Ion beam induced evolution of surface morphology and optical properties of SnO2–ZnO nanocomposite thin films

SnO₂–ZnO nanocomposite thin films, prepared by a simple carbothermal reduction based vapor deposition method, were irradiated with 8 MeV Si³⁺ ions for engineering the morphological and optical properties. The surface morphology of the nanocomposites was studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM), while the optical properties were investigated by photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) and Raman spectroscopy. AFM studies on the irradiated samples revealed growth of nanoparticles at lower fluence and a significant change in surface morphology leading to the formation of nanosheets and their aggregates at higher fluences. A tentative mechanism underlying the observed ion induced evolution of surface morphology of SnO₂–ZnO nanocomposite is proposed. PL studies revealed strong enhancement in the UV emissions from the nanocomposite thin film at lower fluence, while a drastic decrease in the UV emissions along with a significant enhancement in the defect emissions has been observed at higher fluences.     

Synthesis and characterization of nanostructured magnetoresistive Ni doped ZnO films

We report a method to produce magnetic nanostructured semiconductor films based in ZnO doped with Nickel to control their magnetic properties. The method is based on a combined diffusion–oxidation process within a controlled atmosphere chamber to produce a uniform distribution of Ni ions in the ZnO films (ZnO:Ni). The synthesis of ZnO:Ni films is reported as well as the magnetoresistive characteristics, the used method yields films with reproducible and homogeneous properties. The films were also characterized structurally by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy, and by Hall–van der Pauw measurements. The XRD measurements confirm the nanocrystalline films character. The films resulted of n-type conductivity with electron concentrations of ~10²⁰ cm⁻³ in average and carrier mobilities of 5 cm²/V s. The Magnetoresistance (MR) behavior of the films at 300 K shows negative changes of ΔR~0.5% in accordance with the usual literature reports on samples produced by other methods.     

Investigation on sulphonated zinc oxide nanorod incorporated sulphonated poly (1,4-phenylene ether ether sulfone) nanocomposite membranes for improved performance of microbial fuel cell

Hydrothermally prepared zinc oxide nanorods are sulphonated (S–ZnO NR) and incorporated into 15% Sulphonated Poly (1,4-Phenylene Ether Ether Sulfone) (SPEES) to improve the hydrophilicity, water uptake and ion transfer capacity. Water uptake and ion transfer capacity increased to 34.6 ± 0.6% and 2.0 ± 0.05 meq g^?1 from 29.8 ± 0.3% and 1.4 ± 0.04 meq g^?1 by adding 7.5 wt% S–ZnO NR to SPEES. Morphological studies show the prepared S–ZnO NR is well dispersed in the polymer matrix. SPEES +7.5 wt% S–ZnO NR membrane exhibits optimum performance after three-weeks of continual operation in a fabricated microbial fuel cell (MFC) to produce a maximum power density of 142 ± 1.2 mW m^?2 with a reduced biofilm compared to plain SPEES (59 ± 0.8 mW m^?2), unsulphonated filler incorporated SPEES (SPEES + 7.5 wt% ZnO, 68 ± 1.1 mW m^?2) and Nafion (130 ± 1.5 mW m^?2) thereby suggesting its suitability as a sustainable and improved cation exchange membrane (CEM) for MFCs.     

Controlling thickness to tune performance of high-mobility transparent conducting films deposited from Ga-doped ZnO ceramic target

Structure modification has been found to tune significantly the transparent-conducting performance, especially mobility and conductivity of hydrogenated Ga-doped ZnO (HGZO) films. The strong correlation between film thickness and mobility of the films is revealed. The mobility increases quickly with increasing the thickness from 350 to 900 nm, and then tends to be saturated at further thicknesses. A higher mobility than 50 cm²/Vs can be achieved, which is an extra-high value for polycrystalline ZnO films deposited by using the sputtering technique. The thickness-dependent mobility originates from scatterings on grain boundaries and dislocation-induced defects controlled by thin-film growth. Based on the Volmer-Weber model, an expansion model is built up to describe the thickness-dependent crystal growth of the HGZO films, especially at the thick films. As a result, the 800 nm-thick HGZO film obtains the highest performance with high mobility of 51.5 cm²/Vs, low resistivity of 5.3 × 10^?4 Ωcm, and good transmittance of 83.3 %.     

The effect of growth conditions,point defects and hydrogen on the electronic structure and properties of p-type (Al,N) codoped ZnO: A first principles study

The effects of point defects, hydrogen, and growth conditions on the electronic structure and properties of the (Al,N) codoped p-type ZnO have been investigated using the first principles method. The obtained results showed that the Al_Zn–N_O–V_Zn complex is a shallow acceptor that can play an important role in achieving the p-type conductivity in the (Al,N) codoped ZnO films. Our results showed also that the electrical conductivity type in the (Al,N) codoped ZnO films strongly depends on the donor/acceptor concentrations ratio. The codoped ZnO films prepared under both Zn-rich and O-rich growth conditions with a donors/acceptors ratio of 1:2 have a p-type conductivity, while those prepared with a ratio of 1:1 cannot be p-type unless if they are prepared under O-rich conditions. The achieved p-type quality depends also on the used nitrogen doping source. To prepare p-type ZnO film of high quality using the (Al,N) codoping method, the use of NO or NO₂ is recommended. The presence of donor defects such as oxygen vacancies and hydrogen will significantly affect the electronic properties of the (Al,N) codoped ZnO films, and if the concentration of these defects in the sample is high enough, the material can be easily converted to n-type.     

