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Abstract In influencing fundamental properties—and ultimately device performance—of lead halide perovskites, interfacial interactions play a major role, notably with regard to carrier diffusion and recombination. Here anodized porous Si (pSi) as well as porous silica particles are employed as templates for formation of methylammonium lead trihalide nanostructures. This allows synthesis of relatively small perovskite domains and comparison of associated interfacial chemistry between as‐prepared hydrophobic hydrideterminated functionalities and hydrophilic oxide‐terminated surfaces. While physical confinement of MAPbBr3 has a uniform effect on carrier lifetime, pore size (7–18 nm) of the silicon‐containing template has a sensitive influence on perovskite photoluminescence (PL) wavelength maximum. Furthermore, identity of the surface functionality of the template significantly alters the PL quantum efficiency, with lowest PL intensity associated with the H‐terminated pSi and the most intense PL affiliated with the oxideterminated pSi surface. These effects are explored for green‐emitting MAPbBr3 as well as infrared‐emitting MAPbI3. In addition, the role of silicon surface chemistry on the time‐dependent stability of these perovskites packaged within a given mesoporous template is also evaluated, specifically, a lack of miscibility between MAPbI3 and the H‐terminated pSi template results in a diffusion of this specific perovskite composition eluting from this porous matrix over time.

Pedagogical tools are needed that link multidisciplinary nanoscience and technology (NST) to multiple state-of-the-art applications, including those requiring new fabrication routes relying on green synthesis. These can both educate and motivate the next generation of entrepreneurial NST scientists to create innovative products whilst protecting the environment and resources. Nanoporous silicon shows promise as such a tool as it can be fabricated from plants and waste materials, but also embodies many key educational concepts and key industrial uses identified for NST. Specific mechanical, thermal, and optical properties become highly tunable through nanoporosity. We also describe exceptional properties for nanostructured silicon like medical biodegradability and efficient light emission that open up new functionality for this semiconductor. Examples of prior lecture courses and potential laboratory projects are provided, based on the author’s experiences in academic chemistry and physics departments in the USA and UK, together with industrial R&D in the medical, food, and consumer-care sectors. Nanoporous silicon-based lessons that engage students in the basics of entrepreneurship can also readily be identified, including idea generation, intellectual property, and clinical translation of nanomaterial products.

We present an experimental investigation into the third-order nonlinearity of conventional crystalline (c-Si) and porous (p-Si) silicon with Z-scan technique at 800-nm and 2.4- μ m wavelengths. The Gaussian decomposition method is applied to extract the nonlinear refractive index, n 2 , and the two-photon absorption (TPA) coefficient, β , from the experimental results. The nonlinear refractive index obtained for c-Si is 7 ± 2 × 10 − 6 cm 2 /GW and for p-Si is − 9 ± 3 × 10 − 5 cm 2 /GW. The TPA coefficient was found to be 2.9 ± 0.9 cm/GW and 1.0 ± 0.3 cm/GW for c-Si and p-Si, respectively. We show an enhancement of the nonlinear refraction and a suppression of TPA in p-Si in comparison to c-Si, and the enhancement gets stronger as the wavelength increases.

Multiple new approaches to tackle multidrug resistant infections are urgently needed and under evaluation. One nanotechnology-based approach to delivering new relevant therapeutics involves silicon accumulator plants serving as a viable silicon source in green routes for the fabrication of the nanoscale drug delivery carrier porous silicon (pSi). If the selected plant leaf components contain medicinally-active species as well, then a single substance can provide not only the nanoscale high surface area drug delivery carrier, but the drug itself. With this idea in mind, porous silicon was fabricated from joints of the silicon accumulator plant Bambuseae (Tabasheer) and loaded with an antibacterial extract originating from leaves of the same type of plant (Bambuseae arundinacea). Preparation of porous silicon from Tabasheer includes extraction of biogenic silica from the ground plant by calcination, followed by reduction with magnesium in the presence of sodium chloride, thereby acting as a thermal moderator that helps to retain the mesoporous structure of the feedstock. The purified product was characterized by a combination of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and low temperature nitrogen gas adsorption measurements. Antimicrobial activity and minimum inhibitory concentration of a leaf extract of Bambuseae arundinacea was tested against the bacteria Escherichia Coli (E. Coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. Aureus), along with the fungus Candida albicans (C. Albicans). A S. aureus active ethanolic leaf extract was loaded into the above Tabasheer-derived porous silicon. Initial studies indicate sustained in vitro antibacterial activity of the extract-loaded plant derived pSi (25 wt %, TGA), as measured by disk diffusion inhibitory zone assays. Subsequent chromatographic separation of this extract revealed that the active antimicrobial species present include stigmasterol and 2,6-dimethoxy-p-benzoquinone.