Electrochemical Deposition of ZnO Nanorods on Transparent Reduced Graphene Oxide Electrodes for Hybrid Solar Cells

Monocrystalline ZnO nanorods (NRs) with high donor concentration are electrochemically deposited on highly conductive reduced graphene oxide (rGO) films on quartz. The film thickness, optical transmittance, sheet resistance, and roughness of rGO films are systematically studied. The obtained ZnO NRs on rGO films are characterized by X‐ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, photoluminescence, and Raman spectra. As a proof‐of‐concept application, the obtained ZnO NRs on rGO are used to fabricate inorganic–organic hybrid solar cells with layered structure of quartz/rGO/ZnO NR/poly(3‐hexylthiophene)/poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (P3HT/PEDOT:PSS)/Au. The observed power conversion efficiency (PCE, η), ≈ 0.31%, is higher than that reported in previous solar cells by using graphene films as electrodes. These results clearly demonstrate that rGO films with a higher conductivity have a smaller work function and show a better performance in the fabricated solar cells.     

Zinc Oxide Particles Catalytically Generate Nitric Oxide from Endogenous and Exogenous Prodrugs

Nitric oxide (NO) is a potent biological molecule that contributes to a wide spectrum of physiological processes. However, the full potential of NO as a therapeutic agent is significantly complicated by its short half‐life and limited diffusion distance in human tissues. Current strategies for NO delivery focus on encapsulation of NO donors into prefabricated scaffolds or an enzyme‐prodrug therapy approach. The former is limited by the finite pool of NO donors available, while the latter is challenged by the inherent low stability of natural enzymes. Zinc oxide (ZnO) particles with innate glutathione peroxidase and glycosidase activities, a combination that allows to catalytically decompose both endogenous (S‐nitrosoglutathione) and exogenous (β‐gal‐NONOate) donors to generate NO at physiological conditions are reported. By tuning the concentration of ZnO particles and NO prodrugs, physiologically relevant NO levels are achieved. ZnO preserves its catalytic property for at least 6 months and the activity of ZnO in generating NO from prodrugs in human serum is demonstrated. The ZnO catalytic activity will be beneficial toward generating stable NO release for long‐term biomedical applications.     

Sandwich Structured Metal oxide/Reduced Graphene Oxide/Metal Oxide-Based Polymer Electrolyte Enables Continuous Inorganic–Organic Interphase for Fast Lithium-Ion Transportation

Introducing inorganic fillers into organic poly(ethylene oxide)(PEO)-based electrolyte has attracted substantial attention to enhance its ionic conductivity and mechanical strength, but limited inorganic–organic interphases are always caused by isolated particles agglomeration. Herein, a variety of sandwich structured metal oxide/reduced graphene oxide(rGO)/metal oxide nanocomposites to optimize lithium-ion conduction by interconnected amorphous organic–inorganic interphases in lithium metal batteries, are proposed. With the support of high surface area rGO, the agglomeration of metal oxide particles is precluded, forming continuous amorphous organic–inorganic interphases with stacked layer-by-layer structure, thus creating 3D interconnected lithium-ion transportation channels vertically and laterally. Besides, metal oxide nanoparticles with hydroxyls possess high affinity toward bis(tri-fluoromethanesulfonyl)imide anions by hydrogen bindings between hydroxyls and fluorine and metal-oxygen bonds, releasing more free lithium ions. Consequently, PEO-ZnO/rGO/ZnO electrolyte delivers superior ionic conductivity of 1.02 × 10⁻⁴ S cm⁻¹ at 25 °C and lithium-ion transference number of 0.38 at 60 °C. Furthermore, ZnO/rGO/ZnO insertion promotes the formation of LiF-rich stable solid electrolyte interface, endowing Li symmetric cells with long-term cycling stability over 900 hours. The corresponding LiFePO₄ cathode possesses a high reversible specific capacity of 130 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.5C after cycling 300 cycles with a poor capacity fading of 0.05% per cycle.     

