A graded diameter and oriented nanorod–thin film structure for solar cell application: a device proposal

This paper presents a device proposal based on a junction between an absorbing semiconductor nanorod structure and another window semiconductor layer for solar cell application. The possibility of band gap tuning by varying the diameter of the nanorods along the length, higher absorption coefficient at nanodimensions, the presence of a strong electrical field at the nanorod-window semiconductor nanojunctions and the carrier confinement in lateral direction are expected to result in enhanced absorption and collection efficiency in the proposed device. Process steps, feasibility, technological tasks needed for the realization of the proposed structure and the novelty of the present structure in comparison to the already reported nanostructured solar cells are also discussed.     

Domain nucleation dictates overall nanostructure in composites of block copolymers and model nanorods

The detailed nanostructure of composites formed from block copolymers and nanoparticles is known to depend sensitively on the preferred morphology of the block copolymer, on the shapes of the particles, and on interactions between the two components. But it can also depend on the kinetics of self-assembly in the polymer, and there are circumstances under which the kinetics of morphologically selective domain nucleation and growth determine the overall nanostructure of the composite. To study the mechanism of morphological seeding in block-copolymer nanocomposites, we have combined cylinder phases of polystyrene-block-polyisoprene diblock (as a solution in dibutylphthalate) and poly(styrene-block-isoprene-block-styrene) triblock (as a blend with homopolystyrene) copolymers with gold nanorods of different diameters and surface treatments. Polarized optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy on these composites demonstrate that the nanorods selectively nucleate coaxial domains of copolymer cylinders (i.e., domains of cylinders aligned along the same axis as the nanorod). These single nucleation events occur regardless of nanorod diameter and surface character, and determine the order of most of the surrounding polymer. Mesoscale modeling of the nucleation process, performed with nanorods of different diameters and with different polymer-surface interactions, illustrates the mechanism by which copolymer-dispersed nanorods with different sizes and surface chemistry can template the organization of cylindrical copolymer domains.     

Fabrication of ultraviolet photoconductive sensor using a novel aluminium-doped zinc oxide nanorod-nanoflake network thin film prepared via ultrasonic-assisted sol-gel and immersion methods

Unique and novel thin films with aluminium (Al)-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures consisting of nanorod-nanoflake networks were prepared for metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM)-type ultraviolet (UV) photoconductive sensor applications. These nanostructures were grown on a glass substrate coated with a seed layer using a combination of ultrasonic-assisted sol-gel and immersion methods. The synthesised ZnO nanorods had diameters varying from 10 to 40 nm. Very thin nanoflake structures were grown vertically and horizontally on top of the nanorod array. The thin film had good ZnO crystallinity with a root mean square roughness of approximately 13.59 nm. The photocurrent properties for the Al-doped ZnO nanorod-nanoflake thin films were more than 1.5 times greater than those of the seed layer when the sensor was illuminated with 365 nm UV light at a density of 5 mA/cm². The responsivity of the device was found to be dependent on the bias voltage. We found that similar photocurrent curves were produced over eight cycles, which indicated that the UV sensing capability of the fabricated sensor was highly reproducible. Our results provide a new approach for utilising the novel structure of Al-doped ZnO thin films with a nanorod-nanoflake network for UV sensor applications. To the best of our knowledge, UV photoconductive sensors using Al-doped ZnO thin films with a nanorod-nanoflake network have not yet been reported.     

纳米ZnO的制备及其光催化降解酸性红B

以Zn（acac）2·H2O为单源前驱体,用水热法成功地制备了纳米ZnO,利用X-射线衍射、扫描电子显微镜、透射电子显微镜等手段对样品进行了表征。对自制的纳米ZnO进行了光催化活性研究,结果表明：纳米ZnO对200～380nm波长范围的光和在可见光范围内都有较强的吸收作用。利用纳米ZnO作为光催化剂对有机染料溶液进行了降解实验,发现在太阳光照射3h后,对酸性红B的降解率可达到100%。     

Transformation of sputtered calcium copper titanate thin film into nanorods by sequential annealing

Rapid synthesis of long calcium copper titanate (CCTO) nanorods was carried out by sequential annealing. CCTO thin films have been deposited on p-Si substrate by RF sputtering technique and afterwards, the samples were thermally treated using a preheated furnace by varying the annealing temperature from 850 °C to 1100 °C. CCTO nanorods of 12 µm lengths and 400–600 nm diameters were synthesized at 1100 °C. Based on the FESEM observations, a plausible growth mechanism has been proposed to explain the formation of nanorods. The (220) XRD peak of the CCTO film became prominent for the annealing temperature of 950 °C. The presence of nanoscale crystals in amorphous matrix has been observed by HRTEM studies. The elemental mapping of CCTO nanorod has shown a spatial variation of elements throughout the nanorod. The oxide and interface charge density was found to be increased with the rise in annealing temperature.     

Hydroxyapatite nanorod-assembled hierarchical microflowers: rapid synthesis via microwave hydrothermal transformation of CaHPO4 and their application in protein/drug delivery

Hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanostructured materials have attracted much attention due to their excellent biocompatibility and promising applications in various biomedical fields. In this study, a facile method has been developed to synthesize HAP with flower-like hierarchical nanostructures. The flower-like CaHPO₄ precursor is firstly synthesized using triethyl phosphate (TEP) as the organic phosphorus source by the solvothermal method. The HAP hierarchical microflowers constructed with nanorods are then fabricated through rapid microwave hydrothermal transformation of the CaHPO₄ precursor in NaOH aqueous solution. The as-prepared HAP nanorod-assembled hierarchical microflowers are explored to study the protein/drug loading and release properties using hemoglobin (Hb) and ibuprofen (IBU) as a model protein and drug, respectively. The experimental results indicate that the as-prepared HAP nanorod-assembled hierarchical microflowers have relatively large specific surface area, high biocompatibility, high protein/drug loading capacity and pH-dependent sustained release properties. Thus, the as-prepared HAP nanorod-assembled hierarchical microflowers are promising for the applications in protein/drug delivery.     

Hydrothermal synthesis and rate capacity studies of Li3V2(PO4)3 nanorods as cathode material for lithium-ion batteries

It is an effective method by synthesizing one-dimensional nanostructure to improve the rate performances of cathode materials for Li-ion batteries. In this paper, Li₃V₂(PO₄)₃ nanorods were successfully prepared by hydrothermal reaction method. The structure, composition and shape of the prepared were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scan electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM), respectively. The data indicate the as-synthesis powders are defect-rich nanorods and the sizes are the length of several hundreds of nanometers to 1 μm and the diameter of about 60 nm. The preferential growth direction of the prepared material was the [1 2 0]. The electrodes consisting of the Li₃V₂(PO₄)₃ nanorods show the better discharge capacities at high rates over a potential range of 3.0-4.6 V. These results can be attributed to the shorter distance of electron transport and the fact that ion diffusion in the electrode material is limited by the nanorod radius. All these results indicate that the resulting Li₃V₂(PO₄)₃ nanorods are promising cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries.