Deterministic placement of ultra-bright near-infrared color centers in arrays of silicon carbide micropillars

• Stefania Castelletto,
• Abdul Salam Al Atem,
• Faraz Ahmed Inam,
• Hans Jürgen von Bardeleben,
• Sophie Hameau,
• Ahmed Fahad Almutairi,
• Gérard Guillot,
• Shin-ichiro Sato,
• Alberto Boretti and
• Jean Marie Bluet

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2383–2395, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.229

• emission of at least a factor of 6 using micro-photoluminescence systems. Using custom confocal microscopy setups, we characterized the emission of VSi measuring an enhancement by up to a factor of 20, and of NCVSi with an enhancement up to a factor of 7. The experimental results are supported by finite

• integrated photonics applications. Most of SiC point defects were found more than one decade ago with methods based on measuring ensemble photoluminescence (PL) [20], i.e., the light emission after the absorption of photons, and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) [21], which reveals unpaired electrons

• for the VSi and the nitrogen vacancy (NCVSi) [36]. Micropillars in other materials have been successfully used as photonics structures designed to improve the photoluminescence performance of quantum dots for strong coupling of the emission with the photonics cavity, high photon-extraction efficiency

Polyvinylpyrrolidone as additive for perovskite solar cells with water and isopropanol as solvents

• Chen Du,
• Shuo Wang,
• Xu Miao,
• Wenhai Sun,
• Yu Zhu,
• Chengyan Wang and
• Ruixin Ma

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2374–2382, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.228

• monochromator. Infrared (IR) spectroscopy was performed using a Fourier transform IR spectrometer (VERTEX80v, Bruker). Photoluminescence (PL) spectra and the fluorescence decay curves were recorded with a computer controlled, modular spectro- fluorimeter (FLS980, Edinburgh). The active area of the cell was 0.1

• schematic reaction process of the deposition of perovskite films. (a) UV–vis measurement of the film without PVP additive and the film with PVP additive of 1 mg/mL. (b) The steady-state photoluminescence curves with an emission maximum at 760 nm were obtained upon excitation at 445 nm. (a) The current

Nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond for nanoscale magnetic resonance imaging applications

• Alberto Boretti,
• Lorenzo Rosa,
• Jonathan Blackledge and
• Stefania Castelletto

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2128–2151, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.207

• associated with NV center sensors for magnetic imaging applications. An NV center is an atomic size point defect in diamond. Standard optical techniques are capable of resolving the photoluminescence signal of a single NV center, the detection of which is facilitated particularly in the negative charge state

• (NV−). Room temperature manipulation of electron spins at the NV centers by means of magnetic or electric field, microwave or light irradiation, or a combination thereof, allows the generation of sharp resonances in the intensity and wavelength of the NV photoluminescence. The origin of these

• mounted on a thin platform, typically of less than 1 μm thickness. Coupled with the nanopillar, this diamond film makes a scanning probe when mounted to an AFM head. It is expected that this method can enhance the photoluminescence collected from the NV by a factor of 10. Finally, ND embedded in a living

Improved adsorption and degradation performance by S-doping of (001)-TiO₂

• Xiao-Yu Sun,
• Xian Zhang,
• Xiao Sun,
• Ni-Xian Qian,
• Min Wang and
• Yong-Qing Ma

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2116–2127, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.206

• Instruments, USA). The pore size distribution was calculated using the Barret–Joyner–Halenda (BJH) method. The photoluminescence (PL) was measured on a fluorescence spectrophotometer (F-4500, Hitachi, Japan). Electron spin resonance (ESR) signals of the reactive species spin trapped by 5,5-dimethyl-1

Review of advanced sensor devices employing nanoarchitectonics concepts

• Katsuhiko Ariga,
• Tatsuyuki Makita,
• Masato Ito,
• Taizo Mori,
• Shun Watanabe and
• Jun Takeya

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2014–2030, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.198

