Ultrathin platinum-group metal coated hierarchical flowerlike gold microstructure: Electrochemical design and characterization

The deliberate tailoring of hierarchical flowerlike gold microstructure (HFGMs) at the ultrathin level is an ongoing challenge and could introduce opportunities for new fabrication and application in many fields. In this paper. a templateless, surfactantless, electrochemical strategy for fabrication of ultrathin platinum-group metal coated HFGMs is proposed. HFGMs were prepared by simple electrodeposition on an indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate.

Hydrothermal Synthesis and High Photocatalytic Activity of 3D Wurtzite ZnSe Hierarchical Nanostructures

Novel 3D wurtzite ZnSe hierarchical nanostructures have been synthesized by a mild hydrothermal treatment. The as-prepared flowerlike nanostructures efficiently catalyze the photodegradation of methylene blue and ethyl violet present in aqueous solutions under UV light irradiation, exhibiting higher photocatalytic activity than the commercially available photocatalysts P25 and ZnSe microspheres. We also demonstrate that flowerlike morphology is important for the excellent photocatalytic activity.

One Pot, Facile Synthesis of Hierarchical Silver Nanostrip Assembling Architecture

Here we present a simple wet-chemical approach to synthesize flower-like silver nanostrip assembling architecture at room temperature. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images indicate that these microstructures with the diameter of similar to 500nm exhibit hietarchical characteristic. X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersed X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and Raman spectroscopy indicate that poly (o-diaminobenzene) (PDB) also exists in the silver hierarchical microstructure.

Realization of write-once-read-many-times memory devices based on poly(N-vinylcarbazole) by thermally annealing

A nonvolatile write-once-read-many-time (WORM-time) memory device based on poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) films was realized by thermally annealing. The device can be fabricated using a simple spin coat method. It was found that the control of PVK film surface morphology by thermally annealing plays an important role in achieving the WORM memory properties. The memory device showed an ON/OFF current ratio as high as 10(4) and the retention time was over 2000 s without degradation.

The morphology control of pentacene for write-once-read-many-times memory devices

We realized write-once-read-many-times (WORM) memory devices based on pentacene and demonstrated that the morphology control of the vacuum deposited pentacene thin film is greatly important for achieving the unique nonvolatile memory properties. The resulted memory devices show a high ON/OFF current ratio (10(4)), long retention time (over 12 h), and good storage stability (over 240 h). The reduction of the barrier height caused by a large interface dipole and the damage of the interface dipole under a critical bias voltage have been used to explain the transition processes.

Origin of negative differential resistance and memory characteristics in organic devices based on tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum

Negative differential resistance (NDR) and memory phenomenon have been realized in current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of indium tin oxide/tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum/aluminum devices. The I-V curves have been divided into three operational regions that are associated with different working regimes of the devices: (i) bistable region, (ii) NDR region, and (iii) monotonic region. The bistable region disappeared after a couple of voltage sweeps from zero to a positive voltage. The bistable nature can be reinstated by applying a suitable negative voltage.

Facile Synthesis and Assemblies of Flowerlike SnS2 and In3+-Doped SnS2: Hierarchical Structures and Their Enhanced Photocatalytic Property

Novel flowerlike SnS2 and In3+-doped SnS2 hierarchical structures have been successfully synthesized by a simple hydrothermal route using biomolecular L-Cysteine-assisted methods. The L-cysteine plays an important role both as assistant and as sulfur source. Experiments with various parameters indicate that the pH values have a strong effect on the morphology of the assembly. Based on the experiments, a growth mechanical process was proposed. The synthetic samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM (HRTEM), BET measurement, TGA, and XPS in detail.

Self-Assembled Growth of Agln(MoO4)(2) Submicroplates into Hierarchical Structures and Their Near-Infrared Luminescent Properties

Layer-controlled hierarchical flowerlike AgIn(MoO4)(2) microstructures with "clean" surfaces using submicroplates as building blocks without introducing any template have been fabricated through a low-cost hydrothermal method. The near-infrared luminescence of lanthanide ion (Nd, Er, and Yb) doped AgIn(MoO4)(2) microstructures, in the 1300-1600 nm region, was discussed and is of particular interest for telecommunication applications. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, electron diffraction, and photoluminescence spectra were used to characterize these materials.

SrF2 hierarchical flowerlike structures: Solvothermal synthesis, formation mechanism, and optical properties

We present a solvothermal route to the synthesis of SrF2 hierarchical flowerlike structures based on thermal decomposition of single source precursor (SSP) of strontium trifluoroacetate in benzylamine solvent. These flowerlike superstructures are actually composed of numerous aggregated nanoplates, and the growth process involves the initial formation of spherical nanoparticles and subsequent transformation into nanoplates. which aggregated together to form microdisks and finally flowerlike superstructures. The results demonstrate the important role of benzylamine in the formation of well-defined SrF2 superstructures, not only providing size and shape control to form nanoplates but also contributing to the self-assembly behavior of nanoplates to build into flower-like superstructures. Additionally, the photoluminescence properties of the obtained SrF2 superstructures are studied.

