The low responsivity of conventional Silicon photodiodes in ultraviolet and near-infrared regimes restricts their utility as broadband photodetectors (BBPDs). Despite ongoing investigations into various p-n heterostructures for Silicon-based BBPDs, challenges such as high dark current (Idark), low collection efficiency, low detectivity, and compatibility issues with large-scale Silicon-based devices persist. In this context, we have fabricated relatively unexplored n-Er2O3/p-Si heterojunction-based BBPDs. Polycrystalline Er2O3 thin films (∼110 nm) were deposited on p-Si 〈100〉 substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. Although this process induces a microstrain of approximately 0.022 and a dislocation density of about 0.00303/nm2, the presence of optically active defects is minimal, indicated by a low Urbach energy (∼0.35 eV). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis confirms staggered band alignment at the heterointerface, facilitating efficient charge carrier separation and transport. Consequently, the In/p-Si/n-Er2O3/In device demonstrated significant BBPD properties– low Idark ∼0.15 μA (at +5 V), photo-to-dark current ratio (PDCR) ∼6.5 (at +5 V, 700 nm) with a maximum photoresponsivity ∼22.3 A W−1, and impressive detectivity (∼1013 Jones) even in UV-C region where traditional silicon-based photodetectors respond feebly. The device also demonstrates transient photo-response across an ultrawide spectrum (254 nm–1200 nm) with a fast rise time/fall time ∼79 ms/∼86 ms (at −5 V for 600 nm illumination). This work establishes a straightforward and reliable method for proper material engineering, surface texturing, staggered heterojunction formation, and high-performance BBPD fabrication with prominent broad-spectrum responsivity, sizeable detectivity, and fast response. The integration of these BBPDs with Silicon opens possibilities for their use in electronic devices containing optical switches for communications and broadband image sensors, enhancing their utility in various applications.

The present study deals with in vitro experiments for to develop synthesized copper oxide nanoparticles using Pleurotus cystidiosus. Mushroom-based nanoparticles, such as copper nanoparticles have become more significant because of potential biocatalytic properties, including antibacterial activity. The blue-to-brown color shift suggests CuONPs, as confirmed by absorbance maxima at 246 nm in ultraviolet spectroscopy. FTIR spectra reveal the existence of carboxyl, alcohol, and aldehyde carbon; the amine group represents the myco-synthesized copper nanoparticle. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) nanoparticles show spherical to oval nano aggregates of 80–110 nm in size. The EDX spectrum confirms the presence of Cu at 8.00 keV in myco-synthesized copper oxide nanoparticles. The antimicrobial efficacy of produced copper oxide nanoparticles on human pathogens showed a maximum zone of inhibition against coliform bacteria such as Enterococcus faecalis (32 ± 2), Enterobacter aerogenes (30 ± 1), E. coli (28 ± 1) and least zone of inhibition about 25 ± 1 mm recorded in Streptococcus mutans. The photocatalytic activity of Congo red dye, Malachite green dye, and Remazol blue dye by copper oxide nanoparticles from Pleurotus cystidiosus was investigated, and the results showed a maximum degradation efficiency of 99.2% in Congo red within 90 min. However, moderate degradation was noted in malachite green, and Remazol blue dye has a low degradation efficiency. Thus, myco-synthesized copper oxide nanoparticles from Pleurotus cystidiosus have potent antimicrobial and photocatalytic dye degradation efficacy.

Here, we synthesized a MoS2/Si heterojunction device using a scalable approach involving DC sputtering coupled with sulfurization. The observed current–voltage characteristics unequivocally indicate a rectifying behavior at MoS2/Si heterointerface. To quantitatively assess the carrier dynamics, a comprehensive analysis utilizing thermionic emission and Landauer transport formalism model was employed. The spatial variation in current across the MoS2/Si devices suggests a potential influence of MoS2’s in-plane series resistance. Furthermore, the electrical behavior of the device is found to be temperature-dependent, with higher temperatures resulting in enhanced conductivity attributed to an increase in thermally generated charge carriers. As temperature rises, the Landauer current model observes an increased ratio of density of states to carrier injection rate, along with other temperature-dependent terms. Meanwhile, the thermionic current model maintains a fixed effective value for its material-dependent term, the Richardson constant, irrespective of temperature changes. Therefore, a comparative analysis between thermionic emission and Landauer transport formalism reveals that the conventional thermionic emission model better aligns with experimentally observed leakage current in reverse bias, showcasing a minimal barrier height at the heterojunction. This comprehensive investigation provides valuable insights into the charge transfer mechanisms at the MoS2/Si interface, opening avenues for its potential innovative applications in electronic devices.