Low Working‐Temperature Acetone Vapor Sensor Based on Zinc Nitride and Oxide Hybrid Composites

Transition‐metal nitride and oxide composites are a significant class of emerging materials that have attracted great interest for their potential in combining the advantages of nitrides and oxides. Here, a novel class of gas sensing materials based on hybrid Zn₃N₂ and ZnO composites is presented. The Zn₃N₂/ZnO (ZnNO) composites‐based sensor exhibits selectivity and high sensitivity toward acetone vapor, and the sensitivity is dependent on the nitrogen content of the composites. The ZnNO‐11.7 described herein possesses a low working temperature of 200 °C. The detection limit (0.07 ppm) is below the diabetes diagnosis threshold (1.8 ppm). In addition, the sensor shows high reproducibility and long‐term stability.     

Preparation and characterization of copper nanoparticles/zinc oxide composite modified electrode and its application to glucose sensing

We report a new method for selective detection of d(+)-glucose using a copper nanoparticles (Cu-NPs) attached zinc oxide (ZnO) film coated electrode. The ZnO and Cu-NPs were electrochemically deposited onto indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass electrode and glassy carbon electrode (GCE) by layer-by-layer. In result, Cu-NPs/ZnO composite film topography was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. SEM and AFM confirmed the presence of nanometer sized Cu-NPs/ZnO composite particles on the electrode surface. In addition, X-ray diffraction pattern revealed that Cu-NPs and ZnO films were attached onto the electrode surface. Indeed, the Cu-NPs/ZnO composite modified electrode showed excellent electrocatalytic activity for glucose oxidation in alkaline (0.1 M NaOH) solution. Further, we utilized the Cu-NPs/ZnO composite modified electrode as an electrochemical sensor for detection of glucose. This glucose sensor showed a linear relationship in the range from 1 × 10^? 6 M to 1.53 × 10^? 3 M and the detection limit (S/N = 3) was found to be 2 × 10^? 7 M. The Cu-NPs/ZnO composite as a non-enzymatic glucose sensor presents a number of attractive features such as high sensitivity, stability, reproducibility, selectivity and fast response. The applicability of the proposed method to the determination of glucose in human urine samples was demonstrated with satisfactory results.     

Oxide Thin‐Film Electronics using All‐MXene Electrical Contacts

2D MXenes have shown great promise in electrochemical and electromagnetic shielding applications. However, their potential use in electronic devices is significantly less explored. The unique combination of metallic conductivity and hydrophilic surface suggests that MXenes can also be promising in electronics and sensing applications. Here, it is shown that metallic Ti₃C₂ MXene with work function of 4.60 eV can make good electrical contact with both zinc oxide (ZnO) and tin monoxide (SnO) semiconductors, with negligible band offsets. Consequently, both n‐type ZnO and p‐type SnO thin‐film transistors (TFTs) have been fabricated entirely using large‐area MXene (Ti₃C₂) electrical contacts, including gate, source, and drain. The n‐ and p‐type TFTs show balanced performance, including field‐effect mobilities of 2.61 and 2.01 cm² V^?1 s^?1 and switching ratios of 3.6 × 10⁶ and 1.1 × 10³, respectively. Further, complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) inverters are demonstrated. The CMOS inverters show large voltage gain of 80 and excellent noise margin of 3.54 V, which is 70.8% of the ideal value. Moreover, the operation of CMOS inverters is shown to be very stable under a 100 Hz square waveform input. The current results suggest that MXene (Ti₃C₂) can play an important role as contact material in nanoelectronics.     

