Structural and optical characterization of Ni-doped CdS quantum dots

Ni-doped CdS quantum dots have been prepared by chemical precipitation technique. The X-diffraction results indicated that the particle size of Ni-doped CdS nanoparticles is smaller than that of undoped CdS and no secondary phase was observed. The average grain size of the nanoparticles is found to lie in the range of 2.7–4 nm. The compositional analysis results show that Cd, Ni, and S are present in the samples. HRTEM studies reveal that the average particle size of undoped and Ni-doped CdS quantum dots is 2 and 3 nm, respectively. Raman spectra shows that 1LO, 2LO, and 3LO peaks of the Ni-doped CdS samples are slightly red shifted when compared to that of undoped CdS. The absorption edge of Ni-doped CdS nanoparticles is found to shift towards the higher-wavelength (red shift) side when compared to that of undoped CdS and the band gap is observed to lie in the range of 3.79–3.95 eV. This band gap is higher than that of the bulk CdS and is due to quantum confinement effect present in CdS nanoparticles.     

Preparation and electrochemical behaviour of biomass based porous carbons as electrodes for supercapacitors — a comparative investigation

We compared the relationship of the behavior and performance of sugarcane baggase and rice straw as supercapacitor electrodes. X-ray diffraction revealed the evolution of crystallites of carbon and silica during activation at higher temperature. The morphology of the carbon samples was determined by SEM. The surface area, pore volume, and pore size distribution of carbon composites were measured. The electrochemical responses were studied by using cyclic voltammetry experiment at 25 °C in a three-electrode configuration. The specific capacitance of the sugarcane bagasse carbon electrodes was in the range 92-340 F/g, whereas for rice straw, it was found to be 56–112 F/g at scan rates of 2-3 mV/s. The sugarcane bagasse carbon exhibited better performance than rice straw carbon using H₂SO₄ as the electrolyte. However, the results clearly show that lignocellulosic wastes possess a new biomass source of carbonaceous materials for high-performance supercapacitors.     

Preparation of an ecofriendly chitosan–ZnO composite for chromium complex dye adsorption

Three chitosan‐ZnO composites were prepared by the chitin deacetylation process using zinc chloride as source material and sodium hydroxide as precipitant. The physical characteristics of chitosan‐ZnO composites were studied using Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The adsorption of a chromium complex dye onto commercial chitosan, prepared chitosan and chitosan‐ZnO composites was investigated in aqueous dye solution. Dye calibration was carried out by UV‐vis spectroscopy. The calculated dye adsorption values for commercial chitosan, prepared chitosan, and chitosan‐ZnO composite samples are 0.0086, 0.0137, and 0.0214 mg/g respectively, indicating that the chitosan‐ZnO composites have better dye adsorption capacity than commercial chitosan and prepared chitosan. The experimental isotherm data for the composites fitted the Langmuir isotherm model well. Thus, the chitosan‐ZnO composites can be used as an effective biosorbent for the removal of anionic dyes.     

Quantum confinement effects in Gd-doped CdS nanoparticles prepared by chemical precipitation technique

CdS and Gd-doped CdS nanoparticles have been synthesized by chemical precipitation technique. The X-ray diffraction patterns show that the CdS and Gd-doped CdS nanoparticles exhibit hexagonal structure. The high resolution transmission electron microscope image shows that CdS and Gd-doped CdS nanoparticles have particle size lying in the range of 3.5 to 4.0 nm. Raman spectra show that 1LO, 2LO and 3LO peaks of the Gd-doped CdS nanoparticles are slightly shifted to lower wavenumber side when compared to that of CdS. Optical absorption spectra of Gd-doped CdS nanoparticles shows that absorption edge is slightly shifted towards longer wavelength side (red shift) when compared to that of CdS and this shift is due to the quantum confinement effect present in the samples.     

