Green Anisole as Antisolvent in Planar Triple-Cation Perovskite Solar Cells with Varying Cesium Concentrations.

The feasibility of replacing toxic chlorobenzene antisolvents with environmentally friendly anisole in the fabrication of planar triple-cation perovskite solar cells was explored here. The successful integration of anisole not only ensures comparable device performance but also contributes to the development of more sustainable and green fabrication processes for next-generation photovoltaic technologies. Nevertheless, to ensure the possibility of achieving well-functioning unencapsulated devices whose working operation depends on outdoor atmospheric conditions, we found that adjusting the cesium concentrations in the perovskite layers enabled the electrical characterization of efficient devices even under high relative humidity conditions (more than 40%).

Optimization Strategies for Responsivity Control of Microgel Assisted Lab-On-Fiber Optrodes.

Integrating multi-responsive polymers such as microgels onto optical fiber tips, in a controlled fashion, enables unprecedented functionalities to Lab-on-fiber optrodes. The creation of a uniform microgel monolayer with a specific coverage factor is crucial for enhancing the probes responsivity to a pre-defined target parameter. Here we report a reliable fabrication strategy, based on the dip coating technique, for the controlled realization of microgel monolayer onto unconventional substrates, such as the optical fiber tip.

Comparative toxicity of nano ZnO and bulk ZnO towards marine algae Tetraselmis suecica and Phaeodactylum tricornutum.

The wide use of ZnO nanoparticles in a number of products implies an increasing release into the marine environment, resulting in the need to evaluate the potential effects upon organisms, and particularly phytoplankton, being at the base of the throphic chain. To this aim, dose-response curves for the green alga Tetraselmis suecica and the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum derived from the exposure to nano ZnO (100 nm) were evaluated and compared with those obtained for bulk ZnO (200 nm) and ionic zinc. The toxic effects to both algae species were reported as no observable effect concentration (NOEC) of growth inhibition and as 1, 10, and 50% effect concentrations (EC1, EC10, and EC50).

AC electric field for rapid assembly of nanostructured polyaniline onto microsized gap for sensor devices.

Interconnected network of nanostructured polyaniline (PANI) is giving strong potential for enhancing device performances than bulk PANI counterparts. For nanostructured device processing, the main challenge is to get prototypes on large area by requiring precision, low cost and high rate assembly. Among processes meeting these requests, the alternate current electric fields are often used for nanostructure assembling.

Confinement-sensitive optical response of cholesteric liquid crystals in electrospun fibers.

Soft self-assembling photonic materials such as cholesteric liquid crystals are attractive due to their multiple unique and useful properties, in particular, an optical band gap that can be continuously and dynamically tuned in response to weak external influences, easy device integration, compatibility with flexible architectures, and, as shown here, potential for submicrometer optical applications. We study such a system formed by a short-pitch cholesteric confined in the core of polymer fibers produced by coaxial electrospinning, showing that the selective reflection arising from the helical photonic structure of the liquid crystal is present even when its confining cavity is well below a micrometer in thickness, allowing as little as just half a turn of the helix to develop. At this scale, small height variations result in a dramatic change in the reflected color, in striking difference to the bulk behavior.

The effect of solvent on the morphology of ZnO nanostructure assembly by dielectrophoresis and its device applications.

Different zinc oxide nanostructured morphologies were grown on photolithographically patterned silicon/silicon dioxide substrates by dielectrophoresis technique using different solvents, such as water and ethanol, obtaining rod-like and net-like nanostructures, respectively. The formation of continuous nanostructures was confirmed by scanning electron microscopic, atomic force microscopic images, and electrical characterizations. The rod-like zinc oxide nanostructures were observed in the 10 μm gap between the fingers in the pattern, whereas net-like nanostructures were formed independently of microgap.

Single palladium nanowire growth in place assisted by dielectrophoresis and focused ion beam.

Here we report, for the first time, on the combined use of Focused Ion Beam and Dielectrophoresis techniques for the fabrication of a nanodevice whose operating mechanism relies on a single palladium nanowire. Focused Ion Beam is used to deposit, without photolithographic masks, platinum microelectrodes on a silicon/silicon nitride substrate. Dielectrophoresis is employed for assembling the palladium nanowire, starting from a saturated palladium particles solution, and precisely positioning it between the nanocontacts.

Towards a label-free optical porous silicon DNA sensor.

We report on the fabrication of an optical silicon-based label-free DNA sensor. n-Type crystalline silicon wafers have been electrochemically etched to form porous silicon layers and characterized in terms of porosity, pore distribution, surface composition and photoluminescence. Samples (0.