Regular ZnO Research Articles

Construction of ultra-sensitive hydrogen sensor based on two phases In2O3 nanoparticles modified by regular dodecahedral ZnO

Hydrogen (H2) is considered one of the promising energy sources to replace fossil fuels so efficient H2 sensing technology is a necessary condition to ensure the safety of people’s livelihood and economic development. In this paper, ZnO obtained by calcination of precursor ZIF-8 has a regular dodecahedral structure. The product of In2O3 obtained with the participation of the surfactant PEO-PPO-PEO has two different crystal forms, namely cubic phase c-In2O3 and hexagonal h-In2O3. Crystal form c-In2O3 is 7.07 wt% of the mass of h-In2O3. When ZnO is 5 wt% of In2O3, the H2 sensor based on the ZnO (5 %)-Inc/Inh composite material has the best response performance and the operating temperature is 450 °C. The sensor’s response time for detecting 5000 ppm H2 is less than 1 s, and the recovery time is 6 s with a response intensity of 79.91. The limit of detection (LOD) is 53 ppb, which is much lower than the explosive concentration (4–75 V/V%). Density functional theory (DFT) is utilized for investigating the performance advantages of Inc/Inh composites over pure c-In2O3 and h-In2O3 and further elaborating the mechanism of ZnO improving the gas-sensing performance of ZnO (5 %)-Inc/Inh. The sensor based on ZnO (5 %)-Inc/Inh composite may guide the research of high-performance H2 sensors. The H2 adsorption mechanism of the sensor was analyzed based on the oxygen adsorption mechanism.

Large-Scale Synthesis of ZnO Nanorods Bundles by Microwave Heating Method: Growth Mechanism and Possibility of Controllable Growth of Nanoneedle

This paper has presented a novel method for the synthesis of regular and reproductive ZnO nanostructures by microwave heating. Unlike the previous studies, it has focused on ZnO nanostructures grown on the Si wafer used as a cover rather than on the precursor top and the results show that ZnO nanostructures with different shapes depending on the amount of mixture and the position in the Si wafer grow on the regular and reproductive basis. In the center of the Si wafer, short and coarse ZnO nanorods have grown, and on the outer edges, the structure of bundles consisting of ZnO nanorods with much longer lengths and smaller diameters has been synthesized. Morphology of ZnO nanorods was characterized by using scanning electron microscope and the nanorods grown on the outer edges had a mean diameter of 200[Formula: see text]nm and were up to [Formula: see text]m long. In order to elucidate the growth mechanism of nanorods, we have carried out SEM, energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and XRD characterization, which shows that ZnO nanorods have grown according to VLS mechanism. A controllable growth method of ZnO nanoneedle is suggested.

Evaluation of an Innovative Zn Source on Feed Efficiency, Growth Performance, Skin and Bone Quality of Broilers Suffering Heat Stress.

One thousand two hundred male broilers were used to evaluate the effect of different dosages of HiZox® on feed efficiency, growth performance and bone quality of broilers suffering from heat stress. A completely randomized design was used, with four treatments and ten replicates. Basal corn−soybean meal diets supplemented with 75, 100 and 125 mg/kg zinc from HiZox and 100 mg/kg zinc from regular ZnO were used to make four treatments. Heat stress was induced after the third week by keeping house temperature between 28−34 °C, from 1 pm until 5 pm. The body weights of the birds that received the diet supplemented with HiZox or ZnO showed no significant difference at 7 and 14 days. Body weight of heat stressed birds fed diets containing different levels of HiZox or ZnO were not different at 28 and 42 days of age. In comparison to the Ross 308 management guide, induced heat stress diminished body weight and feed intake by approximately 17 and 21%, respectively. At 28 days, chickens who received 125 mg/kg Zn from Hizox had better feed efficiency (p < 0.05). The mortality rate of heat-stressed male broiler chickens who received different dosages of HiZox was 2.85% less than that of the regular ZnO group (p < 0.06). The results showed that addition of HiZox to the diet of male broiler under heat stress doubled the skin resistance during feather plucking in the slaughter plant and improved carcass quality (p < 0.07). Tibia breaking strength, included elongation and extension were improved by consumption of a diet supplemented with 75 mg HiZox/kg (p < 0.09). The HiZox-75 fed broilers required higher amounts of energy (MJ) for tibia breaking at break and peak points at 42 days (p < 0.09; p < 0.07). Jejunum Zn concentrations reflected the quantity of ingested Zn (p < 0.0001). Gizzard Zn solubility was dependent on dietary treatment (p < 0.03). Solubility of Zn in the gizzard of chickens who received HiZox was higher (about 30%) than broilers fed regular ZnO. In conclusion, Zn from HiZox was more efficient in decreasing heat stress mortality, increasing skin resistance and bone breaking strength compared to a regular ZnO source.

