A simple process of commercial paper functionalisation via in situ polymerisation of conductive polymers onto cellulose fibres was investigated and applied as electrodes in paper-based batteries. The functionalisation involved polypyrrole (PPy) and Poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) as conductive polymers with the process of functionalisation optimised for each polymer individually with respect to oxidant-to-monomer ratios and polymerisation times and temperature. Paper with conductivity values of 44 mS/cm was obtained by exposing the samples to pyrrole vapour for a period of 30 min at room temperature; however, polymerisation at temperatures of 40 °C lead to higher conductivity values to up 141 mS/cm. Consequently, functionalised PPy and PEDOT papers were applied as cathodes in batteries with Al foil anodes and commercial paper soaked in an electrolyte solution of NaCl.

The main objective of TransFlexTeg is to develop an innovative large area distributed sensor network integrating transparent thin film thermoelectric devices and sensors for multifunctional smart windows and flexible high impact volume applications. Different breakthrough concepts will be developed: 1) large area high performance transparent thermoelectric thin films deposited on flexible substrates for thermal energy harvesting; 2) low cost high throughput thin film thermal sensors for thermal mapping and gesture sensing; 3) flexible smart windows and walls with energy harvesting, environmental sensing and wireless communication functionalities. This technology aims to demonstrate the functionalities of a smart window able to measure air quality and environmental parameters such as temperature, sun radiation and humidity. The data is automatically collected and can be utilized for controlling heating, cooling and ventilation systems of indoors. Active radio interface enables long range communication and long term data collection with WiFi or a similar base station. The proposed concept of smart windows replaces several conventional sensors with a distributed sensor network that is integrated invisibly into windows. In addition to the power generated from the thermal energy harvesting, the thermoelectric elements (TE) are also used as temperature sensors that, while being distributed over large area, enable thermal mapping of the area instead of just one or a few values measured from particular points. This smart window can be produced on glass. The active layer itself can be flexible glass layer or polymer sheet, which will significantly broaden the field of applications and improve business opportunities. Both can be manufactured in batch, or in Roll to Roll Atomic Layer Deposition (R2R ALD) process. High environmental impact is expected with savings of more than 25% of the electrical usage of residential homes and office buildings.

Iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4, IONPs) are promising candidates for several biomedical applications such as magnetic hyperthermia and as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, their colloidal stability in physiological conditions hinders their application requiring the use of biocompatible surfactant agents. The present investigation focuses on obtaining highly stable IONPs, stabilized by the presence of an oleic acid bilayer. Critical aspects such as oleic acid concentration and pH were optimized to ensure maximum stability. NPs composed of an iron oxide core with an average diameter of 9 nm measured using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) form agglomerates with an hydrodynamic diameter of around 170 nm when dispersed in water in the presence of an oleic acid bilayer, remaining stable (zeta potential of −120 mV). Magnetic hyperthermia and the relaxivities measurements show high efficiency at neutral pH which enables their use for both magnetic hyperthermia and MRI.

Chitosan is a biopolymer widely used for biomedical applications such as drug delivery systems, wound healing, and tissue engineering. Chitosan can be used as coating for other types of materials such as iron oxide nanoparticles, improving its biocompatibility while extending its range of applications.

In this work iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs) produced by chemical precipitation and thermal decomposition and coated with chitosan with different molecular weights were studied. Basic characterization on bare and chitosan-Fe3O4 NPs was performed demonstrating that chitosan does not affect the crystallinity, chemical composition, and superparamagnetic properties of the Fe3O4 NPs, and also the incorporation of Fe3O4 NPs into chitosan nanoparticles increases the later hydrodynamic diameter without compromising its physical and chemical properties. The nano-composite was tested for magnetic hyperthermia by applying an alternating current magnetic field to the samples demonstrating that the heating ability of the Fe3O4 NPs was not significantly affected by chitosan.

