7 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
- ItemSelf-Assembly of Well-Separated AlN Nanowires Directly on Sputtered Metallic TiN Films(Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2020) Azadmand, Mani; Auzelle, Thomas; Lähnemann, Jonas; Gao, Guanhui; Nicolai, Lars; Ramsteiner, Manfred; Trampert, Achim; Sanguinetti, Stefano; Brandt, Oliver; Geelhaar, LutzHerein, the self-assembled formation of AlN nanowires (NWs) by molecular beam epitaxy on sputtered TiN films on sapphire is demonstrated. This choice of substrate allows growth at an exceptionally high temperature of 1180 °C. In contrast to previous reports, the NWs are well separated and do not suffer from pronounced coalescence. This achievement is explained by sufficient Al adatom diffusion on the substrate and the NW sidewalls. The high crystalline quality of the NWs is evidenced by the observation of near-band-edge emission in the cathodoluminescence spectrum. The key factor for the low NW coalescence is the TiN film, which spectroscopic ellipsometry and Raman spectroscopy indicate to be stoichiometric. Its metallic nature will be beneficial for optoelectronic devices using these NWs as the basis for (Al,Ga)N/AlN heterostructures emitting in the deep ultraviolet spectral range.
- ItemAxial GaAs/Ga(As, Bi) nanowire heterostructures(Bristol : IOP Publ., 2019) Oliva, Miriam; Gao, Guanhui; Luna, Esperanza; Geelhaar, Lutz; Lewis, Ryan BBi-containing III-V semiconductors constitute an exciting class of metastable compounds with wide-ranging potential optoelectronic and electronic applications. However, the growth of III-V-Bi alloys requires group-III-rich growth conditions, which pose severe challenges for planar growth. In this work, we exploit the naturally-Ga-rich environment present inside the metallic droplet of a self-catalyzed GaAs nanowire (NW) to synthesize metastable GaAs/GaAs1-xBi x axial NW heterostructures with high Bi contents. The axial GaAs1-xBi x segments are realized with molecular beam epitaxy by first enriching only the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) Ga droplets with Bi, followed by exposing the resulting Ga-Bi droplets to As2 at temperatures ranging from 270 °C to 380 °C to precipitate GaAs1-xBi x only under the NW droplets. Microstructural and elemental characterization reveals the presence of single crystal zincblende GaAs1-xBi x axial NW segments with Bi contents up to (10 ± 2)%. This work illustrates how the unique local growth environment present during the VLS NW growth can be exploited to synthesize heterostructures with metastable compounds. © 2019 IOP Publishing Ltd.
- ItemSynthesis of surfactant-free Cu–Pt dendritic heterostructures with highly electrocatalytic performance for methanol oxidation reaction(London [u.a.] : Taylor & Francis, 2016) Kang, Shendong; Gao, Guanhui; Xie, Xiaobin; Shibayama, Tamaki; Lei, Yanhua; Wang, Yan; Cai, LintaoA facile and free surfactant strategy is explored to synthesize Cu–Pt bimetallic nano-heterostructures with dendritic exterior. For comparison, the Cu–Pt coral-like nanoparticles are fabricated by using CTAC as a surfactant. The well-designed Cu–Pt dendritic spherical heterostructures exhibit superior enhanced electrocatalytic activity and stability toward methanol oxidation reaction in alkaline media, compared to the Cu–Pt coral-like nanoparticles and the commercial Pt/C, respectively. The advanced technique for fabricating Cu–Pt dendritic spherical heterostructures could pave a way to pursue low-cost Pt-based catalysts, maintaining highly promoted electrocatalytic performance and durability.
- ItemEngineering grain boundaries at the 2D limit for the hydrogen evolution reaction([London] : Nature Publishing Group UK, 2020) He, Yongmin; Tang, Pengyi; Hu, Zhili; He, Qiyuan; Zhu, Chao; Wang, Luqing; Zeng, Qingsheng; Golani, Prafful; Gao, Guanhui; Fu, Wei; Huang, Zhiqi; Gao, Caitian; Xia, Juan; Wang, Xingli; Wang, Xuewen; Zhu, Chao; Ramasse, Quentin M.; Zhang, Ao; An, Boxing; Zhang, Yongzhe; MartÃ-Sánchez, Sara; Morante, Joan Ramon; Wang, Liang; Tay, Beng Kang; Yakobson, Boris I.; Trampert, Achim; Zhang, Hua; Wu, Minghong; Wang, Qi Jie; Arbiol, Jordi; Liu, ZhengAtom-thin transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have emerged as fascinating materials and key structures for electrocatalysis. So far, their edges, dopant heteroatoms and defects have been intensively explored as active sites for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) to split water. However, grain boundaries (GBs), a key type of defects in TMDs, have been overlooked due to their low density and large structural variations. Here, we demonstrate the synthesis of wafer-size atom-thin TMD films with an ultra-high-density of GBs, up to ~1012 cm−2. We propose a climb and drive 0D/2D interaction to explain the underlying growth mechanism. The electrocatalytic activity of the nanograin film is comprehensively examined by micro-electrochemical measurements, showing an excellent hydrogen-evolution performance (onset potential: −25 mV and Tafel slope: 54 mV dec−1), thus indicating an intrinsically high activation of the TMD GBs.
