Copper is uniquely active for the electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) to products beyond carbon monoxide, such as methane (CH4) and ethylene (C2H4). Therefore, understanding selectivity trends for CO2 electrocatalysis on copper surfaces is critical for developing more efficient catalysts for CO2 conversion to higher order products. Herein, we investigate the electrocatalytic acti...

We synthesized α-Fe₂O₃ (hematite) thin films with two different nanoscopic morphologies through self-assembly between a Fe-precursor and a Pluronic tri-block copolymer (F127) followed by aging and calcination. Relative humidity (RH) during the aging step of the spin-coated films was found to be critical in determining the morphologies. A network structure of nanowires ∼6 nm in diameter formed w...

In the past decades, many methods have been developed to synthesize zero- dimensional  nanoparticles, quasi–one–dimensional (1D) CuO nanostructures, such as metal organic deposition technique,  microwave irradiation, sol-gel-like dip  technique, reverse micelle-assisted route, chemical method, and simple template free solution route. Among those synthesis methods, hydrothermal and chemical reac...

We report the syntheses of vertically aligned, beaded zinc germinate (Zn2GeO4)/zinc oxide (ZnO) hybrid nanowire arrays via a catalyst-free approach. Vertically aligned ZnO nanowire is used as a lattice matching reactive template for the growth of Zn2GeO4/ZnO nanowire. The morphology and structure of the as-prepared samples were characterized using X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron (...

A spatial potential trap is formed in a 6.0-μm Al(Ga)N nanowire by varying the Al composition along its length during epitaxial growth. The polariton emission characteristics of a dielectric microcavity with the single nanowire embedded in-plane have been studied at room temperature. Excitation is provided at the Al(Ga)N end of the nanowire, and polariton emission is observed from the lowest ba...

The efficacy of laser annealing for the thermal annealing of nanocrystalline gold nanowires is evaluated. Continuous laser illumination at 532 nm, focused to a 0.5 μm diameter spot, was rastered perpendicular to the axis of nanocrystalline gold nanowire at ∼2 kHz. This rastered beam was then scanned down the nanowire at velocities from 7 to 112 nm/s. The influence on the electrical resistance o...

Accurately measuring and controlling the electrical properties of semiconductor nanowires is of paramount importance in the development of novel nanowire-based devices. In light of this, terahertz(THz) conductivity spectroscopy has emerged as an ideal non-contact technique for probing nanowire electrical conductivity and is showing tremendous value in the targeted development of nanowire devic...

Vertical III-V nanowires are capable of resonant absorption at specificwavelengths by tuning the nanowire diameter, thereby exceeding the absorption of equivalent thinfilms. These propertiesmay be exploited to fabricatemultispectral infrared (IR) photodetectors, directly integratedwith Si, without the need for spectral filters or vertical stacking of heterostructures as required in thinfilm dev...

Lithographically patterned nanowire electrodeposition (LPNE) is a new method for fabricating polycrystalline metal nanowires using electrodeposition. In LPNE, a sacrificial metal (M(1)=silver or nickel) layer, 5-100 nm in thickness, is first vapor deposited onto a glass, oxidized silicon, or Kapton polymer film. A (+) photoresist (PR) layer is then deposited, photopatterned, and the exposed Ag ...

Using the ultrafast pump-probe transient absorption spectroscopy, the femtosecond-resolved plasmon-exciton interaction of graphene-Ag nanowire hybrids is experimentally investigated, in the VIS-NIR region. The plasmonic lifetime of Ag nanowire is about 150 ± 7 femtosecond (fs). For a single layer of graphene, the fast dynamic process at 275 ± 77 fs is due to the excitation of graphene excitons,...