Well-dispersed fish gelatin-based nanocomposites were prepared by adding ZnO nanorods (NRs) as fillers to aqueous gelatin. The effects of ZnO NR fillers on the mechanical, optical, and electrical properties of fish gelatin bio-nanocomposite films were investigated. Results showed an increase in Young's modulus and tensile strength of 42% and 25% for nanocomposites incorporated with 5% ZnO NRs, respectively, compared with unfilled gelatin-based films. UV transmission decreased to zero with the addition of a small amount of ZnO NRs in the biopolymer matrix. X-ray diffraction showed an increase in the intensity of the crystal facets of (10ī1) and (0002) with the addition of ZnO NRs in the biocomposite matrix. The surface topography of the fish gelatin films indicated an increase in surface roughness with increasing ZnO NR concentrations. The conductivity of the films also significantly increased with the addition of ZnO NRs. These results indicated that bio-nanocomposites based on ZnO NRs had great potentials for applications in packaging technology, food preservation, and UV-shielding systems.

Vertically high-density ZnO nanorods were successfully synthesized on a porous silicon (PS) substrate by chemical bath deposition method. The structural and optical investigations revealed that the ZnO nanorods grown on the PS substrate had high structural and optical quality. The photoelectric properties of the fabricated photodetector were investigated with 325 nm UV light illumination under 1 V bias voltage. Based on the current–voltage curve, the responsivity of the ZnO nanorod photodetector was 1.738 A W−1 at 1 V bias voltage. Under a bias voltage of 1 V, the sensitivity of the ZnO nanorod device was 20. The response and recovery time of the ZnO nanorod photodetector under these conditions were 0.032 and 0.041 s, respectively.

A novel vacuum lateral silicon diode was fabricated using atomic force microscopy (AFM) lithography to characterise field emission. The silicon diode was approximately 100 nm thick, with an exceptionally smooth surface, and included a finger-like emitter with a gap width of 35 nm. From the Fowler-Nordheim, equation, the field enhancement factor (β) and the field emitting area (A) were assessed to ascertain the high emission current and the low turn-on voltage. The very small emitting area was obtained due to the extremely sharp cathode and very small radius of the anode tip curvature. The turn-on voltage of the diode was 8 V, the smallest value ever reported for lateral silicon field emission diodes.