Fabrication of electrode Pt nanotubes for semiconductor capacitors

Template-wetting process was used to fabricate Pt electrode nanotubes for the further application in 3D nanotube capacitors. Anodic alumina oxide (AAO) was used as a template, which can be fabricated by means of two-step anodization process. After the wetting process, released Pt nanotubes have been obtained by selective etching of the template using KOH solution. Pt nanotubes formation and tube walls morphology were investigated by FE-SEM technique. Furnace annealing (FA) effects at temperatures ranging from 200 to 600 °C with 100^oC step on nucleation and crystal growth condition of Pt nanotubes have been examined. Crystallization of the Pt nanotube inside the template has been examined by step-by-step annealing at different temperatures, and confirmed by XRD.     

Controlled synthesis of ZnO nanowires or nanotubes via sol-gel template process

ZnO nanowires and nanotubes have been rationally fabricated within the nanochannels of porous anodic alumina templates by an improved sol-gel template process. X-ray diffraction and selected area electronic diffraction demonstrate that the as-obtained ZnO nanowires and nanotubes can be indexed to hexagonal wurtzite polycrystalline. In this method, zinc nitrate and urea are used as precursors, zinc nitrate serve as zinc ions source, and urea offered a basic medium through its hydrolysis. ZnO nanowires or ZnO nanotubes can be obtained easily by controlling hydrolysis time. The formation mechanism of ZnO nanowires and nanotubes was also discussed.     

Fabrication of segmented nanofibers by template wetting of multilayered alternating polymer thin films

Segmented polystyrene (PS) and poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA) nanofibers were fabricated by wetting nanoporous alumina templates with multilayered polymer thin films. The order and thickness of the polymers within the thin films affected the resulting nanofiber morphology, PS and PMMA segment properties, and created unique core-shell structure in the PMMA segments. The core-shell structure suggests a complex wetting phenomenon. Fabrication of polymer nanostructures by wetting of layered thin films opens the arena of multifunctional, one-dimensional, polymer nanostructures with segments having individual and specific functionalities.     

Growth and interconversion of ZnO nanostructure films on different substrates

Hexagonal c-axis oriented ZnO nanorod (NR) arrays were grown on ZnO-coated glass substrates by chemical bath deposition (CBD). By varying the concentration of the precursor solutions, NRs’ mean diameter was controlled from about 100-400 nm. With increasing the growing time, the morphology of as-synthesized ZnO NRs evolved: the top center of the ZnO NRs was eroded into volcano-like structures which developed into ZnO nanotubes (NT) and finally the ZnO NTs split to form ZnO nanosheets (NS). We have also introduced Al to the fabrication of some different ZnO nanostructures: on Al substrate, freestanding ZnO NSs formed a flower-like structure at the early growing period and these ZnO NSs reassembled into ZnO NTs as growing time increased; while on ZnO-coated glass substrate with an Al foil dipped in the growing precursor solution ZnO NR-NS composited arrays were synthesized.     

ZnO nanoparticles produced by novel reactive physical deposition process

This paper reports the deposition of ZnO nanoparticles with controlled sizes and different particle densities and their structural, composition and optical properties. They were deposited by means of a DC magnetron based vacuum nanoparticle source onto different substrates (GaAs, Si and Ti/SiO₂/Si). We believe that this is the first time that such nanoparticles have been produced using this unique technique. Zinc was used as sputtering target to produce zinc nanoparticles which were oxidized in-line using molecular oxygen. The structural properties and chemistry of the ZnO were studied by transmission electron microscopy. An average particle size of 6(±2) nm was produced with uniform size distribution. The particle density was controlled using a quartz crystal monitor. Surface densities of 2.3 × 10¹¹/cm², 1.1 × 10¹³/cm² and 3.9 × 10¹³/cm² were measured for three different deposition runs. The ZnO particles were found to be single crystalline having hexagonal structure. Photoluminescence measurements of all samples were performed at room temperature using a cw He-Cd laser at 325 nm excitation. The UV emission around 375 nm at room temperature is due to excitonic recombination and the broad emission centered at 520 nm may be attributed to intrinsic point defects such as oxygen interstitials.     

