Spin Coated Plasmonic Nanoparticle Interfaces for Photocurrent Enhancement in Thin Film Si Solar Cells

Nanoparticle (NP) arrays of noble metals strongly absorb light in the visible to infrared wavelengths through resonant interactions between the incident electromagnetic field and the metal's free electron plasma. Such plasmonic interfaces enhance light absorption and photocurrent in solar cells. We report a cost effective and scalable room temperature/pressure spin-coating route to fabricate broadband plasmonic interfaces consisting of silver NPs. The NP interface yields photocurrent enhancement (PE) in thin film silicon devices by up to 200% which is significantly greater than previously reported values. For coatings produced from Ag nanoink containing particles with average diameter of 40 nm, an optimal NP surface coverage of 7% was observed. Scanning electron microscopy of interface morphologies revealed that for low surface coverage, particles are well-separated, resulting in broadband PE. At higher surface coverage, formation of particle strings and clusters caused red-shifting of the PE peak and a narrower spectral response.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figure

Plasmonic Nanogels with Robustly Tunable Optical Properties

Low viscosity fluids with tunable optical properties can be processed to manufacture thin film and interfaces for molecular detection, light trapping in photovoltaics and reconfigurable optofluidic devices. In this work, self-assembly in wormlike micelle solutions is used to uniformly distribute various metallic nanoparticles to produce stable suspensions with localized, multiple wavelength or broad-band optical properties. Their spectral response can be robustly modified by varying the species, concentration, size and/or shape of the nanoparticles. Structure, rheology and optical properties of these plasmonic nanogels as well as their potential applications to efficient photovoltaics design are discussed

A novel mixed matrix membrane of phenolphthalein hydrazide and polysulfone for the detection of copper ions in environmental water samples.

The novel membrane test strip of phenolphthalein hydrazide (PH)-polysulfone has been designed and demonstrated for Cu2+ ions detection. Before finding performance of membrane the studies with PH alone has been performed. Aqueous solutions of PH are colorless, but upon interaction with Cu2+ ions become pink (when 8.2 ≤ pH ≥ 12). The colorimetric change is initiated by the coordination of Cu2+ with PH as a polydentate ligand, opening the spirolactam ring that subsequently hydrolyses releasing phenolphthalein (P). Further membrane was preloaded with PH that could be used as a simple, low cost, and portable sensor for Cu2+ ions in environmental water samples. Given the detection limits of this sensor, a maximum response would warn the tester that Cu2+ concentrations were above safe drinking regulation values. Approximate concentrations can be determined via a color comparison chart. Different metal ions were tested in order to determine the chemodosimeters specificity, of the 12 tested ions only Hg2+ induced a similar molecular transformation (i.e., PH to P). The chemodosimeter allows the quantification of Cu2+ ions in the linear dynamic range of 0–22 μM. The Sandell sensitivity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, and relative standard deviation were found to be 0.276 μg/mL/cm2, 0.279 μM, 1.674 μM, and 0.682% respectively

Investigation of pulsed laser induced dewetting in nanoscopic metal films

Hydrodynamic pattern formation (PF) and dewetting resulting from pulsed laser induced melting of nanoscopic metal films have been used to create spatially ordered metal nanoparticle arrays with monomodal size distribution on SiO_{\text{2}}/Si substrates. PF was investigated for film thickness h\leq7 nm < laser absorption depth \sim11 nm and different sets of laser parameters, including energy density E and the irradiation time, as measured by the number of pulses n. PF was only observed to occur for E\geq E_{m}, where E_{m} denotes the h-dependent threshold energy required to melt the film. Even at such small length scales, theoretical predictions for E_{m} obtained from a continuum-level lumped parameter heat transfer model for the film temperature, coupled with the 1-D transient heat equation for the substrate phase, were consistent with experimental observations provided that the thickness dependence of the reflectivity of the metal-substrate bilayer was incorporated into the analysis. The spacing between the nanoparticles and the particle diameter were found to increase as h^{2} and h^{5/3} respectively, which is consistent with the predictions of the thin film hydrodynamic (TFH) dewetting theory. These results suggest that fast thermal processing can lead to novel pattern formation, including quenching of a wide range of length scales and morphologies.Comment: 36 pages, 11 figures, 1 tabl

Self-similar shear-thickening behavior in CTAB/NaSal surfactant solutions

The effect of salt concentration Cs on the critical shear rate required for the onset of shear thickening and apparent relaxation time of the shear-thickened phase, has been investigated systematically for dilute CTAB/NaSal solutions. Experimental data suggest a self-similar behavior of the critical shear rate and relaxation time as functions of Cs. Specifically, the former ~ Cs^(-6) whereas the latter ~ Cs^(6) such that an effective Weissenberg number for the onset of the shear thickened phase is only weakly dependent on Cs. A procedure has been developed to collapse the apparent shear viscosity versus shear rate data obtained for various values of Cs into a single master curve. The effect of Cs on the elastic modulus and mesh size of the shear-induced gel phase for different surfactant concentrations is discussed. Experiments performed using different flow cells (Couette and cone-and-plate) show that the critical shear rate, relaxation time and the maximum viscosity attained are geometry-independent. The elastic modulus of the gel phase inferred indirectly by employing simplified hydrodynamic instability analysis of a sheared gel-fluid interface is in qualitative agreement with that predicted for an entangled phase of living polymers. A qualitative mechanism that combines the effect of Cs on average micelle length and Debye parameter with shear-induced configurational changes of rod-like micelles is proposed to rationalize the self-similarity of SIS formation.Comment: 27 pages, 17 figure

Uniaxial Extension of Surfactant Micelles: Counterion Mediated Chain Stiffening and a Mechanism of Rupture by Flow-Induced Energy Redistribution

We study the configurational dynamics in uniaxial elongational flow of rodlike and <i>U</i>-shaped cationic surfactant micelles of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) in the presence of sodium salicylate (NaSal) counterions in water using molecular dynamics simulations. Above the critical strain rate, approximately equal to the inverse of the micelle relaxation time, hydrodynamic forces overcome the conformational entropy of the micelle and a configurational transition from a folded to a stretched state occurs. As the accumulated strain exceeds a critical value of O(100), the micelle ruptures through a midplane thinning mechanism facilitated by the advection of the counterions toward the micelle end-caps. The change in the total pair-potential energy as a function of micelle elongation is well described by a Hookean spring model that allowed to estimate the stretching modulus of the micelle. Micelle stiffness depends greatly on the degree of screening of electrostatic repulsion among the CTA⁺ head groups by the Sal^– counterions condensed on the surface. A moderate increase in the counterion concentration makes the molecular assembly tighter and more immune to deformation by hydrodynamic stresses, resulting in an order magnitude enhancement in the stretching modulus