Zhang Jia-Yu

Tris (8-Hydroxyquinoline) Aluminium Nanostructure Film and Its Fluorescence Properties

Tris (8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminium (Alq3) nano-structured films are fabricated by the gas evaporation method, and their fluorescent properties are investigated in detail. Compared with the conventional amorphous Alq3 films, the fluorescent efficiency of the nanostructure films is enhanced to a certain extent.

Evolution of Luminescence with Shell's Thickness in Colloidal CdSe/CdS

We synthesize colloidal CdSe/CdS core/shell quantum dots with different shell thicknesses, and there are five samples including CdSe core dots, and CdSe/CdS core/shell dots with 1–4 CdS layers. X-ray diffraction and Raman measurements indicate that the stress in CdSe core becomes stronger with the increasing shell thickness, and the optical measurements show that when the shell becomes thicker, the photoluminescence quantum yield is enhanced, and the radiative decay is also expedited. The temperature-dependent optical spectra are measured. The relation between the microstructure and the optical properties is discussed.

Performances of ZnO-Based Dye Sensitized Solar Cells Fabricated by Hydrothermal Synthesis and Sol-Gel Technique

ZnO is introduced as an alternative to TiO2 in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) due to its band gap similar to TiO2, higher electron mobility, and flexible procedures of preparations. Several samples of ZnO films are prepared with the hydrothermal synthesis method and the sol-gel technique, respectively. These ZnO films were assembled as photoanodes in DSSCs using N3 dye as the sensitizer. The ZnO-based cells prepared by the hydrothermal synthesis show typical current source characteristics, whose fill factor (FF) is 0.44 and photo-to-electric power conversion efficiency is 0.34%. On the other hand, all the samples prepared with the sol-gel technique show accompanied source characteristics with relatively higher power conversion efficiencies (1%) but a lower FF (0.26). X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements indicate that the sol-gel samples have small particles sizes. Therefore, sol-gel samples could adsorb more dye molecules to generate high conversion efficiencies. At the same time, more grain boundaries make it more possible for injected electrons to recombine with the oxidized electrolyte. Hydrothermal samples have bigger grains, so they show poor conversion efficiency and relatively high FF.

Effect of Electrical Field on Colloidal CdSe/ZnS Quantum Dots

We fabricate the hybrid films of colloidal CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) and poly(9-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) sandwiched between two electrodes. The voltage and temperature dependences of the electroluminescence (EL) are measured. The quantum-confined Stark effect of colloidal QDs is clearly observed. To explore the mechanism in the QD EL, hybrid films are fabricated with different concentrations of colloidal QDs. Electrons and holes are proposed to be separately transported in QDs and PVK, respectively.

Modified Spontaneous Emission from Dye Molecules inside a Photonic Crystal Microcavity

We fabricate a photonic crystal microcavity containing Alq3 in a sandwiched structure by the self-assemble method. The angle-dependent photoluminescence (PL) spectra and the variation of the PL lifetime demonstrate the effect of the photonic band gap on the spontaneous emission of Alq3 in the photonic crystals.