Determination of polarization-fields across polytype interfaces in InAs nanopillars

Noble-metal-free Cd0.3Zn0.7S-Ni(OH)2 for high efficiency visible light photocatalytic hydrogen production

Heterogeneously structured materials with supported precious metals, such as Pd, Pt, and Ru, as co-catalysts are important catalysts for efficient photocatalytic water splitting. However, the high costs and low reserves of precious metals have been an obstacle to their application in hydrogen production. In this work, the noble-metal-free Cd_0.3Zn_0.7S solid solution was designed and synthesized with an optimized molar ratio of Cd/Zn for the best visible light photocatalytic performance. In addition, a heterojunction hybrid material formed between the Cd_0.3Zn_0.7S and Ni(OH)₂ nanosheet was engineered to improve the utilization of light and to inhibit the recombination of holes and electrons. Ni(OH)₂ nanosheets assisted the transfer of the photoexcited electrons to participate in the reduction reactions which is critical for efficient and rapid catalytic hydrogen production. The photoelectrochemical property of the hybrid material was investigated with UV-vis absorption, photoluminance (PL) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. The mechanism of the high-efficiency and low-cost photocatalytic hydrogen production was established by analyzing the hydrogen evolution kinetics. With the success of replacing precious metal with nickel-based surface heterostructure, this work is expected to provide a new type of photocatalyst for the application of photocatalytic hydrogen production.

Study of nanometer-scale structures and electrostatic properties of InAs quantum dots decorating GaAs/AlAs core/shell nanowires

The configurations of core/shell nanowires (NWs) and quantum dots (QDs) decorating NWs have found great applications in forming optoelectronic devices thanks to their superior performances. The combination of the two configurations would expect to bring more benefits, however, the nanometer-scale electrostatic properties of the QD/buffer layer/NW heterostructures are still unrevealed. In this study, the InAs QDs decorating GaAs/AlAs core/shell NWs are systemically studied both experimentally and theoretically. The layered atomic structures, chemical information, and anisotropic strain conditions are characterized by comprehensive transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. Quantitative electron holography analyses show a large number of electrons accumulating in the InAs QD, especially at the dot apex, and charges of reversed signs and similar densities are observed to distribute at the sequential interfaces, leaving great amounts of holes in the NW core. Theoretical calculations including simulated heterostructural band structures, interfacial charge transfer, and chemical bonding analysis are in good accordance with the experimental results, and prove the important role of the AlAs buffer layer in adjusting the heterostructural band structure as well as forming stable InAs QDs on the NW surfaces. These results could be significant for achieving related optoelectronic devices with better stability and higher efficiency.

Atomistic and dynamic structural characterizations in low-dimensional materials: recent applications of in situ transmission electron microscopy

In situ transmission electron microscopy has achieved remarkable advances for atomic-scale dynamic analysis in low-dimensional materials and become an indispensable tool in view of linking a material's microstructure to its properties and performance. Here, accompanied with some cutting-edge researches worldwide, we briefly review our recent progress in dynamic atomistic characterization of low-dimensional materials under external mechanical stress, thermal excitations and electrical field. The electron beam irradiation effects in metals and metal oxides are also discussed. We conclude by discussing the likely future developments in this area.

Composition modulation by twinning in InAsSb nanowires

We observe a composition modulated axial heterostructure in zincblende (ZB) InAs_0.90Sb_0.10 nanowires initiated by pseudo-periodic twin boundaries using scanning tunneling microscopy. The twin boundaries exhibit four planes with reduced Sb concentration due to a lower Sb incorporation during lateral overgrowth of a 4H wurtzite as compared to a ZB stacking sequence. We anticipate that this leads to compositional band offsets in addition to known structural band offsets present between 4H and ZB polytypes, changing the band alignment from type II to type I.

Quantitative measurement of nanoscale electrostatic potentials and charges using off-axis electron holography: Developments and opportunities

Off-axis electron holography has evolved into a powerful electron-microscopy-based technique for characterizing electromagnetic fields with nanometer-scale resolution. In this paper, we present a review of the application of off-axis electron holography to the quantitative measurement of electrostatic potentials and charge density distributions. We begin with a short overview of the theoretical and experimental basis of the technique. Practical aspects of phase imaging, sample preparation and microscope operation are outlined briefly. Applications of off-axis electron holography to a wide range of materials are then described in more detail. Finally, challenges and future opportunities for electron holography investigations of electrostatic fields and charge density distributions are presented.

