Songzhan Li

Improved and color tunable electroluminescence from n-ZnO/HfO2/p-GaN heterojunction light emitting diodes

n-ZnO/HfO2/p-GaN based heterojunction light emitting diodes were fabricated using a radio frequency magnetron sputtering system. The electroluminescence measurements revealed that dominant violet emissions centered at around 415 nm were emitted and improved performances were observed for the devices with the HfO2 intermediate layer; the color of the devices could be tuned from violet (0.18, 0.10) to cold white (0.22, 0.20) by varying the Ar/O2 flow ratio during the deposition of HfO2, which are probably ascribed to the deep level emission bands in ZnO. The results were studied by peak-deconvolution with Gaussian functions and were discussed in terms of band diagram of the heterojunctions.

A ZnO/ZnMgO Multiple-Quantum-Well Ultraviolet Random Laser Diode

A ZnO/ZnMgO multiple-quantum-well ultraviolet (UV) random laser diode was fabricated on a commercially available n-type GaN wafer using a radio frequency magnetron sputtering system. The electroluminescence measurements revealed that the diode exhibited fairly pure UV random lasing centered at ~370 nm under sufficient forward bias at room temperature. The full-widths at half-maximum of the sharp lasing peaks are less than 0.4 nm. The device has a very low threshold current density of 4.7 A/cm2 and extremely weak visible emission.

Improved and orange emission from an n-ZnO/p-Si heterojunction light emitting device with NiO as the intermediate layer

n-ZnO/p-Si heterojunction light emitting devices with and without a NiO intermediate layer were fabricated using a radio frequency magnetron sputtering system. Electroluminescence measurements revealed that the device with the NiO intermediate layer exhibits a sharper and stronger orange emission peaks at ∼670 nm compared with that of the device without the NiO layer. And the light output-current characteristic of the n-ZnO/NiO/p-Si heterojunction device follows a nearly linear relationship (L ∝ I) rather than the superlinear relationship (L ∝ I1.5) for the n-ZnO/p-Si heterojunction device. This work indicates that the NiO intermediate layer could effectively improve the performance of the n-ZnO/p-Si heterojunction light emitting device.

In situ synthesis of 3D CoS nanoflake/Ni(OH)2 nanosheet nanocomposite structure as a candidate supercapacitor electrode

A three-dimensional (3D) CoS/Ni(OH)2 nanocomposite structure based on CoS nanoflakes and two-dimensional (2D) Ni(OH)2 nanosheets were in situ synthesized on Ni foam by a whole hydrothermal reaction and electrodeposition process. The 3D CoS/Ni(OH)2 nanocomposite structures demonstrate the combined advantages of a sustained cycle stability of CoS and high specific capacitance from Ni(OH)2. The obtained CoS/Ni(OH)2 nanocomposite structures on Ni foam can directly serve as a binder-free electrode for a supercapacitor. For the 3D CoS/Ni(OH)2 nanocomposite electrode, the high specific capacitance is 1837 F g(-1) at a scan rate of 1 mV s(-1), which is obviously higher than both the bare CoS electrode and Ni(OH)2 electrode. The galvanostatic charge and discharge measurements illustrate that the 3D CoS/Ni(OH)2 nanocomposite electrode possesses excellent cycle stability, and it keeps a 95.8% retention of the initial capacity after 5000 cycles. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements also confirm that the 3D CoS/Ni(OH)2 nanocomposite electrode has better electrochemical characteristics. These remarkable performances can be attributed to the unique 3D nanoporous structure of CoS/Ni(OH)2 which leads to a large accessible surface area and a high stability during long-term operation. In addition, 2D Ni(OH)2 nanosheets in 3D nanocomposite structures can afford rapid mass transport and a strong synergistic effect of CoS and Ni(OH)2 as individual compositions contribute to the high performance of the nanocomposite structure electrode. These results may promote the design and implementation of nanocomposite structures in advanced supercapacitors.

Ultraviolet/orange bicolor electroluminescence from an n-ZnO/n-GaN isotype heterojunction light emitting diode

We fabricate an ultraviolet (UV)/orange bicolor light emitting diode (LED) based on an n-ZnO/n-GaN isotype heterojunction, which presents a sharp ultraviolet emission centered at 367 nm and a broad orange emission centered at 640 nm under forward and reverse biases, respectively. Time dependence electroluminescence (EL) measurements reveal that this device shows good stability. The electroluminescence mechanism of the bicolor light emitting diode is discussed in terms of the material properties of the interfacial layer and the luminescence properties of the device in this work.

