Effect of surface roughness on nucleation and growth of vanadium pentoxide nanowires

The effect of surface roughness on subsequent growth of vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) nanowires is examined. With increasing surface roughness, both the number density and aspect ratio of V₂O₅ nanowires increase. Structures and morphology of obtained nanowires were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The nanowires are approximately 40-90 nm in diameter and 2 μm in length. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicates that the obtained nanowires are orthorhombic structure with (0 0 1) out-of-plane orientation. The luminescence property of V₂O₅ nanowires has been investigated by photoluminescence (PL) at 150 K and 300 K. PL results show intense visible emission, which is attributed to different inter-band transitions between the V 3d and O 2p band. This simple fabrication approach might be useful for fabrication of large area V₂O₅ nanowires arrays with high density.     

Preparation of Cu2O nanowires by thermal oxidation-plasma reduction method

Facial synthesis of cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) nanowires by directly heating copper substrates is difficult; however, in this study, it was successfully done by thermal oxidation followed by a plasma reduction process. The preparation of CuO nanowires with an average diameter of 76.2?nm supported on the surface of copper substrate was conducted first in air at 500?°C for 3?hrs, and then the CuO nanowires were reduced into Cu₂O in 15?min using either radio frequency (RF) N₂ plasma or microwave (MW) N₂ plasma. The characteristics of CuO and Cu₂O nanowires were analyzed using XRD, FE-SEM, and TEM. The results showed that Cu₂O nanowires can be successfully reduced from CuO nanowires by a simple, promising, and fast nitrogen plasma process. Moreover, in RF plasma, narrower and longer Cu₂O nanowires can be produced as compared to MW plasma, because energetic N-containing species can reduce the nanowires at a relatively lower temperature.     

Synthesis of quasi-1D cuprous oxide nanostructure and its structural characterizations

A wealth of superfine polycrystalline cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) nanowires have been synthesized with hydrazine hydrated (N₂H₄·H₂O), act as the reducing agent, and Cu(OH)₂ nanowires, act as a soft template and surfactant, at room temperature. Two methods were employed for the synthesis of these nanowires, i.e. with and without capping agent (polyethylene glycol Mw 8000). Techniques of powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern, electron diffraction X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, and UV-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy have been used to characterize the morphology, structure, crystallinity, purity, and composition of nanowires. The average diameters of Cu₂O nanowires, prepared with and without capping agent, were observed to be 8-10 and 12-15 nm and lengths of several microns, respectively. It is found that capping agent (PEG) confines the dimensions of synthesized nanowires. In addition, the observed optical band gap of products show blue-shift effect compared to the bulk Cu₂O (E_g=2.17 eV), which ascribe it as a promising material for the conversion between solar energy and electrical or chemical energy.     

不同气氛下SiOx纳米线的制备及形貌、红外、光致发光研究

以N₂/H₂、N₂或NH₃为载气,利用碳辅助化学气相沉积法,常压1140℃下在石英衬底上制备了大量直径为20—300 nm,长数百微米的非晶SiO_x纳米线.制备得到的纳米线具有高度定向生长的特性.利用透射电子显微镜、扫描电子显微镜及电子能谱对SiO_x纳米线的形貌及组分进行了分析,Si与O原子之比为1∶18.傅里叶红外吸收谱显示了非晶氧化硅的三个特征峰（482,806和1095 cm^-1）及1132 cm^-1无序氧化硅结构的强吸收峰.SiO_x纳米线光致发光光谱（PL）在440 nm（283 eV）处具有较强的荧光峰;N₂为载气生长的SiO_x纳米线的PL峰强比NH₃为载气生长的SiO_x纳米线峰强大四个数量级. 关键词： x纳米线')" href="#">SiO_x纳米线 碳辅助化学气相沉积法 傅里叶红外吸收 光致发光     

A first principle study on the magnetic properties of Cu2O surfaces

Spin-polarized density functional theory calculations were performed to investigate the magnetism of bulk and Cu₂O surfaces. It is found that bulk Cu₂O, Cu/O-terminated Cu₂O(111) and (110) surfaces have no magnetic moment, while, the O-terminated Cu₂O(100) and polar O-terminated Cu₂O(111) surfaces have magnetism. For low index surfaces with cation and anion vacancy, we only found that the Cu vacancy on the Cu₂O(110) Cu/O-terminated surface can induce magnetism. For atomic and molecular oxygen adsorption on the low index surfaces, we found that atomic and molecular oxygen adsorption on the Cu-terminated Cu₂O(110) surface is much stronger than on the Cu/O-terminated Cu₂O(111) and Cu-terminated Cu₂O(100) surfaces. More interesting, O and O₂ adsorption on the surface of Cu/O terminated Cu₂O(111) and O₂ adsorption on the Cu-terminated Cu₂O(110) surface can induce weak ferromagnetism. In addition, we analysis origin of Cu₂O surfaces with magnetism from density of state, the surface ferromagnetism possibly due to the increased 2p–3d hybridization of surface Cu and O atoms. This is radically different from other systems previously known to exhibit point defect ferromagnetism, warranting a closer look at the phenomenon.     

