0000000000116923
AUTHOR
Miriam Herrera
Growth of low-density vertical quantum dot molecules with control in energy emission
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License.-- This article is part of the series 8th International Workshop on Epitaxial Semiconductors on Patterned Substrates and Novel Index Surfaces.
Structural and chemical characterization of CdSe-ZnS core-shell quantum dots
Abstract The structural and compositional properties of CdSe-ZnS core-shell quantum dots (QDs) with a sub-nm shell thickness are analyzed at the atomic scale using electron microscopy. QDs with both wurtzite and zinc blende crystal structures, as well as intermixing of the two structures and stacking faults, are observed. High-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy suggests the presence of a lower atomic number epitaxial shell of irregular thickness around a CdSe core. The presence of a shell is confirmed using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Despite the thickness irregularities, the optical properties of the particles, such as photoluminescence and quantum…
Au–NiOx nanocomposite for hot electron-assisted plasmonic photocatalysis
Nanocomposites of metal–oxide semiconductors containing Au nanoparticles are emerging multifunctional materials for sunlight-driven highly efficient photocatalysis. Here we report a solution-processed nanocomposite synthesis of Au–NiOx nanocomposite films by slot-die coating and plotter printing in a straightforward in situ synthesis approach. Our study demonstrated a significantly enhanced photocatalytic decomposition reaction of MO upon exposure of Au–NiOx films to a sunlight simulator. The excellent photocatalytic activity is ascribed to the generation of hot carriers after LSPR excitation in Au NPs. Suitable band alignment between the valence band of NiOx and the Fermi level of Au NPs l…
Novel Method of Preparation of Gold-Nanoparticle-Doped TiO2 and SiO2 Plasmonic Thin Films: Optical Characterization and Comparison with Maxwell-Garnett Modeling
SiO2 and TiO2 thin films with gold nanoparticles (NPs) are of particular interest as photovoltaic materials. A novel method for the preparation of spin-coated SiO2–Au and TiO2–Au nanocomposites is presented. This fast and inexpensive method, which includes three separate stages, is based on the in situ synthesis of both the metal-oxide matrix and the Au NPs during a baking process at relatively low temperature. It allows the formation of nanocomposite thin films with a higher concentration of Au NPs than other methods. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy studies revealed a homogeneous distribution of NPs over the film volume along with their narrow size distribution. The optica…
Inhibition of light emission from the metastable tetragonal phase at low temperatures in island-like films of lead iodide perovskites
Photonic applications based on halide perovskites, namely CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3), have recently attracted remarkable attention due to the high efficiencies reported for photovoltaic and light emitting devices. Despite these outstanding results, there are many temperature-, laser excitation power-, and morphology-dependent phenomena that require further research to be completely understood. In this work, we have investigated in detail the nature of exciton optical transitions and recombination dynamics below and above the orthorhombic/tetragonal ('O'-/'T'-) temperature phase transition (∼150 K) depending on the material continuity (continuous-like) or discontinuity (island-like) in MAPbI3 films…
Structural characterization of bulk and nanoparticle lead halide perovskite thin films by (S)TEM techniques.
Lead halide (APbX3) perovskites, in polycrystalline thin films but also perovskite nanoparticles (NPs) has demonstrated excellent performance to implement a new generation of photovoltaic and photonic devices. The structural characterization of APbX3 thin films using (scanning) transmission electron microscopy ((S)TEM) techniques can provide valuable information that can be used to understand and model their optoelectronic performance and device properties. However, since APbX3 perovskites are soft materials, their characterization using (S)TEM is challenging. Here, we study and compare the structural properties of two different metal halide APbX3 perovskite thin films: bulk CH3NH3PbI3 prep…
Mapping the plasmonic response of gold nanoparticles embedded in TiO2thin films
We present the mapping of the plasmonic properties of gold nanoparticles that are embedded in a TiO2 thin film deposited over two different substrates, glass and silicon. An improved electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) imaging technique was used to extract plasmon maps with nanometre resolution. Several representative cases of randomly dispersed NPs have been examined to carefully evaluate surrounding effects on the optical response of such nanostructured material. Data were compared to analytical calculations and showed good agreement. These results validate previous structural and far-field optical results and provide a clear description of the optical phenomena that take place at a …