Photochemical synthesis of Bi2Se3 nanosphere and nanorods

A photochemical reaction route was developed to synthesize bismuth selenide (Bi₂Se₃) nanoparticles and nanorods. In an aqueous solution, bismuth nitrate (Bi(NO₃)₃) reacted with sodium selenosufate in the presence of reducing agent and complexing agent, and the dispersed Bi₂Se₃ nanoparticles were obtained with the average size of 35 nm. The nanorods were prepared via an alumina template route in the same solution. We carried out experiments to study the formation mechanism in the morphology control of the products and found that series of factors played an effective role including the irradiation time, pH value, the reducing agents and the species of complexing agents. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).     

Physical properties of Bi2 (Te,Se)3 and Bi2Se1.2Te1.8 prepared using solid-state microwave synthesis

Bi₂(Te, Se)₃ and Bi₂Se_1.2Te_1.8 bulk products were synthesised using standard solid-state microwave synthesis. The Bi₂(Te, Se)₃ and Bi₂Se_1.2Te_1.8 were then deposited thermally onto glass substrates at a pressure of 10^? 6 Torr. The structure of the samples was analysed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the powders and thin films were observed to be polycrystalline and rhombohedral in structure. The surface morphology of the samples was determined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). From the measurements of optical properties, the energy gap values for the Bi₂Te₃, Bi₂Se₃, and Bi₂Se_1.2Te_1.8 thin films were 0.43, 0.73, and 0.65 eV, respectively.     

Mechanochemical synthesis of nanocrystalline titanium monoxide

Nanocrystalline cubic titanium monoxide, TiO_x (0.92 < x < 1.19), with mean crystallite size of ≈ 6 nm, was synthesized by mechanochemical treatment of Ti and TiO₂ (rutile) powder mixtures with molar ratios of 1:1, 1.10:1 and 1.25:1. The mechanochemical solid state reaction in a high-energy planetary ball mill was completed for 2 h in either air or argon atmosphere. During heating in vacuum at 900 and 1000 °C for 24 h, nanocrystalline TiO_x transforms to a well-crystallized, cubic or monoclinic TiO_x. The materials prepared were characterized by XRPD, TGA/DSC and SEM/EDS analysis.     

Growth and characterization of Ni substituted Bi2Se3 single crystals

Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism - In this article, we report synthesis and magneto-transport analysis of Ni substituted Bi2Se3 crystals. Phase purity and crystalline growth are...     

The synthesis and characterization of nanocrystalline Cu- and Ag-based multinary sulfide semiconductors

The novel polygonal flake like Ag₈SnS₆ crystal, Cu₂FeSnS₄ flaky, and well-dispersed Cu₂CoSnS₄ nanoparticles were successfully prepared via a convenient hydrothermal reaction route at relatively low temperature, which was avoiding the use of high temperature treatments or toxic organic solvents. The products were characterized by means of X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electronic microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectronic spectra (XPS) and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). It was found that the reaction temperature played a key role for the formation of the target products.     

Mechanochemical synthesis and hydrogen sorption properties of nanocrystalline TiFe

The equiatomic intermetallic compound TiFe has been prepared by elemental mechanochemical synthesis in a planetary ball mill from Fe and Ti powders. The structural and phase transformations during synthesis were followed using X-ray diffraction. The reaction of the synthesized compound with hydrogen was studied volumetrically. The results demonstrate that the hydrogen capacity of the mechanochemical TiFe is 1.2 wt % at 2.5 MPa. Its absorption isotherm has an extended plateau in the range 1.6–1.7 MPa at room temperature.     

Mechanochemical synthesis of sodium tungsten bronze nanocrystalline powders

Nanocrystalline powders of sodium tungsten bronze Na_xWO₃ (x∼0.88) have been prepared by mechanochemical process using starting materials of Na pieces and WO₃ powders in a planetary ball mill. The synthesis reactions proceed with increasing milling time and are almost completed after 44 h. Phase-pure nanoparticles of Na_xWO₃ with average size of 17 nm were directly obtained after a simple washing process to remove the by-product of Na₂WO₄. The resistivity was measured in the temperature range from 77 to 300 K. The sample displays semiconducting behavior and can be characterized by three-dimensional variable-range hopping. The mechanochemical process seems to be an attractive route to fabricate tungsten bronzes because of several advantages such as easy preparation, less cost, operating at low temperature and suitability for a large-scale production.     

