1
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K. Sivan A, Abad B, Albrigi T, Arif O, Trautvetter J, Ruiz Caridad A, Arya C, Zannier V, Sorba L, Rurali R, Zardo I. GaAs/GaP Superlattice Nanowires for Tailoring Phononic Properties at the Nanoscale: Implications for Thermal Engineering. ACS Appl Nano Mater 2023; 6:18602-18613. [PMID: 37854853 PMCID: PMC10580287 DOI: 10.1021/acsanm.3c04245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023]
Abstract
The possibility to tune the functional properties of nanomaterials is key to their technological applications. Superlattices, i.e., periodic repetitions of two or more materials in one or more dimensions, are being explored for their potential as materials with tailor-made properties. Meanwhile, nanowires offer a myriad of possibilities to engineer systems at the nanoscale, as well as to combine materials that cannot be put together in conventional heterostructures due to the lattice mismatch. In this work, we investigate GaAs/GaP superlattices embedded in GaP nanowires and demonstrate the tunability of their phononic and optoelectronic properties by inelastic light scattering experiments corroborated by ab initio calculations. We observe clear modifications in the dispersion relation for both acoustic and optical phonons in the superlattices nanowires. We find that by controlling the superlattice periodicity, we can achieve tunability of the phonon frequencies. We also performed wavelength-dependent Raman microscopy on GaAs/GaP superlattice nanowires, and our results indicate a reduction in the electronic bandgap in the superlattice compared to the bulk counterpart. All of our experimental results are rationalized with the help of ab initio density functional perturbation theory (DFPT) calculations. This work sheds fresh insights into how material engineering at the nanoscale can tailor phonon dispersion and open pathways for thermal engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aswathi K. Sivan
- Department
of Physics, University of Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Begoña Abad
- Department
of Physics, University of Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Tommaso Albrigi
- Institut
de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona, ICMAB-CSIC, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Omer Arif
- NEST,
Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore, 56127 Pisa, Italy
| | | | | | - Chaitanya Arya
- Department
of Physics, University of Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Valentina Zannier
- NEST,
Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore, 56127 Pisa, Italy
| | - Lucia Sorba
- NEST,
Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore, 56127 Pisa, Italy
| | - Riccardo Rurali
- Institut
de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona, ICMAB-CSIC, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Ilaria Zardo
- Department
of Physics, University of Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
- Swiss
Nanoscience Institute, University of Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
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2
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K Sivan A, Galán-González A, Di Mario L, Tappy N, Hernández-Ferrer J, Catone D, Turchini S, Benito AM, Maser WK, Steinvall SE, Fontcuberta I Morral A, Gallant A, Zeze DA, Atkinson D, Martelli F. Optical properties and carrier dynamics in Co-doped ZnO nanorods. Nanoscale Adv 2021; 3:214-222. [PMID: 36131871 PMCID: PMC9419505 DOI: 10.1039/d0na00693a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2020] [Revised: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 11/09/2020] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The controlled modification of the electronic properties of ZnO nanorods via transition metal doping is reported. A series of ZnO nanorods were synthesized by chemical bath growth with varying Co content from 0 to 20 atomic% in the growth solution. Optoelectronic behavior was probed using cathodoluminescence, time-resolved luminescence, transient absorbance spectroscopy, and the incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE). Analysis indicates the crucial role of surface defects in determining the electronic behavior. Significantly, Co-doping extends the light absorption of the nanorods into the visible region, increases the surface defects, and shortens the non-radiative lifetimes, while leaving the radiative lifetime constant. Furthermore, for 1 atomic% Co-doping the IPCE of the ZnO nanorods is enhanced. These results demonstrate that doping can controllably tune the functional electronic properties of ZnO nanorods for applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aswathi K Sivan
- Istituto per la Microelettronica e i Microsistemi (IMM), CNR I-00133 Rome Italy
| | - Alejandro Galán-González
- Department of Engineering, Durham University South Rd Durham DH1 3LE UK
- Department of Physics, Durham University South Rd Durham DH1 3LE UK
| | - Lorenzo Di Mario
