Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.719
Journals
Nanomaterials
Special Issues
Colloidal Semiconductor Nanostructures for Light-Harvesting and Beyond
share announcement

Special Issue "Colloidal Semiconductor Nanostructures for Light-Harvesting and Beyond"

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanophotonics Materials and Devices".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2023 | Viewed by 3665

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Maria​ Wächtler

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, Albert-Einstein-Straße 9, Jena, Germany
2. Institute of Physical Chemistry and Abbe Center of Photonics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Helmholtzweg 4, 07743 Jena, Germany
3. Fachbereich Chemie, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, Erwin-Schrödinger-Str. 52, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany
Interests: colloidal semiconductor nanostructures; light harvesting; water splitting; time-resolved spectroscopy; assembly of nanostructures; nonlinear optics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Colloidal semiconductor nanostructures are outstanding materials with optical and electronic properties which are tunable via size and dimensionality due to quantum confinement effects. Further, heterostructures combining domains of different semiconductor materials within one particle offer additional adjustability with respect to spatial confinement or delocalization and separation of charge carriers. These properties can be exploited to tailor structures for optimal harvesting of light in a large part of the visible spectrum and for support of efficient separation of charges, which is the fundament for the application of these materials for light harvesting. The scope of this Special Issue is to cover the recent progress and advances in the research on designing colloidal semiconductor nanostructures and their application for light harvesting, e.g., in assemblies for light-driven catalysis or in photovoltaic devices. Reports on synthesis, characterization, device integration, and application will be collected in this issue. Further, insight from spectroscopic investigations on charge-carrier dynamics and computational studies are highly welcome. Potential topics include but are not limited to:

  • Synthesis of colloidal nanostructures and functionalization with cocatalysts;
  • Generation of nanoparticle/polymer hybrid materials;
  • Self-assembly and deposition of layered structures;
  • Theoretical studies and modeling;
  • Spectroscopic characterization;
  • Electrochemical characterization;
  • Charge-carrier dynamics;
  • Multiple exciton generation;
  • Plasmonic effects;
  • Device integration.

It is my pleasure to invite you to submit communications, full papers or reviews to this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Maria​ Wächtler
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nanomaterials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Photocatalysis
  • Water splitting
  • Hydrogen evolution
  • Photovoltaics
  • Multiple exciton generation
  • Device integration
  • Hybrid materials
  • Plasmonic effects
  • Energy transfer
  • Charge transfer

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

get_app
Article
The Other Dimension—Tuning Hole Extraction via Nanorod Width
by
Tal Rosner
,
Nicholas G. Pavlopoulos
,
Hagit Shoyhet
,
Mathias Micheel
,
Maria Wächtler
,
Noam Adir
and
Lilac Amirav
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(19), 3343; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12193343 - 25 Sep 2022
Viewed by 1098
Abstract
Solar-to-hydrogen generation is a promising approach to generate clean and renewable fuel. Nanohybrid structures such as [email protected] nanorods were found favorable for this task (attaining 100% photon-to-hydrogen production efficiency); yet the rods cannot support overall water splitting. The key limitation seems to be [...] Read more.
Solar-to-hydrogen generation is a promising approach to generate clean and renewable fuel. Nanohybrid structures such as [email protected] nanorods were found favorable for this task (attaining 100% photon-to-hydrogen production efficiency); yet the rods cannot support overall water splitting. The key limitation seems to be the rate of hole extraction from the semiconductor, jeopardizing both activity and stability. It is suggested that hole extraction might be improved via tuning the rod’s dimensions, specifically the width of the CdS shell around the CdSe seed in which the holes reside. In this contribution, we successfully attain atomic-scale control over the width of [email protected] nanorods, which enables us to verify this hypothesis and explore the intricate influence of shell diameter over hole quenching and photocatalytic activity towards H2 production. A non-monotonic effect of the rod’s diameter is revealed, and the underlying mechanism for this observation is discussed, alongside implications towards the future design of nanoscale photocatalysts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Colloidal Semiconductor Nanostructures for Light-Harvesting and Beyond)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