Facile growth of novel morphology correlated Ag/Co-doped ZnO nanowire/flake-like composites for superior photoelectrochemical water splitting activity

In this paper, novel morphology correlation between silver nanowires (AgNWs) and cobalt (Co)-doped ZnO (Co-ZnO) flake-like thin films (nanowire/flake-like) has been proposed for enhanced photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting activity. Here in, high-quality AgNWs/Co-ZnO heterostructures enabled superior visible light water splitting activity compared to the pure ZnO and AgNWs/ZnO. To address the strategic effect of AgNWs coupling and transition metal (Co-2?at%) doping into the ZnO host lattice, we have carried out the X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV–Vis transmittance, water contact angle and PEC analyses. In this way, PEC water splitting activity was mainly examined by linear sweep voltammetry (I-V), amperometric I-t and photoconversion efficiency (η) studies. The experimental results provide clear evidence of morphology correlation between AgNWs and Co-ZnO flake-like structures for strong visible light absorption. Specifically, AgNWs/Co-ZnO composites exhibited significant enhancement in the photocurrent density (7.0?×?10^?4 A/cm²) than AgNWs/ZnO (3.2?×?10^?4 A/cm²) and pure ZnO (1.5?×?10^?6 A/cm²). As a result, detailed AgNWs/Co-ZnO geometry has great potential for photoconversion efficiency (0.73%). In a word, the merits of controllable AgNWs/Co-ZnO heterostructure are proposed to improve the visible light harvesting and charge carrier generation for energy conversion devices.     

Formation of ST12 phase Ge nanoparticles in ZnO thin films

In this work, we focus on the Ge nanoparticles (Ge-np) embedded ZnO multilayered thin films. Effects of reactive and nonreactive growth of ZnO layers on the rapid thermal annealing (RTA) induced formation of Ge-np have been specifically investigated. The samples were deposited by sequential r.f. and d.c. sputtering of ZnO and Ge thin film layers, respectively on Si substrates. As-prepared thin film samples have been exposed to an ex-situ RTA at 600 °C for 60 s under forming gas atmosphere. Structural characterizations have been performed by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Raman scattering, Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) techniques. It has been realized that reactive or nonreactive growth of ZnO layers significantly influences the morphology of the ZnO: Ge samples, most prominently the crystal structure of Ge-np. XRD and Raman analysis have revealed that while reactive growth results in a mixture of diamond cubic (DC) and simple tetragonal (ST12) Ge-np, nonreactive growth leads to the formation of only DC Ge-np upon RTA process. Formation of ST12 Ge-np has been discussed based on structural differences due to reactive and nonreactive growth of ZnO embedding layer.     

Ni,Cr, and Fe surfaces corroded by molten ZnCl2

Understanding the corrosion of molten ZnCl₂ on metal surfaces is significant for the corrosion protection of metals, sustainable use of molten salts, preparation of ZnO coatings, and so on. In this paper, surfaces of pure Ni, Cr, and Fe corroded by molten ZnCl₂ were investigated. The results show that Ni suffered very slight corrosion, while Cr experienced more serious corrosion than Ni, but lighter corrosion than Fe. The morphology of the corrosion of Cr and Fe, respectively, presented pitting and intergranular corrosion characteristics. Furthermore, nanostructured ZnO coatings were obtained on the surfaces of Ni and Fe, but not on the surface of Cr. The ZnO coating on the Ni surface was doped with a small amount of Zn₅(OH)₈Cl₂, and the ZnO coating on the Fe surface was doped with ZnFe₂O₄ and Zn₂OCl₂. The coatings on the Ni and Fe surfaces had an average thickness of 1.5 and 50 μm, respectively.     

ZnO基薄膜晶体管的研究

ZnO是一种宽带隙的光电半导体材料,能应用于很多领域,如可用在压敏变阻器、声表面波器件、气敏元件、紫外光探测等。ZnO也可以作为有源层应用于薄膜晶体管(TFT)中。ZnO基薄膜晶体管具有以下突出优势:对于可见光部分平均具有80%以上的透射率,迁移率可以高达36cm2/V·s,开/关电流比大于106,可在较低温度(甚至室温)下制备。基于这些优点,ZnOTFT具有取代有源矩阵液晶显示器中常规a-SiTFT的趋势。同时对ZnOTFT的研究也推动了透明电子学的发展。本文阐述了ZnOTFT优越的电学性能,指出了其目前尚存在的不足,并对其发展前景进行了展望。     

氧化锌压敏电阻的老化机理

研究了ZnO压敏电阻的老化现象,提出了一种新的老化机理-线性链理论。该理论认为,在外电场作用下,压敏电阻势垒高度降低;当降低到一定值时,晶界可变电阻转化为线性晶界电阻,从而压敏链转化为线性链。线性链是稳定的,因而压敏电阻老化到一定程度后其电性能将不能完全恢复。