• photoluminescence. The sensing films consisting of paper and ZnO could realize a very sensitive water detection with a relative humidity of less than 1% and the detection of trace-level water of less than 0.05%. In addition, the interference from any small molecules other than water is also avoided. The precise

Optimization and performance of nitrogen-doped carbon dots as a color conversion layer for white-LED applications

• Tugrul Guner,
• Hurriyet Yuce,
• Didem Tascioglu,
• Eren Simsek,
• Umut Savaci,
• Aziz Genc,
• Servet Turan and
• Mustafa M. Demir

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2004–2013, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.197

• -Alpha XPS spectrometer. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR; Spectrum 100, PerkinElmer, Shelton, CT, USA) was used to characterize the kinetic behavior of the chemical bonds. Photoluminescence (PL) and absorbance were measured using an integrating sphere (ISP-50-80-R, Ocean Optics Inc

Materials nanoarchitectonics at two-dimensional liquid interfaces

• Katsuhiko Ariga,
• Michio Matsumoto,
• Taizo Mori and
• Lok Kumar Shrestha

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1559–1587, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.153

• as an alternative to commercial photodetector devices with CdS and CdSe. Enhanced photoluminescence and photoelectrochemical properties of one-dimensional Lu2@C82 nanorods prepared through liquid–liquid interfacial precipitation between carbon disulfide and 2-propanol were demonstrated by Lu and co

• -workers [249]. Photoluminescence of the one-dimensional Lu2@C82 nanorods was remarkably enhanced compared to the pristine Lu2@C82 powder. The increased charge carrier transport would be also useful for applications with photoelectric purposes such as photodetectors. 4.3 Two- and three-dimensional, and

BiOCl/TiO₂/diatomite composites with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity for the degradation of rhodamine B

• Minlin Ao,
• Kun Liu,
• Xuekun Tang,
• Zishun Li,
• Qian Peng and
• Jing Huang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1412–1422, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.139

• CHI700E) with blue light (400–450 nm) irradiation. The steady-state photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the samples were detected by using a Hitachi F-7000 fluorescence spectrophotometer with excitation at 280 nm. Photocatalytic activity tests With visible-light irradiation, the photocatalytic activity was

• efficiency of the samples, photoluminescence spectroscopy, photocurrent and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were tested. The recombination rate of photogenerated carriers (electrons and holes) in photocatalysts was characterized by photoluminescence spectra. Generally, the lower the spectral intensity

• ), and BTD prepared with different calcination temperatures (c and f). UV–vis absorption spectra (a) and band gap energy (b) of various samples. Mott–Schottky plots of BiOCl (a) and TiO2/diatomite (b). Photoluminescence spectra (a), transient photocurrent spectra (b) and electrochemical impedance spectra

Janus-micromotor-based on–off luminescence sensor for active TNT detection

• Ye Yuan,
• Changyong Gao,
• Daolin Wang,
• Chang Zhou,
• Baohua Zhu and
• Qiang He

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1324–1331, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.131

• affect the photoluminescence properties of the UCNPs (Figure 1e). Furthermore, the structure and morphology of the Janus UCNP capsule motors were systematically characterized. The TEM images in Figure 1f show a microcapsule after functionalizing with UCNPs. It is evident that the APTES-UCNPs were

Green fabrication of lanthanide-doped hydroxide-based phosphors: Y(OH)₃:Eu³⁺ nanoparticles for white light generation

• Tugrul Guner,
• Anilcan Kus,
• Mehmet Ozcan,
• Aziz Genc,
• Hasan Sahin and
• Mustafa M. Demir

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1200–1210, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.119

• 5p orbitals [25]. Moreover, the photoluminescence (PL) intensity depends on the transition between 4f → 4f states; the transition from 5D0 to 7F1, 5D0 to 7F3 and 5D0 to 7F4 results in low intensity, while the transition from 5D0 to 7F2 leads to high PL intensity. Therefore, by manipulating the energy

• building blocks of these agglomerates seem to have sizes smaller than 5 nm. The photoluminescence spectrum of the Y(OH)3:7.5% Eu3+ phosphors that were synthesized at varying times was registered at 365 nm excitation wavelength (Figure 1d). At the first 5 min, sharp emission signals appear at 592, 595, 613

