Blue Shift Of Band Edge Research Articles

Influence of FRET, charge separation, and density of defect states on the improvement of UV light-driven photocatalytic activity of PMMA capped ZnO nanomaterials

This study employs oxidative polymerization, co-precipitation, and ex-situ surface capping techniques to fabricate pristine PMMA, ZnO, and PMMA-capped ZnO specimens with varying PMMA concentrations. X-ray diffraction reveals reduced directional growth of ZnO, while Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirms PMMA chain bonding with ZnO in PMMA-capped specimens. Scanning electron microscopy illustrates decreased average length and thickness of ZnO nanoplates post-surface modification, indicating a robust interaction between PMMA and ZnO. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy identifies suppressed defects, including zinc interstitials and oxygen vacancies, affirming ZnO surface capping by PMMA. Absorption spectra display a blue shift in band-edge or increased bandgap, attributed to the combined effects of band alignment offset and reduced oxygen vacancy states. Luminescence spectra show gradual quenching linked to PMMA content increase, with defect-related emission suppression attributed to ZnO surface capping. UV emission suppression is ascribed to donor concentration-dependent Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) from PMMA to ZnO. Photocatalytic tests reveal enhanced efficiency in PMMA-capped ZnO catalysts attributed to synergies involving charge separation, bulk recombination centers, oxygen vacancy states, and FRET. Efficiency improves with higher PMMA content, aligning with changes in emission intensity. The study demonstrates emission intensities' tunability through surface capping and donor concentration-dependent FRET, ultimately influencing degradation efficiency.

Iodide Expulsion at Photoirradiated Mixed Halide Perovskite Interface

Visible light irradiation of a mixed halide perovskite (with bromide and iodide in the X-site) in contact with a solvent like dichloromethane (DCM) leads to selective expulsion of iodide from the film. This causes a concurrent blue-shift in band edge. We find that addition of Cs to A-site reduces the mobility of iodide ions under photoirradiation. In the absence of a solvent, these mixed halide perovskites undergo phase segregation, the rate of which decreases with the addition of Cs. Interestingly, the iodide expulsion rate in DCM is strongly dependent on the rate of photoinduced segregation. At Cs atomic concentrations greater than 50%, the films become stable as the iodide expulsion is largely suppressed. The role of the A-site cation in dictating the mobility of halide ions will be discussed in the talk.

Photoelectrocatalytic degradation of oxalic acid by spray deposited nanocrystalline zinc oxide thin films

The high quality nano-crystalline zinc oxide thin films are deposited onto corning glasses by spray pyrolysis technique. The influence of reaction temperature onto their photoelectrochemical, structural, morphological, optoelectronic, luminescence and thermal properties has been investigated. The structural characteristics studied by X-ray diffractometry has complemented by resistivity measurements and UV–Vis spectroscopy. The photoelectrochemical activity shows enhancement in short circuit current (Isc=0.357mA) and open circuit voltage (Voc=0.48V). Direct band gap calculated by considering R & T values of ZnO thin films increases from 3.14–3.21eV exhibiting a slight blue shift in band edge. Three characteristic luminescence peaks having near band-edge, blue and green emission are observed in the photoluminescence spectra. The specific heat and thermal conductivity study shows the phonon conduction behavior is dominant in films. Photocatalytic degradation of oxalic acid followed with reaction mechanism by using zinc oxide photoelectrode under solar illumination has been investigated.

Anodization of aluminium thin films on p ++Si and annihilation of strong luminescence from Al 2O 3

Photoluminescence (PL) of Al 2O 3 films obtained by anodization of thermally evaporated and annealed thin Al films on p ++Si in 0.3 M oxalic acid has been investigated. Thermal annealing at 200–950 °C under the dry nitrogen atmosphere was used for deactivation of luminescence centres. Luminescence from as grown films was broad and located at 425 nm. This luminescence reached to highest level after annealing at 600 °C. Maximum 10 min was required for full optical activation and prolonged annealing up to 4 h did not change the luminescence intensity. Because of deep levels, absorption band edge of as grown films was shifted to the lower energy which is 3.25 eV. Annealing above 800 °C reduced the PL intensity and this observation was correlated with the blue shift of band edge as the defects annealed out. Disappearing PL intensity and blue shift of band edge absorption after annealing at 950 °C was mainly attributed to the oxygen-related defects and partly to impurities that may be originated from oxalic acid. AFM results did not show any hexagonally ordered holes but uniformly distributed nanosized Al 2O 3 clusters that were clearly seen. XRD measurements on as grown Al 2O 3 showed only [1 1 0] direction of α phase. Debye–Scherer calculation for this line indicates that cluster size is 35.7 nm. XRD and AFM pictures suggest that nanocrystalline Al 2O 3 are embedded in amorphous Al 2O 3.