In this paper, a method of preparing ultra-compact MLCC is introduced. The BaTiO3 dielectric layers were prepared by sol–gel technology and the Ag electrode layers were achieved via magnetron sputtering technology. The method of laser etching was adopted to achieve the pattern of electrode layer instead of stencil printing and photoetching and a special sintering process was used to make the ideal thickness and effectively prevent delamination. Through the above method, MLCCs with the monolayer thickness less than 200 nm and the dimensional accuracy below 0.1 μm have been able to successfully make. And by testing the relationship between capacitance and loss with temperature and frequency, the reliability of the simple sample had been proved preliminarily. The study offers a new method for the preparation of miniaturizing MLCCs, which is more effective and lower costs.

•A novel HAA process is developed to prepared activated carbons materials.•HAAC display enhanced specific surface, favorable pore size distribution.•It presents an improved electrochemical performance.Activated carbons are prepared by a hydrothermal-assisted alkali activated (HAA) process with sugarcane bagasse as the carbon precursor and KOH as the activated reagent. The physical and chemical properties of the hydrothermal-assisted alkali activated carbons (HAAC) are characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), nitrogen adsorption-desorption tests and electrochemical performance measurements. Compared to the activated carbons obtained from the traditional alkali activated (TAA) process, HAAC display much improved electrochemical performance when the samples are used as anode material for lithium ion batteries, which attributed to their higher specific surface area, favorable pore size distribution and inter-connected frameworks.

A simple and effective biotemplated method is applied to fabricate porous microtubular cobalt oxide by infiltration of cotton fiber with a cobalt nitrate solution, followed by annealing at 500 °C in air. The as-obtained Co3O4 have been characterized by: X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), N2 adsorption and desorption measurements, and thermal analysis (TG). According to these results, the as-prepared Co3O4 display a perfect tubular morphology and mesoporous features. The electrochemical performance of the as-obtained sample was studied for use as a lithium-ion battery anode material by cyclic voltammetry (CV), and charge-discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (ESI) measurements. Compared to bulk Co3O4 and previously reported nanostructured Co3O4 electrodes, mesoporous microtubular Co3O4 show an improved lithium storage properties, which can be attributed to their unique morphology, large specific surface area and mesoporous feature.

•Templated from sugarcane bagasse, single-crystalline α-MoO3 microbelts are obtained.•Single-crystalline α-MoO3 microbelts have a preferential growth in the (0k0) face.•It exhibits a significantly improved electrochemical performance.•This bioinspired method may be extended to synthesize other electrode materials.Single-crystalline α-MoO3 microbelts with a preferred orientation of (0k0) planes are fabricated by a biological template approach using sugarcane bagasse as template. Benefiting from the excellent crystallinity and preferred orientation, single-crystalline α-MoO3 microbelts show not only an improved electrochemical performance in terms of reversible capacity and rate capability (302 mAhg−1 and 99.4 mAhg−1 at 100 mAg−1 and 2000 mAg−1, respectively), but also an excellent cycling stability (89% of the initial discharge capacity retaining after 200 cycles), thus demonstrating a very high potential for use as a cathode in lithium-ion batteries. This biological template approach could be applied to preparation of other electrode materials for a broad variety of application.

•TAG:Ce3+film packed with nano-particles was firstly prepared by sol-gel method.•TAG:Ce3+film with 5 µm thickness was achieved via 40 layers depositions.•It exhibited good transparency in the visible light range.•It displayed strong absorption in the ultraviolet-light and blue-light range.•It showed broad emission peak at 551 nm with a QY of 49% at 457 nm excitation.Transparent and homogenous T2.9Al5O12:0.1Ce3+(TAG:Ce3+) phosphor film with thickness of 5 µm and nano-crystalline particles about 60 nm was firstly synthesized by sol-gel technology via 40 layers deposition, which introduced the nitrates combustion process into the conventional sol-gel method using terbium, cerium, aluminum nitrates as precursors, glycine and urea as fuel. The as-synthesized TAG:Ce3+phosphor film exhibited good optical properties with strong absorption in the ultraviolet-light and blue-light range, and considerable photoluminescence performances, which displayed a broad emission peak centered at 551 nm with a quantum yield (QY) of 49% under 457 nm excitation and an enlarged full width of about 10 nm at the half maximum as well as a red-shifted emission of about 19 nm, in contrast to the commercial YAG:Ce3+phosphor tested, which would be suitable for application in solid-state devices such as WLEDs and display systems.

