Strong damping of the localized surface plasmon resonance of Ag nanoparticles by Ag2O.

By studying oxidation of AgNPs (Ag nanoparticles) and decomposition of the produced silver oxide, we demonstrate that the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of AgNPs was damped by Ag2O produced during oxygen plasma irradiation (OPI). The AgNPs were fabricated by evaporation of high pure silver under high vacuum. The oxidation was conducted in oxygen plasma generated by radio frequency glow discharging in vacuum, and the decomposition was performed by annealing the silver oxide in nitrogen ambient at temperatures ranging from room temperature to 450 °C. Samples were characterized by color, absorption spectra, surface enhanced Raman scattering, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The bandgap of the silver oxide was calculated. We propose that AgNPs are only partially oxidized into silver oxide during OPI, and the LSPR of the AgNPs left without being oxidation is strongly damped by the produced silver oxide. This LSPR damping is responsible for the transparency of the sample after OPI for 2 s.

High performance visible-near-infrared PbS-quantum-dots/indium Schottky diodes for photodetectors.

Here we fabricate self-powered photodetectors based on PbS-quantum-dots/indium Schottky barrier diodes successfully. These devices exhibit excellent repeatability and stability at a high frequency (up to1 MHz), and show a typical fast rise time/fall time of ∼0.8 µs/3.2 µs. They also show excellent rectification ratios up to 104 with bias from -0.5 V to +0.5 V in the dark and a pronounced photovoltaic performance under light illumination. Moreover, the devices demonstrate high sensitivity in weak light illumination detection (detectivity) approaching 1012 Jones and low noise currents <1 pAHz-1/2. These findings suggest great application potential of PbS-quantum-dots for advanced fast response, low noise current, high detectivity and high stability photodetectors.

In Situ Fabrication of Vertical Multilayered MoS2/Si Homotype Heterojunction for High-Speed Visible-Near-Infrared Photodetectors.

c2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs)-based heterostructures have been demonstrated to achieve superior light absorption and photovoltaic effects theoretically and experimentally, making them extremely attractive for realizing optoelectronic devices. In this work, a vertical multilayered n-MoS2/n-silicon homotype heterojunction is fabricated, which takes advantage of multilayered MoS2 grown in situ directly on plane silicon. Electrical characterization reveals that the resultant device exhibits high sensitivity to visible-near-infrared light with responsivity up to 11.9 A W(-1). Notably, the photodetector shows high-speed response time of ≈ 30.5 µs/71.6 µs and capability to work under higher pulsed light irradiation approaching 100 kHz. The high response speed could be attributed to a good quality of the multilayer MoS2 , as well as in situ device fabrication process. These findings suggest that the multilayered MoS2 /Si homotype heterojunction have great potential application in the field of visible-near-infrared detection and might be used as elements for construction of high-speed integrated optoelectronic sensor circuitry.

Exploring the effect of different typical plant community on human stress reduction: a field experiment.

Research has demonstrated the positive effect of natural environment on human restoration and well-being. Time spent in nature can often alleviate both physiological and psychological stress. However, few studies have discussed the environmental health effects of the nature's components and characteristics. Sixty volunteers were recruited and one manufactured environment and five different natural environments were randomly assigned to them, including coniferous forests (pure coniferous forest-PC and mixed coniferous forest-MC), broad-leaved forests (pure broad-leaved forest-PB and mixed broad-leaved forest-MB), and mixed forest (mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forest-MCB). Each volunteer sat in a built or natural environment and looked around the environment for 15 min. Physiological (HR, HRV, BP, pulse rate and salivary cortisol) and psychological indicators (POMS and STAI) were used to evaluate the changes in their stress level. Results indicated a strong difference in HR, HRV, POMS and STAI between the built and natural environment, which showed that natural environment can lower the stress level. MC had the best effect on relieving physiological stress, whereas MCB is most successful in improving emotional state and reducing anxiety. Broad-leaved forest and mixed forest significantly affected the DBP and vigor level of the subjects, respectively. While coniferous forest did significantly increase the concentration of salivary cortisol in subjects. The study confirmed that compared to the built environment, the natural environment can relieve the human body's physical and psychological stress and negative emotions, while significantly increasing vitality. And different plant communities also have different effects on the physiological and psychological indicators of the subjects. These results will provide scientific basis for the construction and improvement of urban green space environment.

