Science

In the Department of Electrochemical Material Science unique process of aluminium surface anodizing has been developed, which enables to form novel alumina-graphene composite films with unprecedentedly low optical gap (1.53 eV), exciting chemical inertness and hardness.
Technology for uniform decoration of TiO₂ nanotube films with nanoparticles of the low-band gap semiconductors, such as Cu₂O, CuO, Cu_xSe_y, Fe₂O₃, MoS₂ has been developed. Variation of exciting light wavelength enables to transform MoS₂ to Mo oxide phases, what opens up new possibilities for laser writing.
Research in the area of synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles and possibilities of their application in nanomedicine is being performed. A new method for reliable covering of magnetic cobalt ferrite nanoparticles with gold shell using methionine amino acid as reducing agent for gold ions was developed. The size of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles is critical for their antimicrobial properties: the smaller the size, the stronger antimicrobial action towards bacteria of Candida group.
Novel low-cost reducing agents have been applied for the synthesis of red-luminescent gold nanoclusters, which have proved to be effective in detection of breast cancer tumours.
New method of decoration of anodic alumina films with silver nanoparticles enables to coat aluminum foils used in food industry with antimicrobial films of gold color.
Nanosctructurized layer of copper oxide with the actual surface are exceeding the geometric one by a factor of 250 has been formed by chemical oxidation of copper foil. Covering of such nanostructures with gold produces excellent substrates for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) measurements.

Department of Electrochemical Materials Science (Head habil. dr. R. Ramanauskas),
Laboratory of Spectroelectrochemistry (Head prof. G. Niaura),
Department of Catalysis (Head prof. E. Norkus)