Sharif Digital Repository

One of the appealing usages of metal–organic frameworks is their application in manufacturing of metal oxide and metal oxide nanocomposites. In the present study, we used zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8) as precursor to prepare a new Ag/C/ZnO catalyst. The as-prepared samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy analysis. Improved catalytic performance of as-prepared Ag/C/ZnO was confirmed by reduction of organic pollutants including p-nitrophenol, methylene blue and rhodamine-B in the presence of NaBH 4 in aqueous media. The synergistic effect between Ag and ZnO was proposed as the... 

A new multifunctional filtration membrane was prepared by twofold advantages of conventional polymeric-membrane as the supporting layer and magneto-plasmonic Ag-doped ZnO@Fe3O4/MWCNTs nanocomposite as the functional layer. Poly acrylic acid (PAA)-modified polyamide (PA) discs (PAA-PA) were applied to increase the hydrophilicity of prepared membrane and X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques were used for characterization. The grafting yield of PAA in the pores and on the surface of PA was 17 wt.% and weigh difference between PAA-PA membrane before and after modifying with the photocatalyst was 8.7 mg. The amount of photocatalyst loading in the prepared... 

Ce-doped ZnO and pure ZnO nanocomposite thin films with different Ce/Zn ratios (0, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 at.%) have been prepared by sol-gel method at optimum annealing temperature of 500 °C. The synthesized samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-vis spectrophotometry. According to our XPS data analysis, there are three major metal ions namely Ce3+, Ce4+ and Zn 2+ that coexist on the surface. The XRD measurements indicate that the ZnO thin films have a hexagonal wurtzite structure, and CeO2 crystallites formed in the Ce-doped ZnO nanocomposite thin films. Photoelectrochemical property of the samples was studied by three... 

In this research, effects of two-step sintering parameters, such as first and second step sintering temperatures (T1 and T2, respectively) and soaking time in the second step, on microstructure and electrical properties of ZnO varistors have been studied. In addition, slow rate of grain growth in the second step of sintering has also been investigated. Near fully dense (higher than 99%) and sub-micron grain size (1-0.75 μm) ZnO varistors have been fabricated by different two-step sintering cycles. Decreasing T1 and T2 result in longer necessary time in the second step to reach near full density with smaller final grain size. The superior electrical properties of varistors (VB: 2050-1022 V/mm... 

In this study, modification of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) ultrafiltration membranes with zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle addition was taken into consideration. The ZnO at five different weights was added to the polymeric solution, and the membranes were fabricated by the phase inversion method using water as a nonsolvent and PEG 6 kDa as a pore former additive. The results showed that the pure water flux of the modified membranes increased up to 3 wt% ZnO addition, which was the optimized amount of the nanoparticle addition in this study. Also, at 3 wt% ZnO addition, flux recovery ratio reached from 69% to above 90%, indicated that the nanocomposite membranes were less susceptible to be fouled.... 

Rather vertically aligned ZnO rods with flower-like structures were grown on quartz substrates through vapor phase transport method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and photoluminescence (PL) measurement were performed to determine crystalline structure and defects, respectively. H2S gas sensing properties of the grown structure were investigated at both room temperature and 250 °C for comparison. A remarkable increase in response and selectivity at room temperature compared to 250 °C was observed. High response and selectivity to low concentrations of H2S at room temperature as well as good stability make the sensor a promising candidate for practical applications  

ZnO tetrapods and rods were grown on silicon and thermally oxidized porous silicon substrates with and without Au catalyst layer by carbothermal reduction of ZnO powder through chemical vapor transport and condensation method (CVTC). Porous silicon was fabricated by electrochemical etching of silicon in HF solution. The effect of substrates on morphology, structure and photoluminescence spectra of ZnO nanostructures has been studied. The texture coefficient (TC) of each sample was calculated from XRD data that demonstrated random orientation of ZnO nanostructures on the oxidized porous silicon substrate. Moreover, TC indicates the effect of Au catalyst layer on formation of more highly... 

ZnO nanoparticles were fabricated via hydrothermal method and an amorphous TiO2 layer was then coated on the nanoparticles via sol-gel route. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies showed that the synthesized ZnO nanoparticles were hexagonal with wurtzite structure and an average particle size of 38 nm. The thickness of the titanium oxide layer was determined to be 20-40 nm. The photocatalytic decolorization of Methylene blue under UV irradiation indicated that as-prepared TiO 2-capped ZnO is inferior than ZnO particles. Nevertheless, calcinations of the particles at 350 °C for 24 h significantly improved the photo-activity of the ZnO/TiO2 core/shell... 

A convenient one-pot multi-component reaction of aromatic aldehydes, enolizable ketones or β-keto esters and acetonitrile in the presence of acetyl chloride and 10 mol% ZnO nanoparticles for the synthesis of β-acetamido ketones/esters at room temperature is described. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved  

A kinetic model for growth of ZnO nanorods via vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism based on the bulk diffusion of Zn atoms through the Au-Zn droplet is presented. The dependences of the growth rate on size are given quantitatively. A general expression for the growth rate of nanorods during VLS process is derived. The derived formula shows the dependences of growth rate on lateral size of nanorods, concentration and supersaturation of Zn atoms in the liquid droplet. Based on the presented kinetic model the smaller nanorods have faster growth rate. Au-catalyzed ZnO nanorods are grown by chemical vapor transport and condensation (CVTC) process experimentally. Theoretical and experimental... 

