Preparation and Performance Study of PVA-Based Flexible Sensors

Flexible sensors have great potential for monitoring human body motion signals. This paper presents a flexible sensor that uses zinc oxide (ZnO) to improve the mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of PVA hydrogel. The composite hydrogel has excellent conductive properties and high strain sensitivity, making it suitable for motion monitoring. The PVA/ZnO conductive hydrogel is tested on various body parts, showing effective feedback on movement changes and good electrical signal output effects for different motion degrees, confirming its feasibility in flexible sensors. The sensor exhibits good mechanical properties, electrical conductivity, and tensile strain sensing performance, making it a promising sensor material. It can accurately monitor wrist bending, finger deformation, bending, and large-scale joint movements due to its wide monitoring range and recoverable strain. The results show that the PVA/ZnO conductive hydrogel can provide effective feedback in flexible sensors, which is suitable for use in motion monitoring.

A facile solution processed ZnO@ZnS core–shell nanorods arrays for high-efficiency perovskite solar cells with boosted stability

Zinc Oxide(ZnO)has been extensively applied as electron transport material(ETM)in perovskite solar cells(PSCs)since the emergence of PSCs.However,some chemisorbed oxygen species on the surface of ZnO can cause the degradation of CH3NH3+(MA^(+))based perovskite.To avoid the destructive effect of ZnO,a facile solution strategy was proposed to produce a ZnS shell around the ZnO nanorods arrays(ZnO-NRs),i.e.ZnO@ZnS core-shell nanorods(ZnO-NRs@ZnS).The ZnO-NRs@ZnS cascade structure can not only facilitate carrier transport,but also enhance the stability of ZnO based PSCs.A power conversion efficiency(PCE)of 20.6%was finally yielded,which is the-state-of-the-art efficiency for PSCs with one-dimensional(1 D)ZnO electron transport materials(ETMs).Moreover,over 90%of the initial efficiency was retained for the unencapsulated device with ZnO-NRs@ZnS ETMs at 85℃for 500 h,demonstrating excellent stability.This work provides a simple and efficient avenue to simultaneously enhance the photovoltaic(PV)performance and stability of 1 D ZnO nanostructure-based PSCs.

Nanocomposite superstructure of zinc oxide mesocrystal/reduced graphene oxide with effective photoconductivity

Metal oxide mesocrystals are the alignment of metal oxide nanoparticles building blocks into the ordered superstructure,which have potentially tunable optical,electronic,and electrical properties suitable for practical applications.Herein,we report an effective method for synthesizing mesocrystal zinc oxide nanorods(ZnONRs).The crystal,surface,and internal structures of the zinc oxide mesocrystals were fully characterized.Mesocrystal zinc oxide nanorods/reduced graphene oxide(ZnONRs/rGO)nanocomposite superstructure were synthesized also using the hydrothermal method.The crystal,surface,chemical,and internal structures of the ZnONRs/rGO nanocomposite superstructure were also fully characterized.The optical absorption coefficient,bandgap energy,band structure,and electrical conductivity of the ZnONRs/rGO nanocomposite superstructure were investigated to understand its optoelectronic and electrical properties.Finally,the photoconductivity of the ZnONRs/rGO nanocomposite superstructure was explored to find the possibilities of using this nanocomposite superstructure for ultraviolet(UV)photodetection applications.Finally,we concluded that the ZnONRs/rGO nanocomposite superstructure has high UV sensitivity and is suitable for UV detector applications.

Hybrid ZnO@Au Nanorod Array for Fast and Repeatable Bacteria Inactivation

Comprehensive Summary,The worldwide abuse of antibiotics and resultant antimicrobial resistance made the development of new antibacterial materials an urgent and significant issue.Herein,a hybrid ZnO@Au nanorod array with fast bacterial inactivation and excellent recyclability was reported.93%bacteria could be inactivated within 5 min ultra-sonication under indoor daylight,and the killing rate maintains above 90%after seven repeated using cycles.Antibacterial mechanism involves extracellular reactive oxygen species(ROS)generated from photocatalysis and piezoelectricity of nanorod array,intracellular ROS generation and decrease of adenosine-triphosphate(ATP)originated from electron transfer(ET)from bacteria to nanorod array,as well as mechanical effect from the nanorod,among which ET mechanism plays a major role.Large Schottky barrier from the hybrid interface not only enhances the ROS generation by promoting the charge transfer and carrier separation as well as light utilization,but also enables one-direction electron transfer from bacteria to nanorod array.The resultant continuous electron loss breaks the energy metabolism and disturbs the redox equilibrium,leading to bacterial death.This study demonstrates the great potential of hybrid structure in antibacterial applications and indicates ET as a novel effective antibacterial mechanism for semiconductor materials,which provides insights into the design of next-generation antibacterial materials.