Nadia Shahzad

Ultrafast room-temperature crystallization of TiO2 nanotubes exploiting water-vapor treatment.

In this manuscript a near-room temperature crystallization process of anodic nanotubes from amorphous TiO2 to anatase phase with a fast 30 minutes treatment is reported for the first time. This method involves the exposure of as-grown TiO2 nanotubes to water vapor flow in ambient atmosphere. The water vapor-crystallized samples are deeply investigated in order to gain a whole understanding of their structural, physical and chemical properties. The photocatalytic activity of the converted material is tested by dye degradation experiment and the obtained performance confirms the highly promising properties of this low-temperature processed material.

Study of carbon nanotubes based Polydimethylsiloxane composite films

Thanks to their remarkable characteristics, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have fields of applications which are growing every day. Among them, the use of CNTs as filler for polymers is one of the most promising. In this work we report on Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composites with different weight percentages (0.0% to 3.0%) of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) having diameter 10?30 nm and length 20?30 ?m. To achieve optimum dispersion of CNTs in PDMS matrix, high speed mechanical stirring and ultrasonication were performed. By using the doctor blade technique, 70 ?m thick uniform films were produced on glass. They were subsequently thermally cured and detached from the glass to get flexible and self standing films. The surface morphological study done by FESEM, shows that CNTs are well dispersed in the PDMS. Raman spectroscopy and FTIR were used to investigate the possible structural changes in the polymer composite. To examine the optical behavior UV-VIS spectroscopy was employed in both specular and diffused modes. A linear increase in absorption coefficient is found with the increasing percentage of CNTs while the transmittance decreases exponentially. The results confirm the dependence of optical limiting effect on the quantity of MWCNTs. Based on optical study, MWCNTs/PDMS composite films can be a promising material to extend performances of optical limiters against laser pulses, which is often required in lasing systems.

Monitoring the dye impregnation time of nanostructured photoanodes for dye sensitized solar cells

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are getting increasing attention as low-cost, easy-to-prepare and colored photovoltaic devices. In the current work, in view of optimizing the fabrication procedures and understanding the mechanisms of dye attachment to the semiconductor photoanode, absorbance measurements have been performed at different dye impregnation times ranging from few minutes to 24 hours using UV-Vis spectroscopy. In addition to the traditional absorbance experiments, based on diffuse and specular reflectance on dye impregnated thin films and on the desorption of dye molecules from the photoanodes by means of a basic solution, an alternative in-situ solution depletion measurement, which enables fast and continuous evaluation of dye uptake, is presented. Photoanodes have been prepared with two different nanostructured semiconducting films: mesoporous TiO2, using a commercially available paste from Solaronix, and sponge-like ZnO obtained in our laboratory from sputtering and thermal annealing. Two different dyes have been analyzed: Ruthenizer 535-bisTBA (N719), which is widely used because it gives optimal photovoltaic performances, and a new metal-free organic dye based on a hemisquaraine molecule (CT1). Dye sensitized cells were fabricated using a customized microfluidic architecture. The results of absorbance measurements are presented and discussed in relation to the obtained solar energy conversion efficiencies and the incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiencies (IPCE).

Growth of vertically aligned multiwall carbon nanotubes columns

Capability of patterning carbon nanotubes (CNTs) growth is of tantamount importance for a number of applications ranging from thermal to electronic. This article reports on the columnar growth of vertically aligned multiwall carbon nanotubes (VA-MWCNTs) on patterned Silicon (Si) surface. We have developed procedures based on negative as well as positive masking approaches which allows the growth of predetermined MWCNTs patterns. We describe in detail the process steps leading to Si surface patterning. As quoted above, patterns are exploited to grow VA-MWCNTs. We have focused in particular on the growth of CNT pillars by chemical vapor despoition (CVD) technique at 850°C with camphor and ferrocene as carbon precursors and catalyst respectively. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) is employed at low magnification to verify the correct patterning, and at high magnification to examine the surface morphology of CNTs pillars. The pillars are up to 2 mm high, their height being tailored through the deposition time. The diameter of each MWCNT is in the range 30–70 nm and the length is up to few hundred micrometers. The small CNT pillars produced, have several electrical and thermal applications. For instance they can be very useful for heat transfer systems as the lower thermal conductivity of fluids can be improved by the inclusion of nanotubes thanks to their peculiar 1-dimensional heat transfer characteristics.

