The Burstein-Moss shift and band gap narrowing of sputtered indium-doped zinc oxide (IZO) thin films are investigated as a function of carrier concentrations. The optical band gap shifts below the carrier concentration of 5.61 × 1019 cm-3 are well-described by the Burstein-Moss model. For carrier concentrations higher than 8.71 × 1019 cm-3 the shift decreases, indicating that band gap narrowing mechanisms are increasingly significant and are competing with the Burstein-Moss effect. The incorporation of In causes the resistivity to decrease three orders of magnitude. As the mean-free path of carriers is less than the crystallite size, the resistivity is probably affected by ionized impurities as well as defect scattering mechanisms, but not grain boundary scattering. The c lattice constant as well as film stress is observed to increase in stages with increasing carrier concentration. The asymmetric XPS Zn 2p3/2 peak in the film with the highest carrier concentration of 7.02 × 1020 cm-3 suggests the presence of stacking defects in the ZnO lattice. The Raman peak at 274 cm-1 is attributed to lattice defects introduced by In dopants.
While bulk zinc oxide (ZnO) is of non-toxic in nature, ZnO nanoarchitectures could potentially induce the macroscopic characteristics of oxidative, lethality and toxicity in the water environment. Here we report a systematic study through state-of-the-art controllable synthesis of multi-dimensional ZnO nanoarchitectures (i.e. 0D-nanoparticle, 1D-nanorod, 2D-nanosheet, and 3D-nanoflowers), and subsequent in-depth understanding on the fundamental factor that determines their photoactivities. The photoactivities of resultant ZnO nanoarchitectures were interpreted in terms of the photodegradation of salicylic acid as well as inactivation of Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli under UV-A irradiation. Photodegradation results showed that 1D-ZnO nanorods demonstrated the highest salicylic acid photodegradation efficiency (99.4%) with a rate constant of 0.0364 min-1. 1D-ZnO nanorods also exhibited the highest log reductions of B. subtilis and E. coli of 3.5 and 4.2, respectively. Through physicochemical properties standardisation, an intermittent higher k value for pore diameter (0.00097 min-1 per mm), the highest k values for crystallite size (0.00171 min-1 per nm) and specific surface area (0.00339 min-1 per m2/g) contributed to the exceptional photodegradation performance of nanorods. Whereas, the average normalised log reduction against the physicochemical properties of nanorods (i.e. low crystallite size, high specific surface area and pore diameter) caused the strongest bactericidal effect.
The development of motor skills is fundamental to the continued movement and specific skills in the sport. The development of motor skills concurrent with their age allows them to acquire and master locomotor and object control skills through physical activity. This study aims to identify the gross motor developmental stage among six year old girls at the National Child Development Research Center, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris. This study focuses on the level of gross motor development and the relationship between Gross Motor Quotient (GMQ and Body Mass Index (BMI) of the children. Gross motor development data was obtained using the Test of Gross Motor Development, Second Edition (TGMD-2). BMI data was determined from existing formula. The gross motor development of the children in this study was 95%. This is based on the percentile level of gross motor development (GMQ percentile). Pearson correlation analysis showed a negative relationship between GMQ and BMI for these children.
Current study report the growth of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanorods (NRs) by a facile and low temperature method on Zinc (Zn) foil in deionized (DI) water. These ZnO NRs have a typical length of 500-700 nm and average diameter of 50-70 nm. By using different volume of DI water, the morphology of ZnO nanostructures are tunable from rod-like to flower-like structures. Under the presence of Zn nitrate precursor, mixture of rod/wall-like structures are formed. Both of ZnO NRs and combined nanorods/nanowalls render higher diffraction for the (002) peak reveals, which implies preferred orientation growth along c-axis take place. However, photoluminescence (PL) study indicates that ZnO NRs have strong emission located at ~380 nm if compared to that of combined ZnO nanorods/nanowalls. This shows that ZnO NRs have higher-densities of defects.