Formation of aligned ZnO nanorods on self-grown ZnO template and its enhanced field emission characteristics

We report a novel method for producing aligned ZnO nanorods (ANR) on self-grown ZnO template in a single step process involving growth of ZnO by vapor transport, followed by quenching of growing ZnO flux in liquid nitrogen. In the present study Zn powder turns into ZnO sheet under oxygen flow at ∼900 °C and bottom surface of the sheet acts as template for the growth of ANR. It is revealed from XRD and EDAX analysis that the bottom of the sheet is Zn rich region and acts as self catalyst for the growth of ANR. The grown nanorods have length up to several tens of micrometers with diameters ranging from ∼100 to 150 nm. Microstructural analysis of ANR indicates the fractal like configuration. The field emission properties have been investigated for ANR with fractal geometry using the ANR on self-grown ZnO template as a cathode directly. The turn-on electric field required to draw current density of ∼1.0 μA/cm² has been found to be ∼0.98 V/μm. The field enhancement factor based on Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) plot was found to be ∼7815 for ANR. The fractal geometry of ANR has been shown to be advantageous for achieving improved field emission features. The present investigations of synthesis involving formation of ANR over self-grown ZnO template, together with fractal configuration of the as-synthesized ANR, are first of their type.     

Wetting characteristics of ZnO smooth film and nanowire structure with and without OTS coating

ZnO is an important material that is used in a variety of technologies including optical devices, sensors, and other microsystems. In many of these technologies, wettability is of great concern because of its implications in numerous surface related interactions. In this work, the effects of surface morphology and surface energy on the wetting characteristics of ZnO were investigated. ZnO specimens were prepared in both smooth film and nanowire structure in order to investigate the effects of surface morphology. Also, a hydrophobic octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) coating was used to chemically modify the surface energy of the ZnO surface. Wettability of the surfaces was assessed by measuring the water contact angle. The results showed that the water contact angle varied significantly with surface morphology as well as surface energy. OTS coated ZnO nanowire specimen had the highest contact angle of 150°, which corresponded to a superhydrophobic surface. This was a drastic difference from the contact angle of 87° obtained for the smooth ZnO film specimen. In addition to the initial contact angle, the evolution of the water droplet with respect to time was investigated. The wetting state of water droplet was analyzed with both Wenzel and Cassie-Baxter models. Spontaneous and gradual spreading, together with evaporation phenomenon contributed to the changing shape, and hence the varying contact angle, of the water droplet over time.     

Critical Casimir forces and anomalous wetting

We present a review of critical Casimir forces in connection with successive experiments on wetting near the critical point of helium mixtures.     

High-quality oriented ZnO films grown by sol-gel process assisted with ZnO seed layer

High-quality oriented ZnO films were prepared on silicon and quartz glass by sol-gel, assisted with a ZnO seed layer. The effects of the seed layer on the orientation, morphology and optical properties of ZnO films were investigated. Results show that the seed layer can effectively induce the growth of high-quality oriented ZnO films on two substrates, and the effectiveness of the seed layer strongly depends on preparation conditions, i.e., the spin-coating layer number and the preheating temperature. ZnO films with five layers on the seed layer preheated at 500 °C exhibit the single (0 0 2) orientation, which is much stronger than that on the flat substrate. Additionally, ZnO films on the seed layer show a denser internal structure and higher optical quality than that on the flat substrate. At ten layers, however, ZnO films on the seed layer show the multiple-orientation, which is similar to that on the flat substrate. Finally, the physical mechanism underlying the growth behavior of ZnO films assisted with the seed layer was discussed.     