- Istituto di Struttura della Materia-CNR (ISM-CNR), Division of Ultrafast Processes in Materials (FLASHit) Area della Ricerca di Roma 2 Tor Vergata 00133 Rome Italy
| | - Nicolas Tappy
- Laboratoire des Matériaux Semiconducteurs, Institute of Materials, Faculty of Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne 1015 Lausanne Switzerland
| | | | - Daniele Catone
- Istituto di Struttura della Materia-CNR (ISM-CNR), Division of Ultrafast Processes in Materials (FLASHit) Area della Ricerca di Roma 2 Tor Vergata 00133 Rome Italy
| | - Stefano Turchini
- Istituto di Struttura della Materia-CNR (ISM-CNR), Division of Ultrafast Processes in Materials (FLASHit) Area della Ricerca di Roma 2 Tor Vergata 00133 Rome Italy
| | - Ana M Benito
- Instituto de Carboquímica (ICB-CSIC) C/Miguel Luesma Castán 4 50018 Zaragoza Spain
| | - Wolfgang K Maser
- Instituto de Carboquímica (ICB-CSIC) C/Miguel Luesma Castán 4 50018 Zaragoza Spain
| | - Simon Escobar Steinvall
- Laboratoire des Matériaux Semiconducteurs, Institute of Materials, Faculty of Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne 1015 Lausanne Switzerland
| | - Anna Fontcuberta I Morral
- Laboratoire des Matériaux Semiconducteurs, Institute of Materials, Faculty of Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne 1015 Lausanne Switzerland
- Institute of Physics, Faculty of Basic Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Lausanne Switzerland
| | - Andrew Gallant
- Department of Engineering, Durham University South Rd Durham DH1 3LE UK
| | - Dagou A Zeze
- Department of Engineering, Durham University South Rd Durham DH1 3LE UK
- ITMO University St. Petersburg 197101 Russia
| | - Del Atkinson
- Department of Physics, Durham University South Rd Durham DH1 3LE UK
| | - Faustino Martelli
- Istituto per la Microelettronica e i Microsistemi (IMM), CNR I-00133 Rome Italy
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3
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Galán-González A, Sivan AK, Hernández-Ferrer J, Bowen L, Di Mario L, Martelli F, Benito AM, Maser WK, Chaudhry MU, Gallant A, Zeze DA, Atkinson D. Cobalt-Doped ZnO Nanorods Coated with Nanoscale Metal-Organic Framework Shells for Water-Splitting Photoanodes. ACS Appl Nano Mater 2020; 3:7781-7788. [PMID: 32954224 PMCID: PMC7493217 DOI: 10.1021/acsanm.0c01325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Developing highly efficient and stable photoelectrochemical (PEC) water-splitting electrodes via inexpensive, liquid phase processing is one of the key challenges for the conversion of solar energy into hydrogen for sustainable energy production. ZnO represents one the most suitable semiconductor metal oxide alternatives because of its high electron mobility, abundance, and low cost, although its performance is limited by its lack of absorption in the visible spectrum and reduced charge separation and charge transfer efficiency. Here, we present a solution-processed water-splitting photoanode based on Co-doped ZnO nanorods (NRs) coated with a transparent functionalizing metal-organic framework (MOF). The light absorption of the ZnO NRs is engineered toward the visible region by Co-doping, while the MOF significantly improves the stability and charge separation and transfer properties of the NRs. This synergetic combination of doping and nanoscale surface functionalization boosts the current density and functional lifetime of the photoanodes while achieving an unprecedented incident photon to current efficiency (IPCE) of 75% at 350 nm, which is over 2 times that of pristine ZnO. A theoretical model and band structure for the core-shell nanostructure is provided, highlighting how this nanomaterial combination provides an attractive pathway for the design of robust and highly efficient semiconductor-based photoanodes that can be translated to other semiconducting oxide systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Galán-González
- Department
of Engineering, Durham University, South Rd., Durham DH1 3LE, U.K.
- Department
of Physics, Durham University, South Rd., Durham DH1 3LE, U.K.
| | - Aswathi K. Sivan
- Istituto
per la Microelettronica e i Microsistemi (IMM)-CNR, I-00133 Rome, Italy
| | | | - Leon Bowen
- Department
of Physics, Durham University, South Rd., Durham DH1 3LE, U.K.
| | - Lorenzo Di Mario
- Istituto
di Struttura della Materia (ISM-CNR), I-00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Faustino Martelli
- Istituto
per la Microelettronica e i Microsistemi (IMM)-CNR, I-00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Ana M. Benito
- Instituto
de Carboquímica (ICB-CSIC), C/Miguel Luesma Castán 4, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Wolfgang K. Maser
- Instituto
de Carboquímica (ICB-CSIC), C/Miguel Luesma Castán 4, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
| | | | - Andrew Gallant
- Department
of Engineering, Durham University, South Rd., Durham DH1 3LE, U.K.
| | - Dagou A. Zeze
- Department
of Engineering, Durham University, South Rd., Durham DH1 3LE, U.K.
- ITMO
University, St. Petersburg 197101, Russia
| | - Del Atkinson
- Department
of Physics, Durham University, South Rd., Durham DH1 3LE, U.K.
