High Piezo-photocatalytic Efficiency of CuS/ZnO Nanowires Using Both Solar and Mechanical Energy for Degrading Organic Dye

Flexible piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs) are very attractive for mechanical energy harvesting due to their high potential for realizing self-powered sensors and low-power electronics. In this paper, a PENG that is based on zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires (NWs) is fabricated on flexible and transparent Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate. The ZnO NWs were deposited on two different seed layer structures, i.e., gold (Au)/ZnO and tin-doped indium-oxide (ITO)/ZnO, using hydrothermal synthesis. Along with the structural and morphological analyses of ZnO NWs, the electrical characterization was also investigated for ZnO NWs-based flexible PENGs. In order to evaluate the suitability of the PENG device structure, the electrical output performance was studied. By applying a periodic mechanical force of 3 N, the ZnO NWs-based flexible PENG generated a maximum root mean square (RMS) voltage and average power of 2.7 V and 64 nW, respectively. Moreover, the comparison between the fabricated device performances shows that a higher electrical output can be obtained when ITO/ZnO seed layer structure is adopted. The proposed ZnO NWs-based PENG structure can provide a flexible and cost-effective device for supplying portable electronics.

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Improving natural sunlight photocatalytic efficiency of ZnO nanowires decorated by iron oxide cocatalyst via a simple drop method

Materials Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.1016/j.matchemphys.2021.125304 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 275 ◽

pp. 125304

Author(s):

Marie Le Pivert ◽

Hongri Suo ◽

Gang Tang ◽

Han Qiao ◽

Zhicheng Zhao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Iron Oxide ◽

Zno Nanowires ◽

Photocatalytic Efficiency ◽

Natural Sunlight ◽

Drop Method

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Effect of Morphology-based Defect Structure of ZnO Nanostructures in Photo-Degradation of Organic Dye

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/opl.2014.727 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 1672 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Reza Shidpour ◽

Manouchehr Vosoughi ◽

Abdolreza Simchi ◽

Faegheh Ghanbari

Keyword(s):

Defect Structure ◽

Aqueous Suspension ◽

Organic Dye ◽

Zno Nanostructures ◽

Photocatalytic Efficiency ◽

Porous Network ◽

Sem Images ◽

Photo Degradation ◽

Annealing Temperatures ◽

Zinc Oxides

ABSTRACTThe fabrication of strong photocatalysts applied to the degradation of organic pollutants is necessary in environmental applications. In a single-stage method, acetate precursor and poly vinyl pyrolydine are used to produce ZnO nanostructures with various morphologies in annealing temperatures ranging from 300 °C to 900 oC. The physical properties of the prepared nanostructures were characterized by SEM, XRD and PL spectroscopy. The SEM images exhibit a variety of the as-prepared hexagonal zinc oxides including wires, rods, particles and porous network of welded particles of ZnO nanoparticles. The results of the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue as an organic dye in aqueous suspension showed that the morphology of ZnO nanostructures influences on the photocatalytic efficiency of ZnO nanostructures, greatly. For the best result, the highest MB degradation occurs by ZnO nanowires within 16 minutes and in others samples, degradation of higher than 95 percent occurs within 20 minutes. The XRD and PL spectroscopy revealed neither VZn nor Oi are in all of samples but only VO−, VO2− and Zni exist in ZnO nanostructures.

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Solution processed aligned ZnO nanowires as anti-reflection and electron transport layer in organic dye-sensitized solar cells

Optical Materials ◽

10.1016/j.optmat.2019.109243 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 95 ◽

pp. 109243 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jonnadula V.S. Krishna ◽

Govind Reddy ◽

Koteshwar Devulapally ◽

Nanaji Islavath ◽

Lingamallu Giribabu

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Electron Transport ◽

Dye Sensitized Solar Cells ◽

Organic Dye ◽

Zno Nanowires ◽

Transport Layer ◽

Electron Transport Layer ◽

Solution Processed ◽

Dye Sensitized ◽

Sensitized Solar Cells

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Fabrication, Characterization and Photocatalytic Activity of Copper Oxide Nanowires Formed by Anodization of Copper Foams

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma14175030 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (17) ◽

pp. 5030

Author(s):

Alaa M. Abd-Elnaiem ◽

M. A. Abdel-Rahim ◽

A. Y. Abdel-Latief ◽

Ahmed Abdel-Rahim Mohamed ◽

Kristina Mojsilović ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Methylene Blue ◽

