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ZnO-Based Nanomaterials and Devices: Fundamentals and Applications
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ZnO-Based Nanomaterials and Devices: Fundamentals and Applications

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2019) | Viewed by 15633

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Spyros N. Yannopoulos

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Guest Editor
Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas-Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences (FORTH/ICE-HT), GR-26504 Rio-Patras, Greece
Interests: laser-assisted growth of graphene; 2D TMDCs materials and applications; ZnO-based nanomaterials, gas sensing, and photocatalysis for water disinfection; amorphous semiconductors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

A number of physical/chemical properties of materials change drastically as the size of the system decreases down to the nanometer scale. Zinc oxide (ZnO) is among the materials that can be used to exploit the beneficial consequences of nanoscale as it can be grown into a surprising variety of morphologies with the one-dimensional structure being the dominant one. Since the first breakthrough investigations of ZnO nanostructures—commenced around 2001 after the discovery of ZnO nanowire lasing and the growth of ZnO nanobelt ‑ this material continues to fascinate researchers owing to the advantages it offers over its nanoscale rivals, i.e., other metal oxide semiconductors. In addition, devices based on nanostructured ZnO hava shown documented performance in a wide range of applications including photonics, optoelectronics, gas sensors and biosensors, photodetectors, photocatalysis for wastewater treatment, energy conversion devices and so on. Although a great deal of efforts has been undertaken in this area, major challenges still remain to be tackled.

This Special Issue of Materials, titled “ZnO-Based Nanomaterials and Devices: Fundamental and Applications”, aims at gathering together a collection of articles (regular and reviews) focusing at both the scientific and technological aspect of ZnO nanomaterials. We expect to create a focus issue that will serve not only as a summary of the current state-of-the-art in the field concerning the growth and application of nanostructured ZnO, but will further provide insightful aspects on the future and prospects of ZnO-based hybrid combinations with other nanomaterials over a broad discipline of applications that this material can meet.

Covering a wide range of activities, topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Controlled synthesis of ZnO nanowires arrays, nanoparticles, quantum dots, etc., by wet chemistry, high-temperature thermal evaporation methods, molecule beam epitaxy pulsed laser deposition and so on.
  • Hybrid nanostructures of ZnO with other functional materials with enhanced properties.
  • Energy conversion devices (e.g., dye-sensitized solar cells, electrochemical and photo-electrochemical devices for water splitting).
  • Novel morphologies and large scale synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles for efficient photocatalytic degradation of water pollutants.
  • Piezoelectric energy harvesting of ZnO nanostrucres.
  • Bio-based applications of ZnO nanoparticles.
  • Simulation of electronic, optical, magnetic, vibrational properties, etc.

Dr. Spyros N. Yannopoulos
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • ZnO nanostrucrures
  • synthesis, simulations
  • devices
  • optical properties
  • energy conversion
  • solar cells
  • H2 production sensors

