Ye Yang

Removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous solution using Fe3O4–SiO2-poly(1,2-diaminobenzene) core–shell sub-micron particles

In this work, Fe(3)O(4)-SiO(2)-poly(1,2-diaminobenzene) sub-micron particles (FSPs) with high saturated magnetization of ∼60-70 emu/g were developed and utilized for the removal of As(III), Cu(II), and Cr(III) ions from aqueous solution. The isothermal results fitted well with the Freundlich model and the kinetic results fitted well with the two-site pseudo-second-order model, which indicated that multilayer adsorption of As(III), Cu(II), and Cr(III) ions on FSPs occurred at two sites with different energy of adsorption. The maximum adsorption capacities followed the order of As(III) (84±5 mg/g, pH=6.0)>Cr(III) (77±3 mg/g, pH=5.3)>Cu(II) (65±3 mg/g, pH=6.0). And the chelating interaction was considered as the main adsorption mechanism. The as-prepared materials were chemically stable with low leaching of Fe (≤1.7 wt.%) and poly(1,2-diaminobenzene) (≤4.9 wt.%) in tap water, sea water, and acidic/basic solutions. These metal-loaded FSPs could be easily recovered from aqueous solutions using a permanent magnet within 20s. They could also be easily regenerated with acid. The present work indicates that the FSPs are promising for removal of heavy metal ions in field application.

Selective and effective adsorption of methyl blue by barium phosphate nano-flake

We report the synthesis of barium phosphate (BP) nano-flake and its adsorption behavior to methyl blue (MB) in aqueous solution. The as-obtained BP nano-flake revealed pure rhombohedral crystal structure. The adsorption capacity of MB onto BP reached 1500 mg g(-1). The adsorption equilibrium results fitted well with the Freundlich isotherm model. The adsorption process took less than 30 min to reach equilibrium. The adsorption kinetics was elucidated by the pseudo-second-order kinetic equation. It followed 2-stage and 3-stage intra-particle diffusion models for the low and high concentration of dye solutions, respectively. The adsorption of MB using the BP nano-flake was highly selective, compared with the adsorption of other dyes. The interactions between MB and BP were mainly the ionic interaction and hydrogen bonds, which were confirmed by the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic results and the density functional theory calculations. The BP nano-flake revealed less than 5% decrease in adsorption amount when it was recycled and reused five times. The present work shows that the BP nano-flake is promising for practical applications in MB removal from aqueous solutions.

Highly Thermostable, Flexible, Transparent, and Conductive Films on Polyimide Substrate with an AZO/AgNW/AZO Structure

Flexible transparent conductive films (TCFs) are used in a variety of optoelectronic devices. However, their use is limited due to poor thermostability. We report hybrid TCFs incorporation in both aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) and silver nanowires (AgNWs). The layered AZO/AgNWs/AZO structure was deposited onto a transparent polyimide (PI) substrate and displayed excellent thermostability. When heated to 250 °C for 1 h, the change in resistivity (Rc) was less than 10% (Rc of pure AgNW film > 500) while retaining good photoelectric properties (Rsh = 8.6 Ohm/sq and T = 74.4%). Layering the AgNW network between AZO films decreased the surface roughness (Rrms < 8 nm) and enhances the mechanical flexibility of the hybrid films. The combination of these characteristics makes the hybrid film an excellent candidate for substrates of novel flexible optoelectronic devices which require high-temperature processing.

Flexible transparent conductive films on PET substrates with an AZO/AgNW/AZO sandwich structure

Hybrid transparent conductive films (TCFs) with a sandwich structure composed of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) and Ag nanowires (AgNWs) were deposited on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates. The AZO layers were prepared at room temperature by RF magnetron sputtering. The AgNWs were synthesized by a modified polyol method and inserted into the AZO layers. The optical properties and conductivity can be modified by the number of spin-coating cycles of an AgNWs suspension. Typically, an AZO/AgNW/AZO hybrid film exhibited an optical transmittance of 80.5%, a sheet resistance of 27.6 Ω sq−1 and an optical haze of 14.9%. The increase in optical haze caused by the silver nanowires may be beneficial for applications in solar cells. The hybrid films presented excellent flexible stability, showing only minor resistance changes and no surface cracks compared with pure AZO films. The AZO layers acted as the protecting layers that enhanced the adhesive and thermal stability of the hybrid films. The resulting hybrid TCFs with an AZO/AgNW/AZO sandwich structure show potential applications in flexible electronics, energy storage and photovoltaic devices.

Realization of a flexible and mechanically robust Ag mesh transparent electrode and its application in a PDLC device

In this paper, flexible Ag electrodes with a hexagonal micromesh structure were fabricated on PET substrate using a photolithography technique. The effect of film thickness on optical and electrical properties of Ag electrodes was investigated systematically. Furthermore, these flexible transparent Ag mesh electrodes were firstly applied to a polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) device and its performance was evaluated. All of the Ag electrodes exhibited a high average transmittance of about 80.2–85.0% in the visible range (400–800 nm), and the minimum sheet resistance value reached 8.2 Ω sq−1. The prepared Ag mesh also showed an excellent performance of adhesion and bending, demonstrating its superior durability. The PDLC device based on Ag mesh electrodes showed comparable performance with that using ITO electrodes, indicating that the Ag mesh film can be a good substitution for ITO electrodes in PDLC devices and may find practical application in large area flexible devices.

