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As a result of their morphology, nanowires bring new properties and the promise of performance for a range of electronic devices. This review looks into the properties of nanowires and the multiple ways in which they have been exploited for energy generation, from photovoltaics to piezoelectric generators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present experimental results describing enhanced readout of the vibratory response of a doubly clamped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire employing a purely electrical actuation and detection scheme. The measured response suggests that the piezoelectric and semiconducting properties of ZnO effectively enhance the motional current for electromechanical transduction. For a doubly clamped ZnO nanowire resonator with radius ∼10 nm and length ∼1.91 µm, a resonant frequency around 21.4 MHz is observed with a quality factor (Q) of ∼358 in vacuum. A comparison with the Q obtained in air (∼242) shows that these nano-scale devices may be operated in fluid as viscous damping is less significant at these length scales. Additionally, the suspended nanowire bridges show field effect transistor (FET) characteristics when the underlying silicon substrate is used as a gate electrode or using a lithographically patterned in-plane gate electrode. Moreover, the Young's modulus of ZnO nanowires is extracted from a static bending test performed on a nanowire cantilever using an AFM and the value is compared to that obtained from resonant frequency measurements of electrically addressed clamped-clamped beam nanowire resonators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly transparent zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire networks have been used as the active material in thin film transistors (TFTs) and complementary inverter devices. A systematic study on a range of networks of variable density and TFT channel length was performed. ZnO nanowire networks provide a less lithographically intense alternative to individual nanowire devices, are always semiconducting, and yield significantly higher mobilites than those achieved from currently used amorphous Si and organic TFTs. These results suggest that ZnO nanowire networks could be ideal for inexpensive large area electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we report on the synthesis and applications of semiconducting nanostructures. Nanostructures of interest were zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires and tungsten disulfide (WS2) nanotubes where transistors/phototransistors and photo-voltaic (PV) energy conversion cells have been fabricated. ZnO nanowires were grown with both high- and low-temperature approaches, depending on the application. Individual ZnO nanowire side-gated transistors revealed excellent performance with a field- effect mobility of 928 cm² /V · s. ZnO networks were proposed for large-area macroelectronic devices as a less lithographically intense alternative to individual nanowire transistors where mobility values in excess of 20 cm² /V · s have been achieved. Flexible PV devices utilizing ZnO nanowires as electron acceptors and for photoinduced charge separation and transport have been presented. Phototransistors were fabricated using individual WS2 nanotubes, where clear sensitivity to visible light has been observed. The results presented here simply reveal the potential use of inorganic nanowires/tubes for various optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the synthesis of zinc oxide (ZnO nanostructures and examines the performance of nanocomposite thin-film transistors (TFTs fabricated using ZnO dispersed in both n- and p-type polymer host matrices. The ZnO nanostructures considered here comprise nanowires and tetrapods and were synthesized using vapor phase deposition techniques involving the carbothermal reduction of solid-phase zinc-containing compounds. Measurement results of nanocomposite TFTs based on dispersion of ZnO nanorods in an n-type organic semiconductor ([6, 6]-phenvl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester) show electron field-effect mobilities in the range 03-0.6 cm²V-1s-1, representing an approximate enhancement by as much as a factor of 40 from the pristine state. The on/off current ratio of the nanocomposite TFTs approach 106 at saturation with off-currents on the order of 10 pA. The results presented here, although preliminary, show a highly promising enhancement for realization of high-performance solution-processable n-type organic TFTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires (NWs) grown on carbon fibers using a vapor transport and condensation approach are used as the cathode of a photoelectrochemical cell. The carbon fibers were obtained by electrospray deposition and take the form of a flexible carbon fabric. The ZnO NW on carbon fiber anode is combined with a “black dye” photoabsorber, an electrolyte, and a platinum (Pt) counterelectrode to complete the cell. The results show that ZnO NW and carbon fibers can be used for photoinduced charge separation/charge transport and current collection, respectively, in a photoelectrochemical cell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]