Fabrication of coaxial p-Cu2O/n-ZnO nanowire photodiodes

The authors report the deposition of Cu₂O onto vertically well aligned ZnO nanowires by DC sputtering. The average length, average diameter and density of these VLS-synthesized ZnO nanowires were 1 μm, 100 nm and 23 wires/μm², respectively. With proper sputtering parameters, the deposited Cu₂O could fill the gaps between the ZnO nanowires with good step coverage to form coaxial p-Cu₂O/n-ZnO nanowires with a rectifying current–voltage characteristic. Furthermore, the fabricated coaxial p-Cu₂O/n-ZnO nanowire photodiodes exhibit reasonably large photocurrent-to-dark-current contrast ratio and the fast responses.     

In situ synthesis of Cu2O nano/microstructures on a copper substrate assisted with mixed cationic/anionic surfactants

Different morphologies of Cu₂O nano/microstructures have been successfully prepared on copper foil via a mild hydrothermal process in the presence of mixed cationic/anionic surfactants, by using copper foil to serve as both copper source and substrate. The reaction system of mixed cationic/anionic surfactants and the reaction temperature play key roles in the formation of different morphologies of Cu₂O nano/microstructures. X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and room temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectra are used to characterize the as-obtained products. The PL results confirmed that the Cu₂O structures exhibited good optical properties. A reasonable formation mechanism was proposed based on the experimental results.     

Photoluminescence origin of lightly doped silicon nanowires treated with acid vapor etching

In this work, we carry out a comprehensive photoluminescence (PL) study to elucidate the origin of light emission from porous silicon nanowires (pSiNWs). SiNWs were first grooved in lightly doped Si wafer by silver assisted chemical etching, and then treated with an acid vapor emanating from HF/HNO₃ aqueous solution heated at 60 °C. Scanning and transmission electron microscopies were used to investigate the effect of the acid vapor etching on morphological properties of SiNWs. The as prepared pSiNWs exhibited a strong room temperature PL emission centered at 1.93 eV. An increase of the PL intensity was observed with the increase of HNO₃ in the acid solution. By varying the laser excitation density from 60 to 300 W/cm², we shed the light on the radiative recombination modes occurring within the Si nanocrystals (SiNCs) generated along the pSiNWs. We study as well the temperature-dependent PL of the pSiNWs in the range 10 to 300 K. Based on both laser excitation density and temperature-dependent PL, we propose a multilevel transition scheme resuming the PL origin taking into account the size distribution, shape and surface states of the SiNCs trimming the wire sidewalls.     

Electrical contact properties of Cu2S nanowires grown vertically on Cu foil by gas–solid reaction

We grew Cu₂S nanowires vertically on Cu foil by gas–solid reaction with a gas mixture of O₂ and H₂S. The electrical contact properties between the Cu₂S nanowires and Cu foil were investigated using a modified current–voltage–temperature plot. The Cu/Cu₂S layer exhibited the characteristics of a Schottky barrier with a barrier height of ∼0.72 eV, which was closer to the value for Cu/Cu₂O than to Cu/Cu₂S. Energy dispersive spectroscopy results showed the presence of Cu-oxide between the Cu₂S nanowires and Cu foil. The overall structure was Cu/Cu-oxide/Cu₂S and the electrical properties were controlled by the Cu/Cu-oxide.     

Intrinsic ultraviolet luminescence of LiB<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>5</Subscript> single crystals under inner-shell excitation

Ultraviolet photoluminescence (PL) of LiB₃O₅ (LBO) crystals has been studied under selective excitation by photons in the vacuum ultraviolet and ultrasoft x-ray regions, including the K-absorption edges of the Li and B cations and O anion. Radiative recombination of electron-hole pairs was established to be the main channel of the intrinsic PL excitation at 4.2 eV. Features were observed in the PL excitation spectra near the lithium and boron K-absorption edges originating from excitation of the cation 1s core excitons. Experimental evidence of the multiplication of Li 1s excitons in LBO was obtained. It is shown that excitation of the O 1s core excitons does not affect the PL yield noticeably. The differences in the appearance of the Li, B, and O 1s excitons in the excitation spectra of the LBO ultraviolet PL are discussed.     