• slightly Eu-rich or Y-rich regions. The effect of the doping ratio on the photoluminescence properties was investigated. Figure 4a presents the PL spectra of the Y(OH)3:Eu3+ red phosphors fabricated at 60 min having various dopant ratios (λExc = 365 nm). Characteristic signals of the corresponding

Photoactive nanoarchitectures based on clays incorporating TiO₂ and ZnO nanoparticles

• Eduardo Ruiz-Hitzky,
• Pilar Aranda,
• Marwa Akkari,
• Nithima Khaorapapong and
• Makoto Ogawa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1140–1156, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.114

• using smectites such as natural montmorillonite, synthetic saponite, as well as the corresponding CTA-smectites, Khaorapapong and co-workers [46][92][93] synthesized diverse photocatalysts where the ZnO NPs were formed on the inner and/or outer surfaces of the CTA-smectites. The photoluminescence at

• visible wavelengths (blue and green emission at around 436–438 nm and 544–548 nm) of ZnO hybridized with CTA-smectites varies depending on the ZnO loading. This was attributed to defects, such as oxygen vacancies in ZnO, and trapped surface charges. The photoluminescence intensity of ZnO in saponite and

• metal oxides exhibit a large exciton binding energy, large piezoelectric constants and strong photoluminescence. This is of interest not only for applications as photocatalysts but also as sensors, solar cell devices, disinfectants, and cosmetics [137][138]. As discussed above, the dispersion of the

CuInSe₂ quantum dots grown by molecular beam epitaxy on amorphous SiO₂ surfaces

• Henrique Limborço,
• Pedro M.P. Salomé,
• Rodrigo Ribeiro-Andrade,
• Jennifer P. Teixeira,
• Nicoleta Nicoara,
• Kamal Abderrafi,
• Joaquim P. Leitão,
• Juan C. Gonzalez and
• Sascha Sadewasser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1103–1111, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.110

• confirmed the crystallinity of the nanodots as well as chemical composition and structure compatible with tetragonal CuInSe2. Photoluminescence measurements of CdS-passivated nanodots showed that the nanodots are optoelectronically active with a broad emission extending to energies above the CuInSe2 bulk

• bandgap and in agreement with the distribution of sizes. A blue-shift of the luminescence is observed as the average size of the nanodots gets smaller, evidencing quantum confinement in all samples. By using simple quantum confinement calculations, we correlate the photoluminescence peak emission energy

• materials [31]. The motivation behind the present work is to grow CIS nanodots on substrates covered with an amorphous layer using co-evaporation. The vacuum conditions of the co-evaporation process will allow for the CIS to keep adequate optoelectronic properties, as demonstrated by the photoluminescence

Structural and optical properties of penicillamine-protected gold nanocluster fractions separated by sequential size-selective fractionation

• Xiupei Yang,
• Zhengli Yang,
• Fenglin Tang,
• Jing Xu,
• Maoxue Zhang and
• Martin M. F. Choi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 955–966, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.96

• size and the ratio of Au atoms to ligands of AuNCs. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) has also been applied to observe the molecular dependence on the gold and sulfur chemical state of organosulfur monolayers of the fractions. The photoluminescence spectra of these AuNCs in the range of 900–790 nm

• fractionation, the crude AuNCs and fractions obtained from SSSP have been investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and UV–vis absorption together with photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Experimental Chemicals and

• absorption and photoluminescence properties UV–vis absorption spectra of the AuNC crude product and the fractions are displayed in Figure 9. In order to eliminate the effect of concentration changes on the comparison of spectral shape and band position, these spectra are normalized at 250 nm. The smaller

Synthesis of novel C-doped g-C₃N₄ nanosheets coupled with CdIn₂S₄ for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

• Jingshuai Chen,
• Chang-Jie Mao,
• Helin Niu and
• Ji-Ming Song

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 912–921, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.92