- ItemSelf-cross-linked arrays enabled flexible mechanical sensors for monitoring the body tremor(London : Springer Nature, 2020) Wang, Xuewen; Fu, Wei; Gao, Guanhui; Mehay, Mandeep Singh; Wang, Hong; Zhao, Wu; Loh, Kian Ping; Zhang, Ting; Huang, Wei; Liu, ZhengThin-film electronics played an important role in flexible healthcare sensor applications. The common status of their constituent blocks are solid film and network structures. However, the solid film could only sustain bend in a narrow range due to cracks, and the network structure decreased the sensitivity of flexion sensors due to the strong interactions between nanowires. New materials and technologies are urgently required for flexible sensing electronics, to produce the reliable data for assessment of the human body. Here, we report on a novel three-dimensional (3D) carbon nanorods array (CNA) that is characterized as vertically aligned nanorods and self-cross-linked junctions. We also demonstrate the CNA-based flexible healthcare sensors in monitoring the Parkinsonian tremors. Comparing with two-dimensional (2D) carbon nanotube networks and solid thin films, such self-cross-linked geometries are highly resistant to crack and fragmentation under strain. In the meantime, it shows high sensitivity and good stability (~10,000 times) to detect the flexions. These CNA-based flexible devices are capable of recording low-frequency vibrations (<6 Hz) and make it excellent to monitor the rest tremor of the human body, which is an initial symptom of Parkinson’s disease. The 3D self-cross-linked CNA film shows great potential in the fabrication of cost-effective and durable flexible sensors for early diagnosis of disease by monitoring the health-related rest tremors. © 2020, The Author(s).
- ItemConstruction of cost-effective bimetallic nanoparticles on titanium carbides as a superb catalyst for promoting hydrolysis of ammonia borane(London : RSC Publishing, 2018) Guo, Zhangwei; Liu, Tong; Wang, Qingtao; Gao, GuanhuiBimetallic cost-effective CoNi nanoparticles (NPs) are conveniently supported on titanium carbides (MXene) by a simple one-step wet-chemical method. The synthesized CoNi/MXene catalysts are characterized by XPS, TEM, STEM-HAADF and ICP-AES. The as-prepared CoNi NPs with a size of 2.8 nm are well dispersed on the MXene surface. It is found that among the CoNi bimetallic system, Co0.7Ni0.3 shows the best performance toward catalyzing ammonia borane (AB) decomposition with a turnover frequency value of 87.6 molH2 molcat−1 min−1 at 50 °C. The remarkable catalytic performance is attributed to the mild affiliation of MXene to NPs, which not only stabilizes NPs to maintain a good dispersion but also leaves sufficient surface active sites to facilitate the catalytic reaction.
- ItemIndocyanine Green-Loaded Polydopamine-Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposites with Amplifying Photoacoustic and Photothermal Effects for Cancer Theranostics(Wyoming, NSW : Ivyspring, 2016) Hu, Dehong; Zhang, Jingnan; Gao, Guanhui; Sheng, Zonghai; Cui, Haodong; Cai, LintaoPhotoacoustic (PA) imaging and photothermal therapy (PTT) as light-induced theranostic platforms have been attracted much attention in recent years. However, the development of highly efficient and integrated phototheranostic nanoagents for amplifying PA imaging and PTT treatments poses great challenges. Here, we report a novel phototheranostic nanoagent using indocyanine green-loaded polydopamine-reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites (ICG-PDA-rGO) with amplifying PA and PTT effects for cancer theranostics. The results demonstrate that the PDA layer coating on the surface of rGO could effectively absorb a large number of ICG molecules, quench ICG's fluorescence, and enhance the PDA-rGO's optical absorption at 780 nm. The obtained ICG-PDA-rGO exhibits stronger PTT effect and higher PA contrast than that of pure GO and PDA-rGO. After PA imaging-guided PTT treatments, the tumors in 4T1 breast subcutaneous and orthotopic mice models are suppressed completely and no treatment-induced toxicity being observed. It illustrates that the ICG-PDA-rGO nanocomposites constitute a new class of theranostic nanomedicine for amplifying PA imaging and PTT treatments.