The Role of Fertilization with Nano-Zinc Oxide on the Growth and Yield of Wheat in Calcareous Desert Soil

A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of the source and level of addition of nano-zinc oxide on the growth and yield of IPA-99 wheat cultivar grown in desert soil conditions and compare it with regular zinc fertilizers. Fertilizers were sprayed on the soil, the nano-fertilizers included three sources of zinc, nano-metallic zinc oxide (ZnnO), zinc-chelated nano-fertilizer ZnnDTPA, and nano-zinc humate (ZnnHA). The nano-fertilizers were added at levels of 1 and 2 kg ha-1. Whereas the regular zinc fertilizers, ZnO, ZnDTPA, and ZnHA, were added at a level of 4 and 8 kg ha-1 in addition to the control treatment without addition. After harvest, the grain yield, straw yield, and the concentration of zinc, nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium in the wheat grain were estimated. The results showed that zinc nano fertilizers had a significant effect in increasing the studied plant traits compared to the control treatment, Zinc humate nano fertilizer gave the highest increase in all studied plant traits among the nano-fertilizers, as it achieved an increase in grain yield, straw yield, zinc, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium concentrations in grains by 45.36%, 57.01%, 409.43%, 42.36%, 98.20%, and 38.56 % respectively over the control treatment. The zinc nano-fertilizers had a significant effect on increasing the yield of grains and the concentration of nitrogen and potassium in the grains compared to the regular zinc fertilizers. While the results showed there was no significant difference in straw yield and the concentration of zinc and phosphorous in the grains between nano and normal zinc fertilizer.

Nanofiber Semiconductor Experiment with Distance Variation Electrospinning Method to Improve DSSC Performance

Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) is a type of solar cell that uses dyes to transfer sunlight to electrical energy. DSSC construction uses a layered system (sandwich) that consisting of a working electrode and an opposing electrode, both of which are placed on conducting glass and electrolytes to allow electron cycling. This research aims to determine the effect of the distance between the tip and the rotating collector in an effort to increase the efficiency of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) and examine its impact on the morphology of the ZnO nanofiber. This experiment is carried out by varying the distance between the tip to the rotating collector, which are 4 cm, 6 cm, and 8 cm. The results of this research indicates that at a distance of 8 cm it produces a small, uniform and regular ZnO nanofiber structure with Voc, Jsc, FF, and DSSC efficiency values of 0.559 V, 9.809 mA / cm2, 43.3% and 2.3%. In addition, at a distance of 8 cm it also produces the highest DSSC electrical efficiency from the other distances due to the absorbance of the dye and high electron excitation.

Advanced Oxidation Processes Using Zinc Oxide Nanocatalyst for Detoxification of Some Highly Toxic Insecticides in an Aquatic System Combined With Improving Water Quality Parameters