Efficient Laser‐Induced Construction of Oxygen‐Vacancy Abundant Nano‐ZnCo2O4/Porous Reduced Graphene Oxide Hybrids toward Exceptional Capacitive Lithium Storage

Recently, binary ZnCo₂O₄ has drawn enormous attention for lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) as attractive anode owing to its large theoretical capacity and good environmental benignity. However, the modest electrical conductivity and serious volumetric effect/particle agglomeration over cycling hinder its extensive applications. To address the concerns, herein, a rapid laser‐irradiation methodology is firstly devised toward efficient synthesis of oxygen‐vacancy abundant nano‐ZnCo₂O₄/porous reduced graphene oxide (rGO) hybrids as anodes for LIBs. The synergistic contributions from nano‐dimensional ZnCo₂O₄ with rich oxygen vacancies and flexible rGO guarantee abundant active sites, fast electron/ion transport, and robust structural stability, and inhibit the agglomeration of nanoscale ZnCo₂O₄, favoring for superb electrochemical lithium‐storage performance. More encouragingly, the optimal L‐ZCO@rGO‐30 anode exhibits a large reversible capacity of ≈1053 mAh g^?1 at 0.05 A g^?1, excellent cycling stability (≈746 mAh g^?1 at 1.0 A g^?1 after 250 cycles), and preeminent rate capability (≈686 mAh g^?1 at 3.2 A g^?1). Further kinetic analysis corroborates that the capacitive‐controlled process dominates the involved electrochemical reactions of hybrid anodes. More significantly, this rational design holds the promise of being extended for smart fabrication of other oxygen‐vacancy abundant metal oxide/porous rGO hybrids toward advanced LIBs and beyond.     

Multilayer Stacked Low‐Temperature‐Reduced Graphene Oxide Films: Preparation,Characterization, and Application in Polymer Memory Devices

Highly reduced graphene oxide (rGO) films are fabricated by combining reduction with smeared hydrazine at low temperature (e.g., 100 °C) and the multilayer stacking technique. The prepared rGO film, which has a lower sheet resistance (≈160–500 Ω sq⁻¹) and higher conductivity (26 S cm⁻¹) as compared to other rGO films obtained by commonly used chemical reduction methods, is fully characterized. The effective reduction can be attributed to the large “effective reduction depth” in the GO films (1.46 µm) and the high C1s/O1s ratio (8.04). By using the above approach, rGO films with a tunable thickness and sheet resistance are achieved. The obtained rGO films are used as electrodes in polymer memory devices, in a configuration of rGO/poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT):phenyl‐C61‐butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM)/Al, which exhibit an excellent write‐once‐read‐many‐times effect and a high ON/OFF current ratio of 10⁶.     

Facile synthesis of poly(Safranine T)/Reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite for supercapacitors with wide potential window in aqueous neutral electrolyte

A facile method is introduced for incorporating reduced graphene oxide (rGO) into poly(safranine T) (PST) films. First, ST-functionalized GO (ST/GO) was obtained via the absorption of ST on GO in pH 7.0 phosphate buffer solution. Then rGO/PST composite was synthesized by the electropolymerization of ST and the subsequent electrochemical reduction of GO. The as-prepared PST/rGO composite films are characterized using scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform–infrared spectroscopy. PST/rGO composites possess a microporous structure, which creates enormous amount of pores, and therefore provides larger interfaces for charge carrier. The properties of electrochemical capacitance for PST/rGO composites have also been investigated with cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge–discharge measurements. The experimental results manifest that the PST/rGO composite showed high capacitance (293.2 F g^?1) at 20-mV s^?1 CV scan and an excellent cycling stability (8.3% drop after 1000 cycles) in 0.1 M Na₂SO₄ electrolyte.     

Ferroelectric Localized Field–Enhanced ZnO Nanosheet Ultraviolet Photodetector with High Sensitivity and Low Dark Current

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanosheets have demonstrated outstanding electrical and optical properties, which are well suited for ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors. However, they have a high density of intrinsically unfilled traps, and it is difficult to achieve p‐type doping, leading to the poor performance for low light level switching ratio and a high dark current that limit practical applications in UV photodetection. Here, UV photodetectors based on ZnO nanosheets are demonstrated, whose performance is significantly improved by using a ferroelectric localized field. Specifically, the photodetectors have achieved a responsivity of up to 3.8 × 10⁵ A W^?1, a detectivity of 4.4 × 10¹⁵ Jones, and a photocurrent gain up to 1.24 × 10⁶. These device figures of merit are far beyond those of traditional ZnO ultraviolet photodetectors. In addition, the devices' initial dark current can be easily restored after continuous photocurrent measurement by using a positive gate voltage pulse. This study establishes a new approach to produce high‐sensitivity and low‐dark‐current ultraviolet photodetectors and presents a crucial step for further practical applications.     

