Quanqin Dai

Size-dependent composition and molar extinction coefficient of PbSe semiconductor nanocrystals.

Atomic compositions and molar extinction coefficients of PbSe semiconductor nanocrystals were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry, UV-vis-NIR spectrophotometry, and transmission electron microscopy. The Pb/Se atomic ratio was found to be size-dependent with a systematic excess of Pb atoms in the PbSe nanocrystal system. Experimental results indicated that the individual PbSe nanocrystal was nonstoichiometric, consisting of a PbSe core and an extra layer of Pb atoms. For these nonstoichiometric PbSe semiconductor nanocrystals, we proposed a new computational approach to calculate the total number of Pb and Se atoms in different sized particles. This calculation played a key role on the accurate determination of the strongly size-dependent extinction coefficient, which followed a power law with an exponent of approximately 2.5.

Facile Synthesis of Tin Oxide Nanoflowers: A Potential High-Capacity Lithium-Ion-Storage Material

A facile and reproducible approach was reported to synthesize nanoparticle-attached SnO nanoflowers via decomposition of an intermediate product Sn6O4(OH)4. Sn6O4(OH)4 formed after introducing water into the traditional nonaqueous reaction, and then decomposed to SnO nanoflowers with the help of free metal cations, such as Sn2+, Fe2+, and Mn2+. This free cation-induced formation process was found independent of the nature of the surface ligand. It was demonstrated further that the as-prepared SnO nanoflowers could be utilized as good anode materials for lithium ion rechargeable batteries with a high capacity of around 800 mA h g(-1), close to the theoretical value (875 mA h g(-1)).

Stability study of PbSe semiconductor nanocrystals over concentration, size, atmosphere, and light exposure.

Infrared-emitting PbSe nanocrystals are of increasing interest in both fundamental research and technical application. However, the practical applications are greatly limited by their poor stability. In this work, absorption and photoluminescence spectra of PbSe nanocrystals were utilized to observe the stability of PbSe nanocrystals over several conventional factors, that is, particle concentration, particle size, temperature, light exposure, contacting atmosphere, and storage forms (solution or solid powder). Both absorption and luminescence spectra of PbSe nanocrystals exposed to air showed dependence on particle concentration, size, and light exposure, which caused large and quick blue-shifts in the optical spectra. This air-contacted instability arising from the destructive oxidation and subsequent collision-induced decomposition was kinetically dominated and differed from the traditional thought that smaller particles with lower concentrations shrank fast. The photoluminescence emission intensity of the PbSe nanocrystal solution under ultraviolet (UV) exposure in air increased first and then decreased slowly; without UV irradiation, the emission intensity monotonously decreased over time. However, if stored under nitrogen, no obvious changes in absorption and photoluminescence spectra of the PbSe nanocrystals were observed even under UV exposure or upon being heated up to 100 degrees C.

Size-Dependent Temperature Effects on PbSe Nanocrystals

An investigation show that the temperature-induced band gap (E(g)) variation of PbSe nanocrystals is strongly size-dependent. The temperature coefficients (dE(g)/dT) evolve from negative to zero and then to positive values, with the increase of PbSe nanocrystal sizes. Such phenomena imply that PbSe nanocrystals may be the potential candidate as sensitive temperature markers. Additional analyses disclose that the molar extinction coefficients of PbSe nanocrystals remain unchanged in the investigated temperature range (25-120 degrees C).

Formation of PbSe/CdSe Core/Shell Nanocrystals for Stable Near-Infrared High Photoluminescence Emission

PbSe/CdSe core/shell nanocrystals with quantum yield of 70% were obtained by the “successive ion layer adsorption and reaction” technology in solution. The thickness of the CdSe shell was exactly controlled. A series of spectral red shifts with the CdSe shell growth were observed, which was attributed to the combined effect of the surface polarization and the expansion of carriers’ wavefunctions. The stability of PbSe nanocrystals was tremendously improved with CdSe shells.

PbSe/CdSe and PbSe/CdSe/ZnSe hierarchical nanocrystals and their photoluminescence.

Multiple CdSe and ZnSe semiconductor shells were grown on PbSe semiconductor spherical cores with monolayer control. For CdSe shell coating, we found that there was little room to further increase the quantum yields of freshly-made high-quality PbSe nanocrystals that already owned very high initial values because of their good surface status; but there was great improvement for the PbSe nanocrystals with low initial quantum yields because of the poor surface status. Nonetheless, the quantum yield for the latter case could not reach the formers value. Additional ZnSe shells on PbSe/CdSe could further increase the quantum yield and protect the nanocrystals from air oxidation. The observed phenomena in the synthesis of the PbSe/CdSe and PbSe/CdSe/ZnSe core/shell structures were explained through the carrier wave function expansion and the surface polarization.

Facile Assembly of Size- and Shape-Tunable IV—VI Nanocrystals into Superlattices

In comparison to the previous lengthy approaches, we described a general and simple strategy for engineering the superlattice assembly of IV-VI semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) with tunable sizes and morphologies. Not only the well-studied spherical NCs but also some special-shaped NCs, such as the quasi-cubic, cubic, truncated octahedral, and octahedral, could self-assemble into well-ordered patterns, as demonstrated in PbS, PbSe, and PbTe. These results extended our proposed model about the configuration of ligand chains in the superlattice assembly. This powerful capability of assembling superlattices was dominated by a heat-treatment process, providing a significant and extensive direction in the engineering of morphology-tunable NC superlattices.

A Facile Approach to PbS Nanoflowers and Their Shape-Tunable Hollow Nanostructures: Morphology Evolution

In this work, we presented a facile approach for the preparation of three-dimensional PbS nanoflowers, which was attributed to the coexistence of two types of amines with different-length alkyl chains and different steric hindrance. These monodisperse PbS nanoflowers showed small particle sizes (35 nm) and narrow size distribution (dz9%). On the basis of these nanoflowers, we obtained a series of singlecrystal hollow PbS nanostructures with tunable morphologies (including sphere, cuboctahedron, cube, and tube/rod) through elevating reaction temperature and prolonging growth time. It was further followed by a detailed discussion of the mechanism of morphology evolution, where the recrystallization and intraparticle ripening made contributions.