This paper presents a device proposal based on a junction between an absorbing semiconductor nanorod structure and another window semiconductor layer for solar cell application. The possibility of band gap tuning by varying the diameter of the nanorods along the length, higher absorption coefficient at nanodimensions, the presence of a strong electrical field at the nanorod-window semiconductor...

The application of a dc voltage to an array of copper nanorods causes field evaporation of atoms from the tips, resulting in their progressive sharpening and a further increase in the local field. The process is self-limited by the build-up of space charge on the nanorod tips. From an analysis of the conductance noise recorded across the nanorod array, we show that the conduction mechanism bear...

We present the solid-supported synthesis of a linear rigid rod-like tetradeca(p-benzamide) nanorod as well as a pentadeca( p -benzamide) nanorod carrying an amide N-hexyl side chain at the center of the rod (on the 8(th) amino acid of the molecule). These nanorods were conjugated with solubilizing poly(ethylene glycol) chains and their solution aggregation was investigated. Both rod-coil block ...

Silicon nanorod based radial-junction solar cells are competitive alternatives to traditional planar silicon solar cells. In various silicon nanorods, nanocone is always considered to be better than nanowire in light-absorption. Nevertheless, we find that this notion isn't absolutely correct. Silicon nanocone is indeed significantly superior over nanowire in light-concentration due to its conti...

Optical antennas made of metallic nanostructures dramatically enhance single-molecule fluorescence to boost the detection sensitivity. Moreover, emission properties detected at the optical far field are dictated by the antenna. Here we study the emission from molecule-antenna hybrids by means of super-resolution localization and defocused imaging. Whereas gold nanorods make single-crystal viole...

We present the first nearly atomistic molecular dynamics study of nanorod-nanorod association in explicit solvent, showing that inter-rod forces can be dominated by microscopic factors absent in common continuum descriptions. Specifically, we find that alkane ligands on faceted CdS nanorods in n-hexane undergo a temperature-dependent order-disorder transition akin to that of self-assembled mono...

The hydrophilicity of vertically aligned metal nanorods with sharp nanotips were investigated experimentally. Ruthenium and platinum nanorod arrays were deposited on flat silicon substrates using oblique angle sputter deposition. We show that the effects of nanotips on nanorods should be considered in the "hemiwicking" model for hydrophilic metallic samples. With the influence of nanotips, we s...

Gold nanorods coated with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), a cationic micellar surfactant used in nanorod synthesis, were rapidly and irreversibly internalized by KB cells via a nonspecific uptake mechanism. Internalized nanorods near the cell surface were monitored by two-photon luminescence (TPL) microscopy and observed to migrate toward the nucleus with a quadratic rate of diffusion. T...

For the first time, nonstoichiometric WO2.72 was used as a counter electrode (CE) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Oxygen-vacancy-rich WO2.72 nanorod bundles with notable catalytic activity for triiodide and thiolate reduction were prepared in this study. The photovoltaic parameters of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) with WO2.72 nanorod bundles as CEs are superior compared with those o...

Hexagonal patterns of gold nanorods were made by assembling gold nanorod-coated poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) microgels. The required population of nanorods on the microgels was achieved by attaching nanoparticle seeds on the latter and growing them to nanorods. The various materials prepared were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Similar experiments with...