Pesticides are among the major organic pollutants, and their random extensive applications threaten human health and ecosystems. Clearly, detoxification of toxic insecticides from the aquatic system remains a global priority. In the present study, a zinc oxide nanocatalyst was synthesized with suitable properties to achieve complete degradation of some insecticides (dimethoate and methomyl) from aqueous media. The ZnO catalyst was used in normal and in nano-size as a part of an advanced oxidation process in the presence of H2O2 and UV rays. The complete detoxification of the tested pesticides after treatment with the most effective process (ZnO(s)/H2O2/UV) was then examined by exploring the biochemical and histopathological changes in the liver and kidneys of treated rats compared to the control. The effect of water treatment by ZnO (nano)/H2O2/UV on the water quality parameters of treated water was also investigated. Interestingly, the present study reported that the degradation rates of the investigated insecticides were faster using the nano-sized ZnO catalyst than the regular ZnO catalyst. In this respect, complete decomposition of the tested insecticides (100%) under the ZnO(s)/H2O2/UV system was achieved after 320 min of irradiation. The half-lives of the tested insecticides under ZnO(c)/H2O2/UV were 43.86 and 36.28 for dimethoate and methomyl, respectively, while under the ZnO(c)/H2O2/UV system, the half-live values were 27.72 and 19.52 min for dimethoate and methomyl, respectively. On the other hand, there were no significant changes in the biochemical and histological parameters of rats treated with remediated water when compared to the control group. The treatment of water by zinc oxide nanocatalyst improved the quality of water parameters. Collectively, advanced oxidation processes using ZnO nanocatalyst can be considered as a promising treatment technology for the complete detoxification of methomyl and dimethoate in water. However, further research is warranted for the identification of the potential breakdown products.

Formation of Zn-rich ZnO films with improved bulk and surface characteristics by approach of magnetron sputtering technique

In this work Zn-rich ZnO films were formed by unconventional magnetron sputtering approach where oxygen flow cyclically varied between two different values during deposition process. Specifically, ZnO films were deposited using radio frequency power source with Zn target, while argon flow was set to keep total deposition pressure at constant and oxygen flow cyclically varied between stoichiometric ZnO and intermediate Zn/ZnO formation regimes. Such modification of physical vapor deposition method allowed to form complex structure ZnO films with altered bulk and surface characteristics. X-ray diffraction analysis of deposited films revealed highly expressed wurtzite structure with existence of small fraction of metallic Zn phase. In comparison to regular ZnO film surface morphology analysis of complex structure Zn-rich ZnO films showed significant increment of grain size and more than three times larger surface roughness. The reduction of optical transmittance as well as band gap value were observed by analysing optical properties of deposited films. Urbach energy analysis revealed that deposited Zn-rich ZnO films had higher level of disorder, dopants or defects comparing to the regular ZnO. Such combination of deposited films properties leads to the significant improvement of photocatalysis efficiency measured by the bleaching of methylene blue solution.

PSIX-27 Effects of supplemented zinc oxide in post-weaning piglets from d 25 to d 52 of age

Abstract Supplementation of pharmacological levels of ZnO (3000 ppm) is widely used for prevention and treatment of diarrhea in weaning piglets and to improve their performance. However, this practice has raised concerns about environmental impact, antimicrobial resistance and nutritional interactions. In this study we compared graded amounts of regular ZnO to equivalent levels of potentiated ZnO (HiZox), added to the piglet’s diets. Our aim was to assess possible advantages of different Zn sources as well as a reduction potential regarding the supplemented dose. Therefore, 1440 piglets (initial BW 10.1 ± 1.55 kg) were randomly allotted to 12 dietary treatments: supplementation of 150, 300, 600, 900, 1500 and 3000 ppm of Zn from regular ZnO or equivalent from HiZox. From day 1 to day 14, piglets were fed dietary treatments accordingly; from day 15 to day 28 all groups received HiZox at 150 ppm. Performance was recorded on d 1, 14 and 28 on trial.The highest (P &amp;lt; 0.001) ADG was observed for piglets fed HiZox at 3000 ppm (247 g/d), while HiZox at 900 ppm and regular ZnO at 3000 ppm presented the same ADG values. The subsequent 14-day levelling to 150 ppm of HiZox led on average to similar body weight gains (ZnO: 7.05 kg; HiZox: 6.93 kg). ADFI increased (P &amp;lt; 0.001) in the first 14 d of trial with increasing Zn levels for both sources. Comparison of ZnO at 3000 ppm and HiZox at 900 ppm showed similar effects on improving fecal consistency during the first two weeks after weaning, which may be due to the more effective surface specific area of HiZox than regular ZnO. In conclusion, HiZox at 900 ppm can be used for improving growth performance and fecal consistency during the first two weeks after weaning as an alternative to the pharmacological level of regular ZnO.