Optoelectronic characterisation of an individual ZnO nanowire in contact with a micro-grid template

Optoelectronic characterisation of an individual ZnO nanowire in contact with a micro-grid template has been studied.The low-cost micro-grid template made by photolithography is used to fabricate the ohmic contact metal electrodes.The current increases linearly with the bias,indicating good ohmic contacts between the nanowire and the electrodes.The resistivity of the ZnO nanowire is calculated to be 3.8 ·cm.We investigate the photoresponses of an individual ZnO nanowire under different light illumination using light emitting diodes(λ = 505 nm,460 nm,375 nm) as excitation sources in atmosphere.When individual ZnO nanowire is exposured to different light irradiation,we find that it is extremely sensitive to UV illumination;the conductance is much larger upon UV illumination than that in the dark at room temperature.This phenomenon may be related to the surface oxygen molecule adsorbtion,which indicates their potential application to the optoelectronic switching device.     

ZnO六方纳米管晶体的制备与光致发光性能

常压下在空气中以氧化锌和碳粉为原料,利用高温碳热还原反应法制备出了自组装ZnO纳米晶体,采用SEM、XRD、PL等手段对产物进行了表征。结果表明产物为自组装多层六方管状结构的晶体,且是单一的六角晶系纤锌矿ZnO相。分析表明其生长机理为首先形成ZnO薄片,然后薄片再卷曲为管状物,其中碳热能和静电能为卷曲驱动力。室温光致发光谱显示,ZnO六方管晶体在以545nm为中心的范围内,形成较强较宽的绿光发射峰,而红光发射的强度增幅尤其突出。     

Effect of tubular chiralities of single-walled ZnO nanotubes on electronic transport

The electronic transport properties of single-walled ZnO nanotubes with different chiralities are investigated by nonequilibrium Green's function combined with density functional theory. In this paper we consider three representative ZnO nanotubes, namely (3, 3) armchair, (5, 0) zigzag, and (4, 2) chiral, with a similar diameter of about 5.4 Å. Short nanotubes exhibit good conductance behavior. As the tube length increases, the conductance decreases at low bias and the nanotubes indicate semiconducting behavior. The current-voltage characteristics of the nanotubes longer than 3 nm depend weakly on the length of the tubes. The armchair and chiral ZnO nanotubes with the same length and diameter have almost overlapped current-voltage curves. The electron transport behaviors are analyzed in terms of the transmission spectra, density of states and charge population of these nanotubes. The results indicate that the resonant peaks above the Fermi level are responsible for electric currents. However, the zigzag ZnO nanotubes exhibit asymmetric current-voltage curves attributed to the built-in polarization field and give larger current than the armchair and chiral nanotubes at the same bias. The features explored here strongly suggest that the ZnO nanotubes are stable, flexible structures, which are valuable in Nano-Electromechanical System.     

Facile fabrication of novel cyclomatrix-type polyphosphazene nanotubes with active hydroxyl groups via an in situ template approach

Novel polyphosphazene nanotubes with active hydroxyl groups were fabricated via an in situ template approach under ultrasonic irradiation. SEM and TEM results indicated that the nanotubes were uniform with length of several micrometers, inner diameter of ca. 20 nm and outer diameter of 60-80 nm. FTIR spectra revealed that the content of the hydroxyl groups on the nanotube surface was dependent on the feed ratio of hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene (HCCP) to 4,4′-sulfonyldiphenol. The successful esterification of polymer nanotubes with benzoxy chloride demonstrated the high reactivity of the hydroxyl groups. The method employed here might provide a simple and effective way to prepare functional nanotubes used for biological applications.     

Effect of disorder on two-dimensional wetting

For the problem of the 2D wetting transition near a 1D random wall, we show by a renormalization calculation that the effect of disorder is marginally relevant. It is therefore expected that the nature of the wetting transition and the location of the critical point are modified by any amount of disorder. This is supported by numerical simulations based on transfer matrix calculations. We investigate also the problem of wetting near a random wall on hierarchical lattices and find similar results.     

ZnO nanowire lines and bundles: Template-deformation-guided alignment for patterned field-electron emitters

One-dimensional ZnO materials have been promising for field-emission (FE) application, but how to facially control the alignment of ZnO emitters is still a great challenge especially for patterned display application. Here, we report the fabrication of novel ZnO nanowire (NW) line and bundle arrays for patterned field-electron emitters. The effects of PS template size and heating time on the resulted ZnO nanoarrays were systematically studied. The deformation degree of PS templates was controlled and hence utilized to adjust the alignment of electrochemically deposited ZnO arrays. It was found that the length of NW lines and the density of NW bundles can effectively tuned by the PS template heating time. The optimal FE performance with turn-on electric field as low as of 4.4 V μm⁻¹ and the field-enhancement factor as high as of 1450 were achieved through decreasing the screening effect among the patterned field-electron emitters.     

