Baolu Fan

Experimental evidence of α → β phase transformation in SiC quantum dots and their size-dependent luminescence

Phase transformation can occur among different SiC polytypes under extreme conditions such as high pressure or temperature. It remains unknown whether phase transformation can occur under normal conditions. We demonstrate that the α → β phase transformation can occur at ambient temperature and pressure in nanoscale SiC. The microstructural characterization and light absorption and emission spectroscopy demonstrate the occurrence of this phase transformation. It is found that the quantum-confinement luminescence dominates in larger SiC quantum dots (QDs) and the surface-defect luminescence dominates in ultrasmall SiC QDs. The rare phenomenon of multiple-phonon-assisted light absorption is observed in the SiC QDs.

Multistage growth of monocrystalline ZnO nanowires and twin-nanorods: oriented attachment and role of the spontaneous polarization force

Our understanding of crystal growth mechanisms has changed deeply in the past few decades. Particularly, the oriented attachment of intermediate nanoparticles has been accepted to be a crucial crystal growth mechanism that is distinct from the traditional one involving nucleation and Ostwald ripening. However the details of the oriented attachment process are not readily observed experimentally, and little is known about the driving force and the dynamics involved in oriented attachment. In this respect, ZnO is an ideal material because it possesses strong spontaneous polarization which may easily drive oriented attachment during its crystal growth. We study experimentally and theoretically the complete crystal growth process (from primitive amorphous nanoclusters to ultimate single nanocrystals) of one-dimensional ZnO nanocrystals growing in water/ethanol at high temperatures. The results reveal that both axial (along the direction of the polarization axis) and lateral oriented attachment of the intermediates occurs during the growth process of the one-dimensional ZnO nanocrystals. Calculation based on the force and interaction model reveals that the axial oriented attachment driven by the spontaneous polarization force dominates the crystal growth of ZnO nanocrystals, and the van der Waals force also plays a role in driving oriented attachment. The study shows that oriented attachment of intermediate nanoparticle ensembles induces formation of the symmetric twin-nanorods. These results improve our understanding of the growth mechanism of nanocrystals in a liquid medium.

Quantum confinement effect in 6H-SiC quantum dots observed via plasmon–exciton coupling-induced defect-luminescence quenching

The quantum confinement effect is one of the crucial physical effects that discriminate a quantum material from its bulk material. It remains a mystery why the 6H-SiC quantum dots (QDs) do not exhibit an obvious quantum confinement effect. We study the photoluminescence of the coupled colloidal system of SiC QDs and Ag nanoparticles. The experimental result in conjunction with the theoretical calculation reveals that there is strong coupling between the localized electron-hole pair in the SiC QD and the localized surface plasmon in the Ag nanoparticle. It results in resonance energy transfer between them and resultant quenching of the blue surface-defect luminescence of the SiC QDs, leading to uncovering of a hidden near-UV emission band. This study shows that this emission band originates from the interband transition of the 6H-SiC QDs and it exhibits a remarkable quantum confinement effect.

Photon absorption and emission properties of 7 Å SiC nanoclusters: Electronic gap, surface state, and quantum size effect

People know little experimentally about the physical properties of the SiC nanoclusters with sizes of a couple of angstroms. Herein, we study the electronic structure and light absorption/emission properties of the SiC nanoclusters with an average diameter of 7 A that are fabricated by diminishing the sizes of the SiC microcrystals under high pressure and high temperature. The results reveal that the SiC nanoclusters have an indirect energy gap of 5.1 eV. Unlike the case of larger SiC nanocrystals, the luminescence of the SiC nanoclusters is dominated by two types of oxygen-related surface defects, and the maximum of their photoluminescence/photoluminescence excitation spectrum lies at 4.1/3.3 and 3.8/3.0 eV, respectively. The energy gap of the SiC nanoparticles with reference to bulk value is found to be inversely proportional to the diameter to the power 0.97, which shows slower increase of energy gap with decreasing size than what is predicted by using the first-principles calculations.

