•Cs0.32WO3/SiO2 aerogel multilayer composite coating was prepared on glass substrate.•The effect of SiO2 aerogel coating thickness on the light transmittance was studied.•The composite coating exhibited excellent heat shielding and insulation properties.A novel Cs0.32WO3/SiO2 aerogel multilayer composite coating has been fabricated on glass substrate using the colloidal dispersion of Cs0.32WO3 and SiO2 aerogel nanoparticles, respectively. The effects of SiO2 aerogel layer thickness on the visible and near-infrared light transmittance of Cs0.32WO3/SiO2 composite coating have been investigated. The results indicate that the composite coating can achieve maximum visible light transmission when the thickness of SiO2 aerogels layer is 138 µm. When the aerogel layer thickness exceeds 138 µm, the light transmittance has a decreasing trend and near infrared shielding rate tends to increase further. It is expected that the Cs0.32WO3/SiO2 aerogel multilayer composite coatings with appropriate aerogel layer thickness would not only have higher visible light transmittance, but also have excellent near-infrared shielding and thermal insulation performance.

In this paper, a kind of magnetic mesoporous iron oxide/silica composite aerogels with high adsorption ability is prepared by ambient pressure drying method. The results indicate that the obtained magnetic aerogels with Fe/Si (molar ratio) >0.91 % have higher specific surface area with 310.8–411.0 m2 g−1 and pore volume with 0.85–1.12 cm3 g−1. The adsorption test indicates that the obtained magnetic aerogels showed prominent adsorption capability with the adsorption rate for Rhodamine B in aqueous solution could attain to 95.8 % within 80 min. Moreover, all the composite aerogels exhibited good magnetic properties and could be easily separated from the water after adsorption.

•Using ethanol as solvent is favorable for obtaining pure hexagonal CsxWO3 crystals.•Autoclave rotating during reaction is helpful for decreasing the particle size.•Hexagonal Cs0.3WO3 crystals can be synthesized more easily from CsOH·H2O than CsCl.In this work, the effects of processing parameters such as reaction solvent, autoclave rotating and Cs source on the morphology and microstructure of CsxWO3 products were investigated. The as-synthesized CsxWO3 samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and spectrophotometer. The results indicate that using ethanol as solvent is favorable for obtaining pure hexagonal Cs0.20WO3 or Cs0.30WO3 crystals. With the increase of water content in the reaction solution, some impurities such as WO3 and WO3(H2O)0.333 easily form due to the decrease of reducing atmosphere. The autoclave rotating during the reaction is very helpful for decreasing the particle size, but is not very favorable for forming rod-like hexagonal CsxWO3 to some extent. In addition, the reaction solvent, autoclave rotating and Cs source have great effects on the optical absorption of CsxWO3 products.Effects of processing parameters on the morphology and microstructure of CsxWO3 were investigated. Autoclave rotating during reaction is helpful for decreasing the particle size, and ethanol solvent is favorable for forming pure hexagonal CsxWO3 crystals. The reaction conditions have great effects on the optical absorption of CsxWO3 products.

•N2 annealing could further improve the near-infrared (NIR) shielding of CsxWO3.•Effects of N2 annealing on microstructure and NIR shielding of CsxWO3 were studied.•The 500 °C-N2-annealed CsxWO3 exhibited minimum O/W ratio and most oxygen vacancies.•The 500 °C-N2-annealed CsxWO3 particles exhibited best NIR shielding properties.In order to further improve the near-infrared shielding properties of cesium tungsten bronze (CsxWO3) for solar filter applications, CsxWO3 particles were prepared by solvothermal reaction method and the effects of nitrogen annealing on the microstructure and near-infrared shielding properties of CsxWO3 were investigated. The obtained CsxWO3 samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and spectrophotometer. The results indicate that nanosheet-like CsxWO3 particles with hexagonal structure began to transform into nanorods after annealed at temperature higher than 600 °C. The near-infrared shielding properties of CsxWO3 particles could be further improved by N2 annealing at 500–700 °C. Particularly, the 500 °C-annealed CsxWO3 samples in the N2 atmosphere showed best near-infrared shielding properties. It was suggested that the excellent near-infrared shielding ability of the 500 °C-annealed CsxWO3 samples is correlated with its minimum O/W atomic ratio and most oxygen vacancies.

