In spite of the recent successful demonstrations of flexible and transparent film heaters, most heaters with high optical transmittance and low applied direct current (DC) voltage are silver nanowire (Ag NW)-based or silver grid-based. In this study, flexible and stretchable copper nanowire (Cu NW)-based transparent film heaters were fabricated through a solution-based process, in which a thin layer of hydrophobic polymers was encapsulated on the Cu NW films. The thin polymer layer protected the films from oxidation under harsh testing conditions, i.e., high temperature, high humidity, and acidic and alkaline environments. The films exhibited remarkable performance, a wide operating temperature range (up to 150 ℃), and a high heating rate (14 ℃/s). Defrosting and wearable thermotherapy demonstrations of the Cu NW film heaters were carried out to investigate their practicality. The Cu NW-based film heaters have potential as reliable and low-cost film heaters.
Haitao ZhaiRanran WangXiao WangYin ChengLiangjing ShiJing Sun
One-dimensional alumina photonic crystals with defect modes were successfully fabricated through inserting a constant voltage waveform into the periodic voltage signals. The trans-mission spectra show that the thickness of defects plays a key role in determining the trans-mittance of defect modes. When the thickness was ?180 nm, an obvious defect mode with the high transmittance of 55% and a narrow full width at half maximum of 18 nm was observed in the original photonic band gaps. The defect mode shifted linearly with the increasing of refractive index of the analytes infiltrated into pores, indicating its potential application in chemical sensing or bio-sensing.
Copper nanowires (Cu NWs) have attracted increasing attention as building blocks for electronics due to their outstanding electrical properties and low cost. However, organic residues and oxide layers ubiquitously existing on the surface of Cu NWs impede good inter-wire contact. Commonly used methods such as thermal annealing and acid treatment often lead to nanowire damage. Herein, hydrogen plasma treatment at room temperature has been demonstrated to be effective for simultaneous surface cleaning and selective welding of Cu NWs at junctions. Transparent electrodes with excellent optical-electrical performance (19 ff)-sq-1 @ 90% T) and enhanced stability have been fabricated and integrated into organic solar cells. Besides, Cu NW conductors with superior stretchability and cycling stability under stretching speeds of up to 400 mm-min-' can also be produced by the nanowelding process, and the feasibility of their application in stretchable LED circuits has been demonstrated.
Ranran WangHaitao ZhaiTao WangXiao WangYin ChengLiangjing ShiJing Sun
A facile and low-cost method to prepare periodic Au@metal-organic framework (MOF) (MIL-100(Fe)) nanoparticle arrays was developed. The arrays were fabricated in situ using monolayer colloidal crystals as templates, followed by Au deposition on substrates, and annealing. MIL-100(Fe) coatings were applied on the nanospheres using a simple solvent thermal process. The prepared periodic Au@MIL-100(Fe) nanoparticle (NP) arrays were characterized by two peaks in the visible spectra. The first peak represented the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of the Au nanospheres, and the other peak, or the diffraction peak originated from the periodic structure in the NP array. After modification with 3-aminophenylboronic acid hemisulfate (PBA), the Au@MIL-100(Fe) NP arrays exhibited sensitive responses to different glucose concentrations with good selectivity. These responses could be due to the strong interaction between PBA and glucose molecules. The diffraction peak was sensitive at low glucose concentrations (less than 12 mM), whereas the SPR peak rapidly responded at high concentrations. The peaks thus demonstrated satisfactory complementary sensitivity for glucose detection in different concentration regions. These results can be used to develop a dual-channel biosensor. We also created a standard diagram, which can be used to efficiently monitor blood glucose levels. The proposed strategy can be extended to develop different dual-channel sensors using Au@MIL-100(Fe) NP arrays agents. functionalized with different recognition
A Cu nanowire (NW)/cuprous oxide (Cu2O)-based semiconductor-liquid junction solar cell with a greatly enhanced efficiency and reduced cost was assembled. The Cu NWs function as a transparent electrode as well as part of the Cu NWs/ Cu2O coaxial structures, which remarkably benefit the charge separation. The best solar cell reached a conversion efficiency as high as 1.92% under a simulated AM1.5G illumination, which is 106 times higher than that of cells based on fluorine-doped tin oxide and Cu2O.
Haitao Zhai Ranran Wang Weiqi Wang Xiao Wang Yin Cheng Liangjing Shi Yangqiao Liu Jing Sun
In this work, the influences of dielectrics with light absorption on the photonic bandgaps (PBGs) of porous alumina photonic crystals (PCs) were studied. Transmittance spectra of porous alumina PCs adsorbing ethanol showed that all the PBGs positions red-shifted; however, the transmittance of the PBG bottom showed different trends when the PBGs were located in different wavelength regions. In the near infrared region, liquid ethanol has strong light absorption, and, with the increase in adsorption, the PBG bottom transmittance of porous alumina PCs first increased and then decreased. However, in the visible light region, liquid ethanol has little light absorption, and thus, with the increase in adsorption, the PBG bottom transmittance of porous alumina PCs increased gradually all the time. Simulated results were consistent with the experimental results. The capillary condensation of organic vapors in the pores of porous alumina accounted for the change in the PBG bottom transmittance. The non- negligible light absorption of the organic vapors was the cause of the decrease in the transmittance. The results for porous alumina PC adsorbing methanol, acetone, and toluene further confirmed the influences of light absorption on the PBG bottomed transmittance.