Shape evolution, photoluminescence and degradation properties of novel Cu2O micro/nanostructures

Three kinds of novel cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) micro/nanostructures are synthesized via a facile template-free hydrothermal method. Two factors are critical for the growth process of typical samples: the concentration of copper ions (Cu(II)) and the addition of Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as surfactant. It is found that the application of ethanol as solvent speeds up the reduction rate of Cu(II), and it promotes the aggregating of Cu₂O nanocrystals at the preliminary stage to form irregular spherical structures. Photoluminescence (PL) properties of the three kinds of samples and their photocatalytic activities for degradation of Methyl Orange (MO) are also measured. The sample with higher concentration of copper vacancy (V _Cu) defects has better photocatalytic ability, indicating that besides the morphology of Cu₂O nano/microcrystals, the defects in crystalline structures can also influence their electrical characteristics, and thus change their photocatalytic activity. This provides a potential method to improve the photocatalytic performances of Cu₂O crystals.     

Optical properties of MgxZn1−xO thin films deposited on silicon and sapphire substrate by rf magnetron sputtering

The index dispersion at UV–VIS range for polycrystalline Mg_xZn_1−xO films on silicon with different Mg concentration was obtained by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) method. It decreases with the increase of the Mg content. Above the relative peak wavelength, they are well fitted by the first-order Sellmeier relation. The band gap of films on sapphire of different Mg content was determined from transmission measurements. Photoluminescence (PL) illustrated that for Mg_xZn_1−xO films every PL peak corresponded to a special excitation wavelength. The wavelength of the PL peak was proportional to the special excitation wavelength. A strong peak was obtained in the blue band for the films due to the large amount of oxygen vacancies caused by excess Zn and Mg atoms, while weak peak at ultraviolet band.     

Photoluminescence characterization of polycrystalline n-type Cu2O films

Electrodeposition was used to deposit Cu₂O thin films on ITO substrates. Photoresponse of the film clearly indicated n-type behavior of Cu₂O in photoelectrochemical cells. The temperature dependence of photoluminescence (PL) revealed that the spectra consist of donor-acceptor pair emissions and the recombination between electrons bound to donors and free holes. We observed that the dominant intrinsic defect, oxygen vacancies, creates a donor energy level at 0.38 eV below the bottom of the conduction band. As a result, this donor level acts as a center for both PL emissions and to produce n-type conductivity in the electrodeposited Cu₂O films. In addition, an acceptor energy level at 0.16 eV from the top of the valence band was observed.     

Stimulated emission from trapped excitons in SnO2 nanowires

The pump fluence dependent photoluminescence (PL) spectra of SnO₂ nanowires were investigated, which were synthesized with a high-temperature chemical reduction method. The integrated intensity of the narrower peak at 3.2 eV experiences a strong superlinear dependence on the pump fluence, and the narrowest width of the sharp peak is only 19 meV. Moreover, under high excitation fluence, an ultrafast decay time (less than 20 ps) appears in the time-resolved PL spectra. The emission of these SnO₂ nanowires shows strong apparent stimulated emission behaviors although the SnO₂ is a dipole forbidden direct gap semiconductor. The stimulated emission should relate to the localized islands on the surface of nanowire, which was observed through the high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) image. The giant-oscillator-strength effect of bound exciton generated from the localized islands was considered to induce the stimulated emission of SnO₂ nanowires.     

Parameters of alloy p-n junctions in Cu2O

The p-n junctions are made by melting copper on single-crystal Cu₂O plates. A change in specific resistance of the Cu₂O from 2.8 × 10² to 1.15 × 10⁵ ohm-cm causes the reverse voltage at a reverse-current density of 2 m A/cm² to increase from 15 to 500 V, while the forward current density at 2 V decreases from 250 to 2 mA/cm².     

Synthesis of single crystal CuAlS2 nanowires via a low temperature direct polyol route

The direct polyol method is used to prepare copper aluminium sulfide CuAlS₂ nanowires. The lattice constants of CuAlS₂ nanowires calculated from powder X-ray diffraction data indicates chalcopyrite structure. The CuAlS₂ nanowires are uniformly in shape and their dimensions are about 50 nm in diameter and several of micrometers in length. The Photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of CuAlS₂ nanowires show a sharp absorption edge at 358.96 nm and a strong near band edge emission at 3.46 eV. The direct energy gap Eg of the sample has been calculated as 3.48 eV, that corresponding to the photoluminescence study. A possible formation mechanism of copper aluminium sulfide is proposed.     

