Photovoltaic properties of ZnO nanorods/p-type Si heterojunction structures

• Rafal Pietruszka,
• Bartlomiej S. Witkowski,
• Grzegorz Luka,
• Lukasz Wachnicki,
• Sylwia Gieraltowska,
• Krzysztof Kopalko,
• Eunika Zielony,
• Piotr Bieganski,
• Ewa Placzek-Popko and
• Marek Godlewski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 173–179, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.17

• not only nanorods but also fill in the gaps between them (Figure 4). Samples A and B show a core-shell structure with the zinc oxide nanorod being the core and the AZO layer being the shell. For closely packed nanorods (sample C) the AZO film is grown only on the top of the nanorods. However, we also

Template based precursor route for the synthesis of CuInSe₂ nanorod arrays for potential solar cell applications

• Mikhail Pashchanka,
• Jonas Bang,
• Niklas S. A. Gora,
• Ildiko Balog,
• Rudolf C. Hoffmann and
• Jörg J. Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 868–874, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.98

• CuInSe2 (CISe) nanorods are promising for the fabrication of highly efficient active layers in solar cells. In this work we report on a nanocasting approach, which uses track-etched polycarbonate films as hard templates for obtaining three-dimensionally (3D) arranged CISe nanorod arrays. Copper and indium

• body’, a subsequent dissolution of the template, and a final thermal treatment at 450 °C. The nanorods that where synthesised in this way have dimensions equal to the pore sizes of the template. Investigation of the CuInSe2 nanorod samples by spectroscopic and diffraction methods confirmed a high

• purity and crystallinity, and a stoichiometric composition of the CISe ternary semiconductor compound. Keywords: CIS; light absorption; nanocasting; nanorod arrays; precursor synthesis; Introduction Polycrystalline heterojunction solar cells with a columnar morphology of the photovoltaic active layer

Photoresponse from single upright-standing ZnO nanorods explored by photoconductive AFM

• Igor Beinik,
• Markus Kratzer,
• Astrid Wachauer,
• Lin Wang,
• Yuri P. Piryatinski,
• Gerhard Brauer,
• Xin Yi Chen,
• Yuk Fan Hsu,
• Aleksandra B. Djurišić and
• Christian Teichert

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 208–217, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.21

• difference between the 0.22 eV found here and the 0.54 eV can be simply explained by a higher junction temperature induced by the higher current. On the one hand, this “heating” affects the surface properties due to increased desorption, and on the other hand it might lead to a local annealing of the nanorod

• upright standing ZnO nanorods, of photoluminescence obtained at 300 K. Current–voltage characteristics of dark (green curve, dashed) and illuminated state (red curve, solid) recorded from a single upright-standing ZnO nanorod by using a standard ±20 nA range amplifier. The illuminated characteristic was

Effect of spherical Au nanoparticles on nanofriction and wear reduction in dry and liquid environments

• Dave Maharaj and
• Bharat Bhushan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 759–772, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.85

• testers [26]. In these studies, glycerol was also combined with water to lower the viscosity, which may be feasible for micro/nanoscale applications. Dodecane has been used as a base fluid with ZnS nanorod additives [27], which also resulted in a reduction in the coefficient of friction and wear. Tests

Paper modified with ZnO nanorods – antimicrobial studies

• Mayuree Jaisai,
• Sunandan Baruah and
• Joydeep Dutta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 684–691, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.78

• the paper samples are 102% and 70%, and for Aspergillus niger, 224% and 183% of the sample area, under similar lighting conditions. Keywords: antimicrobial; nanorod; paper; photocatalysis; zinc oxide; Introduction Deterioration of library materials due to fungal growth is a worldwide problem and a

• demonstrating the immobilization properties of ZnO-nanorod-loaded paper samples. In Figure 4a the activity obtained was on a plain paper sample, albeit under the condition that 100 µL of the suspension of the microbial cells was spread on nutrient agar and the square paper samples. We did not observe a marked

• for the sample grown at a concentration of 20 mM. The ZnO nanorods grown on the paper supports are single crystalline, which was confirmed from the electron diffraction pattern shown in Figure 7b. The diffraction pattern was taken on the ZnO nanorod shown in the TEM micrograph in Figure 7a. The

Highly efficient ZnO/Au Schottky barrier dye-sensitized solar cells: Role of gold nanoparticles on the charge-transfer process

• Tanujjal Bora,
• Htet H. Kyaw,
• Soumik Sarkar,
• Samir K. Pal and
• Joydeep Dutta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 681–690, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.73

• of the Au nanoparticles, enhanced power-conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.49% for small-area (0.1 cm2) ZnO/Au-nanocomposite DSSC was achieved compared to the 5.34% efficiency of the bare ZnO nanorod DSSC. The TCSPC studies revealed similar dynamics for the charge transfer from dye molecules to ZnO

• the ZnO/Au interface. For large area DSSC (1 cm2), ~130% enhancement in PCE (from 0.50% to 1.16%) was achieved after incorporation of the Au nanoparticles into the ZnO nanorods. Keywords: dye-sensitized solar cell; gold nanoparticle; picosecond spectroscopy; Schottky barrier; zinc oxide nanorod

