15 research outputs found
One-step synthesis of ZnO nanosheets: a blue-white fluorophore
Zinc oxide is synthesised at low temperature (80°C) in nanosheet geometry using a substrate-free, single-step, wet-chemical method and is found to act as a blue-white fluorophore. Investigation by atomic force microscopy, electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction confirms zinc oxide material of nanosheet morphology where the individual nanosheets are polycrystalline in nature with the crystalline structure being of wurtzite character. Raman spectroscopy indicates the presence of various defects, while photoluminescence measurements show intense green (centre wavelength approximately 515 nm) blue (approximately 450 nm), and less dominant red (approximately 640 nm) emissions due to a variety of vacancy and interstitial defects, mostly associated with surfaces or grain boundaries. The resulting colour coordinate on the CIE-1931 standard is (0.23, 0.33), demonstrating potential for use as a blue-white fluorescent coating in conjunction with ultraviolet emitting LEDs. Although the defects are often treated as draw-backs of ZnO, here we demonstrate useful broadband visible fluorescence properties in as-prepared ZnO
Spatially resolved photoresponse on individual ZnO nanorods: correlating morphology, defects and conductivity
Advertising Brochure: The Great Minneapolis Line
In this chapter several aspects of the electronic and phonon structure are
considered for the design and engineering of advanced thermoelectric materials. For
a given compound, its thermoelectric figure of merit, zT, is fully exploited only when
the free carrier density is optimized. Achieving higher zT beyond this requires the
improvement in the material quality factor B. Using experimental data on lead chalcogenides
as well as examples of other good thermoelectric materials, we demonstrate
how the fundamental material parameters: effective mass, band anisotropy, deformation
potential, and band degeneracy, among others, impact the thermoelectric
properties and lead to desirable thermoelectric materials. As the quality factor B is
introduced under the assumption of acoustic phonon (deformation potential) scattering,
a brief discussion about carrier scattering mechanisms is also included. This
simple model with the use of an effective deformation potential coefficient fits the
experimental properties of real materials with complex structures and multi-valley
Fermi surfaces remarkably well—which is fortunate as these are features likely found
in advanced thermoelectric materials