In one aspect of the invention, a dye sensitized solar cell has a counter-electrode including carbon-titania nanocomposite thin films made by forming a carbon-based ink; forming a titania (TiO.sub.2) solution; blade-coating a mechanical mixture of the carbon-based ink and the titania solution onto a substrate; and annealing the blade-coated substrate at a first temperature for a first period of time to obtain the carbon-based titania nanocomposite thin films. In certain embodiments, the carbon-based titania nanocomposite thin films may include solvent-exfoliated graphene titania (SEG-TiO.sub.2) nanocomposite thin films, or single walled carbon nanotube titania (SWCNT-TiO.sub.2) nanocomposite thin films.

A carbon nanosheet, which is a sheet-form carbon nanomaterial having a larger area as compared with that of a similar conventional product and a side length of about 1 μm, and a method for producing the carbon nanosheet. The carbon nanosheet production method includes a step of mixing a solution of an iron atom-containing compound dispersed in a solvent with an alcohol, to thereby prepare a solution mixture; and a step of irradiating the solution mixture with plasma, to thereby produce a carbon nanosheet. The carbon nanosheet has a side length of 0.5 μm to 2.5 μm.

Compositions comprising hydrogenated and dehydrogenated graphite comprising a plurality of flakes. At least one flake in ten has a size in excess of ten square micrometers. For example, the flakes can have an average thickness of 10 atomic layers or less.

A composite comprising a MXene and a post-transition metal wherein the post-transition metal is at least partially encapsulated by from 1 to 4 layers of the MXene. Methods of making such a composite are also disclosed.

To provide a crystalline oxide semiconductor film, an ion is made to collide with a target including a crystalline In—Ga—Zn oxide, thereby separating a flat-plate-like In—Ga—Zn oxide in which a first layer including a gallium atom, a zinc atom, and an oxygen atom, a second layer including an indium atom and an oxygen atom, and a third layer including a gallium atom, a zinc atom, and an oxygen atom are stacked in this order; and the flat-plate-like In—Ga—Zn oxide is irregularly deposited over a substrate while the crystallinity is maintained.

A process for producing lithium titanate which includes the steps of synthesizing a lithium titanate hydrate intermediate via aqueous chemical processing, and thermally treating the lithium titanate hydrate intermediate to produce the lithium titanate. The lithium titanate hydrate is preferably (Li.sub.1.81H.sub.0.19)Ti.sub.2O<<2H.sub.2O. The lithium titanate is preferably Li.sub.4Ti.sub.5O.sub.12 (LTO). Synthesizing the lithium titanate hydrate intermediate may include mixing a titanium-containing compound with a lithium-containing compound in a solvent to produce a lithium-titanium precursor mixture. Preferably the titanium-containing compound includes titanium tetrachloride TiCl.sub.4. Also, a lithium titanate obtained according to the process and a lithium battery including the lithium titanate.

The disclosure relates to a two-dimensional (2D) bismuth nanocomposite, and a preparation method and use thereof, and belongs to the field of nanobiotechnology. The 2D bismuth nanocomposite of the disclosure is an ultra-thin bismuth nanosheet that is loaded with platinum nanoparticles and modified with indocyanine green (ICG) and surface targeting polypeptide Ang-2. The 2D bismuth nanocomposite Bi@Pt/ICG-Ang2 of the disclosure can not only realize the targeted photothermal and photodynamic combination therapy for tumors, but also realize the dual-mode imaging combining CT and fluorescence imaging.

The present disclosure relates to a green method for producing and exploiting multiple nano-carbon polymorphs from coal commonly known as anthracite, meta-anthracite, and semi-graphite. The method disrupts the prevalent environmentally unfriendly practices of burning coal with poor profitability and sustainability because the method yields an unexpectedly rich mixture of high-performance nano-materials, comprising carbon nano-fibers, carbon nano-tubes, carbon nano-onions, nano-graphite-plates, and nano-graphene-disks, by simply mechanically-comminuting coal to nano-size, with minimal sorting efforts. The resulting total-yield of nano-carbon polymorphs is over 50% by weight from properly selected coal. Innovative means are added to the prevalent comminution and sorting practices to further reduce energy and chemical consumption. More importantly, the method also refines the comminution and sorting details for producing the best custom-made formulations. This holistic engineering approach eliminates unnecessary separation and sorting steps because a custom-made formulation typically requires blending the sorted components. Formulations with mixed nano-carbon polymorphs are engineered as new and high-valued-added composite ingredients to critically raise the performance of cement-based, polymer-based, and metal-based composites.

The disclosure relates to use of a coupling agent including of a chemical moiety that is capable of pi bonding with the basal plane of exfoliated graphene nanoparticle (EGN) platelets and that is compatible with a polymer resin or matrix into which the EGN platelets are dispersed. The chemical moiety can include one or more aromatic moieties grafted to a polymer, which polymer can form a dispersing resin or matrix.

The present disclosure relates to hexagonal boron nitride nanosheet/ceramic nanocomposite powder including surface-modified hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets which serve as a reinforcing agent for the matrix ceramic, and a method for producing the same, and a hexagonal boron nitride nanosheet/ceramic nanocomposite material including the hexagonal boron nitride nanosheet/ceramic nanocomposite powder and a method for producing the same.