A High‐Sensitivity and Low‐Power Theranostic Nanosystem for Cell SERS Imaging and Selectively Photothermal Therapy Using Anti‐EGFR‐Conjugated Reduced Graphene Oxide/Mesoporous Silica/AuNPs Nanosheets

A high‐sensitivity and low‐power theranostic nanosystem that combines with synergistic photothermal therapy and surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) mapping is constructed by mesoporous silica self‐assembly on the reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets with nanogap‐aligned gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) encapsulated and arranged inside the nanochannels of the mesoporous silica layer. Rhodamine 6G (R6G) as a Raman reporter is then encapsulated into the nanochannels and anti‐epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is conjugated on the nanocomposite surface, defined as anti‐EGFR‐PEG‐rGO@CPSS‐Au‐R6G, where PEG is polyethylene glycol and CPSS is carbon porous silica nanosheets. SERS spectra results show that rGO@CPSS‐Au‐R6G enhances 5 × 10⁶ magnification of the Raman signals and thus can be applied in the noninvasive cell tracking. Furthermore, it displays high sensitivity (detection limits: 10^?8m R6G solution) due to the “hot spots” effects by the arrangements of AuNPs in the nanochannels of mesoporous silica. The highly selective targeting of overexpressing EGFR lung cancer cells (A549) is observed in the anti‐EGFR‐PEG‐rGO@CPSS‐Au‐R6G, in contrast to normal cells (MRC‐5). High photothermal therapy efficiency with a low power density (0.5 W cm^?2) of near‐infrared laser can be achieved because of the synergistic effect by conjugated AuNPs and rGO nanosheets. These results demonstrate that the anti‐EGFR‐PEG‐rGO@CPSS‐Au‐R6G is an excellent new theranostic nanosystem with cell targeting, cell tracking, and photothermal therapy capabilities.     

A Solution‐Processed High‐Performance Phototransistor based on a Perovskite Composite with Chemically Modified Graphenes

Phototransistors with a structure of a nitrogen‐doped graphene quantum dots (NGQDs)–perovskite composite layer and a mildly reduced graphene oxide (mrGO) layer are fabricated through a solution‐processing method. This hybrid phototransistor exhibits broad detection range (from 365 to 940 nm), high photoresponsivity (1.92 × 10⁴ A W^?1), and rapid response to light on–off (≈10 ms). NGQDs offer an effective and fast path for electron transfer from the perovskite to the mrGO, resulting in the improvement of photocurrent and photoswitching characteristics. The high photoresponsivity can also be ascribed to a photogating effect in the device. In addition, the phototransistor shows good stability with poly(methyl methacrylate) encapsulation, and can maintain 85% of its initial performance for 20 d in ambient air.     

Application of nanostructured ZnO films for electrochemical DNA biosensor

Nanostructured zinc oxide (nsZnO) films have been fabricated onto conducting indium–tin–oxide (ITO) coated glass plate, by cathodic electro-deposition to immobilize probe DNA specific to M. tuberculosis via physisorption based on strong electrostatic interactions between positively charged ZnO (isoelectric point = 9.5) and negatively charged DNA to detect its complementary target. Electrochemical studies reveal that the presence of nano-structured ZnO results in increased electro-active surface area for loading of DNA molecules. The DNA–nsZnO/ITO bioelectrode exhibits interesting characteristics such as detection range of 1 × 10^?6 ? 1 × 10^?12 M, detection limit of 1 × 10^?12 M (complementary target) and 1 × 10^?13 M (genomic DNA), reusability of about 10 times, response time of 60s and stability of up to 4 months when kept at 4°C.     

