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Research Article Issue
Charge transfer in graphene/polymer interfaces for CO2 detection
Nano Research 2018, 11 (7): 3529-3536
Published: 02 August 2018
Downloads:14

Understanding charge transfer processes between graphene and functional materials is crucial from the perspectives of fundamental sciences and potential applications, including electronic devices, photonic devices, and sensors. In this study, we present the charge transfer behavior of graphene and amine-rich polyethyleneimine (PEI) upon CO2 exposure, which was significantly improved after introduction of hygroscopic polyethylene glycol (PEG) in humid air. By blending PEI and PEG, the number of protonated amine groups in PEI was remarkably increased in the presence of water molecules, leading to a strong electron doping effect on graphene. The presence of CO2 gas resulted in a large change in the resistance of PEI/PEG-co-functionalized graphene because of the dramatic reduction of said doping effect, reaching a maximum sensitivity of 32% at 5, 000 ppm CO2 and an applied bias of 0.1 V in air with 60% relative humidity at room temperature. This charge transfer correlation will facilitate the development of portable graphene-based sensors for real-time gas detection and the extension of the applications of graphene-based electronic and photonic devices.

Erratum Issue
Erratum to: Charge transfer in graphene/polymer interfaces for CO2 detection
Nano Research 2018, 11 (7): 3957
Published: 02 August 2018
Downloads:11
Research Article Issue
A facile synthesis of hierarchical Sn3O4 nanostructures in an acidic aqueous solution and their strong visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity
Nano Research 2015, 8 (11): 3553-3561
Published: 14 September 2015
Downloads:22

Hierarchical tin(Ⅲ) oxide, Sn3O4, nanospheres were synthesized via hydrothermal reaction under strongly acidic ambient conditions. The morphology of Sn3O4 varied with decreasing pH. The prickly Sn3O4 nanospheres changed into Sn3O4 nanospheres covered with single-crystalline nanoplates having a high BET surface area of ca. 55.05 m2·g–1 and a band gap of ca. 2.25 eV. Small amounts (0.05 g) of the hierarchical Sn3O4 nanostructures completely decomposed a 30% methyl orange (MO) solution in 100 mL deionized water within 15 min under one sun condition (UV + visible light). The Sn3O4 photocatalyst exhibited a fast decomposition rate of 1.73 × 10-1 min-1, which is a 90.86% enhancement relative to that of the commercially available P25 photocatalyst. The high photocatalytic activity of the hierarchical Sn3O4 nanostructures is attributed to its ability to absorb visible light and its high surface-to-volume ratio.

Research Article Issue
Fabrication of periodically aligned vertical single-crystalline anatase TiO2 nanotubes with perfect hexagonal open-ends using chemical capping materials
Nano Research 2014, 7 (1): 104-109
Published: 14 November 2013
Downloads:9

A vertically aligned anatase TiO2 (A-TiO2) nanotube array has been fabricated by coating a ZnO nanorod (NR) template with a TiO2 precursor solution. After coating, the ZnO NR cores were selectively etched in an acidic environment to form TiO2 nanotubes (NTs). More specifically, after growing the ZnO NRs via a hydrothermal method, one drop of the TiO2 precursor solution was cast to coat the ZnO NRs, the tops of which were previously covered with chemical capping materials by electrostatic interaction, and then the sample was sintered. Finally, the sample was immersed in an acidic solution resulting in selective etching of the ZnO NR cores. Thus, only TiO2 NTs remained on the substrate. The capping material is effectively used to create a perfect, hexagonal open-ended TiO2 NT array, which interestingly extends onset absorption towards the visible region.

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