Optical absorption spectra and electrical conductivity of silver nanowires with mean diameters of 56, 73, and 106 nm and mean length of 10.4, 12.6, and 32.0 µm, respectively have been experimentally studied. The size dependent effective permittivity of silver nanowire layers is calculated using mixing equations as for anisotropic materials according to the Maxwell-Garnett theory. The absorption spectra peak positions of nanowires with various diameters are interpreted according to the theoretical calculations based on the Mie theory, which allow to predict dependence of the optical properties on the nanowire diameter. The sheet resistance measurements show that 13–15 Ω/sq at the level of 80–90% transmittance at 550 nm wavelength can be achieved.

Iron phthalocyanine (FePc) nanorods were synthesised by a solvothermal method without any surfactant. The as-synthesised materials were monoclinic FePc phase according to X-ray diffraction. The FePc nanorods were applied as gas sensor to detect the ethanol with good sensitivity and selectivity. The results demonstrated that FePc nanorods were excellent candidates for gas sensor to ethanol.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films were grown on fluorine-doped tin oxide coated glass substrate by the hydrothermal electrochemical deposition (HTED) route using slightly acidic aqueous zinc acetate solution at 80°C and were characterised by various techniques. The deposited films showed n-type behaviour with improved carrier concentration. The steady state photocurrent densities were found to be 0.4 mA/cm² (under UV irradiation) and 8 µA/cm² (under visible light illumination) at zero bias potential. Significant improvement of optical, electrochemical and photoelectrochemical properties of deposited films could be achieved using HTED technique.

A ferroelectric-gated graphene field-effect transistor was fabricated by consecutively stacking two distinct graphene–ferroelectric hybrid ribbons at right angles. Two graphene layers play different roles. One graphene layer acts as a gate electrode and the other graphene layer acts as a channel between two electrodes, source and drain. Electric gating at the gate graphene modulates the resistance of the channel graphene. By means of ferroelectric polarisation, bistable resistance states of the channel graphene could be recorded, and the retention time of bistability was estimated to be 460 days by extrapolating of two resistance values in time–resistance relationships. Furthermore, the underlying concept to fabricate bistable memory device was extended to the methodology to realise a logic-gate device by stacking three distinct graphene–ferroelectric hybrid ribbons.

Layered double hydroxides (LDH) are matrices with interlayer anions that can be exchanged with several types of organic or inorganic anions. Due to the anion-exchange capability, hundreds of new materials have been prepared in the past two decades. Conversely, attempts to intercalate neutral molecules (and increase the range of applications) have been achieved by expanding the interlayer space with long-chain surfactants, thus allowing to exclusively retain highly hydrophobic molecules. This work describes a folate-intercalated LDH structure, where folate pillars are capable of forming both hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions with neutral molecules. Infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction data indicated that imidazole, urea and cyclophosphamide were successfully intercalated. This evidence increases the opportunity to prepare more novel materials with neutral molecules in LDH. The cyclophosphamide-LDH product here obtained represents a remarkable example of an LDH-based vehicle for a non-ionic anti-cancer drug used in current chemotherapies.

Silver-modified cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) crystals (SMCCs) were successfully created by a facile one-step in-situ Ag-loading reaction under room temperature. The samples were studied by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra and transmission electron microscopy. The photocatalytic performance of the SMCCs were estimated by using methyl orange aqueous solution as a standard pollutant under visible light irradiation. As a result, the SMCCs show a higher photocatalytic activity than the pure phase Cu₂O. The silver nanoparticles which adhered on the surface of Cu₂O of different size and content can greatly effects the photocatalytic efficiency. The enhanced photocatalytic activity owed to the effective charge transfer of excited electron-hole pairs by loading Ag.

For the first time, this work presents a novel combination of gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP) and indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) as drain/channel and source materials, respectively, of tunnel field-effect transistor (TFET) for high-performance ultra-low-power applications. With this combination, the ON-state current of the proposed device is improved ten times as compared with GaAs–Ge TFET; however, the ambipolar current remains equal to the OFF-state current. It also exhibits a very low threshold voltage (half in amount) as compared with GaAs–Ge TFET. Apart from these, GaAsP–InGaAs TFET shows huge reduction in the subthreshold slope for better switching operation.

Quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA) is a new paradigm in nanoelectronics, where binary information is represented by charge configuration in cells. Ideal QCA logic gates are thought to be dissipationless, since there is no intercell charge transfer and no current flows out of cells. This work presents that these gates dissipate energy and compare energy consumptions of conventional QCA logic gates in electrostatic and thermodynamic approaches. The results show that increasing the number of inputs, concentration of the geometry and the unbalanced numbers of ‘0’ and ‘1’ output states in the gate's truth table add to the energy dissipation of a QCA gate.

