Flexographic printed microwave-assisted grown zinc oxide nanostructures for sensing applications.

The development of flexible electronics has increased the demand for wearable pressure sensors that can be used to monitor various biomedical signals. In this context, pressure sensors based on zinc oxide (ZnO) have great potential since, besides the biocompatibility and biodegradability of this metal oxide, it also has piezoelectric properties. The common feature of these sensors is the alignment of the ZnO nanostructures in the strain direction.

Parylene C as a Multipurpose Material for Electronics and Microfluidics.

Poly(p-xylylene) derivatives, widely known as Parylenes, have been considerably adopted by the scientific community for several applications, ranging from simple passive coatings to active device components. Here, we explore the thermal, structural, and electrical properties of Parylene C, and further present a variety of electronic devices featuring this polymer: transistors, capacitors, and digital microfluidic (DMF) devices. We evaluate transistors produced with Parylene C as a dielectric, substrate, and encapsulation layer, either semitransparent or fully transparent.

Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of ZnSnO Nanostructures for Photodegradation of Rhodamine B under UV and Sunlight.

The contamination of water resources by pollutants resulting from human activities represents a major concern nowadays. One promising alternative to solve this problem is the photocatalytic process, which has demonstrated very promising and efficient results. Oxide nanostructures are interesting alternatives for these applications since they present wide band gaps and high surface areas.

High UV and Sunlight Photocatalytic Performance of Porous ZnO Nanostructures Synthesized by a Facile and Fast Microwave Hydrothermal Method.

The degradation of organic pollutants in wastewaters assisted by oxide semiconductor nanostructures has been the focus of many research groups over the last decades, along with the synthesis of these nanomaterials by simple, eco-friendly, fast, and cost-effective processes. In this work, porous zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures were successfully synthesized via a microwave hydrothermal process. A layered zinc hydroxide carbonate (LZHC) precursor was obtained after 15 min of synthesis and submitted to different calcination temperatures to convert it into porous ZnO nanostructures.

Piezoelectricity Enhancement of Nanogenerators Based on PDMS and ZnSnO Nanowires through Microstructuration.

The current trend for smart, self-sustainable, and multifunctional technology demands for the development of energy harvesters based on widely available and environmentally friendly materials. In this context, ZnSnO nanostructures show promising potential because of their high polarization, which can be explored in piezoelectric devices. Nevertheless, a pure phase of ZnSnO is hard to achieve because of its metastability, and obtaining it in the form of nanowires is even more challenging.

Growth Mechanism of Seed-Layer Free ZnSnO Nanowires: Effect of Physical Parameters.

ZnSnO semiconductor nanostructures have several applications as photocatalysis, gas sensors, and energy harvesting. However, due to its multicomponent nature, the synthesis is far more complex than its binary counter parts. The complexity increases even more when aiming for low-cost and low-temperature processes as in hydrothermal methods.

Seed-Layer Free Zinc Tin Oxide Tailored Nanostructures for Nanoelectronic Applications: Effect of Chemical Parameters.

Semiconductor nanowires are mostly processed by complex, expensive, and high temperature methods. In this work, with the intent of developing zinc tin oxide nanowires (ZTO NWs) by low-cost and low-complexity processes, we show a detailed study on the influence of chemical parameters in the hydrothermal synthesis of ZTO nanostructures at temperatures of only 200 °C. Two different zinc precursors, the ratio between zinc and tin precursors, and the concentration of the surfactant agent and of the mineralizer were studied.

Bias Stress and Temperature Impact on InGaZnO TFTs and Circuits.

This paper focuses on the analysis of InGaZnO thin-film transistors (TFTs) and circuits under the influence of different temperatures and bias stress, shedding light into their robustness when used in real-world applications. For temperature-dependent measurements, a temperature range of 15 to 85 °C was considered. In case of bias stress, both gate and drain bias were applied for 60 min.