Search results for "nanoparticle"
showing 10 items of 2198 documents
Plasmon-enhanced photocurrent in quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells by the inclusion of gold/silica core–shell nanoparticles in a TiO2 phot…
2013
Direct evidence of the effects of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) in TiO2 photoanodes on the performance enhancement in quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) is reported by comparing gold/silica core–shell nanoparticles (Au@SiO2 NPs) and hollow silica nanoparticles with the same shell size of the core–shell nanoparticles. The Au nanoparticles were shelled by a thin SiO2 layer to produce the core–shell structure, and the SiO2 hollow spheres were made by dissolving the Au cores of the gold/silica core–shell nanoparticles. Therefore, the size and morphology of the SiO2 hollow spheres were the same as the Au@SiO2 NPs. The energy conver…
Direct measurement of optical losses in plasmon-enhanced thin silicon films (Conference Presentation)
2018
Plasmon-enhanced absorption, often considered as a promising solution for efficient light trapping in thin film silicon solar cells, suffers from pronounced optical losses i.e. parasitic absorption, which do not contribute to the obtainable photocurrent. Direct measurements of such losses are therefore essential to optimize the design of plasmonic nanostructures and supporting layers. Importantly, contributions of useful and parasitic absorption cannot be measured separately with commonly used optical spectrophotometry. In this study we apply a novel strategy consisting in a combination of photocurrent and photothermal spectroscopic techniques to experimentally quantify the trade-off betwee…
Photocurrent enhancement in thin a-Si:H solar cells via plasmonic light trapping
2014
Photocurrent enhancement in thin a-Si:H solar cells due to the plasmonic light trapping is investigated, and correlated with the morphology and the optical properties of the selfassembled silver nanoparticles incorporated in the cells' back reflector. © 2014 OSA.
Photochemical behavior in azobenzene having acidic groups. Preparation of magnetic photoresponsive gels
2011
[EN] The photochemistry of three azobenzenes representing contrasting photochemical behaviors is described in the present work. Thus, Methyl Orange (MO, 4-[[(4-dimethylamino)phenyl]-azo]benzenesulfonic acid sodium salt, hereinafter (1) and 4-hydroxyazobenzene-4'-sulfonic acid (2) undergo in water fast photochemical proton shift, with decays in the microsecond timescale. In contrast to the previous cases, azobenzene-4,4'-dicarboxylic acid (3) undergoes photoisomerization in water. This photochemical behavior allows the preparation of aqueous gels with Aerosil as gelating agent (5% weight) exhibiting high cyclability and photoreversible isomerization of the trans to cis (300 nm irradiation) a…
Luminescence properties of nonbridging oxygen hole centers at the silica surface
2009
Abstract Two variants of the surface-nonbridging oxygen hole center, ( Si–O)3Si–O• and ( Si–O)2(H–O)Si–O•, stabilized in porous films of silica nano-particles were investigated by time resolved luminescence excited in the visible and UV spectral range by a tunable laser system. Both defects emit a photoluminescence around 2.0 eV with an excitation spectrum evidencing two maxima at 2.0 and 4.8 eV, this emission decreases by a factor ∼2 on increasing the temperature from 8 up to 290 K. However, the different local structure influences the emission lineshape, the quantum yield and the decay lifetime. Such peculiarities are discussed on the basis of the symmetry properties of these defects.
Controlling the oxidation processes of Zn nanoparticles produced by pulsed laser ablation in aqueous solution
2016
We used online UV-VIS optical absorption and photoluminescence spectra, acquired during and after pulsed laser ablation of a Zinc plate in aqueous solution, to investigate the effect of the laser repetition rate and liquid environment on the oxidation processes of the produced nanoparticles. A transient Zn/ZnO core-shell structure was revealed by the coexistence of an absorption peak around 5.0 eV due to Zn surface plasmon resonance and of an edge at 3.4 eV coming from wurtzite ZnO. The growth kinetics of ZnO at the various repetition rates, selectively probed by the excitonic emission at 3.3 eV, began immediately at the onset of laser ablation and was largely independent of the repetition …
Microwave-assisted synthesis of anhydrous CdS nanoparticles in a water-oil microemulsion.
2006
Abstract Microwave irradiation at a frequency of 2.45 GHz and a power ranging between 22 and 30 W was used, in a water–oil microemulsion at 35 ± 2 ° C , to obtain stable, small, crystalline, anhydrous CdS nanoparticles exhibiting enhanced luminescence properties. The process of nanoparticles growth at different irradiation times was followed by UV–vis spectroscopy. It was observed that irradiated nanoparticles grew faster and their size reached a constant value. The final mean nanoparticle diameter was 2.7 nm, smaller than that observed in a non-irradiated sample, in which particle dimensions slowly increased even after 10 h. This finding was confirmed by high resolution transmission electr…
Diffusive equilibrium properties of O2 in amorphous SiO2 nanoparticles probed via dependence of concentration on size and pressure
2014
An experimental study on the diffusive equilibrium value of interstitial O2 in silica nanoparticles was carried out on samples with average particles diameter 40, 14, and 7 nm. The investigation was performed by measuring the concentration of interstitial O2 by Raman and photoluminescence techniques. The dependence of diffusive equilibrium concentration on pressure and temperature was investigated in the pressure range from 0.2 to 76 bar and in the temperature range from 98 to 244 °C. The equilibrium concentration of interstitial O2 follows Henry’s law at pressures below 13 bar whereas a departure from this model is observed at higher pressures. In particular, O2 concentration saturates abo…
Active photonic devices based on colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals and organometallic halide perovskites
2016
Semiconductor nanocrystals have arisen as outstanding materials to develop a new generation of optoelectronic devices. Their fabrication under simple and low cost colloidal chemistry methods results in cheap nanostructures able to provide a wide range of optical functionalities. Their attractive optical properties include a high absorption cross section below the band gap, a high quantum yield emission at room temperature, or the capability of tuning the band-gap with the size or the base material. In addition, their solution process nature enables an easy integration on several substrates and photonic structures. As a consequence, these nanoparticles have been extensively proposed to devel…
Luminescence Efficiency of Si/SiO 2 Nanoparticles Produced by Laser Ablation
2019
Photoluminescence properties of Si(core)/SiO 2 (shell) nanoparticles produced by pulsed laser ablation in aqueous solution are investigated with the purpose to highlight the microscopic processes that govern the emission brightness and stability. Time resolved spectra evidence that these systems emit a µs decaying band centered around 1.95 eV, that is associated with the radiative recombination of quantum-confined excitons generated in the Si nanocrystalline core. Both the quantum efficiency and the stability of this emission are strongly dependent on the pH level of the solution, that is changed after the laser ablation is performed. They enhance in acid environment because of the H + pass…