The intense light scattered from metal nanoparticles sustaining surface plasmons makes them attractive for light trapping in photovoltaic applications. However, a strong resonant response from nanoparticle ensembles can only be obtained if the particles have monodisperse physical properties. Presently, the chemical synthesis of colloidal nanoparticles is the method that produces the highest monodispersion in geometry and material quality, with the added benefits of being low-temperature, low-cost, easily scalable and of allowing control of the surface coverage of the deposited particles. In this paper, novel plasmonic back-reflector structures were developed using spherical gold colloids with appropriate dimensions for pronounced far-field scattering. The plasmonic back reflectors are incorporated in the rear contact of thin film n-i-p nanocrystalline silicon solar cells to boost their photocurrent generation via optical path length enhancement inside the silicon layer. The quantum efficiency spectra of the devices revealed a remarkable broadband enhancement, resulting from both light scattering from the metal nanoparticles and improved light incoupling caused by the hemispherical corrugations at the cells' front surface formed from the deposition of material over the spherically shaped colloids.

The new properties of engineered nanoparticles drive the need for new knowledge on the safety, fate, behavior and biologic effects of these particles on organisms and ecosystems. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles have been used extensively for a wide range of applications, e.g, self-cleaning surface coatings, solar cells, water treatment agents, topical sunscreens. Within this scenario increased environmental exposure can be expected but data on the ecotoxicological evaluation of nanoparticles are still scarce. The main purpose of this work was the evaluation of effects of TiO2 nanoparticles in several organisms, covering different trophic levels, using a battery of aquatic assays. Using fish as a vertebrate model organism tissue histological and ultrastructural observations and the stress enzyme activity were also studied. TiO2 nanoparticles (Aeroxide® P25), two phase composition of anatase (65%) and rutile (35%) with an average particle size value of 27.6±11 nm were used. Results on the EC50 for the tested aquatic organisms showed toxicity for the bacteria, the algae and the crustacean, being the algae the most sensitive tested organism. The aquatic plant Lemna minor showed no effect on growth. The fish Carassius auratus showed no effect on a 21 day survival test, though at a biochemical level the cytosolic Glutathione-S-Transferase total activity, in intestines, showed a general significant decrease (p<0.05) after 14 days of exposure for all tested concentrations. The presence of TiO2 nanoparticles aggregates were observed in the intestine lumen but their internalization by intestine cells could not be confirmed.

A MATLAB/SIMULINK software simulation model (structure and component blocks) has been constructed in order to view and analyze the potential of the PSD (Position Sensitive Detector) array concept technology before it is further expanded or developed. This simulation allows changing most of its parameters, such as the number of elements in the PSD array, the direction of vision, the viewing/scanning angle, the object rotation, translation, sample/scan/simulation time, etc. In addition, results show for the first time the possibility of scanning an object in 3D when using an a-Si:H thin film 128 PSD array sensor and hardware/software system. Moreover, this sensor technology is able to perform these scans and render 3D objects at high speeds and high resolutions when using a sheet-of-light laser within a triangulation platform. As shown by the simulation, a substantial enhancement in 3D object profile image quality and realism can be achieved by increasing the number of elements of the PSD array sensor as well as by achieving an optimal position response from the sensor since clearly the definition of the 3D object profile depends on the correct and accurate position response of each detector as well as on the size of the PSD array.

Iron oxide nanoparticles (NPs) have been extensively studied in the last few decades for several biomedical applications such as magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic drug delivery and hyperthermia. Hyperthermia is a technique used for cancer treatment which consists in inducing a temperature of about 41–45 °C in cancerous cells through magnetic NPs and an external magnetic field. Chemical precipitation was used to produce iron oxide NPs 9 nm in size coated with oleic acid and trisodium citrate. The influence of both stabilizers on the heating ability and in vitro cytotoxicity of the produced iron oxide NPs was assessed. Physicochemical characterization of the samples confirmed that the used surfactants do not change the particles' average size and that the presence of the surfactants has a strong effect on both the magnetic properties and the heating ability. The heating ability of Fe3O4 NPs shows a proportional increase with the increase of iron concentration, although when coated with trisodium citrate or oleic acid the heating ability decreases. Cytotoxicity assays demonstrated that both pristine and trisodium citrate Fe3O4 samples do not reduce cell viability. However, oleic acid Fe3O4 strongly reduces cell viability, more drastically in the SaOs-2 cell line. The produced iron oxide NPs are suitable for cancer hyperthermia treatment and the use of a surfactant brings great advantages concerning the dispersion of NPs, also allowing better control of the hyperthermia temperature.

Photocurrent enhancement in thin a-Si:H solar cells due to the plasmonic light trapping is investigated, and correlated with the morphology and the optical properties of the self-assembled silver nanoparticles incorporated in the cells’ back reflector.