Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Alfredo Morales-Sanchez, Maria Antonia Cardona-Castro, Liliana Licea-Jimenez, Liliana Palacios-Huerta, Antonio Coyopol, Sergio Alfonso Perez-Garcia, Jaime Alvarez-Quintana, Mario Moreno
Summary: In this work, a correlation between the composition and the microstructural and optical properties of luminescent porous silicon (PSi) films is shown. The use of nitric acid enhances the photoluminescence intensity of PSi samples. Changing the concentration ratio of the electrolyte solution can modify the size of silicon nanocrystals and the emission wavelength. These findings are important for understanding the properties and applications of PSi.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Hao Wu, Xiaoyu Cheng, Hongguang Dong, Songjun Xie, Sailing He
Summary: This study demonstrates the size-controlled solution synthesis of ultrasmall aluminum nanocrystals with sizes ranging from about 2.2 to about 3.8 nm. Increasing the size results in three sets of spectral responses: absorption of nascent plasmons generated at around 340 nm, decreased quantum yield of PL, and a drop in fluorescence lifetime, especially when the diameter of aluminum nanoparticles increases from around 3.0 to around 3.8 nm. This provides experimental evidence and insights into the transitional state between aluminum nanoclusters and plasmonic nanoparticles.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yannick T. Guntern, Jan Vavra, Vikram V. Karve, Seyedeh Behnaz Varandili, Ona Segura Lecina, Chethana Gadiyar, Raffaella Buonsanti
Summary: Researchers have proposed a synthetic route to encapsulate nanocrystals (NCs) of various sizes, shapes, and compositions in a covalent organic framework (COF) for the creation of tunable core-shell hybrids. By understanding the heterogenous nucleation of COFs on NC seeds, they have expanded their synthetic approach to develop a step-by-step encapsulation strategy, resulting in multilayered core-shell-core-shell hybrids and yolk-shell nanostructures. This synthetic route is general and applicable to a broad variety of NCs with different properties, offering a new way to impart functionalities to COFs.
CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Kushagra Gahlot, Sytze de Graaf, Herman Duim, Georgian Nedelcu, Razieh M. Koushki, Majid Ahmadi, Dnyaneshwar Gavhane, Alessia Lasorsa, Oreste De Luca, Petra Rudolf, Patrick C. A. van der Wel, Maria A. Loi, Bart J. Kooi, Giuseppe Portale, Joaquin Calbo, Loredana Protesescu
Summary: Lead halide perovskite nanocrystals are easily synthesized and offer great compositional and morphological tunability; however, the replacement of lead by tin is hindered by the unstable nature of the Sn2+ oxidation state. An optimized synthetic route has been demonstrated to obtain stable CsSnI3 nanocrystals.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Li He, Chaoran Luan, Nelson Rowell, Meng Zhang, Xiaoqin Chen, Kui Yu
Summary: Understanding colloidal semiconductor magic-size clusters (MSCs) is crucial for grasping the evolution of fundamental properties from individual molecules to semiconductor quantum dots (QDs). The two-step approach allowed for engineering MSCs as a sole product at room temperature, demonstrating first-order reaction kinetics behavior in their evolution. Further research is needed to gain a more precise understanding of the transformation processes of these magic species.
ACCOUNTS OF CHEMICAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Dongke Li, Jiaming Chen, Zhaoguo Xue, Teng Sun, Junnan Han, Wanghua Chen, Etienne Talbot, Remi Demoulin, Wei Li, Jun Xu, Kunji Chen
Summary: Understanding the distribution and behavior of dopants in silicon nanocrystals is crucial for achieving controllable doping at the nanoscale and developing next-generation optoelectronic devices. This study investigates the atomic-scale distributions of phosphorus and boron dopants in silicon nanocrystal multilayers. The results show that phosphorus dopants mainly concentrate on the surfaces of silicon nanocrystals to passivate dangling bonds and provide free electrons, while boron dopants exhibit a different distribution pattern, forming a dopant-shell covering on the surfaces of silicon nanocrystals and leading to damage in the crystalline lattice.
