Facile hydrothermal synthesis and optical limiting properties of TiO 2 -reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites

TiO2/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanocomposites Gx (RGO titania nanocomposite, x grams tetrabutyl titanate per 0.03 g RGO, x = 0.25, 0.50, 1.00) were prepared by a hydrothermal method: graphene oxide was reduced to RGO in a 2:1 water:ethanol mixture in the presence of varying quantities of tetrabutyl titanate, which deposited as TiO2 on the RGO sheets. The nanocomposites were characterized by a combination of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, diffuse reflectance ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy studies. The nanocomposite G0.25 exhibits enhanced nonlinear optical properties compared to its individual components, which is ascribed to a combination of mechanisms. The role of defects and electron/energy transfer in the optical limiting performance of G0.25 was clarified with the help of Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopies. Intensity-dependent switching between reverse saturable absorption and saturable absorption behavior was observed with the G0.50 nanocomposite

Covalent functionalization of reduced graphene oxide with porphyrin by means of diazonium chemistry for nonlinear optical performance

Reduced graphene oxide (RGO)-porphyrin (TPP) nanohybrids (RGO-TPP 1 and RGO-TPP 2) were prepared by two synthetic routes that involve functionalization of the RGO using diazonium salts. The microscopic structures, morphology, photophysical properties and nonlinear optical performance of the resultant RGO-TPP nanohybrids were investigated. The covalent bonding of the porphyrin-functionalized-RGO nanohybrid materials was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. Attachment of the porphyrin units to the surface of the RGO by diazotization significantly improves the solubility and ease of processing of these RGO-based nanohybrid materials. Ultraviolet/visible absorption and steady-state fluorescence studies indicate considerable π-π interactions and effective photo-induced electron and/or energy transfer between the porphyrin moieties and the extended π-system of RGO. The nonlinear optical properties of RGO-TPP 1 and RGO-TPP 2 were investigated by open-aperture Z-scan measurements at 532 nm with both 4 ns and 21 ps laser pulses, the results showing that the chemical nanohybrids exhibit improved nonlinear optical properties compared to those of the benchmark material C60, and the constituent RGO or porphyrins.Financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51432006, 50925207, 51172100), the Ministry of Science and Technology of China for the International Science Linkages Program (2011DFG52970), the Ministry of Education of China for the Changjiang Innovation Research Team (IRT14R23), the Ministry of Education and the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs for the 111 Project (B13025), and 100 Talents Program of CAS are gratefully acknowledged. M.G.H., C.Z. and M.P.C. thank the Australian Research Council (ARC) for support

Origin of Improved Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting in Mixed Perovskite Oxides

Owing to the versatility in their chemical and physical properties, transition metal perovskite oxides have emerged as a new category of highly efficient photocatalysts for photoelectrochemical water splitting. Here, to understand the underlying mechanism for the enhanced photoelectrochemical water splitting in mixed perovskites, we explore ideal epitaxial thin films of the BiFeO3-SrTiO3 system. The electronic struture and carrier dynamics are determined from both experiment and density-functional theory calculations. The intrinsic phenomena are measured in this ideal sytem, contrasting to commonly studied polycrstalline solid solutions where extrinsic structural features obscure the intrinsic phenomena. We determined that when SrTiO3 is added to BiFeO3 the conduction band minimum position is raised and an exponential tail of trap states from hybridized Ti 3d and Fe 3d orbitals emerges near the conduction band edge. The presence of these trap states strongly suppresses the fast electron-hole recombination and improves the photocurrent density in the visible-light region, up to 16 times at 0 VRHE compared to the pure end member compositions. Our work provides a new design approach for optimising the photoelectrochemical performance in mixed perovksite oxides.Comment: 7 pages and 5 figure

Field Emission Properties and Fabrication of CdS Nanotube Arrays

A large area arrays (ca. 40 cm2) of CdS nanotube on silicon wafer are successfully fabricated by the method of layer-by-layer deposition cycle. The wall thicknesses of CdS nanotubes are tuned by controlling the times of layer-by-layer deposition cycle. The field emission (FE) properties of CdS nanotube arrays are investigated for the first time. The arrays of CdS nanotube with thin wall exhibit better FE properties, a lower turn-on field, and a higher field enhancement factor than that of the arrays of CdS nanotube with thick wall, for which the ratio of length to the wall thickness of the CdS nanotubes have played an important role. With increasing the wall thickness of CdS nanotube, the enhancement factorβdecreases and the values of turn-on field and threshold field increase

Ultra-Sensitivity Glucose Sensor Based on Field Emitters

A new glucose sensor based on field emitter of ZnO nanorod arrays (ZNA) was fabricated. This new type of ZNA field emitter-based sensor shows high sensitivity with experimental limit of detection of 1 nM glucose solution and a detection range from 1 nM to 50 μM in air at room temperature, which is lower than that of glucose sensors based on surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy, fluorescence signal transmission, and electrochemical signal transduction. The new glucose sensor provides a key technique for promising consuming application in biological system for detecting low levels of glucose on single cells or bacterial cultures

Effect of Aspect Ratio on Field Emission Properties of ZnO Nanorod Arrays

ZnO nanorod arrays are prepared on a silicon wafer through a multi-step hydrothermal process. The aspect ratios and densities of the ZnO nanorod arrays are controlled by adjusting the reaction times and concentrations of solution. The investigation of field emission properties of ZnO nanorod arrays revealed a strong dependency on the aspect ratio and their density. The aspect ratio and spacing of ZnO nanorod arrays are 39 and 167 nm (sample C), respectively, to exhibit the best field emission properties. The turn-on field and threshold field of the nanorod arrays are 3.83 V/μm and 5.65 V/μm, respectively. Importantly, the sample C shows a highest enhancement of factorβ, which is 2612. The result shows that an optimum density and aspect ratio of ZnO nanorod arrays have high efficiency of field emission