Fabrication of 2D/2D BiOBr/g-CN with efficient photocatalytic activity and clarification of its mechanism.

Precise regulation of photoexcited charge carriers for separation and transportation is a core requirement for practical application in the photocatalysis field. Herein, a 2D/2D BiOBr/g-CN heterojunction is prepared by a self-assembly method and exhibits enhanced and stable activity for photocatalytic degradation of bisphenol A (BPA) and norfloxacin (NFA) under visible light. Compared to pure g-CN, the kinetic constants of BPA and NFA degradation over BiOBr/g-CN are enhanced by about 14.

Molecular orientation and stability of poly(3-hexylthiophene) nanogratings affected by the fabricated solvent vapor.

During the nanoimprinting lithography (NIL) process, the role of solvent vapor in fabricating the pattern structure and inducing the molecular alignment of nanoimprinted polymer film has been attracting significant attention. We demonstrate here that the molecular orientation and thermal stability of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) nanograting film can be affected obviously by the fabricated solvent vapor. A solvent-vapor nanoimprinting lithography (SV-NIL) technique based on a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) template is employed to fabricate a P3HT nanograting structure film successfully and solvent vapor is offered by chlorobenzene, chloroform and carbon disulphide, respectively.

The Fabrication of Nanoimprinted P3HT Nanograting by Patterned ETFE Mold at Room Temperature and Its Application for Solar Cell.

Nanoimprinting lithography (NIL) is investigated as a promising method to define nanostructure; however, finding a practical method to achieve large area patterning of conjugated polymer remains a challenge. We demonstrate here that a simple and cost-effective technique is proposed to fabricate the nanoimprinted P3HT nanograting by solvent-assisted room temperature NIL (SART-NIL) method with patterned ETFE film as mold. The patterned ETFE template is produced by embossing ETFE film into a patterned silicon master and is used as template to transfer nanogratings during the SART-NIL process.

The Fabrication of Ordered Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cell by Nanoimprinting Lithography Method Using Patterned Silk Fibroin Mold at Room Temperature.

The performance of organic solar cell is greatly determined by the nanoscale heterojunction morphology, and finding a practical method to achieve advantageous nanostructure remains a challenge. We demonstrate here that ordered bulk heterojunction (OBHJ) solar cell can be fabricated assisted by a simple, cost-effective nanoimprinting lithography method using patterned silk fibroin film mold at room temperature. The P3HT nanogratings were achieved by nanoimprinting lithography (NIL) process, and phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) was spin-coated on the top of P3HT nanogratings.

Quantitative analysis of the size effect of room temperature nanoimprinted P3HT nanopillar arrays on the photovoltaic performance.

We develop a solvent-assisted room temperature nanoimprint lithography (SART-NIL) technique to fabricate an ideal active layer consisting of poly(3-hexylthiophene) nanopillar arrays surrounded by [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester. Characterization by scanning electron microscopy, two-dimensional grazing incidence wide angle X-rays diffraction, and conducting atomic force microscopy reveals that the SART-NIL technique can precisely control the size of P3HT nanopillar arrays. With the decrease in diameters of P3HT nanopillar arrays, the P3HT nanopillar arrays exhibit a more preferable face-on molecular orientation, enhanced UV-vis absorption and higher conducting ability along the direction perpendicular to the substrate.

Confinement Induced Preferential Orientation of Crystals and Enhancement of Properties in Ferroelectric Polymer Nanowires.

The physical properties of polymers strongly depend on the molecular or supermolecular order and orientation. Here we demonstrate the preferential orientation of lamellar crystals and the enhancement of ferro/piezoelectric properties in individual poly(vinylidene fluoride--trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) nanowires fabricated from anodic alumina oxide (AAO) templates. The crystallographic axis of P(VDF-TrFE) was found to be aligned along the long axis of nanowires due to geometrical confinement and grapho-expitaxial crystals growth.