•LATP exhibits high ionic conductivity of 6.47×10−6 S cm−1.•LATP displays low electronic conductivity of 2.34×10−14 S cm−1.•Amorphous LATP films are deposited by sputtering using LATP powder target.The electrical properties of amorphous thin solid films of Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7 (PO4)3 (LATP) electrolyte deposited on stainless steel substrates via radio-frequency magnetron sputtering from LATP powder targets were studied. The results indicated that the LATP thin film electrolyte deposited in Ar-O2 atmosphere has a high ionic conductivity of 6.47×10−6 S cm−1 and a low electronic conductivity of 2.34×10−14 S cm−1. The easy fabrication of LATP thin films, high ionic conductivity together with the small electronic conductivity suggest that LATP thin films are promising as a candidate for solid electrolytes in all-solid-state thin film lithium batteries.

•Novel Ag/MnO2 nanoparticles are developed by a one-pot method.•Ag metal is uniformly distributed in the body of MnO2.•It presents an improved electrochemical performance.•This work may provide a facile approach for fabrication of electrode materials.Flower-like Ag/MnO2 nanospheres with diameter of 300 nm are developed by a one-pot solution-based method. The nanoflowers are assembled by numerous ultrathin nanosheets, and Ag metal is uniformly distributed in the body of MnO2. Compared to the unmodified sample, Ag/MnO2 nanoflowers exhibit an excellent electrochemical performance with improved specific capacitance, rate capability and cycling stability, which can be attributed to good conductivity and low polarization resulting in a high utilization of active materials. This simple yet convenient synthetic route may provide a low-cost approach for the fabrication of high performance electrode materials for electrochemical capacitor application on a large scale.

A crucial barrier in the development of YAG:Ce3+ phosphor films in the application for phosphors converted white light emitting diodes (pc-WLEDs) is to prepare the films, which are thick enough to provide considerable optical performance for matching the optical properties of the blue light chip. To overcome this barrier, this study reports a novel sol–gel method that takes advantage of the combustion pyrolysis process with glycine and urea as fuel. Transparent luminescent YAG:Ce3+ phosphor film with a thickness of 5.1 μm and homogeneous grain size of 60 nm was obtained on quartz substrate. The as-synthesized YAG:Ce3+ phosphor films have a quantum yield of 56% at 457 nm excitation. The YAG:Ce3+ phosphor films incorporated into pc-WLED were shown to have a slightly lower luminous efficacy of 82 lm/W, but a warmer correlated colour temperature of 4536 K as well as a higher colour rendering index of 75.8.

A novel meosoporous tubular Co3O4 has been fabricated by a simple and cost-effective biomorphic synthesis route, which consists of infiltration of cotton fiber with cobalt nitrate solution and postcalcination at 673 K for 1 h. Its electrochemical performance as a supercapacitor electrode material is investigated by means of cyclic voltammetry and chronopotentiometry tests. Compared with bulk Co3O4 prepared without using cotton template, biomorphic Co3O4 displays 2.8 fold enhancement of pseudocapacitive performance because of the unique tubular morphology, relative high specific surface area (3 and 0.8 m2/g for biomorphic Co3O4 and bulk Co3O4, respectively), and mesoporous nature.Keywords: biomorphic; energy storage and conversion; mesoporous; pseudocapacitive performance

A green approach to the synthesis of Mn3O4 nanoparticles using banana peel extract as both reducing and capping agent has been described. The as-obtained Mn3O4 electrode exhibits acceptable electrochemical performance (216 F g−1 at 0.3 A g−1, 93% capacity retention after 2000 cycles).

•Ultrafine mesoporous birnessite-type MnO2 nanoflowers have been synthesized via a solution route.•Hierarchical MnO2 nanoflowers are made up of numerous two-dimensional ultrathin nanosheets.•MnO2 nanoflowers electrode exhibits superior electrochemical performance.•It is promising for supercapacitor application.Ultrafine (50–100 nm in diameter) birnessite-type MnO2 nanoflowers assembled by numerous ultrathin nanosheets (3–6 nm in thickness and 30–50 nm in width) have been synthesized via a simple and scalable solution route under ambient conditions. The ratio of reactants plays a significant role in the formation of MnO2 nanoflowers and the as-prepared MnO2 hierarchical nanostructure exhibits excellent electrochemical performance with high specific capacitance (251.3 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1) and superior cycling stability (only 7.5% SC loss after 10,000 cycling test) and good rate capability. The unique microstructures of MnO2 nanoflowers are responsible for their superior electrochemical properties, and thus it may be a promising for supercapacitor application.