Organic waste gases from petrochemical industry cause air pollution. Due to the environmental effects of refractory organic gas, the development of effective adsorbent is imperative. The micro–meso hierarchical porous carbon with high surface area was synthesised by the hard-template method. With MCM-41 as template, this material was prepared using phenolic resin as carbon source. Dynamic adsorption performance of toluene on micro–meso hierarchical porous carbon was studied by gas chromatographic techniques. Effects of toluene initial concentration, temperature and bed height on adsorption capacity were also researched. The results showed that when toluene concentration was 1750 mg/m³, equilibrium amount of toluene adsorbed was 358.8 mg/g by micro–meso hierarchical porous carbon, 79.41 mg/g by MCM-41. The adsorption capacity increased with the increase of initial concentration and bed height, while the adsorption capacity decreased along with the increase of temperature. Due to strong toluene adsorption capacity, this micro–meso hierarchical porous carbon manifests profound theoretical and practical significance in petrochemical organic waste gas treatment.

Two more simple methods were used for preparation of the monolithic nanoporous copper. One was that through decomposition and sintering of copper oxalate precipitate directly. The other was that through decomposition and sintering of copper oxalate and manganese oxalate. The effects of sintered temperature and holding time on the morphology of the monolithic nanoporous copper were investigated. Thermal decomposition, composition and morphology of copper oxalate precipitate, as well as microscopic morphology and specific surface area of the monolithic nanoporous copper were analysed by thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and nitrogen adsorption–desorption. The preferable nanoporous copper can be prepared by decomposition and sintering of copper oxalate directly at 400°C for 30 min. The prepared monolithic nanoporous copper is of open and interconnected pores and is made up of copper grains with the size of about 100 nm, which is as high as 69.9 m² g⁻¹ in specific surface area.

Colloidal silica with different dispersion states during silicon chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) are investigated in detail. As the dispersion of colloidal silica is improved, the roughness (R_a ) decreases gradually during polishing. The silicon surface has a minimum R_a of 0.118 nm when the polydispersity index of particles is 0.078. Comparing with surface polished by colloidal silica in poor dispersion, the surface quality has great improvement. The important role of dispersant is presented by the results of investigations. The research results indicate that dispersant makes aggregate micelles dispersed into many smaller uniform colloidal silica particles. The uniformly dispersed colloidal silica forms a thin film between the surfaces of silicon and polishing pad during CMP, which is beneficial for the stability of friction, and therefore greatly decreases roughness of silicon surface after polishing.

Zn(O,S) is an attractive alternative to CdS as a buffer layer of Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS)-based solar cell due to its higher bandgap and environmental friendliness. In this work, CZTS solar cell with a structure of CZTS/Zn(O,S)/Al:ZnO was simulated by Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator (SCAPS). The impacts of thickness and acceptor concentration of CZTS, thickness and donor concentration of Zn(O,S) and operating temperature on the performance of CZTS solar cells were investigated. It has been obtained that the optimum thickness of CZTS is between 2000 and 3000 nm and that of Zn(O,S) is about 50 nm. The suitable doping concentrations of CZTS and Zn(O,S) layers are around 10¹⁶ and 10¹⁷ cm⁻³, respectively. The temperature coefficient of efficiency is about −0.023 %/K in the CZTS solar cell. All these simulation results will provide some important guidelines for fabricating high efficient CZTS solar cells.

Using beta-tricalcium phosphate (beta-TCP), silver nitrate and glucose as the carrier, silver resource and reducing agent, silver/beta-TCP particle was successfully fabricated by a novel liquid chemical reduction method to overcome the infection problem of beta-TCP. The X-ray diffraction pattern of the as-obtained sample confirmed the existence of metallic silver in the particle. The addition of silver nanoparticle affected the thermal stability of beta-TCP and prevented the transformation from beta-TCP to alpha-TCP. Transmission electron microscopy images and the corresponding calculation result proved the mean size and size distribution of silver nanoparticles in the silver/beta-TCP particle could be controlled by varying the molar ratio between beta-TCP and silver nitrate. Moreover, the mean size and size distribution of silver nanoparticles also could be changed by using different stabilisers. The prepared silver/beta-TCP particle is a potential biomaterial to replace pure beta-TCP particle and utilise for coating material and other applications.

The equations of motion for a viscoelastic polymeric piezoelectric microplate are established based on the thin plate theory and Kelvin–Voigt laws. Polyvinylidene fluoride is chosen as the polymeric piezoelectric material. The plate is assumed to be rectangular and the boundary conditions are clamped at all edges. Liquid is modelled as a damping foundation beneath the plate. The equations are solved using assumed-mode method along with Newmark's β method. The effects of variation in the input voltage, damping coefficient, viscoelastic parameter, and excitation frequency are discussed. The results are compared with the developed finite element method. An excellent agreement is observed between the two methods.

High abrasion furnace black (HAF) filler has long been recognised as reinforcing filler, but the impact of concentration on dynamic mechanics performance and heat buildup of vulcanisates is rarely reported. Therefore, natural rubber (NR) composites filled by N330 with different concentration were prepared. Payne effect and heat buildup of HAF/NR composites increases with an increase of HAF loadings during to that filler network structure become stronger with an increase of HAF loadings. Moreover, tensile strength, tear strength as well as modulus increase with an increase of HAF loadings is attributed to better dispersion and improved interfacial interaction between HAF and NR matrices. The results reveal that composites with 60 per hundreds of rubber (phr) of HAF exhibit better overall mechanical properties and lower heat buildup.