Perovskite-type LaTiO2N powders were successfully synthesized by thermal ammonolysis of La2Ti2O7 at 950 °C in the presence of urea or thiourea as co-nitriding agents. The products formed at different La2Ti2O7:urea or La2Ti2O7:thiourea mass ratios were systematically characterized by SEM, XRD, particle size distribution analysis, BET, UV–vis, XPS and O/N analysis. Results show that the addition of urea is highly beneficial for LaTiO2N synthesis, yielding pure phase products with a higher nitrogen content than LaTiO2N powders prepared in the absence of urea. Conversely, the addition of thiourea was detrimental to the structural and optical properties of LaTiO2N, due to the formation of La2O2S as a side-product. La2O2S formation resulted in a sub-stoichiometric La:Ti ratio in the LaTiO2N products, which dramatically lowered the reflectivity of the product powders above the absorption edge due to excess bulk Ti3+ centres. Urea or thiourea addition also decreased the median particle size of the LaTiO2N powders.

Host lattice Ba3Si5O13−δNδ oxonitridosilicates have been synthesized by the traditional solid state reaction method. The lattice structure is based on layers of vertex-linked SiO4 tetrahedrons and Ba2+ ions, where each Ba2+ ion is coordinated by eight oxygen atoms forming distorted square antiprisms. Under an excitation wavelength of 365 nm, Ba3Si5O13−δNδ:Eu2+ and Ba3Si5O13−δNδ:Eu2+,Ce3+ show broad emission bands from about 400–620 nm, with maxima at about 480 nm and half-peak width of around 130 nm. The emission intensity is strongly enhanced by co-doping Ce3+ ions into the Ba3Si5O13−δNδ:Eu2+ phosphor, which could be explained by energy transfer. The excitation band from the near UV to the blue light region confirms the possibility that Ba3Si5O13−δNδ:Eu2+, Ce3+ could be used as a phosphor for white LEDs.Emission spectra for Ba3(1−x−y)Si5O13−δNδ/xEu2+,yCe3+ (0≤x≤2%,0≤y≤2%) under the excitation wavelength of 365 nm.

Amorphous transparent conductive oxide films in the In–Zn–O system were deposited on polycarbonate (PC) substrates by simultaneous DC sputtering of an In2O3 target and a ZnO target with either 4 wt% Al2O3 or 7.5 wt% Ga2O3 impurities. Although the resistivity of the amorphous, non-doped In–Zn–O film on PC was about one order of magnitude higher than that on the glass substrate, the resistivity of the In–Zn–O films with Ga2O3 impurities on PC substrates was reduced to the level of the non-doped In–Zn–O films on glass substrates. The addition of Al2O3 or Ga2O3 to the In–Zn–O films also induced the widening of the optical band gap, which would improve transparency at blue wavelengths.