• -induced charge carriers of these as-fabricated samples has been studied via room temperature photoluminescence (PL) characterization. Figure 7 displays the PL emission spectra of g-C3N4, CCN and CISCCN3 hybrid photocatalysts at the excitation wavelength of 410 nm. It is observed that the pure CCN shows

• 1s, (c) N 1s, (d) Cd 3d, (e) In 3d and (f) S 2p. (a) UV–vis spectra of g-C3N4, CCN, CdIn2S4, and CISCCN composites. (b) The plot of (αhν)2 vs photon energy (hν) for g-C3N4, CCN and CdIn2S4. Photoluminescence spectra of g-C3N4, CCN and CISCCN3 samples. (a) Time-dependent visible-light-induced

Towards rare-earth-free white light-emitting diode devices based on the combination of dicyanomethylene and pyranine as organic dyes supported on zinc single-layered hydroxide

• Jeff L. Nyalosaso,
• Rachod Boonsin,
• Pierre Vialat,
• Damien Boyer,
• Geneviève Chadeyron,
• Rachid Mahiou and
• Fabrice Leroux

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 760–770, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.75

• occur. Photoluminescence properties of the integrated dyes Absolute quantum yield (QYab) is defined as the efficiency at which a given material re-emits by fluorescence a certain number of photons absorbed at a given wavelength. The parameters measured in a 3.3 inch integrating sphere provide

• the photoluminescence performance of the studied material. A fraction of the excitation light will be absorbed by the dye molecule, internally converted, transferred and emitted at a longer wavelength. Figure 4 illustrates the recording of the evolution of photoluminescence QYab as a function of

• interpretation of QYab insofar as a part of dye that is in solution (free dyes existing in the wet compound) would dictate its photoluminescence properties (leading to higher QYab values), therefore masking those intrinsic to the solid (dyes actually supported on Zn-SLH). The measurements of QYab on the films

Ultrasonication-assisted synthesis of CsPbBr₃ and Cs₄PbBr₆ perovskite nanocrystals and their reversible transformation

• Longshi Rao,
• Xinrui Ding,
• Xuewei Du,
• Guanwei Liang,
• Yong Tang,
• Kairui Tang and
• Jin Z. Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 666–676, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.66

• perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) and their reversible transformation. The as-prepared CsPbBr3 PNCs and Cs4PbBr6 PNCs exhibit different optical properties that depend on their morphology, size, and structure. The photoluminescence (PL) emission and quantum yield (QY) of the CsPbBr3 PNCs can be tuned by changing

• demonstrate excellent properites, such as tunable photoluminescence (PL) throughout the visible spectrum, super high PL quantum yield (QY), low trap-state density, and narrow emission linewidth [6][7][8]. The crystal structure of CsPbX3 (X = Cl−, Br−, I−) PNCs consists of a 12-fold coordinated network created

Direct observation of the CVD growth of monolayer MoS₂ using in situ optical spectroscopy

• Claudia Beatriz López-Posadas,
• Yaxu Wei,
• Wanfu Shen,
• Daniel Kahr,
• Michael Hohage and
• Lidong Sun

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 557–564, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.57

• blue solid line in the image. (d), (e) and (f) The Raman, differential reflectance, and photoluminescence spectra recorded on the surfaces at the front and back side of the substrate, respectively. (a) Differential transmittance (DT) spectra (ΔT/T) recorded during CVD growth. The time interval between

Ceria/polymer nanocontainers for high-performance encapsulation of fluorophores

• Kartheek Katta,
• Dmitry Busko,
• Yuri Avlasevich,
• Katharina Landfester,
• Stanislav Baluschev and
• Rafael Muñoz-Espí

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 522–530, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.53

• an increase in the fluorescence of the model organic fluorophore terrylene diimide by avoiding the ground-state molecular oxygen to react with electronically excited states of the fluorescent hydrocarbon molecule. Keywords: cerium oxide; crystallization; miniemulsion; nanocapsule; photoluminescence