Rational design of novel three-dimensional reticulated Ag2O/ZnO Z-scheme heterojunction on Ni foam for promising practical photocatalysis

Direct Z-scheme heterojunctions composed of Ag2O nanoparticles and ZnO nanorods were immobilized on Ni foam (AZN) via combined hydrothermal and precipitation methods to successfully construct 3D reticulated composites, and their photocatalytic performance were evaluated under simulated sunlight. Just as expected, the AZN samples exhibited excellent photocatalytic effects of 99.26% for the model pollutant (rhodamine B) in water after loading with Ag2O, which was 2.77 times higher than that of regular ZnO NAs/Ni foam composites. Meanwhile, the surface wettability of composite was remarkably enhanced. Besides, a series of photoelectrochemical measurements showed a significant improvement in the charge separation efficiency of AZN, which was attributed to the synergistic effect of direct Z-scheme heterojunction, matched energy band structure as well as 3D porous structure. Moreover, the AZN sample presented satisfactory stability after four cycles, meanwhile it displayed good removal performance against different types of antibiotics (Tetracycline, Sulfadiazine and Ciprofloxacin). The applicability and durability of AZN for rhodamine B degradation were evaluated by sequential batch experiments in a homemade simulated flowing water device. More importantly, the lower value of electrical energy per order indicated the photocatalyst/simulated sunlight system was more energy efficient and effective. Accordingly, this work provided a new strategy for designing 3D reticulated composites with low-dimensional nanomaterials to decompose organic pollutants in impaired waters.

The Effects of Dietary Porous Zinc Oxide Supplementation on Growth Performance, Inflammatory Cytokines and Tight Junction's Gene Expression in Early-Weaned Piglets.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary porous ZnO supplementation on the growth performance, inflammatory cytokines and tight junction's gene expression in weaned piglets. A total of 192 weaned piglets were randomly allocated to 4 experimental groups (n=48/group) and fed, during 14 d, with one of the following dietary treatments: 1) basal diet (NC); 2) basal diet with 3,000 mg/kg of conventional ZnO (PC); 3) basal diet with 750 mg/kg of porous ZnO (low inclusion porous ZnO, LP-ZnO); 4) basal diet with 1,500 mg/kg porous ZnO (high inclusion porous ZnO, HP-ZnO). Results showed that dietary supplementation with regular ZnO or porous ZnO (750 and 1,500 mg/kg) improved average daily gain (ADG), feed to gain ratio (F/G) and jejunum morphology, while decreasing diarrhea incidence. Compared with the NC group, porous ZnO at both doses (750 or 1,500 mg/kg) increased serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), immunoglobulin G (IgG) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) concentrations, but decreased serum glucose (GLU). Moreover, the mRNA expression of anti-inflammation cytokine (TGF-β), tight junction (Occludin, ZO-1) in the jejunum by different ZnO administration were significantly increased compared with the NC group, while mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory (IL-8), membrane channels that transport water (AQP3) and miR-122a were significantly decreased. It can be concluded that porous ZnO even at low dose (750 mg/kg) can be an effective alternative to pharmacological (3,000 mg/kg) conventional ZnO in reducing diarrhea, promoting the growth performance, increasing anti-inflammatory cytokines and tight junctions, reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines of weaned piglets.

Electrodeposition of capsaicin-induced ZnO/Zn nanopillar films for marine antifouling and antimicrobial corrosion

Zinc oxide with the morphology of nanopillar is promising marine antifouling materials as they can kill adhered bacteria and fungi. The zinc oxide with the morphology of nanopillar has shown super-antibacterial properties on galvanized steel, which makes ZnO/Zn nanopillar films promising in marine antifouling and antimicrobial corrosion. Thus, an efficient approach to coat ZnO/Zn nanopillar films on steel is of great significance. The electrodeposition method is a universal method for both ZnO crystals and galvanized coatings, and it can control the morphologies and structures of the resultant films. Therefore, in this study, capsaicin was added into an alkaline electrolyte to induce the formation of ZnO nanopillars. Due to capsaicin addition to the electrolyte, ZnO/Zn nanopillar films were obtained in a single cathodic electrodeposition. The added capsaicin in the electrolyte was absorbed on the electrodepositing surface by the functional –NH– groups in amide bond. The Zn(OH)42− diffusion was promoted by negatively shifted electrodepositing potential. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) results illustrate that regular ZnO nanopillars were obtained when the capsaicin concentration was 0.6 g L−1 in the electrolyte. The resultant ZnO/Zn nanopillar films showed high antibacterial properties in Escherichia coli suspended solutions and relatively low living bacterial coverage, indicating promising application in marine antifouling. Electrochemical evaluation revealed that the obtained capsaicin-induced ZnO/Zn nanopillar films exhibited significantly enhanced corrosion resistance in a sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) medium. Moreover, the results illustrate that adding 0.6 g L−1 concentration of capsaicin in the electrolyte yielded the best films, which featured the lowest bacterial coverage and highest corrosion resistance.