Atomistic Interface Dynamics in Sn-Catalyzed Growth of Wurtzite and Zinc-Blende ZnO Nanowires

Unraveling the phase selection mechanisms of semiconductor nanowires (NWs) is critical for the applications in future advanced nanodevices. In this study, the atomistic vapor-solid-liquid growth processes of Sn-catalyzed wurtzite (WZ) and zinc blende (ZB) ZnO are directly revealed based on the in situ transmission electron microscopy. The growth kinetics of WZ and ZB crystal phases in ZnO appear markedly different in terms of the NW-droplet interface, whereas the nucleation site as determined by the contact angle ϕ between the seed particle and the NW is found to be crucial for tuning the NW structure through combined experimental and theoretical investigations. These results offer an atomic-scale view into the dynamic growth process of ZnO NW, which has implications for the phase-controllable synthesis of II-VI compounds and heterostructures with tunable band structures.

He-Ion Microscopy as a High-Resolution Probe for Complex Quantum Heterostructures in Core-Shell Nanowires

Core-shell semiconductor nanowires (NW) with internal quantum heterostructures are amongst the most complex nanostructured materials to be explored for assessing the ultimate capabilities of diverse ultrahigh-resolution imaging techniques. To probe the structure and composition of these materials in their native environment with minimal damage and sample preparation calls for high-resolution electron or ion microscopy methods, which have not yet been tested on such classes of ultrasmall quantum nanostructures. Here, we demonstrate that scanning helium ion microscopy (SHeIM) provides a powerful and straightforward method to map quantum heterostructures embedded in complex III-V semiconductor NWs with unique material contrast at ∼1 nm resolution. By probing the cross sections of GaAs-Al(Ga)As core-shell NWs with coaxial GaAs quantum wells as well as short-period GaAs/AlAs superlattice (SL) structures in the shell, the Al-rich and Ga-rich layers are accurately discriminated by their image contrast in excellent agreement with correlated, yet destructive, scanning transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography analysis. Most interestingly, quantitative He-ion dose-dependent SHeIM analysis of the ternary AlGaAs shell layers and of compositionally nonuniform GaAs/AlAs SLs reveals distinct alloy composition fluctuations in the form of Al-rich clusters with size distributions between ∼1-10 nm. In the GaAs/AlAs SLs the alloy clustering vanishes with increasing SL-period (>5 nm-GaAs/4 nm-AlAs), providing insights into critical size dimensions for atomic intermixing effects in short-period SLs within a NW geometry. The straightforward SHeIM technique therefore provides unique benefits in imaging the tiniest nanoscale features in topography, structure and composition of a multitude of diverse complex semiconductor nanostructures.

Electron Holographic Study of Semiconductor Light-Emitting Diodes

Semiconductor light-emitting diodes (LEDs), especially GaN-based heterostructures, are widely used in light illumination. The lack of inversion symmetry of wurtzite crystal structures and the lattice mismatch at heterointerfaces cause large polarization fields with contributions from both spontaneous polarization and piezoelectric polarization, which in turn results in obvious quantum confined stark effect. It is possible to alleviate this effect if the local electrostatic fields and band alignment induced charge redistribution can be quantitatively determined across the heterostructures. In this Concept, the applications of electron holography to investigate semiconductor LEDs are summarized. Following the off-axis electron holography scheme, the GaN-based LED heterostructures including InGaN/GaN-based quantum wells, other GaN-based quantum wells, and other forms of GaN-based LED materials are discussed, focusing on the local potential drops, polarization fields, and charge distributions. Moreover, GaAs-based LED heterostructures are briefly discussed. The in-line electron holography scheme emphasizes the capability of large area strain mapping across LED heterostructures with high spatial resolution and accuracy, which is combined with quantitative electrostatic measurements and other advanced transmission electron microscopy characterizations to provide an overall nanometer scale perspective of LED devices for further improvement in their electric and optical properties.