In this study, ZnO nanoparticles with 3 to 4 nm size and spherical shape have been prepared. For the first time, TEA (triethanolamine) as a surfactant has been used for the preparation of ZnO nanoparticles. The best concentration of each component was adjusted through comparison between different sol absorption spectra. The best sol regarding its optical property was subjected to analysis by photoluminescence spectroscopy. TEM micrograph and electron diffraction pattern of these particles were obtained to represent the morphology and crystalline phase of the particles, respectively. Experimental results have shown that the prepared zinc oxide nanoparticles by this method have higher... 

Two types of unfunctionalized and functionalized multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were prepared to be applied in fabrication of MWCNT-ZnO nanocomposite thin films with various MWCNT contents. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated formation of functional groups on surface of the functionalized MWCNTs in the MWCNT-ZnO nanocomposite. Formation of the effective carbonaceous bonds between the ZnO and the MWCNTs was also investigated through photoinactivation of Escherichia coli bacteria on surface of the both unfunctionalized and functionalized MWCNT-ZnO nanocomposites. The functionalized MWCNT-ZnO nanocomposites showed significantly stronger photoinactivation of the bacteria than the... 

ZnO nanostructures in the shape of particle, rods, flower-like and micro-sphere were synthesized via facile hydrothermal methods and the effect of morphology on the decolorization of CI Acid Red 27 solution under direct irradiation of sunlight was investigated. XRD patterns showed that the synthesized nanostructures have Wurtzite-type hexagonal structure with high crystallinity and crystallite size in the range of 67-100 nm. UV-vis absorption spectra indicated that the ZnO nanorods have higher visible light harvesting as compared to the other morphologies. The decolorization obeys the first order kinetics rate with the kinetics constant of 4.5-19.5 × 10-3 min-1 dependent on the ZnO... 

Multi wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) doped ZnO nanofibers were fabricated by electrospinning for the first time. We have successfully demonstrated the photocatalytic activity of doped nanofibers under visible light. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the diameter of MWCNT-doped ZnO nanofibers varied from 120 to 300 nm without agglomeration of MWCNT. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction studies proved the formation of ZnO bond and wurtzite structure with smaller crystal size in doped nanofibers. Raman spectra demonstrated slight shift in bond position after nanofiber doping, indicating the chemical bond between MWCNT and ZnO. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy... 

Ce-doped ZnO nanocomposite thin films with Ce/Zn ratio fixed at optimum value (10 at.%) have been prepared via sol-gel method at different annealing temperatures varied from 180 to 500 °C. The synthesized samples were characterized employing atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. According to AFM analysis, the average grain size increased from about 70 nm to 150 nm by increasing the annealing temperature from 300 to 500 °C. Moreover, based on the XPS data analysis, it was found that three major metal ions namely Ce 3+, Ce4+, and Zn2+ coexist on the surface of the nanocomposite films. XPS data analysis also revealed that... 

Arrays of ZnO nanorods were synthesized on ZnO seed layer/glass substrates by a hydrothermal method at a low temperature of 70 °C. The effect of pH > 7 of the hydrated zinc nitrate-NaOH precursor on the morphology and topography (e.g. size, surface area and roughness), the optical characteristics (e.g. optical transmission and band-gap energy), hydrophilicity and antibacterial activity of the grown ZnO nanostructure and nanorod coatings were investigated. For pH = 11.33 of the precursor (NaOH concentration of 0.10M), a fast growth of ZnO nanorods on the seed layer (length of ∼1 νm in 1.5 h) was observed. The fast growth of the ZnO nanorods resulted in a significant reduction in the optical... 

Efficient synthesis of protected and unprotected chlorohydrins has been achieved by ring opening of epoxides with acetyl/benzoyl chloride and TMSCl using a catalytic amount of ZnO as a reusable catalyst. The applicability of ZnO is further extended by performing the cleavage of the natural product 5,6-epoxysitosterol with acetyl chloride. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc  

Novel ZnO-carbon and ZnO nanofibers were fabricated by electrospinning of polymer precursor followed by subsequent annealing in nitrogen and air, respectively. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated the smooth and beadless nanofibers with wurtzite crystal structure. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed the presence of oxygen vacancies (VO) and chemisorbed O2 on the surface of the samples. Band gap narrowing of the ZnO-carbon nanofibers in comparison to ZnO were measured by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). Photo-degradation of azo dye under the UV and visible light was evaluated and ZnO-carbon showed an enhancement in... 

Here, the UV photodetection of ZnO rods grown on porous silicon substrates are reported. Laterally interconnected ZnO rods have been synthesized by chemical vapor transport and condensation method on porous silicon substrates. As characterized by current-voltage measurements the I-V characteristics have linear behavior, indicating space charge effect. The device exhibits photocurrent response of 0.027 A/W for 325 nm UV light under -5 V bias. The rise and decay time constants under these conditions are 19 and 62 s, respectively  

In this work, ultraviolet photodetectors based on electrodeposited ZnO sheet thin films were fabricated on a glass substrate. Before electrodeposition, a thin buffer layer of ZnO was deposited on the glass by pulsed laser deposition method. This layer not only acted as a nucleation site for ZnO sheet growth, but also made it possible to use cheap glass substrate instead of conventional fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate. Our results showed that photoresponse properties of the photodetectors strongly depend on the sheet sizes. The smaller sheets exhibited enhanced photosensitivity, shortened fall times and decreased gain compared to larger ones. We showed that photodetectors based on...