•Spherical-shaped Li4Ti5O12 is synthesized via a facile one-step spray pyrolysis.•The final products can be well crystallized without any further calcination.•The purity and electrochemical properties are affected by the temperature.•Monodisperse spherical Li4Ti5O12 demonstrates excellent electrochemical performance.Pure spinel Li4Ti5O12 is successfully synthesized via a one-step spray pyrolysis method without further treatment. The powders are spherical with a narrow particle-size distribution of an average diameter of 0.5–1 μm and no aggregation. The purity and electrochemical properties of Li4Ti5O12 powders are strongly affected by the synthesized temperature. The optimum preparation temperature of the single pure Li4Ti5O12 is 900 °C and the initial discharge capacity is up to 168.6 mAh/g at 0.1 °C rate with a good cycling performance.

Biomorphic mesoporous MnO2 tubes were prepared by a simple impregnation of potassium permanganate solution on cotton template followed by calcination in air. The as-prepared MnO2 was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric–differential scanning calorimetry analysis (TG–DSC), N2 adsorption and desorption measurements and electrochemical workstation. The MnO2 tubes replicated the morphology of natural cotton and were composed of nanoparticles about 100 nm in size. Compared with the bulk MnO2, which was obtained by the direct thermal-decomposition of MnO2 precursor, the biomorphic MnO2 tubes displayed much better pseudocapaictive properties due to the higher special surface area and the unique mesoporous structure.Highlights► Mesoporous MnO2 tubes were prepared by using cotton as biotemplates. ► MnO2 tubes have relatively high specific surface area. ► MnO2 tubes displayed much better pseudocapacitive properties.

Y2.9Ce0.1Al5O12 (YAG:Ce3+) phosphors with 80±5 nm are successfully prepared by hydrothermal processing followed by the post annealing process in Ar/15%H2 atmosphere. The emission intensity of the as-prepared YAG:Ce3+ nano-phosphor is as high as with that of the ∼15 μm YAG:Ce3+ commercial phosphor. Meanwhile, the YAG:Ce3+ nano-phosphors prepared in both Ar/15%H2 and air atmosphere show same stable emission intensity under continuous irradiation of blue excitation light, although this photobleaching behavior is easily observed for YAG:Ce3+ nano-phosphors in the literatures. Photobleaching is probably suppressed by complete crystallinity due to the post annealing process and solid morphology due to the hydrothermal process in the present work.Highlights► Emission intensity of the as-prepared YAG:Ce3+ nano-phosphor is as high as with that of the commercial phosphor. ► YAG:Ce3+ nano-phosphors do not show the photobleaching behavior. ► Photobleaching is suppressed due to the post annealing process and the hydrothermal process.

Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films were deposited on quartz substrates by radio frequency (RF) sputtering with different RF power (100–250 W) using the powder target at room temperature. The effect of sputtering power on their structural, electrical and optical properties was systematically investigated. The intensity of (400) orientation clearly increases with the sputtering power increases, although the films have (222) preferred orientation. Increasing sputtering power is benefit for lower resistivity and transmittance. The films were annealed at different temperature (500–800 °C), then we explored the relationship between their electro-optical and structural properties and temperature. It has been observed that the annealed films tend to have (400) orientation and then show the lower resistivity and transmittance. The ITO thin film prepared by RF sputtering using powder target at 700 °C annealing temperature and 200 W sputtering power has the resistivity of 2.08 × 10−4 Ω cm and the transmittance of 83.2 %, which specializes for the transparent conductive layers.

This paper reports the correlation between the microstructure and the physical properties of transparent BaTi0.85Sn0.15O3 (BTS) thin films with thicknesses of 90–360 nm by radio frequency magnetron sputtering on the tin doped indium oxide (ITO)/glass substrate. All of the BTS/ITO/glass samples have relatively high optical transparency with over 75% in the visible light region. The dielectric constant and tunability of BTS films increase with thickness due to comparatively better crystallinity. The thicker BTS film is observed in an inter-diffusion between BTS film and ITO electrode from the result of secondary ion mass spectrometry depth profiling and then shown in a higher leakage current density.Highlights► BaTi0.85Sn0.15O3 thin films with thicknesses of 90–360 nm are deposited. ► All samples have optical transparency with > 75% in the visible light region. ► The thicker film has an interdiffusion between dielectric film and electrode.