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Sivan AK, Di Mario L, Catone D, O'Keeffe P, Turchini S, Rubini S, Martelli F. Plasmon-induced resonant effects on the optical properties of Ag-decorated ZnSe nanowires. Nanotechnology 2020; 31:174001. [PMID: 31910399 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/ab68ba] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
In this work we show how the optical properties of ZnSe nanowires are modified by the presence of Ag nanoparticles on the sidewalls of the ZnSe nanowires. In particular, we show that the low-temperature luminescence of the ZnSe nanowires changes its shape, enhancing the phonon replicas of impurity-related recombination and affecting rise and decay times of the transient absorption bleaching at room temperatures, with an increase of the former and a decrease of the latter. In contrast, the deposition of Au nanoparticles on ZnSe nanowires does not change the optical properties of the sample. We suggest that the mechanism underlying these experimental observations is energy transfer via a resonant interaction, based on the fact that the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of Ag nanoparticles spectrally overlaps with absorption and emission of ZnSe, while the Au LSPR does not.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aswathi K Sivan
- Istituto per la Microelettronica e i Microsistemi (IMM), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via del Fosso del Cavaliere, 100, 00133 Rome, Italy
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5
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Catone D, Di Mario L, Martelli F, O'Keeffe P, Paladini A, Stefano Pelli Cresi J, Sivan AK, Tian L, Toschi F, Turchini S. Ultrafast optical spectroscopy of semiconducting and plasmonic nanostructures and their hybrids. Nanotechnology 2020; 32:025703. [PMID: 32937606 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/abb907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The knowledge of the carrier dynamics in nanostructures is of fundamental importance for the development of (opto)electronic devices. This is true for semiconducting nanostructures as well as for plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs). Indeed, improvement of photocatalytic efficiencies by combining semiconductor and plasmonic nanostructures is one of the reasons why their ultrafast dynamics are intensively studied. In this work, we will review our activity on ultrafast spectroscopy in nanostructures carried out in the recently established EuroFEL Support Laboratory. We have investigated the dynamical plasmonic responses of metal NPs both in solution and in 2D and 3D arrays on surfaces, with particular attention being paid to the effects of the NP shape and to the conversion of absorbed light into heat on a nano-localized scale. We will summarize the results obtained on the carrier dynamics in nanostructured perovskites with emphasis on the hot-carrier dynamics and in semiconductor nanosystems such as ZnSe and Si nanowires, with particular attention to the band-gap bleaching dynamics. Subsequently, the study of semiconductor-metal NP hybrids, such as CeO2-Ag NPs, ZnSe-Ag NPs and ZnSe-Au NPs, allows the discussion of interaction mechanisms such as charge carrier transfer and Förster interaction. Finally, we assess an alternative method for the sensitization of wide band gap semiconductors to visible light by discussing the relationship between the carrier dynamics of TiO2 NPs and V-doped TiO2 NPs and their catalytic properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniele Catone
- Istituto di Struttura della Materia-CNR (ISM-CNR), Division of Ultrafast Processes in Materials (FLASHit), 100 Via del Fosso del Cavaliere, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Di Mario
- Istituto di Struttura della Materia-CNR (ISM-CNR), Division of Ultrafast Processes in Materials (FLASHit), 100 Via del Fosso del Cavaliere, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Faustino Martelli
- CNR-IMM, Area della Ricerca di Roma Tor Vergata, 100 Via del Fosso del Cavaliere, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Patrick O'Keeffe
- Istituto di Struttura della Materia-CNR (ISM-CNR), Division of Ultrafast Processes in Materials (FLASHit), 00015 Monterotondo Scalo, Italy
| | - Alessandra Paladini
- Istituto di Struttura della Materia-CNR (ISM-CNR), Division of Ultrafast Processes in Materials (FLASHit), 00015 Monterotondo Scalo, Italy
| | - Jacopo Stefano Pelli Cresi
- Istituto di Struttura della Materia-CNR (ISM-CNR), Division of Ultrafast Processes in Materials (FLASHit), 00015 Monterotondo Scalo, Italy
| | - Aswathi K Sivan
- CNR-IMM, Area della Ricerca di Roma Tor Vergata, 100 Via del Fosso del Cavaliere, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Lin Tian
- CNR-IMM, Area della Ricerca di Roma Tor Vergata, 100 Via del Fosso del Cavaliere, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Francesco Toschi
- Istituto di Struttura della Materia-CNR (ISM-CNR), Division of Ultrafast Processes in Materials (FLASHit), 00015 Monterotondo Scalo, Italy
| | - Stefano Turchini
- Istituto di Struttura della Materia-CNR (ISM-CNR), Division of Ultrafast Processes in Materials (FLASHit), 100 Via del Fosso del Cavaliere, 00133 Rome, Italy
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6
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Tian L, Di Mario L, Sivan AK, Catone D, O'Keeffe P, Paladini A, Turchini S, Martelli F. Carrier dynamics in silicon nanowires studied via femtosecond transient optical spectroscopy from 1.1 to 3.5 eV. Nanotechnology 2019; 30:214001. [PMID: 30716721 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/ab044a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
We present femtosecond transient transmission (or absorbance) measurements in silicon nanowires in the energy range 1.1-3.5 eV, from below the indirect band-gap to above the direct band-gap. Our pump-probe measurements allow us to give a complete picture of the carrier dynamics in silicon. In this way we perform an experimental study with a spectral completeness that is lacking in the whole literature on carrier dynamics in silicon. A particular emphasis is given to the dynamics of the transient absorbance at the energies relative to the direct band gap at 3.3 eV. Indeed, the use of pump energies below and above 3.3 eV allowed us to disentangle the dynamics of electrons and holes in their respective bands. The band gap renormalization of the direct band gap is also investigated for different pump energies. A critical discussion is given on the results below 3.3 eV where phonon-assisted processes are required in the optical transitions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Tian
- Istituto per la Microelettronica e i Microsistemi (IMM), CNR, I-00133, Rome, Italy
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