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We demonstrated imaging of the depletion layer in a MoS2/graphene heterojunction fabricated by chemical vapor deposition and obtained their transport parameters such as diffusion length, lifetime, and mobility by using scanning photocurrent microscopy (SPCM). The device exhibited a n-type operation, which was determined by the MoS2 layer with a lower mobility. The SPCM revealed the presence of the depletion layer at the heterojunction, whereas graphene provided an excellent electrical contact for the MoS2 layer without resulting in a rectifying behavior, even if they were anchored within a very short range. The polarity of the photocurrent signal switched when we applied a drain–source bias voltage, from which we extracted the potential barrier at the junction. More importantly, a bias-dependent SPCM allowed us to simultaneously record the diffusion lengths of both majority and minority carriers for the respective MoS2 and graphene layers. By combining the diffusion lengths with the lifetimes measured by ...

We investigate the interaction of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) embedded in a polymer matrix [poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)] with Ar plasma, which results in the formation of PMMA nanostructures, as CNTs act as an etching mask. Because of the large differences in the Ar ion sputtering yields between CNTs and PMMA, PMMA lines with the width comparable to that of CNTs and as high as 20 nm (for single-walled CNTs) or 80 nm (for multiwalled CNTs) can be obtained after repeated exposure of CNT/PMMA films to Ar plasma. We also follow the etching process by investigating changes in the IV characteristics and Raman spectra of CNTs after each exposure to Ar plasma, which shows progressive defect generations in CNTs while they maintain structural integrity long enough to act as the etching mask for PMMA underneath. We demonstrate that the PMMA nanostructure patterns can be transferred to a different polymer substrate using nanoimprinting.

We report fully solution-processed fabrication of transparent conducting oxide-free counter electrodes (CEs) for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) by combining spray-coating of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and chemical reduction of chloroplatinic acid precursor to platinum nanoparticles (Pt NPs) with formic acid. The power conversion efficiency of a semitransparent DSSC with such SWCNT-based CE loaded with Pt NPs is comparable to that of a control device with a conventional CE. Quantification of Pt loading shows that network morphology of entangled SWCNTs is efficient in forming and retaining chemically reduced Pt NPs. Moreover, electron microscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy results show that mainly Pt NPs, which are tens of nanometers in diameter and reside at the surface of SWCNT CEs, contribute to electrocatalytic activity for triiodide reduction, to which we attribute strong correlation between power conversion efficiency of DSSCs and time constant deduced from equivalent-circuit analysis of impedance spectra.

We fabricated hybrid light emitting devices based on colloidal CdSe/ZnS core/shell quantum dots and a solution-processed NiO layer. The use of a sol-gel NiO layer as a hole injection layer (HIL) resulted in overall improvement in device operation compared to a control device with a more conventional poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) HIL. In particular, luminous efficiency increased substantially because of the suppression of excessive currents and became as large as 2.45 cd/A. To manifest the origin of current reduction, temperature- and electric field-dependent variations of currents with respect to bias voltages were investigated. In a low bias voltage range below the threshold for luminance turn-on, the Poole-Frenkel (PF) emission mechanism was responsible for the current-density variation. However, the space-charge-limited current modified with PF-type mobility ruled the current-density variation in high bias voltage range above the threshold.