Analytical model of photon reabsorption in ZnO quantum dots with size and concentration dependent dual-color photoluminescence

We investigate the concentration and size dependent UV/green photoluminescence properties of the ZnO quantum dots (QDs) with sizes in the strong confinement regime. The luminescence characteristics of an ensemble of colloidal semiconductor QDs with quantum confinement effect depend sensitively on particle concentration but this has only been qualitatively understood. By taking ZnO QDs as an ideal prototype, we construct a material-independent theoretical model to study the photon reabsorption phenomenon. The theoretical result agrees well with the experiment. This model can be used to quantitatively study the concentration-dependent luminescence properties of any collection of QDs with considerable size dispersion. On the other hand, the origin of green emission in ZnO QDs remains debated. The comparative study of the size dependence of UV and green emissions in conjunction with the effective-mass approximation calculation suggests that the green emission in the ZnO QDs originates from the conduction band...

Cs/CsPbX3 (X = Br, Cl) epitaxial heteronanocrystals with magic-angle stable/metastable grain boundary

Metal-semiconductor heteronanostructures are crucial building blocks of nanoscale electronic and optoelectronic devices. However, the lattice misfit remains a challenge in constructing heteronanostructures. Perovskite nanocrystals are superior candidates for constructing nanodevices owing to excellent optical, ferroelectric, and superconducting properties. We report the epitaxial growth of lattice-matched Cs/CsPbBr3 metal-semiconductor heteronanocrystals in a liquid medium. The well-crystallized ultrathin Cs layers grow epitaxially on the surfaces of colloidal CsPbBr3 nanocrystals, forming heteronanocrystals with interface diameters of several nanometers. Most of them are pseudomorphic with coherent interfaces free from dislocations, and the others exhibit discrete high-angle grain boundaries. The model based on the calculation of the elastic potential energy of the epilayer and analysis of the near-coincidence sites explains well the experimental result. The analysis shows that the excellent lattice matc...

Hydrothermal synthesis of well crystallized C8 and diamond nanocrystals and pH-controlled C8 ↔ diamond phase transition

Diamond is a major carbon allotrope, whereas C8 is a rare and mysterious carbon allotrope with a super-cubic crystal structure that is even denser than diamond (by 15%). Little is known about the properties of C8 nanocrystals (NCs) because carbon NCs synthesized under usual conditions have either a graphitic or diamond crystal structure. We develop a hydrothermal method to synthesize well-crystallized C8 (∼6.1 nm) and diamond (∼4.7 nm) NCs. The crystal phase of the synthesized carbon NCs is determined by the pH of the initial precursor solution: acid solution results in diamond NCs while basic solution results in C8 NCs. These two phases of carbon NCs can be reversibly converted to each other by changing the pH from acidic to basic or vice versa under thermal conditions.

Quasi-self-trapped Frenkel-exciton near-UV luminescence with large Stokes shift in wide-bandgap Cs4PbCl6 nanocrystals

Inorganic lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) have attracted great interest owing to their superior luminescence and optoelectronic properties. In comparison to cubic CsPbX3 (X = Cl, Br, or I) that has visible luminescence, trigonal Cs4PbX6 has a much larger bandgap and distinct optical properties. Little has been known about the luminescence properties of the Cs4PbX6 NCs. In this study, we synthesize the well-crystallized Cs4PbCl6 NCs with sizes of 2.2–11.8 nm, which exhibit stable and near-UV luminescence (with a lifetime of 19.7–24.2 ns) with a remarkable quantum confinement effect at room temperature. In comparison to the negligible Stokes shift in the CsPbCl3 NCs, the Stokes shift of the Cs4PbCl6 NCs is very large (0.91 eV). The experimental results in combination with the first-principles calculations reveal that the near-UV luminescence of the Cs4PbCl6 NCs stems from the Frenkel excitons self-trapped in the isolated PbCl64– octahedrons. This is different from the CsPbCl3 NCs whose luminescence originates from the free Wannier excitons. The theoretical model based on the lattice relaxation is proposed to account for the large Stokes shift and its abnormal decrease with the decreasing particle size.