Porous ZnO nanostructures have become the subject of research interest--due to their special structures with high surface to volume ratio that may produce peculiar properties for use in optoelectronics, sensing and catalysis applications. A microwave-assisted hydrothermal method has been used for effecting the formation of porous nanostructure of metaloxide materials, such as CoO and SnO2, in solution. Here, by adopting the unique performance of a microwave-assisted-hydrothermal method, we realized the formation of highly porous ZnO nanostructures directly on the substrate surface, instead of in solution. The effects of the ambient reaction conditions and the microwave power on the structural growth of the ZnO nanostructures were studied in detail. Two different ambient reaction conditions, namely refluxed and isolated in autoclave systems, were used in this work. Porous ZnO (PZO) nanostructures with networked-nanoflakes morphology is the typical result for this approach. It was found that the morphology of the ZnO nanostructures was strongly depended on the ambient conditions of the reaction; the isolated-autoclave system may produce reasonably high porous ZnO that is constituted by vertically oriented grainy-flakes structures, whereas the refluxed system produced solid vertically-oriented flake structures. The microwave power did not influence the structural growth of the ZnO. It was also found that both the ambient reaction conditions and the microwave power used influenced the crystallographic orientation of the PZO. For instance, PZO with dominant (002) Bragg plane could be obtained by using refluxed system, whereas PZO with dominant (101) plane could be realized if using isolated system. For the case of microwave power, the crystallographic orientation of PZO prepared using both systems changed from dominant (002) to (101) planes if the power was increased. The mechanism for the formation of porous ZnO nanostructures using the present approach is proposed. The ZnO nanostructures prepared using the present method should find an extensive use in currently existing application due to its property of reasonably high porosity.
Effluent discharges from industry and domestic waste containing unknown inorganic pollutants. In this work, different mechanisms of heavy metal ions removal using ZnO particles were studied. ZnO particles were synthesized using solid precipitation technique. The morphology of ZnO particles was rod-like shape. The average length and diameter of ZnO particle were 497.34 ± 15.55 and 75.78 ± 10.39nm, respectively. These particles removed effectively heavy metal ions such as Cu(II), Ag(I) and Pb(II) ions with efficiency >85% under exposure of 1 hour of UV light. However, poor removal efficiency, i.e. <15% was observed for Cr(VI), Mn(II), Cd(II) and Ni(II) ions. The removal of these heavy metal ions was in the forms of metals or metal oxide via reduction/oxidation or adsorption mechanism.
The performance of sensing surfaces highly relies on nanostructures to enhance their sensitivity and specificity. Herein, nanostructured zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films of various thicknesses were coated on glass and p-type silicon substrates using a sol-gel spin-coating technique. The deposited films were characterized for morphological, structural, and optoelectronic properties by high-resolution measurements. X-ray diffraction analyses revealed that the deposited films have a c-axis orientation and display peaks that refer to ZnO, which exhibits a hexagonal structure with a preferable plane orientation (002). The thicknesses of ZnO thin films prepared using 1, 3, 5, and 7 cycles were measured to be 40, 60, 100, and 200 nm, respectively. The increment in grain size of the thin film from 21 to 52 nm was noticed, when its thickness was increased from 40 to 200 nm, whereas the band gap value decreased from 3.282 to 3.268 eV. Band gap value of ZnO thin film with thickness of 200 nm at pH ranging from 2 to 10 reduces from 3.263eV to 3.200 eV. Furthermore, to evaluate the transducing capacity of the ZnO nanostructure, the refractive index, optoelectric constant, and bulk modulus were analyzed and correlated. The highest thickness (200 nm) of ZnO film, embedded with an interdigitated electrode that behaves as a pH-sensing electrode, could sense pH variations in the range of 2-10. It showed a highly sensitive response of 444 μAmM-1cm-2 with a linear regression of R2 =0.9304. The measured sensitivity of the developed device for pH per unit is 3.72μA/pH.
Light-addressable potentiometric sensors (LAPS) are of great interest in bioimaging applications such as the monitoring of concentrations in microfluidic channels or the investigation of metabolic and signaling events in living cells. By measuring the photocurrents at electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor (EIS) and electrolyte-semiconductor structures, LAPS can produce spatiotemporal images of chemical or biological analytes, electrical potentials and impedance. However, its commercial applications are often restricted by their limited AC photocurrents and resolution of LAPS images. Herein, for the first time, the use of 1D semiconducting oxides in the form of ZnO nanorods for LAPS imaging is explored to solve this issue. A significantly increased AC photocurrent with enhanced image resolution has been achieved based on ZnO nanorods, with a photocurrent of 45.7 ± 0.1 nA at a light intensity of 0.05 mW, a lateral resolution as low as 3.0 μm as demonstrated by images of a PMMA dot on ZnO nanorods and a pH sensitivity of 53 mV/pH. The suitability of the device for bioanalysis and bioimaging was demonstrated by monitoring the degradation of a thin poly(ester amide) film with the enzyme α-chymotrypsin using LAPS. This simple and robust route to fabricate LAPS substrates with excellent performance would provide tremendous opportunities for bioimaging.