Morphology evolution of ZnO by controlling solvent and electrochemical sensing of hexagonal nanotablets toward amines

Organic amines are important solvent and raw material in laboratory and industry, as well as releasing from cigarette smoke. It is significant to detect low-concentration amines for environment and public health. Here we reported that as-synthesized zinc oxide is an effective electrode material of electrochemical sensor for the detection of amines. The characterization results reveal that the ZnO morphologies experienced a change from hexagonal bowl-like microparticles, cones, prisms to nanoparticles by adjusting the reaction time, temperature, solvents and additives. Interestingly, ZnO material possessing hexagonal shapes and different sizes exhibits distinct electrochemical response in various amines solution, suggesting that there is a better dependent relationship between different morphological ZnO and amines detection. Particularly, regular hexagonal ZnO nanotablets exhibit a detectable electrochemical response and selectivity to ammonia, implying it can be serve as electrode material for highly effective detection of organic amines.

Single-crystal-like ZnO mesoporous spheres derived from metal organic framework delivering high electron mobility for enhanced energy conversion and storage performances

A rational solvothermal method is proposed to achieve the conversion from a Zn contented metal organic framework to ZnO mesoporous single-crystal-like spheres. The as-prepared ZnO sphere is composed of oriented assembled primary crystals, which exhibits single crystal nature with narrow pore size distribution and high surface area. In addition, time depending trails indicate the metal organic framework functions as reservoir to control the release of Zn species and the organic molecules also serve as directing regent to facilitate the oriented assembling of the ZnO primary units. Thanks to this structure coherence, the ZnO sphere delivers high electron mobility, which enables reduced carrier recombination and improved collection efficiency of the photoelectrons when used as photoanode in CdS/CdSe sensitized solar cell. The device achieves a high power conversion efficiency of ∼6.20%, which is substantially improved from that of regular ZnO nanoparticles (∼5.02%). Moreover, when evaluated as anode for lithium ion battery, the ZnO sphere based electrode demonstrates high reversible capacity of 1016.7 mA h g−1 at 100 mA g−1 after 100 cycles, and excellent high rate stability which shows impressive reversible capacity of 698.4 mA h g−1 at 1000 mA g−1 after 300 cycles.

Effect of annealing on photoluminescence and Raman scattering of Sb-doped ZnO epitaxial layers grown on a-Al2O3

ZnO thin films have been realized via monodoping antimony (Sb) acceptor by Molecular Beam Epitaxy on a-Al2O3 substrates. The influence of annealing on photoluminescence (PL) and micro-Raman spectra of ZnO:Sb layers was analyzed. PL spectra recorded at 6 K are dominated by two peaks: at around 3.31 eV and 3.35 eV. First one is assigned to free electrons to neutral acceptors (FA) transition and the second peak corresponds to donor bound exciton (D0X). In order to properly identify and analyze Raman modes, the room temperature Stokes Raman spectra were compared with the spectra of similar ZnO:As/Al2O3 structures. In addition to regular ZnO and Al2O3 modes, recorded ZnO:Sb Raman spectra contain 3 additional modes at around 509, 532 and 575 cm−1 that are associated with antimony doping. The intensity of doping-related bands decreases with increasing annealing temperature, which indicates the improvement of crystalline quality of the structure. The spectra also reveal the presence of compressive in-plane strain that decreases in value with increasing annealing temperature and is due to thermal residual stress, resulting from differences in thermal expansion coefficients of ZnO and Al2O3