• those of a ZnO-nanorod DSSC without gold nanoparticles. Results and Discussion The surface morphology of hydrothermally grown ZnO nanorods and in-situ-deposited Au-nanoparticle-coated ZnO nanorods is shown in Figure 1, where the diameter of the ZnO nanorods was found to vary from ~500 to 700 nm and the

Investigation on structural, thermal, optical and sensing properties of meta-stable hexagonal MoO₃ nanocrystals of one dimensional structure

• Angamuthuraj Chithambararaj and
• Arumugam Chandra Bose

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 585–592, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.62

• -dimensional structure of h-MoO3. HRTEM image of an as-synthesized h-MoO3 nanorod and their electron diffraction pattern (inset). EELS spectrum of resultant h-MoO3. TG/DTG and DTA curve of h-MoO3. DRS spectrum of h-MoO3 (Inset: optical band gap energy of h-MoO3). Spectral response of h-MoO3 for varying

A collisional model for AFM manipulation of rigid nanoparticles

• Enrico Gnecco

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2010, 1, 158–162, doi:10.3762/bjnano.1.19

• applicable provided that the particle does not roll and that its shape is not cylindrical. Translation and wobbling of nanorods The manipulation of a rigid nanorod formed by a cylinder (with length L) and two hemispherical caps (with radius a) is particularly instructive. Here, any possible rolling can be

• ignored and we can distinguish between two types of collision: (a) The tip touches the cylindrical core of the nanorod (“core” collision). (b) The tip touches one of the two hemispherical ends of the rod (“cap” collision). In case (a) the equations of motion of the nanorod can be written in the form [6

Low-temperature solution growth of ZnO nanotube arrays

• Ki-Woong Chae,
• Qifeng Zhang,
• Jeong Seog Kim,
• Yoon-Ha Jeong and
• Guozhong Cao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2010, 1, 128–134, doi:10.3762/bjnano.1.15

• ]. Figure 2 shows the SEM image of ZnO nanorod arrays obtained by a growth on the ZnO-seeded ITO substrate at 90 °C for 10 h. The synthesized ZnO nanorods with a diameter of ~200 nm were well aligned and have a perfect hexagonal shape. The length of the ZnO nanorods observed by SEM was approximately 1.2 µm

• ZnO-seeded ITO substrate annealed at 500 °C for 30 min. Top view of ZnO nanorod arrays grown on a ZnO-seeded ITO substrate at 90 °C for 10 h. Evolution of the morphology of ZnO nanocrystals ranging from rods to tubes while the solution was kept at 90 °C for 3 h and then cooled down to (a) 80 °C (20 h

• temperature decreases. SEM top morphology of ZnO nanorod arrays grown on a ZnO-seeded ITO substrate at 60 °C for 24 h. SEM images of (a) ZnO nanorods grown at 90 °C for 3 h and then 60 °C for 5 h, and (b) nanotubes grown at 60 °C for 5 h in a solution which was, however, pretreated at 60 °C for 1 h and then

Fabrication and spectroscopic studies on highly luminescent CdSe/CdS nanorod polymer composites

• Jana Bomm,
• Andreas Büchtemann,
• Angela Fiore,
• Liberato Manna,
• James H. Nelson,
• Diana Hill and
• Wilfried G. J. H. M. van Sark

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2010, 1, 94–100, doi:10.3762/bjnano.1.11

• resulting nanocomposites show high transparency of up to 93%. A photoluminescence quantum efficiency of 70% was obtained, with an optimum combination of nanorod (0.05 wt %) and at a UV-initiator concentration of 0.1 wt % for poly(lauryl methacrylate). Nanorods tend to agglomerate in cellulose triacetate

• thermal polymerization process leads to luminescence quenching and as a result nanocomposites with photoluminescence (PL) quantum efficiency (QE) of less than 40% were obtained [6][7][8]. Here we present two different methods to fabricate nanorod polymer composites: (a) UV-polymerization and (b) a radical

• concentration and absorbance, we conclude that the Beer–Lambert law holds until at least 0.2 wt %. The emission maximum is at 632 nm, yielding a Stokes shift of 13 nm. The luminescence intensity (Figure 2b) has a maximum for a nanorod (aspect ratio 3) concentration of 0.008 wt %. Absorption and emission spectra

Enhanced visible light photocatalysis through fast crystallization of zinc oxide nanorods

• Sunandan Baruah,
• Mohammad Abbas Mahmood,
• Myo Tay Zar Myint,
• Tanujjal Bora and
• Joydeep Dutta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2010, 1, 14–20, doi:10.3762/bjnano.1.3

• form of interstitials and vacancies, were intentionally created by faster growth of the nanorods by microwave activation. Visible light photocatalytic activity was observed to improve by ≈8% attributed to the availability of more electron deficient sites on the nanorod surfaces. Engineered defect

• creation in nanostructured photocatalysts could be an attractive solution for visible light photocatalysis. Keywords: defects; nanoparticle; nanorod; photocatalysis; pollutant; ZnO; Introduction Photocatalysis is a light induced catalytic process whereby photogenerated electron-hole pairs in a

• degradation of MB, the removal of the 5–7 nm sized particles after the completion of the photocatalytic reactions is cumbersome. This necessitates the use of supports for the photocatalysts. In this work we have used glass slides as the support for ZnO nanorod photocatalysts. When affixed on to a support, ZnO