The quantum confinement effect and photoenhancement of photoluminescence (PL) of lead sulphide (PbS) quantum dots (QDs) and lead sulphide/manganese sulphide (PbS/MnS) core shell QDs capped with thiol ligands in aqueous solution were investigated. From PL results, the presence of MnS shells gives a strong confinement effect which translates to higher emission energy in PbS/MnS core shell QDs. Increasing MnS shell thickness from 0.3 to 1.5 monolayers (ML) causes a blueshift of PL peak energies as the charge carriers concentrated in the PbS core region. Enhancement of the PL intensity of colloidal PbS and PbS/MnS core shell QDs has been observed when the samples are illuminated above the band gap energy, under continuous irradiation for 40 min. Luminescence from PbS QDs and PbS/MnS core shell QDs can be strongly influenced by the interaction of water molecules and oxygen present in aqueous solution adsorbed on the QD surface. However, PbS/MnS core shell QDs with a shell thickness of 1.5 ML did not show a PL peak energy stability as it was redshifted after 25 min, probably due to wider size distribution of the QDs.

Electrical conductivity and optical properties of polypyrrole-chitosan (PPy-CHI) conducting polymer composites have been investigated to determine the optical transition characteristics and energy band gap of composite films. The two electrode method and I–V characteristic technique were used to measure the conductivity of the PPy-CHI thin films, and the optical band gap was obtained from their ultraviolet absorption edges. Depending upon experimental parameter, the optical band gap (E_g) was found within 1.30–2.32 eV as estimated from optical absorption data. The band gap of the composite films decreased as the CHI content increased. The room temperature electrical conductivity of PPy-CHI thin films was found in the range of 5.84 × 10⁻⁷–15.25 × 10⁻⁷ S·cm⁻¹ depending on the chitosan content. The thermogravimetry analysis (TGA) showed that the CHI can improve the thermal stability of PPy-CHI composite films.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods have attracted considerable attention in recent years owing to their piezoelectric properties and potential applications in energy harvesting, sensing, and nanogenerators. Piezoelectric energy harvesting-based nanogenerators have emerged as promising new devices capable of converting mechanical energy into electric energy via nanoscale characterizations such as piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM). This technique was used to study the piezoresponse generated when an electric field was applied to the nanorods using a PFM probe. However, this work focuses on intensive studies that have been reported on the synthesis of ZnO nanostructures with controlled morphologies and their subsequent influence on piezoelectric nanogenerators. It is important to note that the diatomic nature of zinc oxide as a potential solid semiconductor and its electromechanical influence are the two main phenomena that drive the mechanism of any piezoelectric device. The results of our findings confirm that the performance of piezoelectric devices can be significantly improved by controlling the morphology and initial growth conditions of ZnO nanorods, particularly in terms of the magnitude of the piezoelectric coefficient factor (d33). Moreover, from this review, a proposed facile synthesis of ZnO nanorods, suitably produced to improve coupling and switchable polarization in piezoelectric devices, has been reported.

An aqueous medium composed of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and cerium nitrates at calcination temperature was utilised in the production of cerium oxide (CeO2) semiconductor nanoparticles. A variety of analytical approaches was utilized to examine the structural, morphological and optical characteristics of the resulting nanoparticles. Differential thermal (DTA) and thermogravimetric (TGA) analyses, indicated that the best calcination temperatures for achieving CeO2 nanoparticle production were more than 485 °C. The results from Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) verified the formation of a crystalline structure after calcination procedures were performed to remove residual organic compounds. Additionally, results from X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the cubic fluorite structure of the CeO2 produced. Samples were also analysed by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDXA) which indicated the existence of O and Ce in the samples. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) was used in the characterisation of nanoparticle morphological features. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was employed to estimate typical nanoparticle and distribution within sample. This analysis indicated that mean particle sizes were inversely correlated with PVP concentration, with nanoparticle sizes ranging between 12 ± 7 nm at 0.03 g/mL PVP and 6 ± 2 nm at 0.05 g/mL PVP. These results corroborated those obtained by XRD analysis. A UVâvis spectrophotometer was utilised in the demonstration of optical properties and to examine the band gap energy of samples. The potential UV-shielding properties of the nanoparticles were demonstrated by the observed blue shift of the estimated optical energy band, i.e. from 3.35 to 3.43 eV, whilst PL spectra results indicated that decreasing particle size was associated with diminishing photoluminescence intensity. Keywords: Cerium oxide nanoparticles, Heat treatment technique, Structural properties, Optical propertie

A rapid, sustainable, and ecologically sound approach is urgently needed for the production of semiconductor nanomaterials. CuSe nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized via a microwave-assisted technique using CuCl₂·2H₂O and Na₂SeO₃ as the starting materials. The role of the irradiation time was considered as the primary concern to regulate the size and possibly the shape of the synthesized nanoparticles. A range of characterization techniques was used to elucidate the structural and optical properties of the fabricated nanoparticles, which included X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), atomic force microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy (Raman), UV–Visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). The mean crystallite size of the CuSe hexagonal (Klockmannite) crystal structure increased from 21.35 to 99.85 nm with the increase in irradiation time. At the same time, the microstrain and dislocation density decreased from 7.90 × 10^–4 to 1.560 × 10^–4 and 4.68 × 10^–2 to 1.00 × 10^–2 nm^–2, respectively. Three Raman vibrational bands attributed to CuSe NPs have been identified in the Raman spectrum. Irradiation time was also seen to play a critical role in the NP optical band gap during the synthesis. The decrease in the optical band gap from 1.85 to 1.60 eV is attributed to the increase in the crystallite size when the irradiation time was increased. At 400 nm excitation wavelength, a strong orange emission centered at 610 nm was observed from the PL measurement. The PL intensity is found to increase with an increase in irradiation time, which is attributed to the improvement in crystallinity at higher irradiation time. Therefore, the results obtained in this study could be of great benefit in the field of photonics, solar cells, and optoelectronic applications.