A novel three-dimensional (3D) porous MnO2 film has been deposited onto a foamed nickel with another 3D structure by a hydrothermal method using potassium permanganate and sodium dodecylsulfate under neutral condition. Characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and thermal analysis, so formed 3D structure film is composed of nanosheets or nanofibers and has an amorphous and hydrous nature. The high specific capacitance of 241 F g−1 is observed at the current density of 1 A g−1, investigated by means of cyclic voltammetry and constant current charge–discharge cycling in 1 M Na2SO4 aqueous solutions. The film shows a good reversibility, power characteristics and cycling stability. It is promising for supercapacitor application.Highlights► 3D MnO2 film was deposited onto a 3D foamed nickel by hydrothermal method under neutral condition. ► Film with 3D structure is composed of nanosheets or nanofibers. ► Film had the high specific capacitance, good reversibility and cycling stability. ► It is promising for supercapacitor application.

A facile single-source precursor method has been applied for the selective synthesis of MnS nanocrystals (NCs) with well-defined shapes and crystal structures such as hexapod, octahedral, hexagonal shaped α-MnS NCs, and pencil-shaped γ-MnS NCs. The effects of the composition of precursor, reaction temperature, and the heating rate on the morphologies, and crystal structures of MnS NCs were systematically studied for the first time.Graphical abstractHighlights► High quality MnS NCs are synthesized using a facile single-source precursor method. ► MnS NCs with well-defined shapes and crystal structures can be selectively synthesized. ► Precursor, temperature, and heating rate play key roles in the synthesis of MnS NCs.

α-MnO2 film was conveniently synthesized on the three-dimensional (3D) Ni foam via a simple, low cost, safe and practical chemical bath deposition at room temperature. The obtained film was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric-differential scanning calorimetry analysis and electrochemical workstation. Results showed that the as-synthesized film had an amorphous nature and double 3D porous structure with the 3D Ni foam, and the prepared film electrode exhibited the excellent power capability and large special capacitance with a maximum capacitance of 500.5 F g− 1. This simple synthetic approach may provide a convenient route for the preparation of double 3D MnO2 film with high surface area and capacitance on a large scale.Highlights► 3D porous α-MnO2 film is prepared on the Ni foam by the chemical bath deposition. ► The method is a simple, low cost, safe and practical method on a large scale. ► The prepared film electrode exhibited with a maximum capacitance of 500.5 F g− 1.

Y2.9Ce0.1Al5O12 (YAG:Ce3+) phosphors with 80±5 nm were successfully prepared from a co-precipitated hydroxide gel by hydrothermal processing followed by the post-annealing process at 1200 °C for 2 h in air atmosphere. The YAG:Ce3+ nano-phosphors showed excitation peaks at 345 and 450 nm and an emission peak at 530 nm. The as-prepared YAG:Ce3+ phosphor showed a stable emission intensity under the continuous irradiation of blue excitation light, although the photobleaching behavior was observed in the literature. The photobleaching is probably suppressed by the complete crystallinity due to the post-annealing process and the solid morphology due to the hydrothermal process.Highlights► Y2.9Ce0.1Al5O12 (YAG:Ce3+) phosphors with 80±5 nm are prepared by the hydrothermal followed post-annealing process. ► YAG:Ce3+ nano-phosphors do not show the photobleaching behavior. ► The photobleaching is suppressed due to the post-annealing process and the hydrothermal process.

In this paper, indium tin oxide (ITO) targets with different densities were used to deposit ITO thin films. The thin films were deposited from these targets at room temperature and annealed at 750°C. Microstructural, electrical, and optical properties of the as-prepared films were studied. It was found that the target density had no effect on the properties or deposition rate of radiofrequency (RF)-sputtered ITO thin films, different from the findings for direct current (DC)-sputtered films. Therefore, when using RF sputtering, the target does not require a high density and may be reused.

