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Three-dimensional nanoporous PtSi (NP-PtSi) alloy was prepared by dealloying ternary PtSiAl alloy ribbons. By combining the nanoporous morphology of PtSi and graphene (GR), a new composite material was developed, which was used to modify the surface of a glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The resulting modified electrodes showed an excellent electrocatalytic activity towards the electro oxidation of bisphenol A. Based on differential pulse voltammetry measurements, NP-PtSi/GR/GCE showed linear response over the concentration range 0.30 to 85 μM bisphenol A, while the detection limit was found to be 0.11 μM (S/N = 3). NP-PtSi/GR/GCE showed also satisfactory stability and selectivity over various compounds present in real samples, and they were successfully applied to the determination of bisphenol A in inoculated milk samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, three-dimensional reduced graphene oxide/helical carbon nanotubes (RGO/HCNTs) nanocomposites were synthesized by a combined solution-based method and chemical vapor deposition. This synergistic structure of graphene and helical carbon nanotube exhibited large flexibility, rapid transport kinetics, and excellent electrochemical characteristic. The hemoglobin (Hb) was immobilized on the surface of the RGO/HCNTs nanocomposites for amperometric sensing of HO. The dependence of the electrochemical performance of Hb on the composition of RGO/HCNTs composites is systematically investigated by varying the weight ratio of reduced RGO/HCNTs. Compared with alone graphene or HCNTs electrodes modified with Hb, the catalytic current for HO reduction at the Hb-modified RGO/HCNTs electrode increased due to the increase in the surface coverage of Hb and the excellent electrocatalytic activity of RGO/HCNTs. The constructed biosensor displayed a fast electron transfer of Hb and an excellent electrochemical activity for the detection of HO with high selectivity and sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, rapid thermal annealing (RTA) was employed to crystallize the amorphous silicon films deposited by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition. The influence of annealing temperature on structural and electrical properties was studied by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and temperature-dependent conductivity measurement. The results show that the amorphous silicon films can be successfully crystallized by RTA in a very short time. The crystallinity and electrical properties of the poly-Si films was greatly improved as the RTA temperature increasing. When the temperature higher than 900 °C, the poly-Si films obtained the crystalline fraction above 95 %, and the hydrogen atoms almost disappeared in the poly-Si films. At the temperature of 1,100 °C, polycrystalline silicon films with conductivity of 16.4 S cm is obtained, which is seven orders in magnitude higher than that of the film annealed at 700 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microcrystalline silicon films (μc-Si:H) were deposited on stainless steel substrates by bias-assisted hot-wire chemical vapor deposition. The effect of substrate bias and substrate temperature on the crystallinity of μc-Si:H films was studied by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The results show that both the Raman peak position and the crystalline fraction of the μc-Si:H films deposited at 200 °C were obviously improved by introducing −800 V substrate bias. The films deposited at 200 °C with −800 V substrate bias show strongly sharpened Si (111) peak together with Si (220) and Si (311) peaks, which was different from a weak Si (111) peak for those deposited without substrate bias. By increasing the substrate temperature from 200 to 300 °C, while keeping the substrate bias at −800 V, the crystallinity of the silicon films was further improved, and μc-Si:H films with crystalline fraction of 74 % was obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, Pt-Y alloy has displayed an excellent electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and is regarded as a promising cathode catalyst for fuel cells. However, the bulk production of nanoscaled Pt-Y alloy with outstanding catalytic performance remains a great challenge. Here, we address the challenge through a simple dealloying method to synthesize nanoporous Pt-Y alloy (NP-PtY) with a typical ligament size of ~5 nm. By combining the intrinsic superior electrocatalytic activity of Pt-Y alloy with the special nanoporous structure, the NP-PtY bimetallic catalyst presents higher activity for ORR and ethanol oxidation reaction, and better electrocatalytic stability than the commercial Pt/C catalyst and nanoporous Pt alloy. The as-made NP-PtY holds great application potential as a promising electrocatalyst in proton exchange membrane fuel cells due to the advantages of facile preparation and excellent catalytic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]