Effects of nanosized zinc oxide and γ-polyglutamic acid on eggshell quality and serum parameters of aged laying hens

ABSTRACTIn order to increase zinc (Zn) absorption and improve eggshell quality, diets for aged laying hens were supplemented with different Zn sources and the effects on egg production, eggshell quality and serum parameters were recorded. Seventy-five 64-week old brown layers were individually caged and randomly allotted to five treatment groups: an un-supplemented Control and four groups, where the following Zn sources were added to the diets, ZnO (group ZnO), Zn-methionine (group Zn-Met), nanosized ZnO (group nanoZnO) and γ-PGA-nano ZnO (group γ-PGA-nanoZnO). The Zn level was maintained at 80 mg/kg in the supplemented diet, while the Control group received Zn at 40 mg/kg diet. The results indicated that the average daily feed intake was highest in group nanoZnO (p < 0.05), whereas further performance parameters were not influenced by treatments. Eggshell thickness was increased in group γ-PGA-nanoZnO (p < 0.05). Zn content in eggshells and Zn concentration in serum were increased in groups Zn-Met, nanoZnO and γ-PGA-nanoZnO (p < 0.05). Serum ghrelin concentration was significantly elevated in all Zn-supplemented groups, but further increased in groups nanoZnO and γ-PGA-nanoZnO (p < 0.05). Carbonic anhydrase activity was highest in group γ-PGA-nanoZnO and lowest in group Zn-Met (p < 0.05). Compared to the Control and group ZnO, supplementation of γ-PGA-nanoZnO and nanoZnO increased serum IgG levels (p < 0.001). In conclusion, dietary supplementation of nanoZnO and γ-PGA-nanoZnO increased Zn content in eggshells, serum Zn concentration, ghrelin and IgG levels of aged layers when compared to regular ZnO. Compared to Zn-Met, the serum carbonic anhydrase activity and ghrelin levels were also increased. Thus, nanosized ZnO alone or mixed with γ-PGA has positive effects on the Zn status of aged layers.

Self-organized ZnO nanorods prepared by anodization of zinc in NaOH electrolyte

Regular ZnO nanorods were obtained by anodization using NaOH aqueous electrolytes which is affected by voltage, anodization time and electrolyte concentration.

Synthesis of Cu Doped ZnO Nanoparticles: Crystallographic, Optical, FTIR, Morphological and Photocatalytic Study

Nanoparticles of Zn1-xCuxO system with nominal compositions x = 0.0, 0.01, 0.02 and 0.03 were prepared by co-precipitation method at room temperature. Structural, morphological, optical and chemical species of grown crystals were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), UV-visible and FTIR spectroscopy, respectively. XRD analysis confirms that all samples have hexagonal structure with no impurity phases which suggest that Cu ion successfully incorporated into the regular ZnO crystal structure. The lattice parameters, volume of unit cell, X-ray density, atomic packing fraction, c/a ratio, and grain size were calculated from XRD pattern of pure and Cu doped ZnO samples and it was found that the grain size was in the range of 23 nm to 29 nm. The strain in pure and Cu doped ZnO samples was calculated by W-H analysis. Optical properties of Zn1-xCuxO samples were studied by using UV-vis spectrophotometer. Optical absorption spectra show that the band gap decreases with increasing Cu contents. The functional group and chemical interactions of Zn1-xCuxO samples were also determined at various peaks using FTIR data and observed that the functional groups corresponding to the Zn-O bands in the samples. The photocatalytic activities of the samples were investigated by oxidation of methylene blue under UV light illumination in batch reactor. The scavenger study was carried out to find out main reactive species responsible for the degradation of dyes.

