Role of Morphology on Zinc Oxide Nanostructures for Efficient Photoelectrochemical Activity and Hydrogen Production.

Energy generation today heavily relies on the field of photocatalysis, with many conventional energy generation strategies now superseded by the conversion of solar energy into chemical or thermal energy for a variety of energy-related applications. Global warming has pointed to the urgent necessity of moving away from non-renewable energy sources, with a resulting emphasis on creating the best photocatalysts for effective solar conversion by investigating a variety of material systems and material combinations. The present study explores the influence of morphological changes on the photoelectrochemical activity of zinc oxide nanostructures by exploiting electrodeposition and capping agents to control the growth rates of different ZnO facets and obtain well-defined nanostructures and orientations.

Sensitive Biosensor Based on Shape-Controlled ZnO Nanostructures Grown on Flexible Porous Substrate for Pesticide Detection.

Developing an inexpensive, sensitive, and point-of-use biosensor for pesticide detection is becoming an important area in sensing. Such sensors can be used in food packaging, agricultural fields, and environmental monitoring of pesticides. The present investigation has developed a zinc oxide (ZnO)-based biosensor on porous, flexible substrates such as carbon paper and carbon cloth to detect organophosphates such as paraoxon (OP).

Utilization of Inexpensive Carbon-Based Substrates as Platforms for Sensing.

Gold (Au) has been widely used as a material for Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) due to its plasmonic properties, stability and biocompatibility. Conventionally for SERS application, Au is deposited on a rigid substrate such as glass or silicon. The rigid substrates severely limit analyte collection efficiency as well as portability.

Size Controlled Copper (I) Oxide Nanoparticles Influence Sensitivity of Glucose Biosensor.

Copper (I) oxide (Cu₂O) is an appealing semiconducting oxide with potential applications in various fields ranging from photovoltaics to biosensing. The precise control of size and shape of Cu₂O nanostructures has been an area of intense research. Here, the electrodeposition of Cu₂O nanoparticles is presented with precise size variations by utilizing ethylenediamine (EDA) as a size controlling agent.