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Optics
Dongke Li, Jiaming Chen, Teng Sun, Yangyi Zhang, Jun Xu, Wei Li, Kunji Chen
Summary: Phosphorus/boron co-doping in Si quantum dots/SiO2 multilayers enhances subband light emission, with increasing B co-doping ratio resulting in improved emission intensity nearly two orders of magnitude stronger than solely P-doped samples. This enhancement is attributed to B dopants passivating surface dangling bonds, leading to suppressed phosphorus-related deep level emission and appearance of emission centered around 1400 nm in high B co-doping ratios.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Mingcai Xie, Chen-Lei Tao, Zhen Zhang, Hanyu Liu, Sushu Wan, Yan Nie, Weiqing Yang, Xiaoyong Wang, Xue-Jun Wu, Yuxi Tian
Summary: A simple heat-up method was developed to synthesize high-quality WZ-CdSe/CdS core-shell colloidal quantum dots with nonblinking behaviors and nearly ideal photoluminescence properties. It was found that the complete blinking suppression of the quantum dots at high excitation intensities was mainly attributed to efficient multiexciton emission.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Liwei Dai, Christian Strelow, Tobias Kipp, Alf Mews, Iris Benkenstein, Dirk Eifler, Thanh Huyen Vuong, Jabor Rabeah, James McGettrick, Rostyslav Lesyuk, Christian Klinke
Summary: This study presents the successful direct doping of Mn2+ ions into ZnS nanoplatelets using a nucleation-doping strategy, resulting in Mn luminescence in ZnS:Mn NPLs. Energy transfer from ZnS NPLs to Mn2+ ions was observed, and the impact of Mn concentration on optical properties was systematically investigated. Tunable Mn emission and enhanced PL quantum yield in ZnS:Mn NPLs were achieved by passivating surface trap states. The synthetic strategy introduced here opens up new possibilities for further doped systems of two-dimensional NPLs.
CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Sarah M. Thompson, Cuneyt Sahin, Shengsong Yang, Michael E. Flatte, Christopher B. Murray, Lee C. Bassett, Cherie R. Kagan
Summary: Copper-doped zinc sulfide (ZnS:Cu) is a versatile phosphor material that exhibits down-conversion luminescence in various regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Colloidal nanocrystals (NCs) of ZnS:Cu are of particular interest for quantum information science due to their precise control over size, composition, and surface chemistry. The researchers propose a method for synthesizing ZnS:Cu NCs that primarily emit red light, and they explore the thermodynamic stability and electronic structure of the CuZn-VS complex. The understanding of the emission dynamics and controlled synthesis of CuZn-VS in ZnS NCs will contribute to the development of quantum point defects in this material.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Longhai Zhong, Xin Gao, Jinchao Qiao, Yan Chen, Xueying Zhang, Zeqi Xiao, Pengwan Chen
Summary: In this study, Si quantum dots (QDs) were prepared using a pulsed wire discharge method, and the samples were characterized by various techniques. The results showed that pure Si QDs with blue-emitting characteristics were obtained, indicating potential for large-scale production.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Han-Jung Ryu, Mingyeong Shin, Myeongkee Park, Jae-Seung Lee
Summary: This study introduces an in situ ligand engineering method to stabilize organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite nanoparticles (OIHP NPs) and control their optical properties. By adjusting the concentration and molecular structure of tetraalkylammonium (TAA) halides, the stability of the nanoparticles is significantly improved. In certain conditions, approximately 90% of the initial photoluminescence intensity is preserved.
Article
Crystallography
Wanying Gu, Yicheng Zeng, Yuan Deng, Pan Huang, Geyu Jin, Fangze Liu, Jing Wei, Hongbo Li
Summary: In this study, we successfully synthesized orthorhombic Cs2CuCl4 nanocrystals with a well-defined cubic shape and an average diameter of 24±2.1 nm via a colloidal synthesis route. The Cs2CuCl4 nanocrystals exhibited bright, deep blue photoluminescence, attributed to Cu(II) defects. Furthermore, passivating the Cs2CuCl4 nanocrystals with Ag+ effectively improved the photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) and environmental stability.