Atomic-Scale Study of Cation Ordering in Potassium Tungsten Bronze Nanosheets

It has long been accepted that the formation of superlattices in hexagonal-based potassium tungsten bronzes is attributed to K vacancies only, together with small displacements of W cations. Here, the superlattices within potassium tungsten bronze nanosheets both structurally and spectroscopically at atomic resolution using comprehensive transmission electron microscopy techniques are studied. The multidimensional chemical analyses are realized by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, electron energy-loss spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the atomic-scale structures are characterized using aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy with high-angle annular-dark-field detector. The observed superstructures are mainly attributed to small amount of W vacancies within single atomic layer, which would recover to more uniform distributions of W vacancies with lower concentrations at higher temperature. The band regions of different orientation from the matrix tend to regulate the superstructures to be pinned along the same direction, forming domains of highly ordered structures. The characterization of cation ordering and recovery processes of nanostructures from chemical and structural point of view at atomic resolution enables rational design of optoelectronic devices with controlled physical properties.

Conduction Band Offset and Polarization Effects in InAs Nanowire Polytype Junctions

Although zinc-blende (ZB) and wurtzite (WZ) structures differ only in the atomic stacking sequence, mixing of crystal phases can strongly affect the electronic properties, a problem particularly common to bottom up-grown nanostructures. A lack of understanding of the nature of electronic transport at crystal phase junctions thus severely limits our ability to develop functional nanowire devices. In this work we investigated electron transport in InAs nanowires with designed mixing of crystal structures, ZB/WZ/ZB, by temperature-dependent electrical measurements. The WZ inclusion gives rise to an energy barrier in the conduction band. Interpreting the experimental result in terms of thermionic emission and using a drift-diffusion model, we extracted values for the WZ/ZB band offset, 135 ± 10 meV, and interface sheet polarization charge density on the order of 10^-3 C/m². The extracted polarization charge density is 1-2 orders of magnitude smaller than previous experimental results, but in good agreement with first principle calculation of spontaneous polarization in WZ InAs. When the WZ length is reduced below 20 nm, an effective barrier lowering is observed, indicating the increasing importance of tunneling transport. Finally, we found that band-bending at ZB/WZ junctions can lead to bound electron states within an enclosed WZ segment of sufficient length, evidenced by our observation of Coulomb blockade at low temperature. These findings provide critical input for modeling and designing the electronic properties of novel functional devices, such as nanowire transistors, where crystal polytypes are commonly found.

Insights into the structure-photoreactivity relationships in well-defined perovskite ferroelectric KNbO3 nanowires

1D perovskite-type orthorhombic KNbO₃ nanowires display RhB photodegradation about two-fold as large as their monoclinic counterparts and a synergy between ferroelectric polarization and electronic structure in photoreactivity enhancement is uncovered.

Structure–function correlations are a central theme in heterogeneous (photo)catalysis. In this study, the geometric and electronic structure of perovskite ferroelectric KNbO₃ nanowires with respective orthorhombic and monoclinic polymorphs have been systematically addressed. By virtue of aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy, we directly visualize surface photocatalytic active sites, measure local atomic displacements at an accuracy of several picometers, and quantify ferroelectric polarization combined with first-principles calculations. The photoreactivity of the as-prepared KNbO₃ nanowires is assessed toward aqueous rhodamine B degradation under UV light. A synergy between the ferroelectric polarization and electronic structure in photoreactivity enhancement is uncovered, which accounts for the prominent reactivity order: orthorhombic > monoclinic. Additionally, by identifying new photocatalytic products, rhodamine B degradation pathways involving N-deethylation and conjugated structure cleavage are proposed. Our findings not only provide new insights into the structure–photoreactivity relationships in perovskite ferroelectric photocatalysts, but also have broad implications in perovskite-based water splitting and photovoltaics, among others.

Polarity continuation and frustration in ZnSe nanospirals

ZnSe nanospirals including structures with polarity continuation and polarity frustration are simultaneously observed at atomic resolution. Through careful analysis of polarity within each dumbbell based on aberration-corrected high-angle annular-dark-field imaging, polarity continuation across parallel polytype interfaces as well as the surrounding Z-shape faulted dipoles is verified. Moreover, polarity frustration across regions with different stacking sequence, which would lead to accumulations of boundary interface charges in the triangular-shaped mixed regions with potential optoelectronic applications, is carefully studied.