Perishable food post-harvest loss is a major global concern, and research is currently concentrated on creating active packaging materials. This research is focused in multiple antioxidants intercalated Layered Double Hydroxides (LDH) that are combined in one matrix, and their overall effect that defines as synergism, which successfully preserves perishable food by releasing antioxidants slowly. For this purpose, a hybrid LDH material of ascorbic-LDH (AA-LDH), salicylic-LDH (SA-LDH), and citric-LDH (CA-LDH) was synthesized, characterized and incorporate into electrospun nanofiber mat to be used as a potential active packaging material. Antioxidants intercalated Mg/Al LDH was synthesized and successfully characterized by PXRD, FTIR, XPS, Raman, SEM, and EDS. The shifts in the LDHs’ peaks in PXRD indicated the successful incorporation of antioxidants into LDH. FTIR, Raman, and XPS data clearly indicated the establishment of metal-oxygen bonds by observing the characteristic peaks. Morphological features and the layered structure were clearly observed by SEM images. Antioxidants were slowly released from the LDHs, and it was evaluated for time intervals up to 24 h. The hybrid LDH material exhibited the highest antioxidant activity with an IC50 value of 132.5 μg ml−1, where 234.1, 354.5, and 402.2 μg ml−1 were reported for ascorbic-LDH, salicylic-LDH, and citric-LDH respectively. The hybrid LDH material incorporated electrospun mats showed the best antibacterial activity against the tested bacteria and clearly evidenced the synergistic activity of the combination of the nanohybrids. It has showed a minimal bacterial growth compared to the other control samples (∼2.41 log CFU/ml). The shelf life of cherry tomatoes was studied at different physiochemical parameters with and without hybrid LDH material incorporated electrospun mats. The fabricated mat showed an extended shelf life of 42 days for cherry tomatoes, whereas the control sample showed a shelf life of 17 days. It is concluded that hybrid LDH material exhibited synergistic performance and the best antioxidant activity when comparing with mono LDH materials.

In disordered materials, the ordinary understanding is that charge carriers tend to occupy energetically favorable sites known as ion-conducting channels. Many studies have revealed that the inherent fractal properties of such pathways lead to a sub-diffusive behavior. The linearity or branching of these pathways is crucial for determining how the charge carriers move. It can be thought that as the space dimensionality decreases, the average distance between the highest energy barriers along the conduction paths increases. In this study the finite dimension of those pathways is computed using an extended version of the classical Hausdorff dimension. Also, the Arrhenius behavior of the most mobile lithium ions is proved, confirming that such are responsible for conductivity behavior. The lithium ions mobility behavior in response to temperature changes and the finite dimension allowed to identify the ion diffusion regions fractal features. The reported results demonstrate that as the temperature increases the conducting channels become broadener, facilitating the transfer of electrical charge through the glassy matrix, below the transition temperature. The pathways behavior confirms the increase of the ionic conductivity when the temperature increases as it is experimentally observed.

ZnO nanostructures have attracted considerable attention because of their physicochemical properties and applications as antibacterial agents, photocatalytic reactions for pollutant removal, and electronics. Hence, efficient production and knowledge of their properties under different synthesis conditions are essential. Biosynthesis has emerged as an excellent growth-directing method for synthesizing nanomaterials, representing a soft and cleaner alternative for their production. In this study, we synthesized different ZnO nanostructures using a soft chemistry method at different growth temperatures, from 200 to 800 °C every 200 °C. The crystalline structure was estudied by x-ray Diffraction (XRD) and High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM). The shape and size were studied by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), which revealed a ZnO hexagonal phase with two shapes: nanoparticles (NPs) with irregular shapes and nanorods of different sizes. The optical properties were studied by Raman and UV-visible spectroscopy, and optical absorption measurements showed bandgap tuning of the produced nanostructures. Finally, the magnetic characteristics of the samples demonstrated magnetic anisotropy due to the preference for crystalline formation and the size of the nanoparticles. The magnetic interaction between the two types of NPs increased the diamagnetism associated with the nanorods.