Article
Physics, Applied
Zahra Sabzevari, Reza Sahraei, Nawzad Nadhim Jawhar, Ahmet Faruk Yazici, Evren Mutlugun, Ehsan Soheyli
Summary: Quaternary Zn-Ag-In-S (ZAIS) quantum dots (QDs) with efficient, tunable, and stable photoluminescence (PL) emission were successfully prepared using a simple, effective, and low-cost synthesis method. Structural analysis showed the significant impact of the quantum confinement effect. By varying the feeding ratio of precursors, tunable emission from green to red was achieved.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ze Yuan, Lanlan Yang, Dongni Han, Guorong Sun, Chenyu Zhu, Yao Wang, Qiao Wang, Mikhail Artemyev, Jianguo Tang
Summary: High-efficiency photoluminescence quaternary hexagon Zn-Cu-In-S (ZCIS) nanoplatelets (NPIs) were successfully synthesized via a two-step cation exchange method, with In2S3 NPIs serving as templates. The reaction temperature of In2S3 and the temperature of Cu addition were found to be crucial for tuning the properties of NPIs. Introducing Zn2+ enhanced the stability and optical properties of the resulting NPIs, demonstrating a new approach to synthesize high-efficiency and nontoxic ZCIS NPIs with no byproducts.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jianguo Sun, Bin Li, Long Hu, Junjun Guo, Xufeng Ling, Xuliang Zhang, Chi Zhang, Xianxin Wu, Hehe Huang, Chenxu Han, Xinfeng Liu, Youyong Li, Shujuan Huang, Tom Wu, Jianyu Yuan, Wanli Ma
Summary: Solution processable semiconductors like organics and emerging lead halide perovskites (LHPs) are ideal candidates for photovoltaics. This study investigates a novel device architecture involving block copolymer/perovskite hybrid bulk heterointerfaces, which enhances light absorption, energy level cascade, and provides a thin hydrophobic layer to improve carrier generation and prevent moisture invasion. The resulting hybrid solar cell exhibits high efficiency and stability, and the approach can be extended to other LHPs.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Physics, Applied
Chi Xu, Himashi P. Andaraarachchi, Zichang Xiong, Mohammad Ali Eslamisaray, Mark J. Kushner, Uwe R. Kortshagen
Summary: In this study, we demonstrate a surfactant-free method for synthesizing silver nanoparticles and achieve control over their size and uniformity by manipulating the droplet residence time and plasma power.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICS D-APPLIED PHYSICS
(2023)
Review
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Sheyda Mirjalali, Arezo Mahdavi Varposhti, Shayan Abrishami, Roohollah Bagherzadeh, Mohsen Asadnia, Shujuan Huang, Shuhua Peng, Chun-Hui Wang, Shuying Wu
Summary: Wearable sensors and energy harvesters have great potential in personalized healthcare, robotics, and human-machine interfaces. Piezoelectric materials, known for their ability to harvest energy, have been extensively studied in this field. This review provides an overview of recent advances in enhancing the piezoelectricity of electrospun polymer nanofibers, discussing challenges and effective approaches to achieve high-performance piezoelectric sensors and energy harvesters for wearable technologies.
MACROMOLECULAR MATERIALS AND ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Can Gao, Atul Shukla, Haikuo Gao, Zhagen Miao, Yihan Zhang, Pu Wang, Guiwen Luo, Yi Zeng, Wallace W. H. Wong, Trevor A. Smith, Shih-Chun Lo, Wenping Hu, Ebinazar B. Namdas, Huanli Dong
Summary: Organic light-emitting transistors (OLETs) have demonstrated great potential applications in various fields as highly integrated and minimized optoelectronic devices. However, the construction of high-performance OLETs remains a significant long-term challenge, especially for single component active layer OLETs. In this study, the successful harvesting of triplet excitons in a high mobility emissive molecule, 2,6-diphenylanthracene (DPA), through the triplet-triplet annihilation process is demonstrated.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Anjay Manian, Rohan J. Hudson, Pria Ramkissoon, Trevor A. Smith, Salvy P. Russo
Summary: This benchmarking study investigates non adiabatic matrix coupling elements (NACMEs) using different density functionals, with a focus on the photophysical properties of perylene in toluene. The study compares theoretical calculations with experimental results, deriving relations between TDDFT and DFT/MRCI properties and identifying the most promising data sets.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL THEORY AND COMPUTATION
(2023)
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Subhajit Chakraborty, Yang Xu, Ann Roberts, Debabrata Goswami, Trevor A. Smith
Summary: Evanescent wave-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (EWIFS) is a widely used technique for studying complex media in physical, chemical, and biological sciences. It utilizes the evanescent wave generated by total internal reflection to probe the photoluminescence characteristics of the sample. However, it faces limitations in imaging samples with higher refractive indices.
Article
Physics, Applied
Binesh Puthen Veettil, Yuchao Zhang, David Payne, Mattias Juhl, Shujuan Huang, Brett Hallam, Darren Bagnall
Summary: Microwave annealing, despite being poorly researched and underutilized in the semiconductor industry, possesses the potential to significantly reduce time and cost in large-volume semiconductor processing, specifically in the manufacturing of photovoltaic modules. This study examines microwave annealing of silicon solar cells, demonstrating its capability for efficient passivation of light-induced defects and mitigating light-induced degradation. Results indicate that microwave annealing produces comparable outcomes to rapid thermal annealing.
APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Mohammad Ali Eslamisaray, Parker R. Wray, Yeonjoo Lee, Gunnar M. Nelson, Ognjen Ilic, Harry A. Atwater, Uwe R. Kortshagen
Summary: We have developed a bottom-up nonthermal plasma process to produce highly monodisperse optically Mie-resonant crystalline silicon nano particles. The particle size can be controlled between 60 and 214 nm by adjusting the gas residence time in the reactor. By dispersing the nanoparticles in water, we observed colloidal solutions of a particle-based metafluid, exhibiting strong magnetic and electric dipole resonances at visible wavelengths. The spectral overlap of the electric and magnetic resonances leads to directional Kerker scattering. The excellent agreement between extinction measurements and Mie theory confirms the narrow size, shape, and composition distributions enabled by our fabrication process. Moreover, this gas-phase process allows the production of Mie-resonant nanoparticles of dielectric materials other than silicon and their direct deposition onto desired substrates.