Enhancement of ultraviolet electroluminescence based on n-ZnO/n-GaN isotype heterojunction with low threshold voltage

Ultraviolet light-emitting diodes based on simple n-ZnO/n-GaN isotype heterojunction have been fabricated using a radio frequency magnetron sputtering system. Ultraviolet emission peaking around ∼368 nm with a full-width at half maximum of ∼7 nm was observed at room temperature when the devices were under sufficient forward bias. With the presence of an i-MgO layer inserted between the ZnO and GaN layers, the ultraviolet emission intensity and output power have been much enhanced, while the threshold voltage drops down to 2.5 V. The electroluminescence mechanisms in these devices were discussed in terms of the band diagrams of the heterojunctions.

Electroluminescence from ZnO-nanorod-based double heterostructured light-emitting diodes

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with MgZnO/ZnO/MgZnO double heterojunction structure have been fabricated and the room temperature electroluminescence (EL) spectra have been studied. With the help of double heterostructure, LEDs show better visible EL performance than that of LED with ordinary p-i-n structure. By replacing ZnO film with ZnO nanorod arrays in this double heterostructure, strong ultraviolet EL emission around 380 nm was achieved. The ZnO-nanorod-based double heterostructured light-emitting diode exhibits superior stability with an intensity degradation of less than 3% over 8 h. The EL mechanisms were discussed in terms of carrier confinement and carrier transport based on semiconductor heterojunction theory.

Metal–Organic Framework Template Derived Porous CoSe2 Nanosheet Arrays for Energy Conversion and Storage

Porous CoSe2 on carbon cloth is prepared from a cobalt-based metal organic framework template with etching and selenization reaction, which has both a larger specific surface area and outstanding electrical conductivity. As the catalyst for oxygen evolution reaction, the porous CoSe2 achieves a lower onset potential of 1.48 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) and a small potential of 1.52 V (vs RHE) at an anodic current density of 10 mA cm-2. Especially, the linear sweep voltammogram curve of the porous CoSe2 is in consist with the initial curve after durability test for 24 h. When tested as an electrode for supercapacitor, it can deliver a specific capacitance of 713.9 F g-1 at current density of 1 mA cm-2 and exhibit excellent cycling stability in that a capacitance retention of 92.4% can be maintained after 5000 charge-discharge cycles at 5 mA cm-2. Our work presents a novel strategy for construction of electrochemical electrode.

Controllable synthesis of flake-like Al-doped ZnO nanostructures and its application in inverted organic solar cells

Flake-like Al-doped ZnO (AZO) nanostructures including dense AZO nanorods were obtained via a low-temperature (100°C) hydrothermal process. By doping and varying Al concentrations, the electrical conductivity (σ) and morphology of the AZO nanostructures can be readily controlled. The effect of σ and morphology of the AZO nanostructures on the performance of the inverted organic solar cells (IOSCs) was studied. It presents that the optimized power conversion efficiency of the AZO-based IOSCs is improved by approximately 58.7% compared with that of un-doped ZnO-based IOSCs. This is attributed to that the flake-like AZO nanostructures of high σ and tunable morphology not only provide a high-conduction pathway to facilitate electron transport but also lead to a large interfacial area for exciton dissociation and charge collection by electrodes.

Enhanced ultraviolet electroluminescence and spectral narrowing from ZnO quantum dots/GaN heterojunction diodes by using high-k HfO2 electron blocking layer

We demonstrated the capability of realizing enhanced ZnO-related UV emissions by using the low-cost and solution-processable ZnO quantum dots (QDs) with the help of a high-k HfO2 electron blocking layer (EBL) for the ZnO QDs/p-GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Full-width at half maximum of the LED devices was greatly decreased from ∼110 to ∼54 nm, and recombinations related to nonradiative centers were significantly suppressed with inserting HfO2 EBL. The electroluminescence of the ZnO QDs/HfO2/p-GaN LEDs demonstrated an interesting spectral narrowing effect with increasing HfO2 thickness. The Gaussian fitting revealed that the great enhancement of the Zni-related emission at ∼414 nm whereas the deep suppression of the interfacial recombination at ∼477 nm should be the main reason for the spectral narrowing effect.