Ultrafast Detection of TiO2 Resistive Biosensor

Over the last decade, the poultry industry has implemented the system microbial screening of products and processes. Most of the processing operations have also introduced new rinse and antimicrobial treatments. Yet, the long time delay between sample collection and obtaining microbial screening results continues to hamper the efficiency of these processes. In the absence of simple, inexpensive and rapid microbial detection techniques, a novel resistive E. Coli O157:H7 biosensor has been developed using nanotechnology for rapid bioidentification and has been tested in the poultry industry. The key elements of this biosensor are electrical measurement system and extracted dna samples. Three steps of detection process has been introduced: i) drop the dna sample on the sensing surface; ii) dry the sample; and iii) measure the device performance using quantitative analysis after 30 minutes. This approach provides a low detection limit for DNA (femto-molar), rapid, label-free and easy-to-use bacteria detection, which holds the potential for future use in various single-strand dna analyses by integrated into a self-contained biochip.

High-Efficiency Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Based on Highly ordered Anodized Nb2O5 Nanochannel

In order to develop high efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC), Nb2O5 can be one of the suitable candidates due to its wide bandgap, and good chemical stability. Nb2O5 nanoparticle, nanobelt, and nanofiber networks have been studied for the development of DSSC. However, their photocurrents and photoconversion efficiencies have not reached those of tio2 based DSSC due to the reduction in their dye loading sites. The previous discovery of vertically-position anodized Nb2O5 nanoporous layer gave hope for solving this problem, but the limited thickness of the layer which is below than 500 nm made it unrealistic as a candidate for DSSC. Here, we successfully synthesis highly ordered Nb2O5 nanochannel with thicknesses of 5 to 25 um by anodizing niobium foil in an organic based electrolyte at elevated temperatures. This kind of nanostructure is potentially employed as a photoanode for DSSC in which high dye absorption is expected due to a very large surface area. Therefore, in this work, we fabricated DSSC based on highly ordered anodized Nb2O5 nanochannel films. The DSSC associated with Nb2O5 nanochannel films exhibited the efficiency in the range of 2.36 to 4.48%. We also present the effect of the Nb2O5 nanochannel films on electron lifetime and electron recombination of DSSC.

The Amelioration of Eco-Friendly, Highly Conductive and Vertically Aligned ZAO Nanorod Arrays: A Novel Ramification Process of Zinc Oxide-Based Nanostructures for Sensor and Solar Cell Applications

An eco-friendly, highly conductive and vertically aligned ZAO nanorod arrays (NRAS) has been successfully prepared by novel dual sonication process. Field emission scanning electron microscopy revealed that the NRAS exhibited a hexagonal structure with a flat-end facet. The NRAS displayed similar surface morphologies and grew uniformly on Al:ZnO-coated substrate, with the average diameter range between 47.6 and 63.5 nm. In addition, the x-ray diffraction spectra indicated that the prepared nras were grew preferentially along the c-axis orientation with a hexagonal wurtzite structure. The nras have been used in the fabrication of sensors and several types of solar cells such as dye sensitised solar cell, hybrid solar cell, organic solar cell and perovskite solar cell. The utilisation of the nras will enhance the electron transport in vertical direction and also for light harvesting applications for high performance devices. To the best of our knowledge, this novel preparation of ZAO NRAS for these device fabrication has not been reported by any research group.

A Potential Palm Oil as Green Carbon Source for Graphene Growth on Nickel via Thermal Chemical Vapor Deposition

Monolayer graphene as a transferrable material was first found in 2004. This material has attracted research activities among material scientists, physicists, and chemists because of its properties. Considerable research has been conducted on obtaining large sheets of single layer or double-layer graphene by developing new and various processes. Graphene shows potential in a plethora of applications with its extraordinary electronic properties. In this study, palm oil is chosen as a starting material that supplies carbon atom during the synthesis process. Many renewable resources, such as camphor oil and corn oil, have already been investigated to deposit graphene on the substrate. This study is the first to focus on the possibility of utilizing palm oil as carbon precursor to graphene production. Palm oil is enriched with a long chain carbon atom. This property is an important factor in supplying carbon atom during the synthesis of graphene. The graphene layers were synthesized via thermal chemical vapor deposition. FESEM, XRD, Raman, UV-vis and AFM were used to characterize the graphene. The graphene growth exhibits high capability of palm oil as new green carbon precursor. This innovation is important due to the high production of palm oil around the world and reduces the usage of toxic gas such as carbon monoxide in graphene production. The graphene has high potential for commercial values and planned to build up the sensor and solar cell prototypes by using graphene as an active layer. This innovation also has high impact to malaysia's electronic devices and palm oil industries.

Natural, Commercial and Synthesized Calcium: Its Properties and Potential

This work studied on Calcium from various backgrounds. Calcium is the most abundant naturally occurring element exists in the world. It is widely applied in many aspects of life including as fillers in manufacturing industries, in oil and gas refineries, in biomedical and drug delivery applications and many more. Hence this work studied calcium to offer more informations on its optical, particle size and UV absorbance from natural, commercial and synthesized calcium. Natural calcium sample was expressed human milk, fresh cow milk, limestone paste, and calcium supplement. Commercial calcium samples were CaCO3 purchased from Sigma Aldrich and is os of industrial grade. Synthesis of Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) is by precipitation method at 0.1 M concentration by using Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) and Ammonium Carbonate (NH4CO3) as precursors. FTIR spectra of the samples showed highest absorbance was by formula milk and the lowest is by expressed human milk. Lowest particle size is by Calcium supplement at 694nm and biggest particle size is by Commercial CaCO3 at 2716nm. UV absorbance were between 200-400nm in UV-C range. Highest UV absorbance is by calcium supplement whereas the lowest is by limestone paste. From the optical behavior it can be deduced that lower particle size absorbs higher UV. To this date, this is the first work characterizing comparison of domestic, commercial and synthesized Calcium (Ca) samples.