Recently, one-dimensional nanostructures with different morphologies (such as nanowires, nanorods (NRs), and nanotubes) have become the focus of intensive research, because of their unique properties with potential applications. Among them, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanomaterials has been found to be highly attractive, because of the remarkable potential for applications in many different areas such as solar cells, sensors, piezoelectric devices, photodiode devices, sun screens, antireflection coatings, and photocatalysis. Here, we present an innovative approach to create a new modified textile by direct in situ growth of vertically aligned one-dimensional (1D) ZnO NRs onto textile surfaces, which can serve with potential for biosensing, photocatalysis, and antibacterial applications. ZnO NRs were grown by using a simple aqueous chemical growth method. Results from analyses such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the ZnO NRs were dispersed over the entire surface of the textile. We have demonstrated the following applications of these multifunctional textiles: (1) as a flexible working electrode for the detection of aldicarb (ALD) pesticide, (2) as a photocatalyst for the degradation of organic molecules (i.e., Methylene Blue and Congo Red), and (3) as antibacterial agents against Escherichia coli. The ZnO-based textile exhibited excellent photocatalytic and antibacterial activities, and it showed a promising sensing response. The combination of sensing, photocatalysis, and antibacterial properties provided by the ZnO NRs brings us closer to the concept of smart textiles for wearable sensing without a deodorant and antibacterial control. Perhaps the best known of the products that is available in markets for such purposes are textiles with silver nanoparticles. Our modified textile is thus providing acceptable antibacterial properties, compared to available commercial modified textiles.
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.
ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized by co-precipitation with no capping agent followed by covering with ZnS using a solution-based chemical method at low temperature. By variation of the solution concentrations it was found that the fully-covering ZnS shell forms by a reaction of Na 2 S with ZnO NPs followed by the formation of ZnS nano-crystals by the reaction of Na 2 S with ZnCl 2. The mechanism that led to full coverage of the ZnO core is proposed to be the addition of ZnCl 2 at a later stage of the growth which guarantees a continuous supply of Zn ions to the core surface. Moreover, the ZnS nanocrystals that uniformly cover the ZnO NPs show no epitaxial relationship between the ZnO core and ZnS shell. The slow atomic mobility at the low reaction temperature is attributed to the non-epitaxial uniform ZnS shell growth. The rough surface of the ZnO grains provides initial nucleation positions for the growth of the ZnS shell nano-crystals. The low growth temperature also inhibits the abnormal growth of ZnS grains and results in the homogeneous coverage of ZnS nano-crystals on the ZnO core surface. The as-synthesized ZnO@ZnS core-shell nanoparticles were used as a photocatalyst to decompose Rose Bengal dye at three different pH values. ZnO@ZnS core-shell nanoparticles perform as a more active photocatalyst at a pH of 4, while pure ZnO nanoparticles are more efficient at a pH of 7.
Corresponding author e-mail: ahmadechresh@gmail.com AbstractA UV photo-detector based on p-NiO thin film/n-ZnO nanorods heterojunction was fabricated using a simple two-step fabrication process. The aqueous chemical hydrothermal and implying the vitality of the presented two-step process.
We here, present a flexible handwriting driven nanogenerator (NG) based on zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires (NWs)/polymer composite grown/deposited on paper substrate. The targeted configuration is composed of ZnO NWs/PVDF polymer ink pasted and sandwiched between two pieces of paper with ZnO NWs grown chemically on one side of each piece of paper.Other configurations utilizing a ZnO/PVDF ink with different ZnO morphology on paper platform and others on plastic platform were fabricated for comparison. The mechanical pressure exerted on the paper platform while handwriting is then harvested by the ZnO NWs/polymer based NG to deliver electrical energy. Two handwriting modes were tested; these were slow (low pressure) and fast (high pressure) handwriting. The maximum achieved harvested open circuit voltage was 4.8 V. While an out power density as high as 1.3 mW/mm 2 was estimated when connecting the NG to a 100 Ω load resistor. The observed results were stable and reproducible. The present NG provides a low cost and scalable approach with many potential applications, like e.g. programmable paper for signature verification.
Pure and cobalt-doped zinc oxide aligned nanorods have been grown by the low-temperature (90 • C) aqueous chemical method on amorphous ZnO seed layer, deposited on a sapphire substrate. High crystallinity of these objects is demonstrated by the electron paramagnetic resonance investigation at liquid helium temperature. The successful incorporation of Co 2+ ions in substitution of Zn 2+ ones in the ZnO matrix has also been confirmed. A drastic reduction of intrinsic ZnO nanorods core defects is observed in the Co-doped samples, which enhances the structural quality of the NRs. The quantification of substitutional Co 2+ ions in the ZnO matrix is achieved by comparison with a reference sample. The findings in this study indicate the potential of using the low-temperature aqueous chemical approach for synthesizing material for spintronics applications.
We measure the elastic modulus of a single horizontal ZnO nanorod [NR] grown by a low-temperature hydrothermal chemical process on silicon substrates by performing room-temperature, direct load-controlled nanoindentation measurements. The configuration of the experiment for the single ZnO NR was achieved using a focused ion beam/scanning electron microscope dual-beam instrument. The single ZnO NR was positioned horizontally over a hole on a silicon wafer using a nanomanipulator, and both ends were bonded with platinum, defining a three-point bending configuration. The elastic modulus of the ZnO NR, extracted from the unloading curve using the well-known Oliver-Pharr method, resulted in a value of approximately 800 GPa. Also, we discuss the NR creep mechanism observed under indentation. The mechanical behavior reported in this paper will be a useful reference for the design and applications of future nanodevices.
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