We report a green synthesis of oatmeal ZnO/silver composites in the presence of L-glutamine as an electrochemical sensor for Pb2+ detection. The synthesis was performed via the direct reduction of Ag+ in the presence of L-glutamine in NaOH. X-ray diffraction indicated that the Ag+ was completely reduced to metallic Ag. The field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and energy dispersive X-ray results confirmed an oatmeal-like morphology of the ZnO with the presence of Ag. The FESEM images showed the effect of L-glutamine on the ZnO morphology. The EIS results confirmed a significant decrease in the charge transfer resistance of the modified glassy carbon electrode due to the presence of Ag. From the differential pulse voltammetry results, a linear working range for the concentration of Pb2+ between 5 and 6 nM with LOD of 0.078 nM (S/N = 3) was obtained. The sensitivity of the linear segment is 1.42 μA nM-1 cm-2. The presence of L-glutamine as the capping agent and stabilizer decreases the size of Ag nanoparticles and prevents the agglomeration of ZnO, respectively. Graphical abstract ᅟ.
In this work mass loading sensitivity of a Sezawa wave mode based surface acoustic wave (SAW) device is investigated through finite element method (FEM) simulation and the prospects of these devices to function as highly sensitive SAW sensors is reported. A ZnO/Si layered SAW resonator is considered for the simulation study. Initially the occurrence of Sezawa wave mode and displacement amplitude of the Rayleigh and Sezawa wave mode is studied for lower ZnO film thickness. Further, a thin film made of an arbitrary material is coated over the ZnO surface and the resonance frequency shift caused by mass loading of the film is estimated. It was observed that Sezawa wave mode shows significant sensitivity to change in mass loading and has higher sensitivity (eight times higher) than Rayleigh wave mode for the same device configuration. Further, the mass loading sensitivity was observed to be greater for a low ZnO film thickness to wavelength ratio. Accordingly, highly sensitive SAW sensors can be developed by coating a sensing medium over a layered SAW device and operating at Sezawa mode resonance frequency. The sensitivity can be increased by tuning the ZnO film thickness to wavelength ratio.
Hydroxyapatite (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) is widely investigated as an implantable material for hard tissue restoration due to its osteoconductive properties. However, hydroxyapatite in bulk form is limited as its mechanical properties are insufficient for load-bearing orthopedic applications. Attempts have been made to improve the mechanical properties of hydroxyapatite, by incorporating ceramic fillers, but the resultant composite materials require high sintering temperatures to facilitate densification, leading to the decomposition of hydroxyapatite into tricalcium phosphate, tetra-calcium phosphate and CaO phases. One method of improving the properties of hydroxyapatite is to incorporate bioactive glass particles as a second phase. These typically have lower softening points which could possibly facilitate sintering at lower temperatures. In this work, a bioactive glass (SiO2-CaO-ZnO-Na2O-TiO2) is incorporated (10, 20 and 30 wt%) into hydroxyapatite as a reinforcing phase. X-ray diffraction confirmed that no additional phases (other than hydroxyapatite) were formed at a sintering temperature of 560 ℃ with up to 30 wt% glass addition. The addition of the glass phase increased the % crystallinity and the relative density of the composites. The biaxial flexural strength increased to 36 MPa with glass addition, and there was no significant change in hardness as a function of maturation. The pH of the incubation media increased to pH 10 or 11 through glass addition, and ion release profiles determined that Si, Na and P were released from the composites. Calcium phosphate precipitation was encouraged in simulated body fluid with the incorporation of the bioactive glass phase, and cell culture testing in MC-3T3 osteoblasts determined that the composite materials did not significantly reduce cell viability.