Convective Heat Transfer Enhancement for Electronic Device Applications Using Patterned MWCNTs Structures

This article reports on the heat transfer characteristics of columnar, vertically aligned, multiwall carbon nanotubes grown on a patterned Si surface. In the first part, we describe the procedure for patterning the silicon (Si) surface and the growth of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on these patterned surfaces. The diameter of MWCNTs grown by chemical vapor deposition technique was in the range of 30–80 nm. In the second part, structures mimicking macroscopic finned heat sinks are used for enhancing forced convective heat transfer on a silicon substrate. Convective heat transfer coefficient has been experimentally measured for silicon substrates with and without MWCNT-based fins on it. The configuration with MWCNTs based fins shows an enhancement in convective heat transfer of 40% and 20%, as maximum and average value, respectively, compared to the bare silicon. Experiments have been carried out in a wind tunnel with air as coolant in fully turbulent regime. These encouraging results and the possibility of growing structures directly on silicon can be regarded as a first step.

Modeling of the dye loading time influence on the electrical impedance of a dye-sensitized solar cell

A hemisquaraine dye molecule (CT1) was used as TiO2 sensitizer. The influence of the dye-adsorption time on the electrical impedance of a CT1-based dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) was analyzed. Differently from what we observed with commercial Ru dye-based DSC, a non-monotonic effect of the impregnation time on the impedance has been found and the dye loading time is much reduced, a desirable outcome in economic grounds. This feature is analyzed in terms of the dye molecules tendency to aggregate close to the TiO2/electrolyte interface. A physical model that fits well the experimental data is proposed, which also takes into account a correction related to the difference between the illuminated area of the cell and the total area available in the electrical measurements.

Fast TiO2 sensitization using the semisquaric acid as anchoring group

Metal-free dye molecules for dye-sensitized solar cells application can avoid some of the typical drawbacks of common metal-based sensitizers, that are high production costs, relatively low molar extinction coefficient in the visible region, limited availability of precursors, and waste disposal issues. Recently we have proposed an innovative organic dye based on a simple hemi-squaraine molecule (CT1). In the present work, the effect of the sensitization time of the TiO2 photoelectrode in the dye solution is studied with the aim of optimizing the performance of CT1-based DSCs. Moreover, the addition of the chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) as coadsorbent in the dye solution at different concentrations is investigated. Both CT1-sensitized mesoporous TiO2 photoanodes and complete solar cells have been fully characterized in their electrical and absorption properties. We have found that the best photoconversion performances are obtained with 1 hour of impregnation time and a 1 mM CDCA concentration. The very fast kinetics in dye adsorption, with optimal sensitization steps almost 15 times faster than conventional Ru-based sensitizers, confirms the theoretical predictions and indicates a strong interaction of the semisquaric acid group with the anatase surface. This result suggests that this small molecule can be a promising sensitizer even in a continuous industrial process.

Fabrication of Ni/Ti/Al Schottky contact to n-type 4H-SiC under various annealing conditions

Forward I-V characteristics of a silicon carbide Schottky diode, with triple layer metallization Ni/Ti/Al as Schottky contact, are presented. Effects of different annealing conditions on the Schottky barrier height and ideality factor are discussed. The diodes were annealed in inert Ar atmosphere for 30 minutes at temperatures ranging from 600 °C to 800 °C. The ideality factors of the four diodes, chosen out of 20 diodes, range from 1.02 to 1.13 and the Schottky barrier heights range from 1.47 eV to 3.17 eV.