Hybrid nanostructures combining inorganic materials and graphene are being developed for applications such as fuel cells, batteries, photovoltaics and sensors. However, the absence of a bandgap in graphene has restricted the electrical and optical characteristics of these hybrids, particularly their emissive properties. Here, we use a simple solution method to prepare emissive hybrid quantum dots consisting of a ZnO core wrapped in a shell of single-layer graphene. We then use these quantum dots to make a white-light-emitting diode with a brightness of 798 cd m(-2). The strain introduced by curvature opens an electronic bandgap of 250 meV in the graphene, and two additional blue emission peaks are observed in the luminescent spectrum of the quantum dot. Density functional theory calculations reveal that these additional peaks result from a splitting of the lowest unoccupied orbitals of the graphene into three orbitals with distinct energy levels. White emission is achieved by combining the quantum dots with other emissive materials in a multilayer light-emitting diode.

ABSTRACT:We report on the nonvolatile memory characteristics of a bistable organic memory (BOM) device with Au nanoparticles (NPs) embedded in a conducting poly-(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) colloids hybrid layer deposited on flexible poly(ethyleneterephthalate) (PET) substrates. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images show the Au nanoparticles distributed isotropically around the surface of a PVK colloid. The average induced charge on Au nanoparticles, estimated using the C-V hysteresis curve, was large, as much as 5 holes/NP at a sweeping voltage of (3 V. The maximum ON/OFF ratio of the current bistability in the BOM devices was as large as 1 Â 10 5 . The cycling endurance tests of the ON/OFF switching exhibited a high endurance of above 1.5 Â 10 5 cycles, and a high ON/OFF ratio of ∼10 5 could be achieved consistently even after quite a long retention time of more than 1 Â 10 6 s. To clarify the memory mechanism of the hole-mediated bistable organic memory device, the interactions between Au nanoparticles and poly(Nvinylcarbazole) colloids was studied by estimating the density of states and projected density of state calculations using density functional theory. Au atom interactions with a PVK unit decreased the band gap by 2.96 eV with the new induced gap states at 5.11 eV (HOMO, E 0 ) and LUMO 4.30 eV and relaxed the HOMO level by 0.5 eV (E 1 ). E 1 at ∼6.2 eV is very close to the pristine HOMO, and thus the trapped hole in E 1 could move to the HOMO of pristine PVK. From the experimental data and theoretical calculation, it was revealed that a low-conductivity state resulted from a hole trapping at E o and E 1 states and subsequent hole transportation through Fowler-Nordheim tunneling from E 1 state to Au NPs and/or interface trap states leads to a high conductivity state.

Copper-doped p-ZnO thin films (Cu:ZnO) were grown on α-Al 2 O 3 (0 0 0 1) and 6H:SiC(0 0 0 1) single crystal substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. A p-n hetero-junction with p-Cu:ZnO/n-6H:SiC was successfully fabricated and demonstrated as a greenish-blue light emitting diode (LED). The rectifying I-V curve along with the matching photoluminescence and electroluminescence emissions characterizes the fabricated p-n hetero-junction LED. The Cu cell temperature (T Cu ) and the post-deposition annealing environment greatly influence the Cu oxidation state, and hence the electrical conversion from n-type to p-type and carrier concentration in the films. The higher T Cu and post-annealing in O-plasma were observed to be the favorable conditions for Cu 2+ and hence the p-type nature of the films.

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The effect of Radio Frequency (RF) power on the properties of magnetron sputtered Al doped ZnO thin films and the related sensor properties are investigated. A series of 2 wt% Al doped ZnO; Zn0.98Al0.02O (AZO) thin films prepared with magnetron sputtering at different RF powers, are examined. The structural results reveal a good adhesive nature of thin films with quartz substrates as well as increasing thickness of the films with raising RF power. Besides, the increasing RF power is found to improve the crystallinity and grains growth as confirmed by X-ray diffraction. On the other hand, the optical transmittance is significantly influenced by the RF power, where the transparency values achieved are higher than 82% for all the AZO thin films and the estimated optical band gap energy is found to decrease with RF power due to an increase in the crystallite size as well as the film thickness. In addition, the defect induced luminescence at low temperature (77 K) and room temperature (300 K) was studied through photoluminescence spectroscopy, it is found that the defect density of electronic states of Al 3+ ion found to increase with increase of RF power due to the increase in the thickness of the film and the crystallite size. The gas sensing behavior of AZO films was studied for NO2 at 350 °C. The AZO film shows good response towards NO2 gas and also a good relationship between the response and the NO2 concentration, which is modeled using an empirical formula. The sensing mechanism of NO2 is discussed.