CdS quantum dot sensitized nanocrystalline Gd-doped TiO2 thin films for photoelectrochemical solar cells

CdS quantum dot sensitized Gd-doped TiO₂ nanocrystalline thin films have been prepared by chemical method. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that TiO₂ and Gd-doped TiO₂ nanocrystalline thin films are of anatase phase. The absorption spectra revealed that the absorption edge of CdS quantum dot sensitized Gd-doped TiO₂ thin films shifted towards longer wavelength side (red shift) when compared to that of CdS quantum dot sensitized TiO₂ films. CdS quantum dots with a size of 5 nm have been deposited onto Gd-doped TiO₂ film surface by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction method and the assembly of CdS quantum dot with Gd-doped TiO₂ has been used as photo-electrode in quantum dot sensitized solar cells. CdS quantum dot sensitized Gd-doped TiO₂ based solar cell exhibited a power conversion efficiency of 1.18 %, which is higher than that of CdS quantum dot sensitized TiO₂ (0.91 %).     

Chemical bath deposition of ZnO nanorods for dye sensitized solar cell applications

ZnO nanorods using various molar concentrations have been synthesized through the chemical bath deposition method. X-ray diffraction result shows that the ZnO nanorods are of hexagonal structure. The morphology of the ZnO nanorods has been examined by scanning electron microscopy. The ZnO nanorods have diameters ranging from 100 to 200 nm and length of 1–3 μm. Dye-sensitized solar cells have been assembled by using ZnO nanorod film photoelectrode sensitized using natural dye extracted from lantana camara as sensitizer. The ZnO nanorods have been used as electrode material to fabricate dye sensitized solar cells which exhibited an efficiency of 0.71 %, the maximum efficiency was obtained for films deposited for 0.07 M concentration.     

Tensile properties of chemically modified ring- and rotor-spun cotton yarns

The effects of chemical treatments and modifications on the tensile properties of ring-and rotor-spun cotton yarns is discussed. The rotor-spun yarns treated with zinc chloride show a higher tenacity at low stretch levels compared to sodium hydroxide, whereas with sodium hydroxide, the rotor-spun yarns show higher tenacity at higher stretch levels compared with zinc chloride. The aqueous-treated rotor-spun yarns show a higher change in tenacity compared to ring-spun yarns. Sodium hydroxide-treated yarns before resin treatment show a higher retained tenacity compared to zinc chloride-treated yarns. The substitution treatment after swelling and stretching to 100% shows a higher tenacity than that of the slack substituted yarns. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Electrodeposition of Ru by atomic layer deposition (ALD)

Studies are presented describing attempts to form a cycle for the growth of Ru nanofilms using the electrochemical form of atomic layer deposition (ALD). Au substrates have been used to form Ru nanofilms, based on layer by layer growth of deposits, using surface limited reactions. These deposits were formed using surface limited redox replacement (SLRR), where an atomic layer of a sacrificial element is first deposited by underpotential deposition (UPD), and is then exchanged for the element of interest. The use of the UPD atomic layer limits subsequent growth by limiting the number of electrons available for deposition. In the present study, Pb atomic layers were used, and exposed to solutions of Ru³⁺ ions at open circuit. This process can then be repeated to grow films of the desired thickness. It was shown that less than an at.% of Pb was evident in the deposits, using electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), and even that could be removed if a stripping step was added to the ALD cycle. The deposits displayed the expected Ru voltammetry, as well as the Ru hcp XRD pattern. There were some differences in the first 20 cycles, compared with subsequent, suggesting some nucleation process that must be investigated. However, after 20 cycles, the deposit showed the linear growth with the number of cycles expected for an ALD process. The morphology of Ru films, deposited on template-stripped Au was studied using ex situ scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and showed no evidence of 3D growth.     

Dye-sensitized ZnO nanorod based photoelectrochemical solar cells with natural dyes extracted from Ixora coccinea,Mulberry and Beetroot

ZnO nanorods have been prepared on indium tin oxide (ITO) glass substrates coated with sol–gel based ZnO seed layer through chemical method. Natural dyes (Ixora coccinea, Mulberry and Beetroot) have been used for the fabrication of dye sensitized solar cells. The surface morphology studied using scanning electron microscope shows that the vertically aligned ZnO nanorods are of hexagonal shape. The solar cell efficiency has been calculated and is found to be 0.33, 0.41 and 0.28% for Ixora coccinea, Mulberry and Beetroot extract dye sensitized solar cells.