get_app
Communication
Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production Activity by Constructing a Robust Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Material Based Fulvalene and TiO2
by
Mengyuan Wang
,
Shizhuo Su
,
Xin Zhong
,
Derui Kong
,
Bo Li
,
Yujie Song
,
Chunman Jia
and
Yifan Chen
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(11), 1918; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12111918 - 03 Jun 2022
Viewed by 1079
Abstract
A novel redox-active organic-inorganic hybrid material (denoted as H4TTFTB-TiO2) based on tetrathiafulvalene derivatives and titanium dioxide with a micro/mesoporous nanomaterial structure has been synthesized via a facile sol-gel method. In this study, tetrathiafulvalene-3,4,5,6-tetrakis(4-benzoic acid) (H4TTFTB) is an [...] Read more.
A novel redox-active organic-inorganic hybrid material (denoted as H4TTFTB-TiO2) based on tetrathiafulvalene derivatives and titanium dioxide with a micro/mesoporous nanomaterial structure has been synthesized via a facile sol-gel method. In this study, tetrathiafulvalene-3,4,5,6-tetrakis(4-benzoic acid) (H4TTFTB) is an ideal electron-rich organic material and has been introduced into TiO2 for promoting photocatalytic H2 production under visible light irradiation. Notably, the optimized composites demonstrate remarkably enhanced photocatalytic H2 evolution performance with a maximum H2 evolution rate of 1452 μmol g−1 h−1, which is much higher than the prototypical counterparts, the common dye-sensitized sample (denoted as H4TTFTB-5.0/TiO2) (390.8 μmol g−1 h−1) and pure TiO2 (18.87 μmol g−1 h−1). Moreover, the composites perform with excellent stability even after being used for seven time cycles. A series of characterizations of the morphological structure, the photoelectric physics performance and the photocatalytic activity of the hybrid reveal that the donor-acceptor structural H4TTFTB and TiO2 have been combined robustly by covalent titanium ester during the synthesis process, which improves the stability of the hybrid nanomaterials, extends visible-light adsorption range and stimulates the separation of photogenerated charges. This work provides new insight for regulating precisely the structure of the fulvalene-based composite at the molecule level and enhances our in-depth fundamental understanding of the photocatalytic mechanism. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Colloidal Semiconductor Nanostructures for Light-Harvesting and Beyond)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

get_app
Article
Optically Controlled TiO2-Embedded Supercapacitors: The Effects of Colloidal Size, Light Wavelength, and Intensity on the Cells’ Performance
by
Haim Grebel
and
Tazima Chowdhury
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(11), 1835; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12111835 - 27 May 2022
Viewed by 782
Abstract
Optically controlled supercapacitors (S-C) could be of interest to the sensor community, as well as set the stage for novel optoelectronic charging devices. Here, structures constructed of two parallel transparent current collectors (indium-tin-oxide, ITO films on glass substrates) were considered. Active-carbon (A-C) films [...] Read more.
Optically controlled supercapacitors (S-C) could be of interest to the sensor community, as well as set the stage for novel optoelectronic charging devices. Here, structures constructed of two parallel transparent current collectors (indium-tin-oxide, ITO films on glass substrates) were considered. Active-carbon (A-C) films were used as electrodes. Two sets of electrodes were used: as-is electrodes that were used as the reference and electrodes that were embedded with submicron- or micron-sized titanium oxide (TiO2) colloids. While immersed in a 1 M Na2SO4, the electrodes exhibited minimal thermal effects (<3 °C) throughout the course of experiments). The optically induced capacitance increase for TiO2-embedded S-C was large of the order of 30%, whereas S-C without the TiO2 colloids exhibited minimal optically related effects (<3%). Spectrally, the blue spectral band had a relatively larger impact on the light-induced effects. A lingering polarization effect that increased the cell capacitance in the dark after prolonged light exposure is noted; that effect occurred without an indication of a chemical reaction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Colloidal Semiconductor Nanostructures for Light-Harvesting and Beyond)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3

Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: Optically Controlled Supercapacitors: The Effect of Colloidal Semiconductor and Additives
Authors: T. Chowdhury; H. Grebel
Affiliation: The Center for Energy Efficiency, Resilience and Innovation (CEERI), The Electronic Imaging Center (EIC), The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Newark, NJ 07102
Abstract: Optically manipulated supercapacitors (S-C) may be of interest to the sensor community and could set the stage for optically controlled charging elements. The structures are constructed of two parallel, transparent and conductive electrodes (indium-tin-oxide, ITO). An active carbon (A-C) layer, which is embedded with semiconductor particles, such as TiO2 is then deposited on the ITO electrodes. As previously shown, the optically induced capacitance change is large [1,2] and is attributed to polarization and thermal effects. In order to further understand the role of the colloid size and its spectral response, a study is conducted on sub-micron and micron size TiO2 particles. Phase change material - 15 micron VO2 powder - is added to the A-C layer in an attempt to study the effect of increased conductivity under elevated temperatures. The results of 2- and 3-electrode experiments will be presented.

Back to TopTop