Preparation, Characterization and Photo-Catalytic Behavior of Y_2O_3/TiO_2 Composite Semiconductor Nanopowder

Y 2O 3/TiO 2 samples were prepared by sol-gel process and characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), laser Raman spectra (LRS), UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS), specific surface area (BET), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show that the relative intensity of 101 peak of anatase and 002 peak of rutile, the mean crystal diameter and mean particle diameter of Y 2O 3/TiO 2 samples decrease while specific surface area increases owing to doping Y 2O 3. Y 2O 3/TiO 2 samples have a larger specific surface area and higher thermal stability. Owing to quantum size effect, the reflectance of Y 2O 3/TiO 2 samples is larger than that of pure TiO 2 in the range of 380～460 nm and the position of Raman peaks varies slightly. Being a model reaction, the photo-catalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) with positive charge and methyl orange (MO) with negative charge was investigated in TiO 2 and Y 2O 3/TiO 2 nanopowder suspension irradiated by high-pressure mercury lamp. As a result, the addition of Y 2O 3 to TiO 2 is detrimental to photo-activity of TiO 2 for MB photo-degradation and photo-catalytic behavior is enhanced due to 5%, 10% Y 2O 3 deposited on TiO 2 for the photo-degradation of MO. And the relationship between photo-physical properties and photo-activity was discussed.

Nonlinear analysis on electrical properties in a bended composite piezoelectric semiconductor beam

In this paper,the interactions between the transverse loads and the electrical field quantities are investigated based on the nonlinear constitutive relation.By considering a composite beam consisting of a piezoelectric semiconductor and elastic layers,the nonlinear model is established based on the phenomenological theory and Euler’s beam theory.Furthermore,an iteration procedure based on the differential quadrature method(DQM)is developed to solve the nonlinear governing equations.Before analysis,the convergence and correctness are surveyed.It is found that the convergence of the proposed iteration is fast.Then,the transverse pressure induced electrical field quantities are investigated in detail.From the calculated results,it can be found that the consideration of nonlinear constitutive relation is necessary for a beam undergoing a large load.Compared with the linear results,the consideration of the nonlinear constitutive relation breaks the symmetry for the electric potential,the electric field,and the perturbation carrier density,and has little influence on the electric displacement.Furthermore,the non-uniform pressures are considered.The results show that the distributions of the electric field quantities are sensitively altered.It indicates that the electrical properties can be manipulated with the design of different transverse loads.The conclusions in this paper could be the guidance on designing and manufacturing electronic devices accurately.

Nonlinear magneto-mechanical-thermo coupling characteristic analysis for transport behaviors of carriers in composite multiferroic piezoelectric semiconductor nanoplates with surface effect

In this paper,to better reveal the surface effect and the screening effect as well as the nonlinear multi-field coupling characteristic of the multifunctional piezoelectric semiconductor(PS)nanodevice,and to further improve its working performance,a magneto-mechanical-thermo coupling theoretical model is theoretically established for the extensional analysis of a three-layered magneto-electro-semiconductor coupling laminated nanoplate with the surface effect.Next,by using the current theoretical model,some numerical analyses and discussion about the surface effect,the corresponding critical thickness of the nanoplate,and the distributions of the physical fields(including the electron concentration perturbation,the electric potential,the electric field,the average electric displacement,the effective polarization charge density,and the total charge density)under different initial state electron concentrations,as well as their active manipulation via some external magnetic field,pre-stress,and temperature stimuli,are performed.Utilizing the nonlinear multi-field coupling effect induced by inevitable external stimuli in the device operating environment,this paper not only provides theoretical support for understanding the size-dependent tuning/controlling of carrier transport as well as its screening effect,but also assists the design of a series of multiferroic PS nanodevices.

Cystine-assisted accumulation of gold nanoparticles on ZnO to construct a sensitive surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy substrate

Recently,various semiconductor/metal composites have been developed to fabricate surfaceenhanced Raman spectroscopy substrates.However,low metal loading on semiconductors is still a challenge.In this study,cystine was introduced to increase the accumulation of gold nanoparticles on zinc oxide,owing to the biomineralization_property of_cystine.Morphological analysis revealed that the obtained ZnO/Au/cystine composite not only had a higher metal loading but also formed a porous structure,which is beneficial for Raman performance.Compared with ZnO/Au,the ZnO/Au/cystine substrate displayed a 40-fold enhancement in the Raman signal and a lower limit of detection(10^(-11) mol·L^(-1))in the detection of rhodamine 6G.Moreover,the substrate has favorable homogeneity and stability.Finally,ZnO/Au/cystine displayed excellent performance toward crystal violet and methylene blue in a test based on river water samples.This study provided a promising method to fabricate sensitive semiconductor/noblemetal-based surface-enhanced Ramans spectroscopy substrates for Raman detection.