Solution-processed annealing-free ZnO nanoparticles for stable inverted organic solar cells

We report the development and application of high-quality zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) processed in air for stable inverted bulk heterojunction solar cells as an electron extraction layer (EEL). The ZnO NPs (average size ∼11nm) were dispersed in chloroform and stabilized by propylamine (PA). We demonstrated that the ZnO NP dispersion with 4vol.% of PA as stabilizer can be used in air directly and remains clear up to one month after preparation. Our inverted solar cells consisted of a blade-coated poly(N-9′-heptadecanyl-2,7-carbazole-alt-5,5-(4′,7′-di-2-thienyl-2′,1′,3′-benzothiadiazole (PCDTBT) and [6,6]-phenyl C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) (1: 4 by weight) active layer sandwiched between a ZnO electron extraction layer and a MoO3/Ag anode. All solar cells with ZnO films fabricated in air using PA-stabilized ZnO dispersions prepared within a time window of one month exhibited power conversion efficiencies (PCE) above 4%. In contrast, if the ZnO film was prepared in air using regular un-stabilized ZnO NP dispersion, the PCE would drop to 0.2% due to poor film quality. More interestingly, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance measurements indicated that the PA ligands were not covalently bonded to ZnO NPs and did not exist in the deposited ZnO films. The spin-cast ZnO thin films (without any thermal treatment) are insoluble in organic solvents and can be directly used as an EEL in solar cells. This feature is beneficial for fabricating organic solar cells on flexible polymer substrates. More importantly, our non-encapsulated inverted solar cells are highly stable with their PCEs remaining unchanged after being stored in air for 50days.

Highly regular and ultra-thin porous ZnO nanosheets: An indirect electrodeposition method using acetate-containing precursor and their application in quantum dots-sensitized solar cells

Ultra-thin porous ZnO nanosheets with high regularity were obtained by electrodeposition followed by annealing. The nanosheets were first electrodeposited by controlling the concentration of potassium acetate (KAc) in nitrate electrolyte. The effects of KAc concentration on the electrochemical behavior, the composition and morphology of samples were further discussed. It was indicated that the as-deposited nanosheets were a mixture of ZnO and zinc acetate hydroxide hydrate (ZAHH). After annealing at 450°C for 30min, ZnO/ZAHH nanosheets with smooth surfaces were converted to pure ZnO nanosheets with porous structure, which were oblong in shape, ultra-thin (about 20nm in thickness) and constructed with well-distributed single-layer ZnO nanoparticles with the size of 30–60nm. As preliminary application in quantum dots-sensitized solar cells (QDSCs), porous ZnO nanosheets were co-sensitized with CdS and CdSe QDs and the QDSCs based on porous ZnO nanosheets deposited for 15min achieved a high efficiency of 2.67%.

Zinc oxide at low supplementation level improves productive performance and health status of piglets

Use of ZnO at high doses (3000 ppm) for diarrhea prophylaxis in piglets is widely extended in postweaning Spanish diets, in compliance with the national veterinary regulation. However, European feed legislation limits total dietary Zn to a maximum of 150 mg/kg of complete feed. The objective of this study was to compare a new potentiated form of ZnO, HiZox (Animine), at nutritional level (150 ppm) with pharmacological dosage (3000 ppm) of regular ZnO in starter diets on the productive performance and health status of piglets in a medium-low health status farm. A total of 144 pigs at weaning (28 d of age) were distributed in 6 piglets/pen and 12 pens/treatment. In the prestarter phase (28 to 42 d of age), all pigs received the same commercial feed, including 3000 ppm ZnO. In the starter phase (42 to 63 d of age) (T1) included 3000 ppm of regular ZnO (2500 ppm Zn), and (T2) was supplemented with 110 ppm Zn from potentiated ZnO (HiZox). Average daily feed intake, ADG, G:F, and pig-MAP serum concentration, an acute phase protein commonly used as unspecific biomarker of disease or other acute phase reactions, were measured at 42 and 63 d of life. Pen of 6 piglets was the experimental unit and data were analyzed using the GLM procedure of SAS version 9.0. Piglets fed with T2-HiZox had improved ADG and G:F (P < 0.001) compared to piglets fed with T1-ZnO. In addition, at 63 d of age, the T2 group had a lower pig-MAP serum concentration than T1 group (1.71 vs. 0.95 μg/mL; P < 0.05) indicating higher health status in the T2 group. In conclusion, in low-medium sanitary conditions and in compliance with European regulation, HiZox significantly increased piglet growth compared to pharmacological dosage of regular ZnO in the starter phase. This can be explained by a better health of pigs expressed by a lower level of inflammatory protein pig-MAP.