Thermal, Structural and Morphology Studies of PEO-LICF3SO3-DBP-ZrO2 Nanocomposite Polymer Electrolytes

This work represents thermal study of PEO-based polymer electrolyte films that were prepared by the solution cast technique. The melting temperature Tm, glass transition temperature Tg and degree of crystallinity χc were measured by diffraction scanning calorimetry (DSC). Thermogravimetric (TGA) was used to determine the initial and final degradation temperatures. The structural was also performed to characterize the vibrational wavelength and phase characteristic (crystalline/amorphous). While the morphological study was emphasized to examine the features appearance for pure polymer electrolyte system as well as after addition salt, plasticizer and filler. The zirconium oxide particles were measured after the milling process by using the transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and the particles obtained in the range of 9 – 54 nanometer size.

First-Principles Investigation of structural, Optical, and Electrical properties of MgO Nanocrystals

Nanocrystal interfaces can strongly influence the optical and electrical properties and charging trapping phenomena observed on oxide nanocrystal ensembles. The well-defined shape and controllable size distributions of MgO nanocrystals are a convenient system for studying these effects. Therefore, in the present work focused on the effect of temperature on the optical and electrical properties of magnesium oxide (MgO) nanocrystals, together with the responsible atomic centers, the bulk MgO is a study based on the first principle functional density theory (DFT) using PBE-GGA approximations. The absorption coefficient shows that MgO shows good coverage in the ultraviolet range. The bulk MgO is a direct bandgap nanocrystal at G point in the Brillion Zone despite the temperature applied values. The temperature is applied to alter the bandgap pattern and closes the bandgap at a high temperature. The PDOS and imaginary part of the dielectric function further confirm the insulator properties of the observed bandgap. Our results show that the optical properties are affected by the inconsistent temperature manners despite the different temperatures given to the system. Our absorption curve confirms that the nanocrystal is a good candidate for ultraviolet device application with a significantly high reflectivity percentage.

Studies of Nucleation Phase of Mn-doped Cadmium-Selenide (CdSe) Quantum Dots Via Photoluminescence Spectroscopy

In this paper, we predict the nucleation phase of as-synthesized manganese (Mn) doped cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dots (QDs) at an intrinsic physical size of 3 (± 0.1 – 0.9) nm via photoluminescence (PL) studies. The nucleation phase was analyzed at temporal evolution (16, 46 and 90 mins) and temperature (210, 215 and 220 ºC) below the CdSe QDs reaction temperature (210 and 215 ºC) to it reaction temperature (220 ºC). The PL spectra`s observed to be against the QDs ripening behaviour of QDs since there are no prominent red-shift of PL spectra`s. However, the intensity of PL spectra`s shows to be varied with different temperatures and times.

Recent developments in gallium nitride technology for sensor applications

The human race of industrialization without oblivious to environmental contaminants has attracted attention of researchers for development of chemical sensors to detect, measure and mitigate drastically detrimental effects of anthropogenic pollutants. A wide congregation of chemical sensors is available in market but a few factors such as cost, accuracy, time of response, sensitivity, operating environment (temperature and pressure range) and power consumption urges to improve and optimize sensors. For this purpose, various varieties of material, covering polymers and semiconductors to nano particles, have been utilized for manufacturing of chemical sensors. Recently, a tremendous paradigm shift has been observed due to introduction of gallium nitride (GaN) in chemical sensing applications. The aim of this paper is to review recent unprecedented sensing utilizations of GaN, in terms of chemical sensing and power applications.

Microwave-Assisted Synthesized Gadolinium Doped Barium Strontium Titanate Nanostructures: Structural and Optical Properties for DSSC Applications

Gadolinium (Gd) doped barium strontium titanate (BST) was prepared using the microwave-assisted solid-state reaction method for dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) applications. The optical properties and the structural analysis of the prepared samples reveal the optical band gap and the morphology. The XRD pattern of the annealed samples confirms the polycrystalline nature with the cubic crystal structure. When the dopant is added, the bandgap increases slightly from 3.11 to 3.27 eV. The J-V characteristics of DSSCs prepared with pure and doped BST were investigated. The efficiency of the DSSCs remained constant and there is a slight increase in the Jsc for highly doped samples under 1-sun illumination. Gadolinium doped barium strontium titanate shows variation in the J-V characteristics and could be a potential candidate for the solar photovoltaic applications.

Cobalt oxide-based nanomaterial for electrochemical sensor applications

Amongst the extended list of metal oxides, Co3O4 has gained envisioned attention in various technological fields. It has a proven record of promising material in optical, optoelectronics, sciences, engineering, medicines and biological fields of studies. Co3O4 is a promising candidate due to its large surface-to-volume ratio, simple preparation methods, higher well-defined electrochemical redox activity, high theoretical capacity, low cost, and stable chemical states. Co3O4 has been used in various applications such as fuel cells, photoelectrochemical water splitting, solar cells, supercapacitors, batteries and electrochemical sensors due to its applicability in various fields. It has shown promising outcomes as an electrochemical sensor in various areas such as in the detection of water contamination, as physiological molecule detectors etc. this mini-review summarizes the fields of contaminated water, as fuel and also in the physiological system.