This investigation explores piezoelectricity generation from ZnO nanorods, which were grown on silver coated textile cotton fabrics using the low temperature aqueous chemical growth method. The morphology and crystal structure studies were carried out by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopic and high resolution transmission electron microscopic techniques, respectively. ZnO nanorods were highly dense, well aligned, uniform in spatial distribution and exhibited good crystal quality. The generation of piezoelectricity from fabricated ZnO nanorods grown on textile cotton fabrics was measured using contact mode atomic force microscopy. The average output voltage generated from ZnO nanorods was measured to be around 9.5 mV. This investigation is an important achievement regarding the piezoelectricity generation on textile cotton fabric substrate. The fabrication of this device provides an alternative approach for a flexible substrate to develop devices for energy harvesting and optoelectronic technology on textiles.

In the present work, NiCo2O4 nanostructures are fabricated in three dimensions (3D) on nickel foam by the hydrothermal method. The nanomaterial was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The nanostructures exhibit nanoneedle-like morphology grown in 3D with good crystalline quality. The nanomaterial is composed of nickel, cobalt and oxygen atoms. By using the favorable porosity of the nanomaterial and the substrate itself, a sensitive glucose sensor is proposed by immobilizing glucose oxidase. The presented glucose sensor has shown linear response over a wide range of glucose concentrations from 0.005 mM to 15 mM with a sensitivity of 91.34 mV/decade and a fast response time of less than 10 s. The NiCo2O4 nanostructures-based glucose sensor has shown excellent reproducibility, repeatability and stability. The sensor showed negligible response to the normal concentrations of common interferents with glucose sensing, including uric acid, dopamine and ascorbic acid. All these favorable advantages of the fabricated glucose sensor suggest that it may have high potential for the determination of glucose in biological samples, food and other related areas.

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ZnO nanoflowers were synthesized on conductive flexible textile fabric substrate by using the simple low‐temperature aqueous chemical growth method and were used for piezoelectric energy harvesting source. Structural characterization of ZnO nanoflowers was carried out by using surface scanning electron microscopy and X‐ray diffraction. The ZnO nanoflowers are uniformly grown over the entire sample. They are composed of needle‐like nanorods, which have hexagonal wurtzite structure with good crystalline quality. The current–voltage characteristics showed good rectifying Schottky behaviour. Contact‐mode atomic force microscopy was used for measuring the piezoelectric output potential. The maximum output potential was found to be more than 600 mV and the corresponding current also recorded was near ∼650 nA. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

In this work, a copper/zinc-oxide (ZnO)-nanorods-based Schottky diode was fabricated on the textile fabric substrate. ZnO nanorods were grown on a silver-coated textile fabric substrate by using the hydrothermal route. Scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction techniques were used for the structural study. The electrical characterization of copper/ZnO-nanorodsbased Schottky diodes was investigated by using a semiconductor parameter analyzer and an impedance spectrometer. The current density-voltage (J-V) and capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements were used to estimate the electrical parameters. The threshold voltage (V th ), ideality factor (η), barrier height (φ b ), reverse saturation current density (J s ), carrier concentration (N D ) and built-in potential (V bi ) were determined by using experimental data and (simulated) curve fitting. This study describes the possible fabrication of electronic and optoelectronic devices on textile fabric substrate with an acceptable performance.

Moreover, current density-voltage (J-V) was measured to know the performance of present Schottky diode. The effect of native defects at the interface was also studied by using cathodoluminescence spectroscopy by varying different accelerating voltage. The textile substrate was used for the growth of ZnO nanorods by using the aqueous chemical growth (ACG) method and Schottky diode fabrication. Diode fabrication on textile fabric is a step forward towards the fabrication of electronic devices on non-conventional, economical, soft, light weight, flexible, wearable, washable, recyclable, reproducible and nontoxic substrate.

Cheap and efficient white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are of great interest due to the energy crisis all over the world. Herein, we have developed heterojunction LEDs based on the well-aligned ZnO nanorods and nanotubes on the p-type GaN with the insertion of the NiO buffer layer that showed enhancement in the light emission. Scanning electron microscopy have well demonstrated the arrays of the ZnO nanorods and the proper etching into the nanotubes. X-ray diffraction study describes the wurtzite crystal structure array of ZnO nanorods with the involvement of GaN at the (002) peak. The cathodoluminescence spectra represent strong and broad visible emission peaks compared to the UV emission and a weak peak at 425 nm which is originated from GaN. Electroluminescence study has shown highly improved luminescence response for the LEDs fabricated with NiO buffer layer compared to that without NiO layer. Introducing a sandwich-thin layer of NiO between the n-type ZnO and the p-type GaN will possibly block the injection of electrons from the ZnO to the GaN. Moreover, the presence of NiO buffer layer might create the confinement effect.

In this study honeycomb-like NiO nanostructures were grown on nickel foam by a simple hydrothermal growth method. The NiO nanostructures were characterized by field emission electron microscopy (FESEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The characterized NiO nanostructures were uniform, dense and polycrystalline in the crystal phase. In addition to this, the NiO nanostructures were used in the development of a zinc ion sensor electrode by functionalization with the highly selective zinc ion ionophore 12-crown-4. The developed zinc ion sensor electrode has shown a good linear potentiometric response for a wide range of zinc ion concentrations, ranging from 0.001 mM to 100 mM, with sensitivity of 36 mV/decade. The detection limit of the present zinc ion sensor was found to be 0.0005 mM and it also displays a fast response time of less than 10 s. The proposed zinc ion sensor electrode has also shown good reproducibility, repeatability, storage stability and selectivity. The zinc ion sensor based on the functionalized NiO nanostructures was also used as indicator electrode in potentiometric titrations and it has demonstrated an acceptable stoichiometric relationship for the determination of zinc ion in unknown samples. The NiO nanostructures-based zinc ion sensor has potential for analysing zinc ion in various industrial, clinical and other real samples.