Mechanochemical synthesis and characterization of nanocrystalline 0.4Bi(Zn1/2Ti1/2)O3-0.6PbTiO3 powders

Perovskite 0.4Bi(Zn_1/2Ti_1/2)O₃-0.6PbTiO₃ (BZT-PT) powders were successfully synthesized from precursor oxides using a high-energy planetary ball milling. The phase development of the powders during milling was studied by means of X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering techniques. The microstructure of the powders was characterized using transmission electron microscopy, and the thermal behavior was studied as well. The results reveal that after 15 h of milling the formation of BZT-PT phase can be completed and submicron agglomerates of small crystallite sized ~ 12 nm are present in the powders. However, further prolonging the milling time to 25 h leads to the amorphization of the BZT-PT phase.     

Photoelectrochemical characterization of Bi2Se3 thin films deposited by SILAR technique

Bi₂Se₃ thin films have been deposited by simple and less investigated successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique onto fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrates at room temperature (27 °C). The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies indicate that Bi₂Se₃ thin films are nanocrystalline. These films are used for photoelectrochemical (PEC) characterization in cell with configuration as n-Bi₂Se₃/0.1 M polysulfide/C. The studies such as current–voltage characteristics in dark and light, photovoltaic power output, transient photoresponse, and capacitance–voltage have been carried out. The study reveals that fill factor and power conversion efficiency of the cell are low (0.43 and 0.032%, respectively).The flat bond potential is found to be −0.04 V (SCE).     

Mechanochemical synthesis of BiSI and Bi19S27I3 semiconductor materials

With regard to the intensive investigations of bismuth oxyhalides as promising photocatalysts, much expectation may be put on the corresponding chalcohalides but little is known due to difficulty in the synthesis. In this report, BiSI and Bi₁₉S₂₇I₃ were synthesized by one-step mechanochemical method without heating and aqueous operations and the products were characterized by X-ray diffraction crystallography, Raman spectroscopic analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis, photoluminescence spectra and UV–visible DRS. The new method allowed the simple syntheses of pure bismuth chalcohalides without observable existences of impurity phases. The crystal structures of BiSI and Bi₁₉S₂₇I₃ were orthorhombic, with the absorption band gaps of 1.80 and 1.14 eV for BiSI and Bi₁₉S₂₇I₃, respectively. Bi-rich compound is considered to be beneficial to the photochemical property of chalcohalides. After overcoming the difficulty in the synthesis, our research would offer new strategy to exploit the potentials of V-VI-VII compounds, particularly of sulfides, as promising semiconductors to compete the corresponding counterparts of oxides.     

Microwave-assisted synthesis and characterization of 3D flower-like Bi2S3 superstructures

Bismuth sulfide (Bi₂S₃) microcrystallines with three-dimensional (3D) flower-like superstructures were prepared by the microwave irradiation method with bismuth nitrate (Bi(NO₃)₃·5H₂O) and thiourea ((NH₂)₂CS) as raw materials and ethylene glycol as solvent. The powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern shows the product belongs to the orthorhombic Bi₂S₃ phase. The quantification of X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) analysis peaks gives an atomic ratio of 1.9:3.0 for Bi:S. Transmission electron microscopic (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies reveal that the superstructure of the as-prepared Bi₂S₃ consists of sticks extending radially from a nucleation site. The reaction progress and a possible mechanism were proposed.     

Sensitive solution-processed Bi2S3 nanocrystalline photodetectors

Solution-processed nanocrystal optoelectronic devices offer large-area coverage, low cost, and compatibility with a wide range of substrates. Recently, photodetectors and photovoltaics based on spin-coated nanoparticle films have shown tremendous progress in performance. However, high-performance devices reported to date have employed either Pb or Cd, raising concerns regarding environmental impact and regulatory acceptance. Herein we report a high-performance solution-processed photodetector based instead on Bi2S3 nanocrystals. The devices exhibit photoconductive gain on the order of 10 combined with temporal response on the 10 ms time scale. The resultant solution-processed Bi2S3 nanorod photoconductive photodetectors are of interest in visible and near-infrared (NIR) wavelength applications requiring video-frame-rate temporal response.     

