Nanosized rutile titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is used in inorganic pigments and cosmetics because of its high whiteness and duality. The high quality of the white pigments depends on their surface coating technique via the solgel process. SiO₂ coatings are required to improve the dispersibility, UV-blocking, and whiteness of TiO₂. Tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) is an important coating precursor owing to its ability to control various thicknesses and densities. In addition, we use Na₂SiO₃ (sodium silicate) as a precursor because of its low cost. Compared to TEOS, which controls the pH using a basic catalyst, Na₂SiO₃ controls the pH using an acid catalyst, giving a uniform coating. The coating thickness of TiO₂ is controlled using a surface modifier, cetrimonium bromide, which is used in various applications. The shape and thickness of the nanosized coating layer on TiO₂ are analyzed using transmission electron microscopy, and the SiO₂ nanoparticle behavior in terms of the before-and-after size distribution is measured using a particle size analyzer. The color measurements of the SiO₂ pigment are performed using UV-visible spectroscopy.

Uniform TiO₂ blocking layers (BLs) are fabricated using ultrasonic spray pyrolysis deposition (USPD) method. To improve the photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), the BL thickness is controlled by using USPD times of 0, 20, 60, and 100 min, creating TiO₂ BLs of 0, 40, 70, and 100 nm, respectively, in average thickness on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass. Compared to the other samples, the DSSC containing the uniform TiO₂ BL of 70 nm in thickness shows a superior power conversion efficiency of 7.58±0.20% because of the suppression of electron recombination by the effect of the optimized thickness. The performance improvement is mainly attributed to the increased open-circuit voltage (0.77±0.02 V) achieved by the increased Fermi energy levels of the working electrodes and the improved short-circuit current density (15.67±0.43 mA/cm2) by efficient electron transfer pathways. Therefore, optimized TiO₂ BLs fabricated by USPD may allow performance improvements in DSSCs.

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Cobalt coated tungsten carbide-cobalt composite powder has been prepared through wet chemical reduction method. The cobalt sulfate solution was converted to the cobalt chloride then the cobalt hydroxide. The tungsten carbide powders were added in to the cobalt hydroxide, the cobalt hydroxide was reduced and coated over tungsten carbide powder using hypo-phosphorous acid. Both the cobalt and the tungsten carbide phase peaks were evident in the tungsten carbide-cobalt composite powder by X-ray diffraction. The average particle size measured via scanning electron microscope, particle size analysis was around 380 nm and the thickness of coated cobalt was determined to be 30~40 nm by transmission electron microscopy.

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