In this study, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorod arrays were synthesized using a simple hydrothermal reaction on ZnO seeds/n-silicon substrate. Several parameters were studied, including the heat-treatment temperature to produce ZnO seeds, zinc nitrate concentration, pH of hydrothermal reaction solution, and hydrothermal reaction time. The optimum heat-treatment temperature to produce uniform nanosized ZnO seeds was 400°C. The nanorod dimensions depended on the hydrothermal reaction parameters. The optimum hydrothermal reaction parameters to produce blunt tip-like nanorods (770 nm long and 80 nm in top diameter) were 0.1 M zinc nitrate, pH 7, and 4 h of growth duration. Phase analysis studies showed that all ZnO nanorods exhibited a strong (002) peak. Thus, the ZnO nanorods grew in a c-axis preferred orientation. A strong ultraviolet (UV) emission peak was observed for ZnO nanorods grown under optimized parameters with a low, deep-level emission peak, which indicated high optical property and crystallinity of the nanorods. The produced ZnO nanorods were also tested for their UV-sensing properties. All samples responded to UV light but with different sensing characteristics. Such different responses could be attributed to the high surface-to-volume ratio of the nanorods that correlated with the final ZnO nanorods morphology formed at different synthesis parameters. The sample grown using optimum synthesis parameters showed the highest responsivity of 0.024 A/W for UV light at 375 nm under a 3 V bias.
In this study, titanium thin films were deposited on alumina substrates by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. The mechanical properties of the Ti coatings were evaluated in terms of adhesion strength at various RF powers, temperatures, and substrate bias voltages. The coating conditions of 400W of RF power, 250°C, and a 75V substrate bias voltage produced the strongest coating adhesion, as obtained by the Taguchi optimisation method. TiO2 nanotube arrays were grown as a second layer on the Ti substrates using electrochemical anodisation at a constant potential of 20V and anodisation times of 15min, 45min, and 75min in a NH4F electrolyte solution (75 ethylene glycol: 25 water). The anodised titanium was annealed at 450°C and 650°C in a N2 gas furnace to obtain different phases of titania, anatase and rutile, respectively. The mechanical properties of the anodised layer were investigated by nanoindentation. The results indicate that Young's modulus and hardness increased with annealing temperature to 650°C.
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.
High-density and well-aligned ZnO-ZnS core-shell nanocone arrays were synthesized on fluorine-doped tin oxide glass substrate using a facile and cost-effective two-step approach. In this synthetic process, the ZnO nanocones act as the template and provide Zn2+ ions for the ZnS shell formation. The photoluminescence spectrum indicates remarkably enhanced luminescence intensity and a small redshift in the UV region, which can be associated with the strain caused by the lattice mismatch between ZnO and ZnS. The obtained diffuse reflectance spectra show that the nanocone-based heterostructure reduces the light reflection in a broad spectral range and is much more effective than the bare ZnO nanocone and nanorod structures. Dye-sensitized solar cells based on the heterostructure ZnO-ZnS nanocones are assembled, and high conversion efficiency (η) of approximately 4.07% is obtained. The η improvement can be attributed primarily to the morphology effect of ZnO nanocones on light-trapping and effectively passivating the interface surface recombination sites of ZnO nanocones by coating with a ZnS shell layer.
Sonocatalytic degradation of various organic dyes (Congo Red, Reactive Blue 4, Methyl Orange, Rhodamine B and Methylene Blue) catalyzed by powder and nanotubes TiO(2) was studied. Both catalysts were characterized using transmission electron microscope (TEM), surface analyzer, Raman spectroscope and thermal gravimetric analyzer (TGA). Sonocatalytic activity of powder and nanotubes TiO(2) was elucidated based on the degradation of various organic dyes. The former catalyst was favorable for treatment of anionic dyes, while the latter was more beneficial for cationic dyes. Sonocatalytic activity of TiO(2) nanotubes could be up to four times as compared to TiO(2) powder under an ultrasonic power of 100 W and a frequency of 42 kHz. This was associated with the higher surface area and the electrostatic attraction between dye molecules and TiO(2) nanotubes. Fourier transform-infrared spectrometer (FT-IR) was used to identify changes that occurred on the functional group in Rhodamine B molecules and TiO(2) nanotubes after the reaction. Sonocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B by TiO(2) nanotubes apparently followed the Langmuir-Hinshelwood adsorption kinetic model with surface reaction rate of 1.75 mg/L min. TiO(2) nanotubes were proven for their high potential to be applied in sonocatalytic degradation of organic dyes.
Anodizing could be used for bio-functionalization of the surfaces of titanium alloys. In this study, we use anodizing for creating nanotubes on the surface of porous titanium alloy bone substitutes manufactured using selective laser melting. Different sets of anodizing parameters (voltage: 10 or 20V anodizing time: 30min to 3h) are used for anodizing porous titanium structures that were later heat treated at 500°C. The nanotopographical features are examined using electron microscopy while the bioactivity of anodized surfaces is measured using immersion tests in the simulated body fluid (SBF). Moreover, the effects of anodizing and heat treatment on the performance of one representative anodized porous titanium structures are evaluated using in vitro cell culture assays using human periosteum-derived cells (hPDCs). It has been shown that while anodizing with different anodizing parameters results in very different nanotopographical features, i.e. nanotubes in the range of 20 to 55nm, anodized surfaces have limited apatite-forming ability regardless of the applied anodizing parameters. The results of in vitro cell culture show that both anodizing, and thus generation of regular nanotopographical feature, and heat treatment improve the cell culture response of porous titanium. In particular, cell proliferation measured using metabolic activity and DNA content was improved for anodized and heat treated as well as for anodized but not heat-treated specimens. Heat treatment additionally improved the cell attachment of porous titanium surfaces and upregulated expression of osteogenic markers. Anodized but not heat-treated specimens showed some limited signs of upregulated expression of osteogenic markers. In conclusion, while varying the anodizing parameters creates different nanotube structure, it does not improve apatite-forming ability of porous titanium. However, both anodizing and heat treatment at 500°C improve the cell culture response of porous titanium.