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Zichang Xiong, Julian Held, Uwe Kortshagen
Summary: Nonthermal plasmas are attractive for nanoparticles synthesis, but their plasma properties are difficult to assess due to the reactive environment and high nanoparticle concentrations. In this study, we use a floating double probe to measure the plasma properties of an argon:silane plasma. We find that the electron temperatures increase unexpectedly with increasing silane mole fraction.
PLASMA SOURCES SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Chi Xu, Subhajyoti Chaudhuri, Julian Held, Himashi P. Andaraarachchi, George C. Schatz, Uwe R. Kortshagen
Summary: Low-temperature plasmas in and in contact with liquids have been found to be a catalyst-free method for the selective, electrode-free, and green synthesis of novel materials. Short-lived solvated electrons are considered as the critical reducing species in the synthesis of nanomaterials, while the role of ultraviolet (UV) photons from plasma is less explored. In this study, it is demonstrated that UV radiation contributes approximately 70% of the integral plasma effect in synthesizing silver (Ag) nanoparticles within a glycerol solution. The UV radiation causes C-H bond cleavage of the glycerol molecules, resulting in the reduction of Ag+ ions to Ag neutrals and the formation of nanoparticle in the liquid phase.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Trevor A. Smith, Rohan J. Hudson, Anjay Manian, Christopher R. Hall, Timothy W. Schmidt, Salvy P. Russo, Kenneth P. Ghiggino
Summary: Gating logical operations through high-lying excited states of perylene has potential for the development of ultrafast, subnanometer computational devices. This study uses femtosecond spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations to investigate the relaxation dynamics of monomeric perylene's higher electronic excited states. The obtained lifetimes of the 2(1)Ag and 2(1)B(2u) states suggest that these states could be useful for logical operations.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Thomas Cameron, Bailey Klause, Himashi Andaraarachchi, Zichang Xiong, Carter Reed, Dinesh Thapa, Chi-Chin Wu, Uwe R. Kortshagen
Summary: Capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) shows improved control and yield in the synthesis of aluminum nanoparticles compared to inductively coupled plasma (ICP), making it a promising method for various applications.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yixiong Ji, Wangxian Chen, Di Yan, James Bullock, Yang Xu, Zhenghua Su, Wentong Yang, Jamie Stuart Laird, Tian Zheng, Na Wu, Wusong Zha, Qun Luo, Chang-Qi Ma, Trevor A. Smith, Fangyang Liu, Paul Mulvaney
Summary: Photovoltaic thin film solar cells based on CZTSSe have limited efficiency due to the deficit in open circuit voltage. The proposed ZAZA window structure offers improved optoelectronic properties and carrier collection efficiency, resulting in a significant enhancement of VOC. These advances enable the fabrication of high-efficiency CZTSSe solar cells without the need for an anti-reflective coating.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Nikolina Kalcec, Nikolina Peranic, Ivan Mamic, Maja Beus, Christopher R. Hall, Trevor A. Smith, Marc Antoine Sani, Petra Turcic, Frances Separovic, Ivana Vinkovoic Vrcek
Summary: This study aims to improve the delivery of drugs for Parkinson's disease treatment by designing two different types of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs). The results show that PVP-SeNPs have strong binding capacity with L-DOPA and dopamine. Additionally, the formation of protein corona plays a crucial role in the design of drug nanodelivery systems.
ACS APPLIED NANO MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Dohyung Kim, Jae Sung Yun, Arun Sagotra, Alessandro Mattoni, Pankaj Sharma, Jincheol Kim, Da Seul Lee, Sean Lim, Padraic O'Reilly, Liz Brinkman, Martin A. Green, Shujuan Huang, Anita Ho-Baillie, Claudio Cazorla, Jan Seidel
Summary: The past decade has witnessed the rapid rise of a new class of solar cells based on mixed organic-inorganic halide perovskites. The power conversion efficiency of halide perovskite solar cells has exceeded 25% for single-junction devices and 30% for tandem devices. Twin domains within polycrystalline grains play important roles in ionic and charge carrier transport properties, although their mechanisms are not fully understood. This study combines molecular dynamic simulations and nanoscale scanning probe microscopy investigations to reveal unique properties of the twin domains that contribute to ion migration and influence charge separation and collection. The findings highlight the significance of nanoscale intragrain features for the development of high-efficiency perovskite solar cells.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A
(2023)