Photoemission valence band spectra and electronic density of states in copper oxides and copper based ceramic super-conductors

Photoemission valence band spectra with three different photon energies (21.2 eV, 40.8 eV, 1253.6 eV) for Cu₂O and CuO and a number of copper oxide based superconducting ceramics are investigated, namely La₂CuO₄ (LCO), Y₁Ba₂Cu₃O₇ (YBCO), Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈ (BSCCO) and Tl₂Ba₂Ca₂Cu₃O₁₀ (TBCCO). From the Cu₂O data it can be infered, that the He-II (40.8 eV) spectra give a fair representation of the density of states (DOS). In addition the agreement between the calculated density of states (DOS) and the He-II photoemission spectrum is almost perfect for Cu₂O. This agreement is worse for CuO and the other materials which all have a Cu groundstate close to a 3d ⁹ configuration indicating a large contribution of thed-d correlation energy to the excitation spectra which is absent in Cu₂O because of the filled 3d-shell. In all cases the experimental DOS atE _F is very small and only the spectra of BSCCO show a well defined Fermi edge. The relevance of these findings with respect to the theoretical local functional density DOS calculations is discussed.     

Wetting and interfacial adsorption in the Blume-Capel model on the square lattice

The structural and electronic properties of Cu_5-1 and Cu_6-1 nanowires with core-shell structures encapsulated inside a series zigzag (n,0) BeONTs denoted by Cu_5-1@(n,0) and Cu_6-1@(n,0) are investigated using the first-principles calculations within the generalized-gradient approximation. For Cu_5-1@(n,0) (10 ? n ? 17) and Cu_6-1@(n,0) (11 ? n ? 18) combined systems, the initial shapes (cylindrical BeONTs and CuNWs) are preserved without any visible change after optimization. The quantum conductances 5G ₀ and 6G ₀ of the most stable Cu_5-1@(12,0) and Cu_6-1@(13,0) combined systems are identical to the corresponding free-standing Cu_5-1 and Cu_6-1 nanowires, respectively. The energy bands crossing the Fermi level in both the Cu_5-1@(12,0) and Cu_6-1@(13,0) combined systems are all originated from the inner CuNWs. Therefore the electron transport will occur only through the inner CuNWs and the outer inert BeONTs serves well as an insulating cable sheath. The robust quantum conductance of the Cu_5-1 and Cu_6-1 nanowires, the insulating protection character of the (12,0) and (13,0) BeONTs and the highest stability of the tube-wire combined systems make the Cu_5-1@(12,0) and Cu_6-1@(13,0) combined systems are top-priority in the ULSI circuits and MEMS devices that demand steady transport of electrons.     

The photoluminescence properties of TiO2-sheathed ZnSe nanowires

ZnSe nanowires have been synthesized by thermal evaporation of ZnSe powders on gold-coated Al₂O₃(0 0 0 1) substrates and then sheathed with TiO₂ by sputtering. Our results show that sheathing Zn nanowires with thin TiO₂ layers can significantly enhance the photoluminescence (PL) emission intensity. XPS analysis results suggest that the PL enhancement is attributed to increases in the concentrations of deep levels such as oxygen and titanium interstitials as well as the density of interface states. The PL emission of ZnSe nanowires is also enhanced by thermal annealing. Annealing in an argon atmosphere is more efficient in enhancing the PL emission than annealing in an oxygen atmosphere.     

Anomalous optical transitions in AlInGaN/GaN heterostructures grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

Using temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) measurements, we report a comprehensive study on optical transitions in Al_yIn_xGa_1−x−yN epilayer with target composition, x=0.01 and y=0.07 and varying epilayer thickness of 40, 65 and 100 nm. In these quaternary alloys, we have observed an anomalous PL temperature dependence such as an S-shape band-edge PL peak shift and a W-shape spectral broadening with an increase in temperature. With an increase in excitation power density, the emission peak from the AlInGaN epilayers shows a blue shift at 100 K and a substantial red shift at room temperature. This is attributed to the localization of excitons at the band-tail states at low temperature. Compared to 40 and 65 nm thick epilayers, the initial blue shift observed with low excitation power from 100 nm thick AlInGaN epilayer at room temperature is caused by the existence of deeper localized states due to confinement effects arising from higher In and Al incorporation. The subsequent red shift of the PL peak can be attributed by free motion of delocalized carriers that leads to bandgap renormalization by screening. Due to competing effects of exciton and free carrier recombination processes, such behavior of optical transitions leads to two different values of exponent ‘k’ in the fitting of PL emission intensity as a function of excitation power.