Unique Cobalt Sulfide/Reduced Graphene Oxide Composite as an Anode for Sodium‐Ion Batteries with Superior Rate Capability and Long Cycling Stability

Exploitation of high‐performance anode materials is essential but challenging to the development of sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs). Among all proposed anode materials for SIBs, sulfides have been proved promising candidates due to their unique chemical and physical properties. In this work, a facile solvothermal method to in situ decorate cobalt sulfide (CoS) nanoplates on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) to build CoS@rGO composite is described. When evaluated as anode for SIBs, an impressive high specific capacity (540 mAh g^?1 at 1 A g^?1), excellent rate capability (636 mAh g^?1 at 0.1 A g^?1 and 306 mAh g^?1 at 10 A g^?1), and extraordinarily cycle stability (420 mAh g^?1 at 1 A g^?1 after 1000 cycles) have been demonstrated by CoS@rGO composite for sodium storage. The synergetic effect between the CoS nanoplates and rGO matrix contributes to the enhanced electrochemical performance of the hybrid composite. The results provide a facile approach to fabricate promising anode materials for high‐performance SIBs.     

Electrohydrodynamic atomization approach to graphene/zinc oxide film fabrication for application in electronic devices

Graphene-based composites represent a new class of materials with potential for many applications. Metal, semiconductor, or any polymer properties can be tuned by attaching it to graphene. Here, a new route for fabrication of graphene based composites thin films has been explored. Graphene flakes (<4 layers) and a well-known semiconductor zinc oxide (ZnO) (<50 nm particle size) have been dispersed in N-methylpyrrolidone and ethanol, respectively. Thin film of graphene flakes is deposited and decorated with ZnO nanoparticles to fabricate graphene/ZnO composite thin film on silicon substrate by electro hydrodynamic atomization technique. Graphene/ZnO composite thin film has been characterized morphologically, structurally and chemically. To investigate electronic behavior of the composite thin film, it is deployed as cathode in a diode device i.e. indium tin oxide/poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly (styrenesulfonate)/polydioctylfluorene-benzothiadiazole/(graphene/ZnO). The J–V analysis of diode device has shown that at voltage of 1 V, the current density in organic structure is at low value of 4.69 × 10^?3 A/cm² and when voltage applied voltage is further increased; the device current density has increased by the order of 200 that is 1.034 A/cm² at voltage of 12 V.     

Composite of CH3NH3PbI3 with Reduced Graphene Oxide as a Highly Efficient and Stable Visible‐Light Photocatalyst for Hydrogen Evolution in Aqueous HI Solution

A facile and efficient photoreduction method is employed to synthesize the composite of methylammonium lead iodide perovskite (MAPbI₃) with reduced graphene oxide (rGO). This MAPbI₃/rGO composite is shown to be an outstanding visible‐light photocatalyst for H₂ evolution in aqueous HI solution saturated with MAPbI₃. Powder samples of MAPbI₃/rGO (100 mg) show a H₂ evolution rate of 93.9 µmol h^?1, which is 67 times faster than that of pristine MAPbI₃, under 120 mW cm^?2 visible‐light (λ ≥ 420 nm) illumination, and the composite is highly stable showing no significant decrease in the catalytic activity after 200 h (i.e., 20 cycles) of repeated H₂ evolution experiments. The electrochemiluminescence performance of MAPbI₃ is investigated to explore the charge transfer process, to find that the photogenerated electrons in MAPbI₃ are transferred to the rGO sites, where protons are reduced to H₂.     

