ABSTRACT Manganese oxides were synthesized during 40 min at 140 ºC via Microwave-Assisted Hydrothermal (MAH) method and treated at different temperatures in order to evaluate the phase evolution using structure refinement (Rietveld method). The samples obtained were heat treated at temperatures defined by means of thermal analysis (160 ºC, 480 ºC, 715 ºC, 870 ºC, 920 ºC and 1150 ºC) and analyzed by X-Ray Diffractometry (XRD), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Raman scattering, UV-Vis absorption and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Structural characterizations allowed to identify five distinct phases: α-MnO2, Mn3O4, Mn5O8, Na2Mn5O10 and Na4Mn9O18 with weight percentages dependent on the heat treatment. The hausmannite structure (average crystallite size ranging from 28.9 nm to 99.1 nm) is present in all samples and go through various oxidation and reduction processes from 160 ºC to 1150 ºC without any major variation in the lattice parameters. Chemical characterizations identifies the presence of Na+ ions in all samples, either as substitution defects or as components of specific crystalline structures (Na2Mn5O10 and Na4Mn9O18), showing that the synthesized manganese oxides works as Na+ intercalation compounds, important materials for energy storage devices optimization. The results presented enables a better interpretation of the thermal and structural characteristics of manganese oxides synthesized via MAH.

Abstract The photocatalytic activity and stability of TiO2 thin films deposited by reactive sputtering were evaluated through many cycles of aqueous methylene blue solutions photodegradation. Tests were performed in TiO2 films deposited onto silica, silicon, and lanthanum aluminate substrates under UV light irradiation. The dye degradation was determined using the optical absorbance spectra at pre-established exposure times. After 16 cycles of reaction, 180 minutes each, no systematic losses in the photocatalytic activity were observed in the samples. The best activity was observed on films deposited onto silica glass. The results indicate that the TiO2 samples deposited by the sputtering technique are stable concerning the UV degradation of methylene blue.

Glass-ceramic materials were obtained by heat treatment (960 ºC for 2, 4, and 6 hs) of glasses with CaCO3 47.50 wt%-TiO2 23.75 wt%-SiO2 23.75-Al2O3 5.00 wt% formulation produced by the melt-quenching technique (melting at 1650 ºC and subsequent annealing at 650 ºC). The materials’ structural characterization and crystallization kinetics (Kissinger method) indicate the presence of CaTiO3, CaSiO3, and CaTiSiO5 crystalline phases with activation energies 217, 281, and 446 kJ/mol, respectively. The structure refinement (Rietveld method) suggests metastability for the CaSiO3 and CaTiSiO5 phases as a function of the heat treatment time. The increase in time favors CaTiO3 crystallization, from 62.97 wt%, in the 2 hs treated sample, to 79.21 wt%, in the 6 hs treated sample. EDS and microstructure analyses confirm the glass-ceramic production and indicate segregation of the CaTiO3 phase for longer heat treatment times.