Nearly full-dense and fine-grained AZO:Y ceramics sintered from the corresponding nanoparticles

Aluminum-doped zinc oxide ceramics with yttria doping (AZO:Y) ranging from 0 to 0.2 wt.% were fabricated by pressureless sintering yttria-modified nanoparticles in air at 1,300°C. Scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, a physical property measurement system, and a densimeter were employed to characterize the precursor nanoparticles and the sintered AZO ceramics. It was shown that a small amount of yttria doping can remarkably retard the growth of the as-received precursor nanoparticles, further improve the microstructure, refine the grain size, and enhance the density for the sintered ceramic. Increasing the yttria doping to 0.2 wt.%, the AZO:Y nanoparticles synthetized by a coprecipitation process have a nearly sphere-shaped morphology and a mean particle diameter of 15.1 nm. Using the same amount of yttria, a fully dense AZO ceramic (99.98% of theoretical density) with a grain size of 2.2 μm and a bulk resistivity of 4.6 × 10−3 Ω·cm can be achieved. This kind of AZO:Y ceramic has a potential to be used as a high-quality sputtering target to deposit ZnO-based transparent conductive films with better optical and electrical properties.

Ultra-thin atomic-layer deposited alumina incorporating silica sol makes ultra-durable antireflection coatings

We propose a strategy to make soda-lime glass maintain both high transparency and long-term durability in stringent high temperature and humid environments. Experiments reveal that the double-layered coatings with 110-nm-thick SiO2 and ultra-thin 25-nm- or 50-nm-thick Al2O3 layers, prepared by sol-gel dip coating and atomic layer deposition (ALD), respectively, exhibit the improvement of 5.88–6.32% in Tave (the average transmittance from the wavelength of 400–700 nm), as compared with that of the bare glass. On the other hand, the highly accelerated temperature and humidity stress test (HAST) confirms that both samples can sustain the 180 h test without any proven transmittance degradation, while the normalized Tave of the bare glass drastically drops to 43.1% of the initial value after the 108 h HAST. It implies that the ultra-thin Al2O3 films prepared by ALD, followed by dip-coated low-index layers such as SiO2 or nanostructured layer, can achieve both higher average transmittance and better durability,...

Preparation of AZO Nanoparticles, Ceramic Targets and Thin Films by a Co-precipitaition Method

We comprehensively study the co-precipitation preparation of aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO) nanoparticles, ceramic target and thin film deposition. The When the calcination temperature exceeded 700 °C, ZnAl2O4 phase appeared. The resistivity and relative density of the AZO target pressed from nanoparticles were 3×10-3 Ω∙cm and 99.1%, respectively. The minimum resistivity of AZO thin films prepared by DC sputtering of the ceramic target reached 4.1×10–4 Ω∙cm with the mobility of 33 cm2/v∙s and the carrier concentration of 4.5 ×1020 cm-3. The average optical transmittance of the AZO thin films in the visible wavelength range (400-800 nm) was more than 80%.

Physical properties of Al-doped ZnO and Ga-doped ZnO thin films prepared by direct current sputtering at room temperature

Al-doped zinc oxide (AZO) and Ga-doped zinc oxide (GZO) thin films with the same doping concentration (3.6 at%) were deposited on glass substrates at room temperature by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering. Consequently, we comparatively studied the doped thin films on the basis of their structural, morphological, electrical, and optical properties for optoelectronic applications. Both thin films exhibited excellent optical properties with more than 85% transmission in the visible range. The GZO thin film had better crystallinity and smoother surface morphology than the AZO thin film. The conductivity of the GZO thin film was improved compared to that of the AZO thin film: the resistivity decreased from 1.01 × 10-3 to 3.5 × 10-4 Ω cm, which was mostly due to the increase of the carrier concentration from 6.5 ×1020 to 1.46 × 1021 cm-3. These results revealed that the GZO thin film had higher quality than the AZO thin film with the same doping concentration for optoelectronic applications.

Amino-functionalized sub-40 nm ultrathin Ag/ZnO transparent electrodes for flexible polymer dispersed liquid crystal devices

Various flexible transparent conducting electrodes (FTCEs) have been studied for promising applications in flexible optoelectronic devices, but there are still challenges in achieving higher transparency and conductivity, lower thickness, better mechanical flexibility, and lower preparation temperatures. In this work, we prepared a sub-40 nm Ag(9 nm)/ZnO(30 nm) FTCE at room temperature, where each layer played a relatively independent role in the tailoring of the optoelectronic properties. A continuous and smooth 9-nm Ag thin film was grown on amino-functionalized glass and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates to provide good conductivity. A 30-nm ZnO cladding, as an antireflection layer, further improved the transmittance while hardly affecting the conductivity. The room-temperature grown sub-40 nm Ag/ZnO thin films on PET substrate exhibited a transmittance of 88.6% at 550 nm and a sheet resistance of 7.6 Ω·sq−1, which were superior to those of the commercial ITO. The facile preparation benefits ...