Molecular mechanism of monodisperse colloidal tin-doped indium oxide nanocrystals by a hot-injection approach

Investigation of the Optical Properties of Indium Tin Oxide Thin Films by Double Integration Sphere Combined with the Numerical IAD Method

Transparent conductive electrodes have become essential components of numerous optoelectronic devices. However, their optical properties are typically characterized by the direct transmittance achieved by making use of spectrophotometers, avoiding an in-depth knowledge of the processes involved in radiation attenuation. A different procedure based on the Double Integration Sphere combined with the numerical Inverse Adding-Doubling (IAD) method is employed in this work to provide a comprehensive description of the physical processes limiting the light transmittance in commercial indium tin oxide (ITO) deposited on flexible PET samples, highlighting the noticeable contribution of light scattering on the total extinction of radiation. Moreover, harnessing their flexibility, the samples were subjected to different mechanical stresses to assess their impact on the material's optical and electrical properties.

Near-Infrared-Light-Activatable Nanomaterial-Mediated Phototheranostic Nanomedicines: An Emerging Paradigm for Cancer Treatment

Cancer is one of the most deadly diseases threatening the lives of humans. Although many treatment methods have been developed to tackle cancer, each modality of cancer treatment has its own limitations and drawbacks. The development of minimally invasive treatment modalities for cancers remains a great challenge. Near-infrared (NIR) light-activated nanomaterial-mediated phototherapies, including photothermal and photodynamic therapies, provide an alternative means for spatially and temporally controlled minimally invasive treatments of cancers. Nanomaterials can serve as nanocargoes for the delivery of chemo-drugs, diagnostic contrast reagents, and organic photosensitizers, and can be used to directly generate heat or reactive oxygen species for the treatment of tumors without the need for organic photosensitizers with NIR-light irradiation. Here, current progress in NIR-light-activated nanomaterial-mediated photothermal therapy and photodynamic therapy is summarized. Furthermore, the effects of size, shape, and surface functionalities of nanomaterials on intracellular uptake, macrophage clearance, biodistribution, cytotoxicities, and biomedical efficacies are discussed. The use of various types of nanomaterials, such as gold nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, graphene, and many other inorganic nanostructures, in combination with diagnostic and therapeutic modalities for solid tumors, is briefly reviewed.

Electro-Optical Properties of Low-Temperature Growth Indium-tin-oxide Nanowires Using Polystyrene Spheres as Catalyst

Polystyrene sphere was chosen as a catalyst to fabricate indium-tin-oxide (ITO) nanowires (NWs) with a low-temperature (280-300 °C) electron-beam deposition process, bearing high purity. The ITO NWs with diameter of 20-50 nm and length of ~2 um were obtained. X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscope show high crystal quality. The transmittance is above 90 % at a wavelength 400 nm or more, superior to the ITO bulk film. Owing to the unique morphology gradient of the ITO NWs, the effective refractive index of ITO NWs film is naturally graded from the bottom to the top. The ITO NWs have been used on LED devices (λ = 450 nm), which improved the light output power by 31 % at the current of 150 mA comparing to the one without NWs and did not deteriorate the electrical properties. Such ITO NWs open opportunity in LED devices to further improve light extraction efficiency.

Synthesis of unstable colloidal inorganic nanocrystals through the introduction of a protecting ligand

We demonstrate a facile and general strategy based on ligand protection for the synthesis of unstable colloidal nanocrystals by using the synthesis of pure p-type NiO nanocrystals as an example. We find that the introduction of lithium stearate, which is stable in the reaction system and capable of binding to the surface of NiO oxide nanocrystals, can effectively suppress the reactivity of NiO nanocrystals and thus prevent their in situ reduction into Ni. The resulting p-type NiO nanocrystals, a highly demanded hole-transporting and electron-blocking material, are applied to the fabrication of organic solar cells and polymer light-emitting diodes, demonstrating their great potential as an interfacial layer for low-cost and large-area, solution-processed optoelectronic devices.

A quantitative study of chemical kinetics for the synthesis of doped oxide nanocrystals using FTIR

The synthesis of Mg-doped ZnO nanocrystals was employed as a model system to quantitatively study the chemical kinetics of the precursor conversion reactions at synthetic conditions and the correlations with the formation of doped nanocrystals. An accurate method using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was developed to explore the alcoholysis reactions of the cationic precursors. Our study showed that three independent factors, molar ratio of dopant precursor, reaction temperature and coordination ligands of cationic precursors influenced the relative reactivity of magnesium to zinc precursor, and in turn the formation of Mg-doped ZnO nanocrystals with defined shapes and properties. This understanding underpins the advancement of the syntheses of doped nanocrystals and should be useful for future rational design of new synthetic systems.

Robust infrared-shielding coating films prepared using perhydropolysilazane and hydrophobized indium tin oxide nanoparticles with tuned surface plasmon resonance

Robust infrared (IR)-shielding coating films were prepared by dispersing indium tin oxide (ITO) nanoparticles (NPs) in a silica matrix. Hydrophobized ITO NPs were synthesized via a liquid phase process. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorption of the ITO NPs could be tuned by varying the concentration of Sn doping from 3 to 30 mol %. The shortest SPR wavelength and strongest SPR absorption were obtained for the ITO NPs doped with 10% Sn because they possessed the highest electron carrier density. Coating films composed of a continuous silica matrix homogeneously dispersed with ITO NPs were obtained using perhydropolysilazane (PHPS) as a precursor. PHPS was completely converted to silica by exposure to the vapor from aqueous ammonia at 50 °C. The prepared coating films can efficiently shield IR radiation even though they are more than 80% transparent in the visible range. The coating film with the greatest IR-shielding ability completely blocked IR light at wavelengths longer than 1400 nm. The pencil hardness of this coating film was 9H at a load of 750 g, which is sufficiently robust for applications such as automotive glass.