It is a fundamental truth in solid compounds that the physical properties follow the symmetry of the crystal structure. Nowhere is the effect of symmetry more pronounced than in the electronic and magnetic properties of materials—even the projection of the bulk crystal symmetry onto different crystal faces is known to have a substantial impact on the surface electronic states. The effect of bulk crystal symmetry on the properties...

Core-interlayer-shell Fe3O4/SiO2/TiO2, CoFe2O4/SiO2/TiO2 and BaFe12O19/SiO2/TiO2 magnetic photocatalysts were obtained. A water-in-oil microemulsion system with suitable surfactants was used for functionalization of the magnetic core with silica interlayer and TiO2-based photocatalyst. Uncoated and coated particles were characterized by electrophoretic meaurements, X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM),...

Metallization is one of the key process steps to fabricate solar cells with high performance in a cost-effective way. Majority of photovoltaic solar cell manufacturing uses thick film screen print metallization with Ag containing paste to produce solar cells. The average lifetime of PV modules can be expected to be more than 25 years. The disposal of PV systems will become a problem in view of the continually increasing production...