Abstract The synthesis and investigation of photoelectric studies of simple organic compounds as organic interlayers are of significant importance and widely studied. As such, we synthesized naphthalene diimide (NDI)-appended ruthenium complexes (Ru-NDIs) to function as the interface layer, and have fabricated novel Al/NDIs or Ru-NDIs/p-Si devices (D1-D4) to investigate their photoelectric properties. Subsequently, we compared and discussed the photoelectric properties of these devices after synthesis and fabrication. According to this, the band-gap energy (E g ) values of organic materials were found to range from 2.95 eV to 3.14 eV, making them ideal for solar cells applications. Additionally, the photoresponse (Pr) values of Al/NDIs or Ru-NDIs/p-Si devices (D1-D4) were found to be 59.25, 1593.08, 198.77, and 134.47, respectively. Moreover, the Al/Ru-NDIs/p-Si D2 structure exhibited the highest Pr values. Experimental results indicate that since the four optoelectronic devices arranged with the derivation of synthesized compounds have good photoresponse characteristics, they can be utilized as a photosensor or photodiodes in different electronic and optoelectronic technologies.

Emergent functionalities created by applying mechanical stress to flexible devices using SnO2 microrods and Ga2O3/SnO2-core/shell microribbons are reviewed. Dynamic lattice defect engineering through application of mechanical stress and a voltage to the SnO2 microrod device leads to a reversible semiconductor-insulator transition through lattice defect creation and healing, providing an effective and simple solution to the persistent photoconductivity (PPC) problem that has long plagued UV semiconductor photosensors. Here, lattice defects are created near slip planes in a rutile-structured microrod by applying mechanical stress and are healed by Joule heating by applying a voltage to the microrod. Nanoscale amorphous structuring makes the Ga2O3/SnO2-core/shell microribbon with a large SnO2 surface area more sensitive to changes in temperature, while mechanical bending of the wet device improves its sensitivity to adsorbed water molecules. These results illustrate the potential for developing flexible devices with new functionalities by enhancing the intrinsic properties of materials through miniaturization, mechanical stress, and hybridization.

MoS2/TiO2 nanostructure provides a lot of advantages in photoelectrochemical (PEC) applications due to the absorption of the wide spectrum solar radiation, more catalytically active sites, proper band alignment, and better separation of photogenerated charge carriers. Here we report PEC water splitting studies of MoS2 thin film grown by chemical vapor deposition on TiO2 nanotubes fabricated on flexible thin Ti foil. Raman and x-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the polycrystalline growth of a few layers MoS2 on TiO2/Ti through their characteristic peaks. Field emission scanning electron microscopy revealed the nanotube surface morphology of TiO2 having a diameter in the range of 200–300 nm. The chemical and electronic composition of MoS2 and TiO2 were investigated by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. PEC measurements performed in 0.5 M Na2SO4 aqueous electrolyte solution under 100 mW cm−2 (AM 1.5G) simulated sunlight revealed 2-fold improved photocurrent density for MoS2/TiO2 heterostructure (∼135.7 μA cm−2) compared to that of bare TiO2 (∼70 μA cm−2). This is attributed to extended light absorption and more catalytically active surface area resulting from MoS2 functionalization of the TiO2 nanotubes, which results in better PEC activity. This study provides a new insight to explore the performance of thin metal foil-based photoelectrode in PEC applications that can be beneficial to develop roll-to-roll device fabrication to advance futuristic flexible electronics.

Noble metal nanoparticles have demonstrated promising biomedical and nanomedicine applications, and their bimetallic equivalents from the green synthesis approach are expected to be more promising. This study concerns bimetallic nanoparticle’s synthesis, characterization, and structure-function analysis for their potential application in breast cancer. Silver core (SCNPs) and Gold core (GCNPs) bimetallic nanoparticles were synthesized using Litchi Chinesis leaf extract (LCLE) and characterized using various physio-chemical techniques. The results revealed the successful synthesis of SCNPs and GCNPs with distinct surface plasmon resonance peaks at 551 nm and 531 nm, hydrodynamic sizes of 66 nm and 53 nm, and Zeta potential values of −26.0 mV and −20.6 mV. XRD analysis confirmed the presence of silver and gold phases, while HR-TEM images revealed spherical shapes for SCNPs and heterogenous shapes for GCNPs. Both nanoparticles demonstrated dose and time-dependent inhibition of breast cancer cell growth, with GCNPs requiring a higher concentration than SCNPs at 48 h compared to 24 h. Cell cycle evaluation indicated a cell cycle arrest in the G2M phase for both nanoparticles, an impact on the S phase distribution, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, further contributing to their antiproliferative effects.