Large stokes shift of Ag doped CdSe quantum dots via aqueous route.

Monodispersed and luminescent Ag-doped CdSe semiconductor quantum dots (d-dots) were synthesized by an aqueous route assisted with electrochemical preparation of Se source with 3-mercaptopropionic acid as stabilizer. The silver dopants were incorporated into the host crystals via cation-exchange mechanism. X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that the as-synthesized CdSe:Ag d-dots were well retained in the zinc blende structure. The CdSe:Ag d-dots that exhibited uniform size distribution and good crystallnity could be observed by High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), with average diameter of 2.7 nm. Successful doping was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy survey spectra. The peculiar Ag-related photoluminescence showed strong intensity, and at the same time, intrinsic band-edge exciton emission of CdSe QDs was suppressed. The dopant emission exhibited larger Stockes shift of - 0.51 eV than that of the band-gap emission, and varied from 546 to 583 nm by changing electrolytic time. Possible radiative recombination mechanism of the aqueous Ag-doped CdSe d-dots was discussed. The results demonstrated that doping can be an effective way to manipulate the optical properties of semiconductor nanocrystals.

Carbon electrode engineering for high efficiency all-inorganic perovskite solar cells.

Carbon-based inorganic perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have demonstrated an excellent performance in the field of photovoltaics owing to their simple fabrication techniques, low-cost and superior stability. Despite the lower efficiency of devices with a carbon electrode compared with the conventional structure, the potential applications in large scale have attracted increasing attention. Herein, we employ a mixed carbon electrode inorganic PSC by incorporating one-dimensional structure carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and two-dimensional Ti3C2-MXene nanosheets into a commercial carbon paste. This mixed carbon electrode, which is different from the pure carbon electrode in showing a point-to-point contact, provides a network structure and multi-dimensional charge transfer path, which effectively increases the conductivity of the carbon electrode and carriers transport. A respectable power conversion efficiency of 7.09% is obtained through carbon/CNT/MXene mixed electrode in CsPbBr3-based solar cells.

High Color-Rendering-index Hybrid White LEDs Employing CdSe/ZnS Core/Shell Quantum Dots.

Hybrid white LEDs were constructed by leveraging a combination of CdSe/ZnS core/shell QDs and YAG: Ce³âº phosphors. The CdSe/ZnS core/shell QDs were synthesized by a two-step process in which CdSe QDs were first prepared via a hot-injection method, followed by ZnS coating through a facile single-molecular precursor approach. The resultant red-emitting CdSe/ZnS QDs showed decent fluorescent quantum yielding (36%). The resultant hybrid white LEDs--that based on CdSe/ZnS QDs and solid-state-reaction-processed YAG: Ce³âº phosphors--showed good luminescence properties, including bright warm light, a high color rendering index of 91.3, a low color temperature of 4965 K and a luminous efficiency of 44.22 lm/W. Moreover, increased luminous intensity has been observed in the presence of increased forward current without luminescence saturation, promising an ideal approach to construct warm-white LEDs with excellent color rendering properties.

PbS Quantum-Dot Depleted Heterojunction Solar Cells Employing CdS Nanorod Arrays as the Electron Acceptor with Enhanced Efficiency.

Depleted heterojunction (DH) solar cells have shown great potential in power conversion. A 3-D DH structure was first designed and fabricated through a layer-by-layer spin-coating technique to increase the interfacial contact of p-type PbS quantum dots (QDs) and n-type CdS nanorod arrays. As a result, a decent power conversion efficiency of 4.78% in this structure was achieved, which is five times the efficiency of a planar heterojunction structure of a similar thickness. In the 3-D DH structure, n-type CdS nanorod arrays (NRs) were grown vertically as electron acceptors, on which p-type PbS quantum dots were deposited as absorbing materials in a layer-by-layer spin-coating fashion. The results are discussed in view of effective transportation of electrons through CdS NRs than the hopping transportation in large nanoparticle-based CdS film, the enlarged interfacial area, and shortened carrier diffusion distance.