Tungsten oxides with various morphologies and crystal phases were synthesized by solvothermal reactions at 200 °C for 7–12 h using different solvents. The morphology and crystal phase of tungsten oxides changed depending on the solvents, i.e., spherical particles of ca. 1 μm in diameter consisting of nanowires, spindle shaped bundles of ca. 1 μm in length consisting of nanowires and accumulations consisting of micrometer sized plates and/or rods of tungsten oxides were obtained using ethanol, 1-propanol and water–ethanol mixed solution, respectively. When water–ethanol mixed solution was used, the crystallinity of tungsten oxide increased but the specific surface area greatly decreased. Crystallinity of tungsten oxides had more important effects on the NO degradation under light irradiation. The product using 42.9 vol.% water–ethanol mixed solvent consisted of the mixture of anhydrous tungsten oxide and hydrous tungsten oxide with preferential orientation of (0 0 2) plane and small band gap energy (2.43 eV), and showed higher photocatalytic degradation of NO even though it had a much smaller specific surface area than those prepared using ethanol and 1-propanol.Graphical abstractResearch highlights▶ Morphology and crystal phase of tungsten oxides depend on the solvothermal reaction solvents. The specific surface area and optical absorption depend on the morphology and crystal phase. Crystallinity has more important effects on photocatalytic activity than specific surface area.

Cesium tungsten oxides (CsxWO3) were synthesized by solvothermal reactions using ethanol and 57.1 vol% ethanol aqueous solution at 200 °C for 12 h, and the effects of post annealing in ammonia atmosphere on the microstructure and electrical–optical properties were investigated. Agglomerated particles consisting of disk-like nanoparticles and nanorods of CsxWO3 were formed in the pure ethanol and ethanol aqueous solutions, respectively. The samples retained the original morphology and crystallinity after annealing in ammonia atmosphere up to 500 °C, while a small amount of nitrogen ion were incorporated in the lattice. The as-prepared CsxWO3 sample showed excellent near infrared (NIR) light shielding ability as well as high transparency in the visible light region. The electrical resistivity of the pressed pellets of the powders prepared in pure ethanol and 57.1 vol% ethanol aqueous solution greatly decreased after ammonia annealing at 500 °C, i.e., from 734 to 31.5 and 231 to 3.58 Ω cm, respectively.Graphical abstractCesium tungsten oxides (CsxWO3) with different morphology were synthesized by solvothermal reaction, and the effects of post-ammonia annealing on the microstructure and electrical–optical properties were investigated.

•TiO2 and Si-OCP composite coatings were synthesized on zirconia ceramics.•Low temperature degradation of ZrO2 substrate could be suppressed by TiO2 layer.•Si-doped OCP coating was firstly synthesized by biomimetic method.In order to prevent the low temperature degradation and improve the bioactivity of zirconia ceramic implants, TiO2 and Si-doped octacalcium phosphate composite coating was prepared on zirconia substrate. The preventive effect on low temperature degradation and surface morphology of the TiO2 layer were studied. Meanwhile, the structure and property changes of the bioactive coating after doping Si were discussed. The results indicate that the dense TiO2 layer, in spite of some microcracks, inhibited the direct contact of the water vapor with the sample's surface and thus prevented the low temperature degradation of zirconia substrates. The acceleration aging test shows that the ratio of the monoclinic phase transition decreased from 10% for the original zirconia substrate to 4% for the TiO2-coated substrate. As to the Si-doped octacalcium phosphate coating prepared by biomimetic method, the main phase composition of the coating was octacalcium phosphate. The morphology of the coating was lamellar-like, and the surface was uniform and continuous with no cracks being observed. It is suggested that Si was added into the coating both through substituting for PO43− and doping as NaSiO3.TiO2 and Si doped octacalcium phosphate composite coatings were successfully synthesized on zirconia ceramics. The dense TiO2 layer, in spite of some microcracks, inhibited the direct contact of the water vapor with the sample's surface and thus prevented the low temperature degradation of zirconia substrates. As to the Si-doped octacalcium phosphate coating, the morphology of the coating was lamellar-like, and it can be indicated that Si was added into the coating.