization showed a reduced bandgap (3.6 eV) and extended π-conjugation, which are critical for optoelectronic applications. Application tests demonstrated stable conductivity under mechanical deformation, highlighting the material’s potential for use in flexible electronics, sensors, and sustainable conductive coatings. This work offers a viable alternative to conventional conductive polymers.

The electrodeposition from room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) has recently come up as a low-cost technique for the growth of II–VI semiconductor compounds and thin films, some promising alternatives to classical organic or inorganic solvents. As a relatively new field of study, only a few reports exist describing the growth mechanism of electrodeposition from RTILs, especially for CdSe films. In this paper, a new electrochemical method has been developed for the deposition of Cadmium Selenide thin layers onto indium doped tin oxide coated conducting glass (ITO) using an RTIL and an Organic solvent system (Tricaprylmethylammonium chloride/Formamide). Structural properties of prepared films have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and micro-Raman analysis which reveal a pure cubic phase with the zinc-blende-type structure and typical peaks of nanostructured CdSe, respectively. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis showed homogenous and smooth surface of the deposited films. UV-vis measurements demonstrated the presence of direct transition with a band gap energy around 1.68[ ]eV. The flat-band potential and carrier density values of CdSe thin film are [ ]0.667[ ]V and [ ][ ]cm[ ], respectively, as deduced from Mott–Schottky studies. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) behavior of the CdSe thin film exhibited an enhanced photocurrent density at about 0.35[ ]mA/cm² vs. Ag/AgCl.

The electrodeposition from Room Temperature Ionic Liquids (RTILs) has recently come up as a low-cost technique for the growth of II-VI semiconductor compounds and thin films, some promising alternatives to classical organic or inorganic solvents. As a relatively new field of studies, only a few reports exist describing the growth mechanism of electrodeposition from RTILs, especially for CdSe films. In this paper, a new electrochemical method has been developed for the deposition of Cadmium Selenide thin layers onto indium doped tin oxide coated conducting glass (ITO) using a RTIL and an Organic solvent system (Tricaprylmethylammonium chloride /Formamide). Structural properties of prepared films have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and micro-Raman analysis which reveal a pure cubic phase with the zinc-blende type structure and typical peaks of nanostructured CdSe respectively. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis showed homogenous and smooth surface of the deposited films. UV-vis measurements demonstrated the presence of direct transition with a band gap energy around 1.68 eV. The flat-band potential and carrier density values of CdSe thin film are − 0.667 V and 6.13 ×10¹⁶ cm^− 3 respectively as deduced from Mott-Schottky studies. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) behavior of the CdSe thin film exhibited an enhanced photocurrent density at about 0.35 mA/cm² vs. Ag/AgCl.

Jscholar is an open access publisher of peer reviewed journals and research articles, which are free to access, share and distribute for the advancement of scholarly communication.

High efficient and large surface area of titanium doped tin dioxide (SnO₂) based photocatalysts with various titanium doping contents varying from 0 to 4 mol% have been successfully prepared via a facile, low cost and eco-friendly co-precipitation method. Structural, morphological, textural, microstructural and optical properties of the prepared Ti-SnO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), the Brunauer–Emmett-Teller (BET) method, Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), UV-Vis spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. It was found that both undoped and Ti doped SnO₂ NPs were crystallized in tetragonal structure and the crystallite sizes have been reduced from 19.9 nm for undoped SnO₂ NPs to 13.1 nm for SnO₂: Ti 4%. As compared to pure SnO₂, a decrease in size and a uniform distribution of spherical aggregates for 4% Ti doped SnO₂ sample have been noticed. Nitrogen (N₂) adsorption-desorption isotherms of all synthesized NPs indicate that each nanopowder showed a IV type- isotherm with a hysteresis loop resulted in a typical porous materials containing macropores and mesopores. The raman spectra was marked with the appearance of three well resolved peaks including one intense peak centered at 633 cm⁻¹ and two other peaks at about 475 cm⁻¹ and 772 cm⁻¹ which might be ascribed to the characteristic modes of of the SnO₂ rutile-type. FTIR spectra of Ti doped SnO₂ NPs show a broad band situated in the region from 630 cm⁻¹ to 625 cm⁻¹ for all Ti–SnO₂ samples which could be assigned to the stretching vibrations of Sn–O–Sn. Optical studies revealed that the absorption edge of SnO₂: Ti NPs showed a redshift with rising titanium concentration. This redshift resulted in a decrease in the optical band gap from 3.31 eV for pure SnO₂ to 2.87 eV for 4% Ti doped SnO₂ nanoparticles respectively. Rhodamine B dye (RhB) has been adopted to study the photocatalytic degradation of all synthesized Ti–SnO₂ NPs. Pure SnO₂ NPs has an intrinsic large band gap and it was sensitive to UV light. Thus, pure SnO₂ NPs display higher UV photocatalytic performance for decomposing the RhB. Titanium incorporation into SnO₂ has widely improved its photocatalytic performance towards RhB photodegradation under UV and Visible light irradiations. Precisely, the 4% Ti–SnO₂ based photocatalyst display the highest photacatalytic activity and can degrade both of 95% and 52% of RhB dye within 120 min respectively under UV and visible light irradiations. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of the 4% doped SnO₂ photocatalyst was further proved with the minimum PL intensity. The homogeneous incorporation of low Ti contents into the SnO₂ matrix allow to a significant reduce in the band gap leading to an efficient separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs and consequently improves the absorption capability in the visible light.

In this paper, we have reported a novel photocatalytic study of vanadium-doped SnO₂ nanoparticles (SnO₂: V NPs) in rhodamine B degradation. These NPs have been prepared with vanadium concentrations varying from 0% to 4% via the coprecipitation method. Structural, morphological, and optical properties of the prepared nanoparticles have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscope (TEM), and UV-Vis and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Structural properties showed that both undoped and SnO₂: V NPs exhibited the tetragonal structure, and the average crystal size has been decreased from 20 nm to 10 nm with the increasing doping level of vanadium. Optical studies showed that the absorption edge of SnO₂: V NPs showed a redshift with the increasing vanadium concentration. This redshift leads to the decrease in the optical band gap from 3.25 eV to 2.55 eV. A quenching in luminescence intensity has been observed in SnO₂: V NPs, as compared to the undoped sample. Rhodamine B dye (RhB) has been used to study the photocatalytic degradation of all synthesized NPs. As compared to undoped SnO₂ NPs, the photocatalytic activity of SnO₂: V NPs has been improved. RhB dye was considerably degraded by 95% within 150 min over on the SnO₂: V NPs.