Exchange of Thiol Ligands on CuInS Quantum Dots in High Boiling Solvents.

As-prepared quantum dots are covered with long-chain ligands to prevent aggregation. When quantum dots are used in optoelectronic devices such as solar cells and QD-LED, ligand exchange is necessary to replace long-chain ligands with short-chain ones to increase the efficiency of charge transfer from the quantum dots to the electrode. In this study, we successfully exchanged 1-dodecanethiol (DDT) ligands on CuInS quantum dots with mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) ligands by using a two-phase system of high-boiling hydrophilic and hydrophobic solvents.

Preparation of Oriented ZnO Rod Arrays Using Hexagonal Plate-Like Particles as a Seed Layer.

ZnO rod film is a promising material for electrodes and sensors due to its large surface area and high electrical conductivity. One of the drawbacks of conventional ZnO rod film is the random orientation of rods. In this study, an oriented ZnO seed layer composed of hexagonal plate-like ZnO particles was prepared by dip-coating.

Visible-light photodecomposition of acetaldehyde by TiO2-coated gold nanocages: plasmon-mediated hot electron transport via defect states.

Skeletal gold nanocages (Au NCs) are synthesized and coated with TiO2 layers (TiO2-Au NCs). The TiO2-Au NCs exhibit enhanced photodecomposition activity toward acetaldehyde under visible light (>400 nm) illumination because hot electrons are generated over the Au NCs by local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and efficiently transported across the metal/semiconductor interface via the defect states of TiO2.