Synthesis of Copper Oxalate Nanorods by a Simple One-step Solid-state Chemical Reaction Method

Copper oxalate nanorods were successfully prepared by means of a simple one-step solid-state reaction method with the assistance of a suitable surfactant, polyethylene glycol 400. The product with uniform rodlike morphology was characterized by XRD, TEM and SEM. The formational mechanism of the rod-like structure was also preliminary discussed.     

有机光催化剂用于太阳能水分解：分子水平和聚集体水平改性

利用太阳能光解水产氢是实现氢能开发最绿色且可持续的理想技术。为了提高太阳能的转换效率，设计和发展高效、稳定、宽/全光谱响应光催化产氢体系成为关键研究课题。相比于无机半导体，有机半导体具有丰富的π电子和结构可修饰性，使其光学吸收和能带结构易剪裁，光催化路径多样。但低的介电常数造成其载流子迁移率低及迁移距离短。通过有目的地改变有机分子结构，可以轻松地设计和调控有机半导体的能带位置、增加摩尔吸光系数，改善材料对于整个太阳光谱中可见光或红外光的利用；通过功能分子微纳组装或集成，可进一步获得不同组分、维度(0维、1维、2维、3维)、尺寸、晶体学取向的有机光催化剂。有机微纳/复合结构的优异的比表面积、分子排布结构或能级排列结构可进一步提高太阳能的利用率和光生电荷的传输/分离效率，从而提高整体光电转换效率和产氢效率。然而，由于复杂的反应过程和设计困难，整个有机半导体的光催化物理化学过程仍不清楚。在这里，光催化的基本原理从光捕获、光激发电荷分离、表面反应的角度进行了讨论。随后详细总结了有机半导体纳米结构的制备方法包括超分子自组装、再沉淀法、气相沉积法以及其他方法。描述了典型的有机半导体材料，包括苝二酰...     

Surface-Area Determination of Anisotropic Polymersomes by Amphiphilic Molecular Probe Loading

The surface area of anisotropic polymeric assemblies is a critical parameter concerning their properties. However, it is still a grand challenge for traditional techniques to determine the surface area. Here, a molecular probe loading (MPL) method is developed to measure the surface area of anisotropic polymersomes in the shape of tube, disc, and stomatocyte. This method uses an amphiphilic molecular probe, comprising hydrophobic pyrene as the anchor and hydrophilic tetraethylene glycol (EG₄) as the float. The surface area of spherical polymersomes determined by dynamic light scattering is quantitatively correlated with the loading amount of probes, allowing the calculation of the average separation distance between the loaded probes. With the separation distance, we successfully determine the surface area of anisotropic polymersomes by measuring the loading amount. We envision that the MPL method will assist in the real-time surface area characterization, enabling the customization of functions.     

Study of electrodeposited zinc selenide (ZnSe) nanostructure thin films for solar cell applications

Electrodeposition approach was used to grow the ZnSe nanostructure on indium doped tin oxide (ITO) layered glass substrate. Due to low cost and high degree of absorption, binary semiconductors made from chalcogens such as CdSe, ZnO, ZnS and ZnSe provide significant features in photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical cells. The structural and morphological properties of deposited nanostructures were examined by XRD and SEM. X-ray diffraction analysis informed about cubic structure with a preferred orientation and the calculated crystal size was approximately 75 nm. The optical properties were examined by UV–visible absorbance spectra and optical band gap was measured using Tauc plot. The deposited ZnSe nanostructure has direct band gap ∼2.52 eV at room temperature which was less than 2.82 eV which is the band gap of bulk ZnSe. Investigations also focused on additional qualities like excellent optical transmission, low electrical resistance, and good photosensitivity. Because of the presence of defect states in the deposited nanostructure, the band gap energy is smaller than that of bulk material. The current-voltage characteristics were measured in dark mode and under illumination of normal tungsten filament light and LED. There was notable change in the current for both normal light and LED in comparison to dark mode. The findings of all the characterization methodologies suggested that for the production of solar cells low cost ZnSe may be used as an alternative environment friendly Cd-free window layer.