Progressive replacement resorption following delayed replantation of avulsed teeth has proved to be an intractable clinical problem. A wide variety of therapeutic approaches have failed to result in the predictable arrest of resorption, with a good long-term prognosis for tooth survival. Bisphosphonates are used in the medical management of a range of bone disorders and topically applied bisphosphonate has been reported to inhibit root resorption in dogs. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a bisphosphonate (etidronate disodium) as an intracanal medicament in the root canals of avulsed monkey teeth, placed before replantation after 1 h of extraoral dry storage. Incisors of six Macaca fascicularis monkeys were extracted and stored dry for 1 h. Teeth were then replanted after canal contamination with dental plaque (negative control) or after root canal debridement and placement of etidronate sealed in the canal space. A positive control of calcium hydroxide placed 8-9 days after replantation was also included. All monkeys were sacrificed 8 weeks later and block sections were prepared for histomorphometric assessment of root resorption and periodontal ligament status. Untreated teeth showed the greatest extent of root resorption (46% of the root surface), which was predominantly inflammatory in nature. Calcium hydroxide treated teeth showed the lowest overall level of resorption (<30% of the root surface), while the bisphosphonate-treated group was intermediate (39%). Ankylosis, defined as the extent of the root surface demonstrating direct bony union to both intact and resorbed root surface, was the lowest in the untreated control group (15% of the root surface), intermediate in the calcium hydroxide group (27%) and the highest in the bisphosphonate group (41%). Bony attachment to the tooth root was divided approximately equally between attachment to intact cementum and to previously resorbed dentin. Overall, bisphosphonate resulted in a worse outcome than calcium hydroxide in terms of both root resorption and ankylosis.
Matched MeSH terms: Zinc Oxide-Eugenol Cement/therapeutic use
Multi-layer structure of functional materials often involves the integration of different crystalline phases. The film growth orientation thus frequently exhibits a transformation, owing to multiple possibilities caused by incompatible in-plane structural symmetry. Nevertheless, the detailed mechanism of the transformation has not yet been fully explored. Here we thoroughly probe the heteroepitaxially grown hexagonal zinc oxide (ZnO) films on cubic (001)-magnesium oxide (MgO) substrates using advanced scanning transition electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and first principles calculations, revealing two distinct interface models of (001) ZnO/(001) MgO and (100) ZnO/(001) MgO. We have found that the structure alternatives are controlled thermodynamically by the nucleation, while kinetically by the enhanced Zn adsorption and O diffusion upon the phase transformation. This work not only provides a guideline for the interface fabrication with distinct crystalline phases but also shows how polar and non-polar hexagonal ZnO films might be manipulated on the same cubic substrate.
Quantum dots are fluorescent semiconductor nanoparticles that can be utilised for sensing applications. This paper evaluates the ability to leverage their analytical potential using an integrated fluorescent sensing probe that is portable, cost effective and simple to handle. ZnO quantum dots were prepared using the simple sol-gel hydrolysis method at ambient conditions and found to be significantly and specifically quenched by copper (II) ions. This ZnO quantum dots system has been incorporated into an in-house developed miniature fluorescent probe for the detection of copper (II) ions in aqueous medium. The probe was developed using a low power handheld black light as excitation source and three photo-detectors as sensor. The sensing chamber placed between the light source and detectors was made of 4-sided clear quartz windows. The chamber was housed within a dark compartment to avoid stray light interference. The probe was operated using a microcontroller (Arduino Uno Revision 3) that has been programmed with the analytical response and the working algorithm of the electronics. The probe was sourced with a 12 V rechargeable battery pack and the analytical readouts were given directly using a LCD display panel. Analytical optimisations of the ZnO quantum dots system and the probe have been performed and further described. The probe was found to have a linear response range up to 0.45 mM (R(2)=0.9930) towards copper (II) ion with a limit of detection of 7.68×10(-7) M. The probe has high repeatable and reliable performance.