Electrical and optical properties of Al-doped ZnO thin films by sol-gel process

Al-doped ZnO (AZO) thin films oriented along the (0 0 2) plane have been prepared by the sol-gel process and their electrical and optical properties with post-deposition heating temperature were investigated. The preferred c-axis orientation along the (0 0 2) plane was enhanced with increasing post-deposition heating temperature and the surface of the films showed a uniform and nano-sized microstructure. The electrical resistivity of the films decreased from 73 to 22 Ω cm as the post-deposition heating temperature increased from 500 to 650 °C; however, the film postheated at 700 °C increased greatly to 580 Ω cm. The optical transmittance of the films postheated below 650 °C was over 86%, but it decreased at 700 °C. The electrical and optical properties of the AZO films with post-deposition heating temperature are discussed.     

Characteristics and electrochemical performance of Ni-coated ZnO prepared by an electroless plating process

ZnO was coated homogeneously with amorphous Ni film by an electroless plating process. After electroless Ni plating, transmission electron microscope (TEM) images and energy dispersive spectrometry spectra (EDS) of ZnO clearly indicated that Ni was coated on the surface of ZnO, the coatings and ZnO contacted enough. X-ray diffraction and high-resolution TEM showed that the Ni film on ZnO was amorphous. Electrochemical performance of Ni-coated ZnO was investigated by the galvanostatic charge/discharge cycling test. Compared to that of uncoated ZnO, the charging–discharging performance of Ni-coated ZnO was obviously improved, e.g. the average discharge capacity of the Ni-coated ZnO increased 71.5% at the stage of stable cycling test.     

Preparation and characterization of single-phase SiC nanotubes and C-SiC coaxial nanotubes

Preparation conditions of single-phase SiC nanotubes and C-SiC coaxial nanotubes were investigated. The characterization of single-phase SiC nanotubes and C-SiC coaxial nanotubes were carried out. The SiC nanowires, which were made of the catenated SiC grains of 50–200 nm in diameter, were obtained in carbon nanotubes reacted at 1450 °C. The only C-SiC coaxial nanotubes were formed at 1300 °C. A few single-phase SiC nantoubes were synthesized at 1200 °C for 100 h. More than half number of nanotubes reacted at 1200 °C for 100 h were altered to single-phase SiC nantoubes by heat treatment of 600 °C for 1 h in air since the remained carbon was removed. The energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis revealed that the atomic ratio of Si to C in single-phase SiC nanotubes was almost 1; these single-phase SiC nanotubes consisted of near-stoichiometric SiC grains.     

铝氮共掺杂氧化锌纳米管电子结构的第一性原理研究

采用基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理计算, 对(6,0)单壁氧化锌纳米管、铝掺杂、氮掺杂和铝氮共掺杂纳米管的能带结构、态密度和差分电荷密度进行了研究. 结果表明, 氮掺杂可以在纳米管禁带中引入受主能级, 实现纳米管的p型掺杂, 但是受主能级局域性较强, 导致氮溶解度低. 引入铝元素可以有效降低氮形成受主能级局域性, 激活氮元素, 铝氮共掺杂有望成为氧化锌纳米管一种更为有效的p型掺杂方法. 关键词： 氧化锌纳米管 电子结构 共掺杂 第一性原理计算     

Interfacial wetting in the 4-state Potts model: A cluster approach

We formulate an inhomogeneous generalization of the bond-cluster approach to deal with interfacial phenomena in q  -state Potts models. We apply this formalism to the wetting by the disordered phase of the interface between two bulk phases. For the case q=4$q=4$ we obtain the full interfacial profiles, provide an estimate for the wetting temperature and verify the predicted logarithmic divergence of the wetting layer.