22 research outputs found
Localized versus delocalized states: Photoluminescence from electrochemically synthesized ZnO nanowires
We analyze the near-band-edge photoluminescence of electrochemically deposited ZnO nanowires and directly correlate the photoluminescence properties with the carrier concentration in the nanowires as determined from electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. We find a donor density of 81019 cmâ3 in the as-deposited nanowires and show that the near-band-edge emission results from band-to-band recombination processes delocalized states. A photoluminescence band centered at 3.328 eV scales with the diameter of the nanowires and is assigned to recombination processes involving surface states. We show that annealing at 500 °C in air reduces the donor density in the nanowires by more than one order of magnitude, leading to sharp excitonic transitions in the electrochemically deposited nanowire
A structural role for arginine in proteins: Multiple hydrogen bonds to backbone carbonyl oxygens
We propose that arginine side chains often play a previously unappreciated general structural role in the maintenance of tertiary structure in proteins, wherein the positively charged guanidinium group forms multiple hydrogen bonds to backbone carbonyl oxygens. Using as a criterion for a âstructuralâ arginine one that forms 4 or more hydrogen bonds to 3 or more backbone carbonyl oxygens, we have used molecular graphics to locate arginines of interest in 4 proteins: Arg 180 in Thermus thermophilus manganese superoxide dismutase, Arg 254 in human carbonic anhydrase II, Arg 31 in Streptomyces rubiginosus xylose isomerase, and Arg 313 in Rhodospirillum rubrum ribuloseâ1,5âbisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase. Arg 180 helps to mold the active site channel of superoxide dismutase, whereas in each of the other enzymes the structural arginine is buried in the âmantleâ (i.e., inside, but near the surface) of the protein interior well removed from the active site, where it makes 5 hydrogen bonds to 4 backbone carbonyl oxygens. Using a more relaxed criterion of 3 or more hydrogen bonds to 2 or more backbone carbonyl oxygens, arginines that play a potentially important structural role were found in yeast enolase, Bacillus stearothermophilus glyceraldehydeâ3âphosphate dehydrogenase, bacteriophage T4 and human lysozymes, Enteromorpha prolifera plastocyanin, HIVâ1 protease, Trypanosoma brucei brucei and yeast triosephosphate isomerases, and Escherichia coli trp aporepressor (but not trp repressor or the trp repressor/operator complex). In addition to helping form the active site funnel in superoxide dismutase, the structural arginines found in this study play such diverse roles as stapling together 3 strands of backbone from different regions of the primary sequence, and tying αâhelix to αâhelix, ÎČturn to ÎČâturn, and subunit to subunit. Copyright © 1994 The Protein Societ
Influence of helium-ion bombardment on the optical properties of ZnO nanorods/p-GaN light-emitting diodes
Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods grown by vapor-liquid-solid catalytic growth method were irradiated with 2-MeV helium (He+) ions. The fabricated LEDs were irradiated with fluencies of approximately 2 Ă 1013 ions/cm2 and approximately 4 Ă 1013 ions/cm2. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that the morphology of the irradiated samples is not changed. The as-grown and He+-irradiated LEDs showed rectifying behavior with the same I-V characteristics. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements showed that there is a blue shift of approximately 0.0347 and 0.082 eV in the near-band emission (free exciton) and green emission of the irradiated ZnO nanorods, respectively. It was also observed that the PL intensity of the near-band emission was decreased after irradiation of the samples. The electroluminescence (EL) measurements of the fabricated LEDs showed that there is a blue shift of 0.125 eV in the broad green emission after irradiation and the EL intensity of violet emission approximately centered at 398 nm nearly disappeared after irradiations. The color-rendering properties show a small decrease in the color-rendering indices of 3% after 2 MeV He+ ions irradiation