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Bifunctional superparamagnetic–luminescent core–shell–satellite structured microspheres are prepared by a layer-by-layer assembly between metal cations and thiol groups for magnetodisplay applications.

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In this study, we synthesized vanadium (V) nanoparticles precursor (NH 4 ) 5 [(VO) 6 (CO 3 ) 4 (OH) 9 ]Á10H 2 O a two-phase system of toluene and water. Colloid solution including titanium(IV) isopropoxide and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was subsequently deposited onto the nanoparticles to form urchin-like structures in a toluene solution as the vanadium-titanium (V-Ti) complex precursor. Calcining the urchin-like precursor at 700°C generated nanowhiskers of the Ti/V oxide complex after annealing process. These nanowhiskers were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron microscopy (XPS). Films of the Ti/V oxide nanowhisker structure exhibited good visible transparency and a large change in transmittance at near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths before and after the metal-insulator phase transition. For a 44-nm-thick single-layer nanowhisker thin film, the transmittances at 700 nm in the metallic (M) and semiconductive (S) states were 75 and 72.2 %, respectively; the NIR switching efficiency (DT 2000 ) increased from 17 to 21.3 % at 2000 nm under UV light irradiation. In addition, the nanowhisker thin film of the Ti/V oxide complex significantly enhanced the photodecomposition of methylene blue under UV irradiation, relative to that of the unmodified TiO 2 . The dual functions of this material-thermochromicity and photocatalytic behavior-suggest that it might have interesting applications in energy-saving smart windows.