Nanorod near-field radiative heat exchange analysis

A theoretical method for cylinder-to-cylinder radiative heat exchange is formulated. The method utilized was a modified version of a previously published numerical method for near-field sphere-to-sphere radiative exchange. Modifications were made to the numerical procedure to make it applicable to cylindrical geometry of nanorods. Nanorods investigated had length to diameter ratios of 3:1 and 7:1. The heat exchange of nanorods is plotted vs. gap to assess the impact of near-field radiative transfer as gap decreases. Graphical results of energy vs. nanorod radii are also presented. A nanorod-to-plane configuration is estimated utilizing a nanorod asymptotic method. The nanorod-to-nanorod method approximates a nanorod-to-plane geometric configuration when one nanorod radii is held constant, and the second nanorod radii is iteratively increased until the corresponding radiative exchange converges.     

Optimization of processing parameters on the controlled growth of ZnO nanorod arrays for the performance improvement of solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells

High-transparency and high quality ZnO nanorod arrays were grown on the ITO substrates by a two-step chemical bath deposition (CBD) method. The effects of processing parameters including reaction temperature (25-95 °C) and solution concentration (0.01-0.1 M) on the crystal growth, alignment, optical and electrical properties were systematically investigated. It has been found that these process parameters are critical for the growth, orientation and aspect ratio of the nanorod arrays, showing different structural and optical properties. Experimental results reveal that the hexagonal ZnO nanorod arrays prepared under reaction temperature of 95 °C and solution concentration of 0.03 M possess highest aspect ratio of ∼21, and show the well-aligned orientation and optimum optical properties. Moreover the ZnO nanorod arrays based heterojunction electrodes and the solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (SS-DSSCs) were fabricated with an improved optoelectrical performance.     

Template-based growth of titanium dioxide nanorods by a particulate sol-electrophoretic deposition process

TiO 2 nanorods have been successfully grown into a track-etched polycarbonate (PC) membrane by a particulate sol-electrophoretic deposition from an aqueous medium.The prepared sols had a narrow particle size distribution around 17 nm and excellent stability against aging,with zeta potentials in the range of 47-50 mV at pH 2.It was found that TiO 2 nanorods were grown from dilute aqueous sol with a low,0.1-M concentration.Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis confirmed that a full conversi...     

Optical imaging and magnetophoresis of nanorods

Peclet number analysis is performed to probe the convective motion of nanospheres and nanorods under the influence of magnetophoresis and diffusion. Under most circumstances, magnetophoretic behaviour dominates diffusion for nanorods, as the magnetic field lines tend to align the magnetic moment along the rod axis. The synthesis and dispersion of fluorophore-tagged nanorods are described. Fluorescence microscopy is employed to image the nanorod motion in a magnetic field gradient. The preliminary experimental data are consistent with the Peclet number analysis.     

One Step Hydrothermal Synthesis of Flower-shaped Co3O4 Nanorods on Nickel Foam as Supercapacitor Materials and Their Excellent Electrochemical Performance

Flower-shaped Co₃O₄nanorods directly grown on nickel foam(Co₃O₄/NF) were prepared by one step hydrothermal method at low temperature. Co₃O₄nanorods are directly connected with the nickel foam, and no binder is needed as an additive, so the Co₃O₄/NF electrode has good electrical conductivity. This flower-shaped structure makes larger surface area of Co₃O₄nanorods that exposes to the electrolyte, thus promoting the redox reaction. The Co₃O₄/NF electrode shows a high specific capacitance of 2005.34 F/g at the current density of 0.5 A/g and a high capacitance retention of 98.0% after 5000 cycles. The high superior capacitive performance with high specific capaci-tance and the excellent cyclic performance indicate that the one step hydrothermal method has great potential application in supercapacitors.     

Electrostatically Controlled Nematic and Smectic Assembly of Gold Nanorods

The assembly of gold nanorods(GNRs) into different liquid crystalline structures can be controlled by tuning their surface electric potential. After mildly removing excess surfactants in the GNRs solution, the electrostatic interaction between GNRs can be tuned by adjusting counter ion concentration. Specifically, nematic and smectic structures formed after solvent evaporation at low and high bromide concentrations, respectively. These results could be helpful for fabricating anisotropy enabled devices composed of metal and semiconductor nanorods.     

Preparation and Photoluminescence of ZnO Nanorods Arrays

A high-density well-aligned Zinc Oxide nanorod array was synthesized on Si (100) substrate by a simplevapor deposition under normal pressure using neither a catalyst and nor pre-deposition of ZnO film. Various different morphologies were obtained in different deposition regions. Si substrate put over the Zn source was the key factor in getting a well-aligned sample. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) observations and X-ray diffraction were carried out to characterize the surface morphology and crystalline quality of the samples. The growth mechanism is discussed. The photoluminescence properties of the ZnO samples were also investigated. It is suggested that the green band is related to oxygen vacancies and thekinetic process involving transition from shallow donor to deep acceptor level.     

Aligned Nanorod Arrays: Additive and Emergent Properties

Studies of one-dimensional nanostructures of various types (such as quantum wires, nanorods, nanotubes and nanobelts) have progressed substantially during the past decade and have been reviewed by a number of authors. Here, we provide a concise overview of the synthesis and special properties of arrays of parallel nanorods, whose behavior is often quite distinct from that of individual nanorods of the same material. We show that the distinctive behavior of such nanorod arrays may occur due to their exhibiting either additive or emergent properties. The former originates from a simple amplification of some advantageous property shown by a single nanorod, thus making it usable in a practical device; while the latter necessarily involves the presence of the array, and would not be observable from a single nanorod. Nanorod arrays have been shown to have possible applications in diverse areas that include nanolasers, microcavities, surface enhanced Raman effect, photovoltaic cells, field emission sources, gas sensing, electrical discharge and in hydrophobic surfaces. We first present an overview of some of the physical and chemical synthesis strategies for nanorod arrays, followed by a brief review of their applications in the areas just mentioned.     

Influence of different substrates on ZnO nanorod arrays properties

Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanorod arrays were grown on different substrates by hydrothermal method. The crystallinity of ZnO nanorod was regularly investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to examine morphology of the ZnO nanorods. The results indicate that the nanorods grow along [002] orientation. SEM and TEM images and XRD patterns show that the growth of ZnO nanorods on graphene/Quartz substrate is better than the other substrates due to the number and size of the nanorods which are highly affected through the properties of ZnO seed layers and it has lower defects than the other substrates. PL spectra ZnO would have a higher concentration of oxygen vacancy.