Some dye-sensitized solar cells were prepared using TiO2 modified with CuO (TiO2-CuO) like a working electrode. P25 commercial powder and small amounts of CuO powder were used in preparing the modified coating. The coating was deposited following doctor Blade method, on a conductive substrate SnO2:F, which was previously deposited on a TiO2 blocking layer by spray pyrolysis technique. For sensitization of the coating, a ruthenium complex, cis-bis (isothiocyanate) bis (2,2'bipiridil-4,4'dicarboxilato) ruthenium (II) ammonium bistetrabutil, also known as N719, was used. The CuO powder was structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction and its morphology was studied by scanning electron microscopy. The functional groups of TiO2 and CuO were studied by infrared spectroscopy. The oxidation and reduction cycles of Cu were shown by cyclic voltammetry. Through incident photon to current convers...

  Zinc peroxide (ZnO2) nanoparticles were synthesized by sol-gel technique. The chemicals used for the synthesis were zinc acetate di-hydrate (Zn(CH3COO)2.2H2O) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) at 30% under UV radiation. The structure of the ZnO2 nanoparticles was characterized by X-ray diffraction. While the morphology and the cluster size, were determined using scanning electron microscopy. For a preliminary evaluation of the bactericidal properties of the ZnO2, the material was exposed to Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 6051), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) y Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) and it was found that the material has notorious antibacterial activity. 

El peróxido de zinc (ZnO2) fue sintetizado en forma de nanopartículas por medio de la ruta sol-gel. Para la síntesis se empleó acetato de zinc di-hidratado (Zn(CH3COO)2.2H2O) y peróxido de hidrogeno (H2O2) al 30% asistido de radiación UV. Las nanopartículas de ZnO2 obtenidas fueron caracterizadas estructuralmente mediante la técnica de difracción de rayos-X. Mientras que el estudio de la morfología y tamaño de conglomerados cristalinos, se realizó por microscopía electrónica de barrido. Para explorar las propiedades bactericidas del ZnO2, se realizaron pruebas preliminares en las que se enfrentó este material a las cepas: Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 6051), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) y Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), y se observó que las nanopartículas presentan una notoria propiedad bactericida.

  Zinc peroxide (ZnO2) nanoparticles were synthesized by sol-gel technique. The chemicals used for the synthesis were zinc acetate di-hydrate (Zn(CH3COO)2.2H2O) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) at 30% under UV radiation. The structure of the ZnO2 nanoparticles was characterized by X-ray diffraction. While the morphology and the cluster size, were determined using scanning electron microscopy. For a preliminary evaluation of the bactericidal properties of the ZnO2, the material was exposed to Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 6051), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) y Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) and it was found that the material has notorious antibacterial activity. 

El peróxido de zinc (ZnO2) fue sintetizado en forma de nanopartículas por medio de la ruta sol-gel. Para la síntesis se empleó acetato de zinc di-hidratado (Zn(CH3COO)2.2H2O) y peróxido de hidrogeno (H2O2) al 30% asistido de radiación UV. Las nanopartículas de ZnO2 obtenidas fueron caracterizadas estructuralmente mediante la técnica de difracción de rayos-X. Mientras que el estudio de la morfología y tamaño de conglomerados cristalinos, se realizó por microscopía electrónica de barrido.