• (sample NC-CeO2 at ambient conditions). Characteristics of the samples reported in this work. Supporting Information Supporting Information File 80: Chemical structure of TDI, absorption and emission spectra of TDI, EDX spectra, TGA, and additional photoluminescence emission spectra of samples

Sub-wavelength waveguide properties of 1D and surface-functionalized SnO₂ nanostructures of various morphologies

• Venkataramana Bonu,
• Binaya Kumar Sahu,
• Arindam Das,
• Sankarakumar Amirthapandian,
• Sandip Dhara and
• Harish C. Barshilia

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 379–388, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.37

• . The growth process of these NWs is discussed. The nanobelts were observed to grow up to 3 mm in length. Morphological and structural studies of the nanostructures were also carried out. All NWs showed waveguide behavior with visible photoluminescence (PL) upon excitation with a 325 nm laser. This

• measurements and a band diagram is proposed. Keywords: functionalization; nanowires; photoluminescence; SnO2; sub-wavelength waveguide; Introduction The development and understanding of one-dimensional (1D) nanowire (NW) sub-wavelength waveguides is a crucial step towards on-chip routing of optical signals

• efficiently guide visible and UV wavelengths in air and also in water. SnO2 NWs were also used as a short pass filter [6]. Apart from the coupled light, these NWs also guide their oxygen vacancy related visible photoluminescence (PL) towards the end of the NWs [6]. Defects in SnO2 play a crucial role in its

Raman study of flash-lamp annealed aqueous Cu₂ZnSnS₄ nanocrystals

• Yevhenii Havryliuk,
• Oleksandr Selyshchev,
• Mykhailo Valakh,
• Alexandra Raevskaya,
• Oleksandr Stroyuk,
• Constance Schmidt,
• Volodymyr Dzhagan and
• Dietrich R. T. Zahn

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 222–227, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.20

• synthesized solutions indeed showed peaks at 337–339 cm−1, i.e., the kesterite bulk frequencies, but the quality of the Raman spectra was very poor because of a strong photoluminescence (PL) background (Supporting Information File 1, Figure S3). In the spectra of the dried films, the PL background, most

Surface plasmon resonance enhancement of photoluminescence intensity and bioimaging application of gold nanorod@CdSe/ZnS quantum dots

• Siyi Hu,
• Yu Ren,
• Yue Wang,
• Jinhua Li,
• Junle Qu,
• Liwei Liu,
• Hanbin Ma and
• Yuguo Tang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 22–31, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.3

• nanoparticle comprised of CdSe/ZnS QDs and gold nanorods (GNRs) where the GNRs were applied to enhance the photoluminescence (PL) of the CdSe/ZnS QDs. In particular, we have obtained the scattering PL spectrum of a single CdSe/ZnS QD and GNR@CdSe/ZnS nanoparticle and comparison results show that the CdSe/ZnS

• as an optical process for MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Keywords: bioimaging; gold nanorods; photoluminescence enhancement; quantum dots; Introduction In the past decades, quantum dots (QDs) have proven to be increasingly useful for their unique features [1][2][3][4][5]. The light emission from QDs

• , and fluorescence enhancement. When QDs bind with GNRs, the fluorescence intensity of the QDs is enhanced by the near-fired plasmonic resonance from the GNR surface and their photoluminescence (PL) emission increases [20][21][22][23]. Richard A. Vaia and co-authors reported a five times higher

Time-resolved universal temperature measurements using NaYF₄:Er³⁺,Yb³⁺ upconverting nanoparticles in an electrospray jet

• Kristina Shrestha,
• Arwa A. Alaulamie,
• Ali Rafiei Miandashti and
• Hugh H. Richardson

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2916–2924, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.270

• depending upon the wavelength of the interrogating light. We have shown that the photoluminescence of erbium ions embedded in a wide-band-gap matrix is temperature-dependent [12] and have used the emission to determine the local temperature of optically excited gold nanostructures at an interface. The

• temperature is determined by measuring the ratio of two green photoluminescence bands where the relative intensities are temperature-dependent and related by a Boltzmann factor. We used this thermal sensor to probe the thermal properties at a solid–water interface and found that a nanoscale object optically