Selective electrochemical detection of dopamine based on molecularly imprinted poly(5-amino 8-hydroxy quinoline) immobilized reduced graphene oxide

The dopamine-imprinted conducting polymer film of 5-amino 8-hydroxy quinoline (AHQ) was electrodeposited on reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-modified glassy carbon (GC) electrode and was applied as a molecular recognition element for the selective determination of dopamine. The molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP)-modified electrode showed an excellent affinity towards dopamine due to the presence of imprinted site through hydrogen bonding interaction between dopamine and poly (AHQ) membrane. The molecular recognition ability of MIP-modified electrode was analyzed by cyclic voltammetric and differential pulse voltammetric techniques. The most stable geometry of the template–monomer complex in the pre-polymerization mixture was calculated by computational approaches. The rGO modification augmented both surface area and electron transfer kinetics of the bare electrode. The GC/rGO/MIP electrode possessed 2.83 fold current enhancements when compared to GC/MIP electrode, indicating the improvement in sensitivity due to rGO modification. The limit of detection and sensitivity of GC/rGO/MIP electrode was observed to be 32.7 nM and 13.3 AM^?1 cm^?2, respectively. The imprinting methodology provided an exceptional selectivity towards the detection of dopamine even in the presence of high concentration of possible physiological interferents. Moreover, the fabricated electrode was successfully employed for the detection of dopamine in human blood plasma samples proving the effectiveness of the sensor for the sensitive detection of dopamine from real samples.     

All‐Carbon Pressure Sensors with High Performance and Excellent Chemical Resistance

An all‐carbon pressure sensor is designed and fabricated based on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanomaterials. By sandwiching one layer of superelastic rGO aerogel between two freestanding high‐conductive rGO thin papers, the sensor works based on the contact resistance at the aerogel–paper interfaces, getting rid of the alien materials such as polymers and metals adopted in traditional sensors. Without the limitation of alien materials, the all‐carbon sensors demonstrate an ultrawide detecting range (0.72 Pa–130 kPa), low energy consumption (≈0.58 µW), ultrahigh sensitivity (349–253 kPa^?1) at low‐pressure regime (<1.4 Pa), fast response time (8 ms at 1 kPa), high stability (10 000 unloading–loading cycles between 0 and 1 kPa), light weight (<10 mg), easily scalable fabrication process, and excellent chemical stability. These merits enable them to detect real‐time human physiological signals and monitor the weights of various droplets of not only water but also hazardous chemical reagents including strong acid, strong alkali, and organic solvents. This shows their great potential applications in real‐time health monitoring, sport performance detecting, harsh environment‐related robotics and industry, and so forth.     

Using Graphene Oxide to Enhance the Barrier Properties of Poly(lactic acid) Film

The ultra‐thin (polyethyleneimine/graphene oxide)_n [(PEI/GO)_n]multilayer films on poly(lactic acid) (PLA) were constructed via the layer‐by‐layer assembly. Here, the electrostatic interactions between PEI and GO were used to obtain the nanoscale composite membrane of (PEI/GO)_n on the surface of PLA film. With the number of assembling layers increased, the oxygen permeability (PO₂) of PLA film decreased substantially. As a 0.06 wt% GO solution was used with only four layers, the PO₂ decreased from 53.8 to 0.377 × 10^?4 cm³/m²/d/Pa, only 0.7% of the original PLA film. At the same time, the coated PLA film also presented a good transparency and better mechanical properties. It is a novel way to use GO on biodegradable packaging materials. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

ZnO nanoparticles: hydrothermal synthesis and 4-nitrophenol sensing property

In this paper reports a facile hydrothermal synthesis, characterization and sensing application of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures. ZnO nanostructures were synthesized by mixing triethylamine (TEA) with zinc nitrate at 60?°C followed by calcination at 650?°C for 6 h. The detailed characterizations conformed the synthesized ZnO nanostructures. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and Raman spectral analysis confirmed the formation of hexagonal ZnO. Band gap of the ZnO nanoparticles was determined by UV–visible absorption spectroscopy. Morphology and size of the sample was examined by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). It shows that the sample has rod and hexagonal morphology. Elemental composition was determined by energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy. The ZnO was coated on glassy carbon electrode (ZnO/GCE) and it was utilized as an electrochemical sensor for 4-nitrophenol (4-Np). Sensitivity and detection limit of ZnO/GCE towards 4-Np was found to be 0.04 µA/mM and 2.09?×?10^?5 M. The result suggests that ZnO has suitable sensor detection of 4-Np.