Organic Thin-Film Transistor Memory With Nanoparticle Floating Gate

Organic thin-film transistor memory devices were realized by inserting a layer of nanoparticles (such as Ag or CaF2) between two Nylon 6 gate dielectrics as the floating gate. The transistor memories were fabricated on glass substrates by full thermal deposition. The transistors exhibit significant hysteresis behavior in current-voltage characteristics, due to the separated Ag or CaF2 nanoparticle islands that act as charge trap centers. The mechanism of the transistor memory operation was discussed.

Write-Once Read-Many-Times Memory Based on a Single Layer of Pentacene

We realized an organic electrical memory device with a simple structure based on single-layer pentacene film embedded between Al and ITO electrodes. The optimization of the thickness and deposition rate of pentacene resulted in a reliable device with an on/off current ratio as high as nearly 10(6), which was two orders of magnitude higher than previous results, and the storage time was more than 576 h. The current transition process is attributed to the formation and damage of the Interface dipole at different electric fields, in which the current conduction showed a transition from ohmic conductive current to Fowler-Nordheim tunneling current. After the transition from ON- to OFF-state, the device tended to remain in the OFF-State even when the applied voltage was removed, which indicated that the device was very promising for write-once read-many-times memory.

Hydrothermal Synthesis and Luminescent Properties of Novel Ordered Sphere CePO4 Hierarchical Architectures

The ordered-sphere CePO4 hierarchical architectures have been successfully synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method through the controlled growth of the CePO4 nanorods and self-assemble hierarchical structure under various reaction conditions. The evolution of the morphology of the samples has been investigated in detail. It was found that the coexistence of citric acid and cetaltrimethylammonium bromide in the reaction system plays an important role in the formation of the spherical CePO4 hierarchical architectures. A possible mechanism of the formation and growth of the hierarchical structure was suggested according to the experimental results and analysis. The effects of the reaction time as well as the variation of the morphologies on the luminescent properties of the products were also studied.

Synthesis and Luminescence Properties of Sheaflike TbPO4 Hierarchical Architectures with Different phase Structures

Sheaflike terbium phosphate hydrate hierarchical architectures composed of filamentary nanorods have been fabricated by a hydrothermal method. The X-ray diffraction patterns and thermogravimetric/differential thermal analysis investigations reveal that the obtained terbium phosphate hydrate has a structural formula of TbPO4 center dot H2O, which can be readily indexed to the hexagonal phase GdPO4 center dot nH(2)O in JCPDS file 39-0232. The evolution of the morphology of the products has been investigated in detail. It is found that the addition of CTAB and Na2H2L (disodium ethylenediamine tetraacetate) plays an important role in controlling the final morphology of the products. A possible formation mechanism of the sheaflike architectures was proposed according to the experimental results and analysis. In addition, the phase structure of the product changes to monoclinic phase when it is annealed at 750 degrees C for 2 h in N-2-H-2 atmosphere. Tetragonal chase TbPO4 can be obtained when annealed temperature increases to 1150 degrees C.

Preparation of TiO2, CeO2, and ZrO2 hierarchical structures in "one-pot" reactions

In this paper, a novel template of carbon foam is used in building hierarchical structures of TiO2, CeO2, and ZrO2. They had multiscale morphologies, from nanowalls, nanoparticles to layer nanostructures. Oil a hundred-micron scale, the product was a sponge-like material constructed by nanowalls. On a hundred-nanometer scale, the electron microscope images showed that the nanowalls were porous and assembled by polycrystalline nanoparticles. Meanwhile, on one nanometer scale, many nanoparticles exhibited layer nanostructures with about 1.1 run of thickness and spacing. In mechanism section, the process analysis and characterizations suggested that the hierarchical structures were the combined result of two templates in a "one-pot" reaction. The mesoporous nanowalls were derived from carbon foams, while the layer nanostructures were the replicas of graphite sheets. The method has potential utilizations in preparation of various adsorbent and catalyst.

Raspberry-like Hierarchical Au/Pt Nanoparticle Assembling Hollow Spheres with Nanochannels: An Advanced Nanoelectrocatalyst for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

In this contribution, we for the first time report the synthesis of raspberry-like hierarchical Au/Pt nanoparticle (NP) assembling hollow spheres (RHAHS) with pore structure and complex morphology through one in situ sacrificial template approach without any post-treatment procedure. This method has some clear advantages including simplicity, quickness, high quality, good reproducibility, and no need of a complex post-treatment process (removing templating). Furthermore, the present method could be extended to other metal-based NP assembling hollow spheres. Most importantly, the as-prepared RHAHS exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). For instance, the present RHAHS-modified electrode exhibited more positive potential (the half-wave potential at about 0.6 V), higher specific activity, and higher mass activity for ORR than that of commercial platinum black (CPB). Rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE) voltarnmetry demonstrated that the RHAHS-modified electrode could almost catalyze a four-electron reduction of O-2 to H2O in a 0.5 M air-saturated H2SO4 solution.