Experimental results are presented from an experiment in which ionization created by a highenergy x-ray synchrotron radiation beam intersecting an ethylene diffusion flame is measured.The ionization signal is believed to arise from x-ray absorption by aggregated soot particles.Comparisons are made between these ionization profiles and those due to natural flameionization. Visibl...

The ultrafast dynamics of six homoleptic Cu(I)-complexes and their respective ligands was examined through time-resolved electronic absorption spectroscopy in the subpicosecond time domain, in a variety of solvents, and at different excitation wavelengths. Results indicate that after excitation of the complexes in the blue part of the spectrum, the initially formed intraligand (IL) singlet exci...

Photoactive in one step! A nanocomposite water-oxidation photocatalyst was assembled by a straightforward and one-step spin-coating procedure of a Ti- and Ni-containing molecule on nanostructured WO3. The photoanode oxidizes water to O2 with good activity and stability in alkaline solution, and thereby features light absorption, charge separation and water-oxidation catalysis (see scheme).

Subwavelength structural color filtering and printing technologies employing plasmonic nanostructures have recently been recognized as an important and beneficial complement to the traditional colorant-based pigmentation. However, the color saturation, brightness and incident angle tolerance of structural color printing need to be improved to meet the application requirement. Here we demonstrat...

The nanostructured ZnO/copper oxide (Cu2O) photovoltaic devices based on electrospun ZnO nanofibrous network and electrodeposited Cu2O layer have been fabricated. The effects of the pH value of electrodeposition solution and the Cu2O layer thickness on the photovoltaic performances have been investigated. It is revealed that the pH value influences the morphology and structure of the Cu2O layer...

Theoretical limiting efficiencies have a critical role in determining technological viability and expectations for device prototypes, as evidenced by the photovoltaics community's focus on detailed balance. However, due to their multicomponent nature, photoelectrochemical devices do not have an equivalent analogue to detailed balance, and reported theoretical efficiency limits vary depending on...

The light absorption coefficient of hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon has been engineered to have a Gaussian distribution by means of absorption modification using a femtosecond laser. The absorption-modified sample exhibits a significant absorption enhancement of up to ∼700%, and the strong absorption does not depend on the incident light. We propose a model responsible for this interesting...

A composite nanostructure for high-efficiency solar cells that axially connects nanowire core-shell p-n junctions is proposed. By axially connecting the p-n junctions in one nanowire, the solar spectrum is separated and absorbed in the top and bottom cells with respect to the wavelength. The unique structure of nanowire p-n junctions enables substantial light absorption along the nanowire and e...

Nanostructured materials, designed for enhanced light absorption, are receiving increased scientific and technological interest. In this paper we propose a physical criterion for designing the cross-sectional shape of plasmonic nanowires for improved absorption of a given tightly focused illumination. The idea is to design a shape which increases the matching between the nanowire plasmon resona...

A polarized Raman study of nanographite ribbons on a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite substrate is reported. The Raman peak of the nanographite ribbons exhibits an intensity dependence on the light polarization direction relative to the nanographite ribbon axis. This result is due to the quantum confinement of the electrons in the 1D band structure of the nanographite ribbons, combined with t...