• calibration are shaded in green and brown, respectively, in (A). The slope of the line calculated is −1182 ± 8 K and the intercept is 3.002 ± 0.021. Measurement of temperature of UCNPs at different laser intensities of 980 nm. (A) Photoluminescence spectra of a single cluster of UCNPs of ca. 1 μm size at

Variation of the photoluminescence spectrum of InAs/GaAs heterostructures grown by ion-beam deposition

• Alexander S. Pashchenko,
• Leonid S. Lunin,
• Eleonora M. Danilina and
• Sergei N. Chebotarev

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2794–2801, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.261

• their isovalent doping with bismuth on the photoluminescence properties of InAs/GaAs heterostructures. The experimental samples were grown by ion-beam deposition. We showed that using three vertically stacked layers of InAs quantum dots separated by thin GaAs barrier layers was accompanied by a red

• -shift of the photoluminescence peak of InAs/GaAs heterostructures. An increase in the thickness of the GaAs barrier layers was accompanied by a blue shift of the photoluminescence peak. The effect of isovalent Bi doping of the GaAs barrier layers on the structural and optical properties of the InAs/GaAs

• . It is shown that isovalent doping of GaAs potential barriers by bismuth was accompanied by a red-shift of the photoluminescence peak of InAs quantum dots of 121 meV. Keywords: infrared photodetectors; ion-beam deposition; nanoheterostructures; photoluminescence; quantum dot; semiconductors

Near-infrared light harvesting of upconverting NaYF₄:Yb³⁺/Er³⁺-based amorphous silicon solar cells investigated by an optical filter

• Daiming Liu,
• Qingkang Wang and
• Qing Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2788–2793, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.260

• XRD results revealed the morphology and a phase transition from cubic to hexagonal NaYF4. Photoluminescence spectra indicated that the hexagonal NaYF4:Yb3+/Er3+ nanorods convert near-infrared light of 980 nm to the visible light with wavelength peaks at 654, 541 and 522 nm. Hence, the upconverting

• efficient UC materials [15][16]. Photoluminescence spectra of NaYF4:Yb3+/Er3+ powders from 500 to 700 nm are presented in Figure 2a. Three strong emission peaks at 522, 541, and 654 nm are observed. The intensity of each emission peak increases with increasing reaction time (Figure 2b), which is interpreted

• as an increase in the fraction of the hexagonal phase. The quantum efficiency of the hexagonal nanorods is about an order of magnitude higher than that of the cubic phase counterparts [17]. The photoluminescence of NaYF4:Yb3+/Er3+ is explained by energy transfer between Yb3+ and Er3+. As illustrated

Oriented zinc oxide nanorods: A novel saturable absorber for lasers in the near-infrared

• Pavel Loiko,
• Tanujjal Bora,
• Josep Maria Serres,
• Haohai Yu,
• Magdalena Aguiló,
• Francesc Díaz,
• Uwe Griebner,
• Valentin Petrov,
• Xavier Mateos and
• Joydeep Dutta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2730–2740, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.255

• exciton binding energy (60 meV) [3], allowing for efficient excitonic photoluminescence at room temperature, and due to their good mechanical and thermal stability. Arrays of ZnO NRs can be grown on various substrates (e.g., Si, Al2O3, glass) either by gas phase processes (e.g., by vapor–liquid–solid

• commercial graphene-SA containing several (n = 3) carbon layers, a SA based on randomly oriented SWCNTs in a PMMA film [32], and a few-layer MoS2 SA [31]. One can observe a similar broadband absorption feature for the ZnO NRs as in these reference SAs. The photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of ZnO NRs grown for

• with n = 3 carbon layers, multilayer MoS2 film [31] and SWCNT/PMMA film [32]; (d) room temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of ZnO NRs grown for 15 h, the excitation wavelength is 0.350 µm: grey curve – the measured PL spectrum, color bands – decomposition of the PL spectrum into Gaussian