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 4193 KiB  
Article
Catalytic Effect of Photoluminescent Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Formed in the Presence of Quaternary Ammonium Salts
by Aurel Tăbăcaru, Rodica Mihaela Dinică, Mihaela Cudălbeanu, Cristina Mihaela Nicolescu and Marius Bumbac
Materials 2019, 12(13), 2066; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12132066 - 27 Jun 2019
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2327
Abstract
The comparative effect of two quaternary ammonium salts from 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethane (PyQAs), namely N,N′-diphenacyl-1,2-bis(4-pyridinium)ethane dibromide (PyQAs1) and N,N′-di(p-methoxyphenacyl)-1,2-bis(4-pyridinium)ethane dibromide (PyQAs2), upon the size and photoluminescence of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) was investigated. The formation of ZnO NPs took place in the [...] Read more.
The comparative effect of two quaternary ammonium salts from 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethane (PyQAs), namely N,N′-diphenacyl-1,2-bis(4-pyridinium)ethane dibromide (PyQAs1) and N,N′-di(p-methoxyphenacyl)-1,2-bis(4-pyridinium)ethane dibromide (PyQAs2), upon the size and photoluminescence of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) was investigated. The formation of ZnO NPs took place in the presence of variable amounts of the two PyQAs species (1, 2.5, and 5%), according to the chemical precipitation of zinc(II) acetate with potassium hydroxide in ethanol under reflux. The obtained ZnO NPs were structurally characterized by means of X-ray powder diffraction, infrared, and Raman spectroscopy. The fluorescence of all supernatant solutions, observed under ultraviolet light, determined us to make an investigation of the solutions by means of liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-MS-ESI) in order to elucidate the identity of the newly formed fluorescent species. Such an occurrence thus allowed the invocation of the catalytic effect of zinc(II) ions towards the organic transformation of both nonfluorescent PyQAs surfactants into new fluorescent organic species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue ZnO-Based Nanomaterials and Devices: Fundamentals and Applications)
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16 pages, 4108 KiB  
Article
Optimization of Intrinsic ZnO Thickness in Cu(In,Ga)Se2-Based Thin Film Solar Cells
by Salh Alhammadi, Hyeonwook Park and Woo Kyoung Kim
Materials 2019, 12(9), 1365; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12091365 - 26 Apr 2019
Cited by 33 | Viewed by 5003
Abstract
The typical structure of high efficiency Cu(InGa)Se2 (CIGS)-based thin film solar cells is substrate/Mo/CIGS/CdS/i-ZnO/ZnO:Al(AZO) where the sun light comes through the transparent conducting oxide (i.e., i-ZnO/AZO) side. In this study, the thickness of an intrinsic zinc oxide (i-ZnO) layer was optimized by [...] Read more.
The typical structure of high efficiency Cu(InGa)Se2 (CIGS)-based thin film solar cells is substrate/Mo/CIGS/CdS/i-ZnO/ZnO:Al(AZO) where the sun light comes through the transparent conducting oxide (i.e., i-ZnO/AZO) side. In this study, the thickness of an intrinsic zinc oxide (i-ZnO) layer was optimized by considering the surface roughness of CIGS light absorbers. The i-ZnO layers with different thicknesses from 30 to 170 nm were deposited via sputtering. The optical properties, microstructures, and morphologies of the i-ZnO thin films with different thicknesses were characterized, and their effects on the CIGS solar cell device properties were explored. Two types of CIGS absorbers prepared by three-stage co-evaporation and two-step sulfurization after the selenization (SAS) processes showed a difference in the preferred crystal orientation, morphology, and surface roughness. During the subsequent post-processing for the fabrication of the glass/Mo/CIGS/CdS/i-ZnO/AZO device, the change in the i-ZnO thickness influenced the performance of the CIGS devices. For the three-stage co-evaporated CIGS cell, the increase in the thickness of the i-ZnO layer from 30 to 90 nm improved the shunt resistance (RSH), open circuit voltage, and fill factor (FF), as well as the conversion efficiency (10.1% to 11.8%). A further increas of the i-ZnO thickness to 170 nm, deteriorated the device performance parameters, which suggests that 90 nm is close to the optimum thickness of i-ZnO. Conversely, the device with a two-step SAS processed CIGS absorber showed smaller values of the overall RSH (130–371 Ω cm2) than that of the device with a three-stage co-evaporated CIGS absorber (530–1127 Ω cm2) ranging from 30 nm to 170 nm of i-ZnO thickness. Therefore, the value of the shunt resistance was monotonically increased with the i-ZnO thickness ranging from 30 to 170 nm, which improved the FF and conversion efficiency (6.96% to 8.87%). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue ZnO-Based Nanomaterials and Devices: Fundamentals and Applications)
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12 pages, 2158 KiB  
Article
The Effect of UV Illumination on the Room Temperature Detection of Vaporized Ammonium Nitrate by a ZnO Coated Nanospring-Based Sensor
by Lyndon D. Bastatas, Phadindra Wagle, Elena Echeverria, Aaron J. Austin and David N. McIlroy
Materials 2019, 12(2), 302; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12020302 - 18 Jan 2019
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3273
Abstract
The effect of UV illumination on the room temperature electrical detection of ammonium nitrate vapor was examined. The sensor consists of a self-assembled ensemble of silica nanosprings coated with zinc oxide. UV illumination mitigates the baseline drift of the resistance relative to operation [...] Read more.
The effect of UV illumination on the room temperature electrical detection of ammonium nitrate vapor was examined. The sensor consists of a self-assembled ensemble of silica nanosprings coated with zinc oxide. UV illumination mitigates the baseline drift of the resistance relative to operation under dark conditions. It also lowers the baseline resistance of the sensor by 25% compared to dark conditions. At high ammonium nitrate concentrations (120 ppm), the recovery time after exposure is virtually identical with or without UV illumination. At low ammonium nitrate concentrations (20 ppm), UV illumination assists with refreshing of the sensor by stimulating analyte desorption, thereby enabling the sensor to return to its baseline resistance. Under dark conditions and low ammonium nitrate concentrations, residual analyte builds up with each exposure, which inhibits the sensor from returning to its original baseline resistance and subsequently impedes sensing due to permanent occupation of absorption sites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue ZnO-Based Nanomaterials and Devices: Fundamentals and Applications)
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13 pages, 2411 KiB  
Article
Inhibitory Effect of Flower-Shaped Zinc Oxide Nanostructures on the Growth and Aflatoxin Production of a Highly Toxigenic Strain of Aspergillus flavus Link
by David Hernández-Meléndez, Enrique Salas-Téllez, Anai Zavala-Franco, Guillermo Téllez, Abraham Méndez-Albores and Alma Vázquez-Durán
Materials 2018, 11(8), 1265; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11081265 - 24 Jul 2018
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 4230
Abstract
Flower-shaped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures were prepared via a simple aqueous precipitation strategy at room temperature. The as-grown nanostructures were characterized by UV–vis spectroscopy, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), spectrofluorometry, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy with attenuated total reflection (ATR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), [...] Read more.
Flower-shaped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures were prepared via a simple aqueous precipitation strategy at room temperature. The as-grown nanostructures were characterized by UV–vis spectroscopy, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), spectrofluorometry, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy with attenuated total reflection (ATR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The antifungal and anti-aflatoxigenic activities of the ZnO nanostructures were further investigated using a highly toxigenic strain of Aspergillus flavus Link under in vitro and in situ conditions. The results showed that the A. flavus isolate was inhibited to various extents by different concentrations of ZnO nanostructures, but the best inhibitions occurred at 1.25, 2.5, and 5 mM in the culture media. At these concentrations, suppression of aflatoxin biosynthesis (99.7%) was also observed. Moreover, a reasonable reduction in the aflatoxin content (69%) was observed in maize grains treated with the lowest ZnO concentration that exhibited the strongest inhibitory activity in the liquid media. SEM micrographs clearly indicate multiple degenerative alterations in fungal morphology after treatment with ZnO such as damage of the tubular filaments, loss of hyphae shape, as well as hyphae rupture. These results suggest that flower-shaped ZnO nanostructures exhibit strong antifungal and anti-aflatoxigenic activity with potential applications in the agro-food system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue ZnO-Based Nanomaterials and Devices: Fundamentals and Applications)
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