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Indium sulfide (In 2 S 3 ) thin films have been synthesized by chemical bath deposition technique onto glass substrates using In(NO 3 ) 3 as indium precursor and thioacetamide as sulfur source. X-ray diffraction studies have shown that the crystalline state of the as-prepared and the annealed films is β-In 2 S 3 . Optical band gap values between 2.27 and 2.41 eV were obtained for these films. The In 2 S 3 thin films are photosensitive with an electrical conductivity value in the range of 10, depending on the film preparation conditions. We have demonstrated that the In 2 S 3 thin films obtained in this work are suitable candidates to be used as window layer in thin film solar cells. These films were integrated in SnO 2 :F/In 2 S 3 /Sb 2 S 3 /PbS/C-Ag solar cell structures, which showed an open circuit voltage of 630 mV and a short circuit current density of 0.6 mA/cm 2 .

Less-comon nanostructures (nanoforms) such as "nanodumbbells", "nanorices", "nanolines", "nanotowers", "nanoshuttles", "nanobowlings", "nanowheels", "nanofans", "nanopencils", "nanotrees", "nanoarrows", "nanonails", "nanobottles", or "nanovolcanoes", among many others, have been reviewed. A considerable part of these nanoforms corresponds to gold, zinc oxide, and several binary inorganic compounds that are widely used in electronics. Synthesis methods for obtaining less-common nanoforms include wet-chemistry and electrochemical techniques, laser ablation, ultrasonic treatment, electron and ion beam irradiation, arc discharge, lithography, CVD and related routes, among others.

Treatment of petroleum spills and organic solvent pollution in general is an important issue; several techniques are under development to remove oil from water. The use of absorbents is one of the most common techniques to tackle this problem. These absorbents can be classified based on their characteristics of recyclability into irreversible and reversible ones. In this review, we discuss the application of several materials as oil absorbents, according to their classification and characteristics such as hydrophobicity, surface area and oil absorption capacity. Also, the fabrication methods for some materials are presented and analyzed.

Magnetic nanoparticle interfaces have aroused great scientific research interest in the biomedical area since the interaction of cells or biomolecules with nanoparticles is determined by the surface properties. Currently, in medical applications, there is a need to study cell interaction and growth, along with changes in structural or magnetic properties, attributed to nanoparticle coatings. In this study the coercive field changes in NixFe3‐xO4 nanoparticles (x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0) driven by partial or total substitution of Fe2+ content by Ni2+, and by aminosilane coating are evaluated. The nanoparticles are synthesized by the coprecipitation method. The inverse spinel structure is confirmed by X‐ray diffraction results and Raman spectra. The aminosilane coating is confirmed by energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Dynamic light scattering confirms a mean hydrodynamic size of 10 nm. Scanning electron microscopy micrographs of the uncoated and aminosilane‐coated samples show that the particles have a hemispherical shape. The coating increases the coercive field. In addition, uncoated Ni0.2Fe2.8O4 has the highest viability in both MCF7 and HeLa cell lines, and aminosilane coating decreases cell viability. This study contributes to future applications of nanomedicine, such as hyperthermia and drug delivery.