In this work, synergistic effect of solar photocatalysis integrated with adsorption process towards the degradation of Congo red (CR) was investigated via two different approaches using a photocatalytic membrane reactor. In the first approach, sequential treatments were conducted through the adsorption by graphene oxide (GO) and then followed by photocatalytic oxidation using Fe-doped ZnO nanocomposites (NCs). In the second approach, however, CR solution was treated by photocatalytic oxidation using Fe-doped ZnO/rGO NCs. These nanocomposites were synthesized by a sol-gel method. The NCs were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL), Fourier transmission infrared (FTIR), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). It was observed that Fe-doped ZnO could enhance the photoactivity of ZnO under solar light. When Fe-doped ZnO were decorated on GO sheets, however, this provided a surface enhancement for adsorption of organic pollutants. The photocatalytic performances using both approaches were evaluated based on the degradation of CR molecules in aqueous solution under solar irradiation. Nanofiltration (NF) performance in terms of CR residual removal from water and their fouling behavior during post-separation of photocatalysts was studied. Serious flux declined and thicker fouling layer on membrane were found in photocatalytic membrane reactor using Fe-doped ZnO/rGO NCs which could be attributed to the stronger π-π interaction between rGO and CR solution.
Zinc oxide (ZnO) is an emerging optoelectronic material in large area electronic applications due to its various functional behaviors. We present the fabrication and the characterization of ZnO nanorods. The ZnO nanorods were synthesized using sol-gel hydrothermal technique on oxidized silicon substrates. Different post-annealing temperatures were explored in the sol-gel hydrothermal synthesis of the ZnO nanorods. The surface morphology of the ZnO nanorods were examined using scanning electron microscope (SEM). In order to investigate the structural properties, the ZnO nanorods were measured using X-ray diffractometer (XRD). The optical properties were measured using ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. The influence of the post-annealing temperature on the realized ZnO nanorods will be revealed and discussed in this paper.
Removal of ciprofloxacin (CIP) pollutant from wastewater using conventional process is particularly challenging due to poor removal efficiency. In this work, CIP was photocatalytically degraded using a porous ZnO/SnS2 photocatalyst prepared via microwaves. The influence of process parameters (e.g., pH, catalyst mass and initial CIP concentration) and radical scavengers on visible-light induced degradation of CIP on the catalyst was investigated. From the study, it was found that visible-light induced degradation of CIP on ZnO/SnS2 is a surface-mediated process and the reaction kinetics followed the Langmuir-Hinshelwood first-order kinetics. It was found that the optimum condition for CIP degradation was at pH of 6.1 and catalyst dosage of 500 mg L-1. Higher catalyst dosage however led to a decline in reaction rate due to light scattering effect and reduction in light penetration.
The influence of PANI additions on methanol sensing properties of ZnO thin films at room temperature had been investigated. Commercial polyaniline powder (PANI) was mixed into 3 mL ZnO solution in five different weight percentages namely 1.25, 2.50, 3.75, 5.00 and 6.25% to obtain ZnO/PANI composite solutions. These solutions were spin coated onto glass substrate to form thin films. Microstructural studies by FESEM indicated that ZnO/PANI films showed porous structures with nanosize grains. The thickness of the film increased from 55 to 256 nm, proportionate to increment of PANI. The presence of 2 adsorption peaks at ~310 nm and ~610 nm in UV-Vis spectrum proved that addition of PANI has modified the adsorption peak of ZnO film. Methanol vapour detection showed that addition of PANI into ZnO dramatically improved the sensing properties of the sensor. The sensors also exhibited good repeatability and reversibility. Sensor with the amount of PANI of 3.75 wt% exhibited the highest sensitivity with response and recovery time was about 10 and 80 s, respectively. The possible sensing mechanism of the sensor was also discussed in this article.
Nanostructure materials are of interest in last few decades due to their unique size-dependent physio-chemical properties. In this paper, zinc oxide (ZnO) and barium doped ZnO nanodisks (NDs) were synthesized using sonochemical method and characterized by various techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope (SEM), UV-vis absorption and dielectric measurements. The XRD and FTIR studies confirm the crystalline nature of ZnO NDs, and the average crystallite size was found to be ~25 nm for pure ZnO and ~22 nm for Ba doped ZnO NDs. SEM study confirmed the spherical shaped ZnO NDs with average sizes in the range of 20-30 nm. The maximum absorbance was obtained in the 200-500 nm regions with a prominent peak absorbance were observed by UV-vis spectra. The corresponding band gap for ZnO NDs and Ba doped ZnO NDs were calculated using Tauc's plot and was found to be 3.12 and 3.04, respectively. The conductivity and dielectric measurements as a function of frequency have been studied.