There is an active demand for the commercial indium tin oxide (ITO) target with density above 99% of the theoretical density (TD). Some works found the increase of the target density could lead to a slight decrease of the resistivity of the direct current (DC) sputtered ITO films, however, the possible effect of target density on the radio frequency (RF) sputtered ITO films is not clear. In this paper, ITO targets with different densities are successfully prepared. The structural, electrical and optical properties of the thin films deposited from these targets are studied at the substrate temperature of 750 °C. It is found that the target density has no effect on the above properties and the deposition rate of the RF sputtered ITO thin films, different from the DC sputtered films. So for the RF sputtered process, the target needs not high density so that the used target can be just compacted from the powders without sintering. All the as-prepared ITO films with different densities have a resistivity of 1.56 × 10−4 Ω cm and a transmittance of ∼87%, which are lower than the ITO films prepared at temperatures lower than 400 °C.Highlights► ITO targets with different densities are successfully prepared. ► Target density has no effect on the main properties of the films. ► The properties of films prepared at 750 °C are lower than those at 400 °C.

The Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 (BST) thin film with the thickness of 400 nm deposited from powder target is prepared by the radio-frequency magnetron sputtering technique. The deposition rate of BST film is estimated to be 45 nm/min, which is very fast for ferroelectric materials. The dielectric properties of the as-prepared BST thin film are demonstrated. High dielectric tunability up to 42.7% and low dielectric loss small to 0.01 are achieved at a low applied voltage of 5 V. The results demonstrate that the RF magnetron sputtering from powder target is a versatile, novel technique for the deposition of high-quality ferroelectric thin films.Highlights► Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 thin film is deposited from powder target by RF sputtering. ► The deposition rate of BST film is fast to 45 nm/min. ► The dielectric tunability is high up to 42.7% at a low voltage of 5 V.

Uniform ultralarge single crystal SnS rectangular nanosheets (7000 nm × 3000 nm × 20 nm) have been synthesized by thermodecomposing a single-source precursor (Sn-diethyldithiocarbamate-1,10-phenanthroline). The obtained SnS nanosheets exhibit excellent electrochemical properties which have promising applications in lithium ion batteries.

Y3 − xCexAl5O12 (YAG:Ce3+) phosphor powders were successfully prepared by hydrothermal-homogenous precipitation (HHP) method, under mild conditions with inexpensive aluminum and yttrium nitrates as the starting materials and urea as homogenous precipitant. The pure YAG crystalline phase could be formed after hydrothermal treatment at 100 °C for 4 h and 240 °C for 20 h and postannealing process at 1200 °C for 2 h. All of the as-prepared YAG:Ce3+ powders did not have the CeO2 phase. The photoluminescence spectrum of crystalline YAG:Ce3+ phosphors showed the emission intensity of phosphor increased with increasing the annealed temperature and reached its maximum as the molar fraction of cerium ion was 0.10, and also showed the maximum emission wavelength nearly unchanged with the calcination temperature and cerium doping concentration.

•Deposition rate strongly relates to the particle size of BTS powder.•The 40 nm/min deposition rate attained from powder target with the 70 nm BTS powder.•The high deposition rate conducive to decrease interdiffusion and leakage current.BaSn0.15Ti0.85O3 (BTS) thin films were deposited on a tin-doped indium oxide (ITO)/glass substrate by RF sputtering from a powder target using BTS powders of different particle sizes, the structural and electrical properties of the BTS thin film investigated. The results indicate that deposition rate and electrical properties of the BTS film are strongly related to the particle size of BTS powder, with the deposition rate increasing with a decrease in the powder particle size. When the particle size of the BTS powder is 70 nm, a deposition rate of 40 nm/min was achieved. The leakage current density decreases with increasing the deposition rate when depositing the BTS thin film. Further, the leakage current density of the BTS thin film by the nano-powder is one order of magnitude higher than that of the micron powder, while the leakage current density is lower than 7.83 × 10−9 A/cm2, the dielectric tunability reaches 57.8% and dielectric loss remains only 0.017 at bias voltage of 5 V.

Uniform ultralarge single crystal SnS rectangular nanosheets (7000 nm × 3000 nm × 20 nm) have been synthesized by thermodecomposing a single-source precursor (Sn-diethyldithiocarbamate-1,10-phenanthroline). The obtained SnS nanosheets exhibit excellent electrochemical properties which have promising applications in lithium ion batteries.