An innovative approach is proposed to passivate the existing defects from metal oxide semiconductors by functionalizing nontoxic bio-based substances. As a demonstration, we synthesized zinc oxide nanorods (ZnO NRs) using a hydrothermal method and incorporated chicken egg white (albumen) as a passivator to the defects. X-ray diffraction analysis of ZnO NRs shows enhanced quality and crystallinity features after incorporating albumen. XPS measurements were performed not only to introduce the chemical bonding between the albumen and the bare ZnO NRs but also specifically provide evidence of successful capping and defect passivation to the surface layer of ZnO NRs. It was observed that when the albumen was annealed, it formed sulfhydryl groups and disulfide bonds (which created disulfide bridges) from the chemical reaction in irreversible thermal denaturation. Steady-state photoluminescence of ZnO NRs showed two emission bands, i.e. near band-edge emission (NBE) and deep-level emission (DL). The NBE is significantly improved as compared to DL emission after capping and annealing the albumen, while the quenching of DL emission confirmed the reduced defects arising from the surface of ZnO NRs. The advantages and enhanced characteristics of the albumen-capped ZnO NRs led to fabricating a stable and highly efficient light-emitting device. This work opens the great potential of utilizing nontoxic and low-cost biomaterials in passivating the defects of metal oxide nanomaterials for the development of bio-inspired and stable optoelectronic devices.

中文翻译：

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无毒生物基物质（蛋清）对ZnO纳米棒阵列发光器件性能和钝化的影响

提出了一种创新方法，通过功能化无毒生物基物质来钝化金属氧化物半导体的现有缺陷。作为演示，我们使用水热法合成了氧化锌纳米棒 (ZnO NR)，并掺入鸡蛋清（蛋白）作为缺陷的钝化剂。 ZnO NR 的 X 射线衍射分析表明，掺入蛋白后质量和结晶度特征得到提高。 XPS 测量不仅是为了引入蛋白和裸露的 ZnO NR 之间的化学键合，而且还专门提供了 ZnO NR 表面层成功封盖和缺陷钝化的证据。据观察，当蛋白退火时，它会通过不可逆热变性的化学反应形成巯基和二硫键（产生二硫桥）。 ZnO NRs 的稳态光致发光显示出两个发射带，即近带边发射（NBE）和深能级发射（DL）。与蛋白加帽和退火后的 DL 发射相比，NBE 显着改善，而 DL 发射的猝灭证实了 ZnO NR 表面产生的缺陷减少。蛋白封端的 ZnO NR 的优点和增强的特性有助于制造稳定且高效的发光器件。这项工作开启了利用无毒且低成本的生物材料钝化金属氧化物纳米材料的缺陷以开发仿生且稳定的光电器件的巨大潜力。