Photocatalytic Activity ◽

Organic Compound ◽

Organic Dye ◽

Photocatalytic Efficiency ◽

Voltage Range ◽

Oxide Nanowires ◽

Dye Decomposition ◽

Photocatalytic Decolorization ◽

Developed Surface

In recent paper anodization of copper foams in 0.1 M K2CO3 is reported. Anodization was performed in the voltage range of 5–25 V and in all the cases oxides with a developed surface area were obtained. However, anodizing only at 20 and 25 V resulted in the formation of nanostruc-tures. In all the cases, the products of anodizing consisted of crystalline phases like cuprite (Cu2O), tenorite (CuO), parameconite (Cu4O3) as well as spertiniite (Cu(OH)2). Copper foams after ano-dizing were applied as catalysts in the photocatalytic decolorization of a model organic compound such as methylene blue. The highest photocatalytic activity was observed for samples anodized at 25 V and closely followed by samples anodized at 5 V. The anodized copper foams proved to be a useful material in enhancing the photocatalytic efficiency of organic dye decomposition.

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Deposition Time and Annealing Effects of ZnO Seed Layer on Enhancing Vertical Alignment of Piezoelectric ZnO Nanowires

Chemosensors ◽

10.3390/chemosensors7010007 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 7 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Taoufik Slimani Tlemcani ◽

Camille Justeau ◽

Kevin Nadaud ◽

Guylaine Poulin-Vittrant ◽

Daniel Alquier

Keyword(s):

High Performance ◽

Deposition Time ◽

Mechanical Energy ◽

Annealing Treatment ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Zno Nanowires ◽

Wearable Electronics ◽

Si Substrates ◽

Radio Frequency Sputtering ◽

Seed Layers

Well aligned crystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires (NWs) on ZnO/Au/Ti/Si substrates were grown by so-called “hydrothermal synthesis”. ZnO seed layers with different thicknesses ranging from 5 to 100 nm, achieved by controlling the deposition time, were prepared by radio-frequency sputtering, followed by a post-annealing treatment in air at 400 °C. The effects of deposition time and annealing treatment of ZnO seed layers on the subsequent growth of ZnO NWs were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The experimental results reveal that the quality and growth behaviors of ZnO NWs are strongly dependent on both the thickness and the heat treatment of the ZnO seed layers. This work is an optimization step of an easy, cost-effective, and industrially scalable process flow recently developed for the fabrication of a high performance, nanocomposite-based stretchable nanogenerator (SNG) on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate. The morphological improvement of hydrothermally grown ZnO NWs may therefore lead to higher performance SNGs for the targeted application of mechanical energy harvesting, in order to supply flexible and wearable electronics.

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Evaluation of Effective Elastic, Piezoelectric, and Dielectric Properties of SU8/ZnO Nanocomposite for Vertically Integrated Nanogenerators Using Finite Element Method

Journal of Nanomaterials ◽

10.1155/2017/1924651 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2017 ◽

pp. 1-14 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Neelam Mishra ◽

Braj Krishna ◽

Randhir Singh ◽

Kaushik Das

Keyword(s):

Finite Element Method ◽

Finite Element ◽

Material Properties ◽

Volume Fraction ◽

Dielectric Material ◽

Mechanical Energy ◽

Zno Nanowires ◽

Piezoelectric Composite ◽

Fem Simulations ◽

Element Method

A nanogenerator is a nanodevice which converts ambient mechanical energy into electrical energy. A piezoelectric nanocomposite, composed of vertical arrays of piezoelectric zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires, encapsulated in a compliant polymeric matrix, is one of most common configurations of a nanogenerator. Knowledge of the effective elastic, piezoelectric, and dielectric material properties of the piezoelectric nanocomposite is critical in the design of a nanogenerator. In this work, the effective material properties of a unidirectional, unimodal, continuous piezoelectric composite, consisting of SU8 photoresist as matrix and vertical array of ZnO nanowires as reinforcement, are systematically evaluated using finite element method (FEM). The FEM simulations were carried out on cubic representative volume elements (RVEs). Four different types of arrangements of ZnO nanowires and three sizes of RVEs have been considered. The volume fraction of ZnO nanowires is varied from 0 to a maximum of 0.7. Homogeneous displacement and electric potential are prescribed as boundary conditions. The material properties are evaluated as functions of reinforcement volume fraction. The values obtained through FEM simulations are compared with the results obtained via the Eshelby-Mori-Tanaka micromechanics. The results demonstrate the significant effects of ZnO arrangement, ZnO volume fraction, and size of RVE on the material properties.

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