Mechanochemical synthesis of ternary chalcogenide chalcostibite CuSbS2 and its characterization

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - In this work, the very rapid one-step mechanochemical synthesis of nanocrystalline ternary chalcogenide chalcostibite CuSbS2 prepared from...     

Epitaxial growth and thermal-conductivity limit of single-crystalline Bi2Se3/In2Se3 superlattices on mica

Nano Research - Thermal transport in superlattices is governed by various phonon-scattering processes. For extracting the phonon-scattering contribution of hetero-interfaces in chalcogenide...     

Suspension and measurement of graphene and Bi2Se3 thin crystals

Coupling high-quality suspended atomic membranes to specialized electrodes enables the investigation of many novel phenomena, such as spin or Cooper pair transport in these two-dimensional systems. However, many electrode materials are not stable in the acids that are used to dissolve underlying substrates. Here we present a versatile and powerful multilevel lithographical technique to suspend thin crystals, which can be applied to the vast majority of substrate, crystal and electrode materials. Using this technique, we fabricated suspended graphene devices with Al electrodes and a mobility of 5500 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1). We also demonstrate, for the first time, fabrication and measurement of a free-standing thin Bi(2)Se(3) crystal, which has low contact resistance to electrodes and a mobility of approximately > 580 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1).     

Suppressing Twin Formation in Bi2Se3 Thin Films

The microstructure of Bi₂Se₃ topological‐insulator thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy on InP(111)A and InP(111)B substrates that have different surface roughnesses has been studied in detail using X‐ray diffraction, X‐ray reflectivity, atomic force microscopy and probe‐corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy. The use of a rough Fe‐doped InP(111)B substrate results in complete suppression of twin formation in the Bi₂Se₃ thin films and a perfect interface between the films and their substrates. The only type of structural defect that persists in the twin‐free films is an antiphase domain boundary, which is associated with variations in substrate height. We also show that the substrate surface termination influences which family of twin domains dominates.     

Study of the strain-resistance properties of massive samples of Bi2Te3-Sb2Te3 and Bi2Te3-Bi2Se3

The coefficients of strain sensitivity of polycrystalline samples of ternary alloys based on bismuth and antimony chalcogenides were measured and the strain sensitivity of Peltier thermocouples of low height under real working conditions were evaluated.Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 56, No. 1, pp. 97–99, January, 1989.     

(Ag2Se)1-x(Bi2Se3)x的热电性能研究

具有本征低晶格热导率的I-V-VI₂族三元硫属化合物在热电领域引起了广泛关注。AgBiSe₂作为这类化合物中少有的n型半导体, 成为一种有潜力的热电材料。本工作系统研究了AgBiSe₂的热电性能。基于Ag₂Se-Bi₂Se二元相图, 单相的(Ag₂Se)_1-x(Bi₂Se₃)_x的成分在x=0.4~0.62范围可调, 使得该材料载流子浓度具有可调性。结果表明, 通过组分调控获得了较宽范围的载体浓度1.0×10¹⁹~5.7×10¹⁹ cm^-3, 并基于声学声子散射的单一抛物带模型对其电传输性能进行了综合评估。本研究获得的最高载流子浓度接近理论最优值, 在700 K实现了最高ZT值0.5。本研究有助于深入理解AgBiSe₂的传输特性和决定热电性能的基本物理参数。     

Thermoelectric properties of Bi2O2Se

Bi₂O₂Se was synthesized from Bi₂Se₃ and Bi₂O₃ by solid state reaction in an evacuated quartz ampoule. The product crystallizes in the tetragonal type lattice and X-ray pattern displays lines of the Bi₂O₂Se only. Samples for thermoelectric property measurements were prepared using hot pressing in rectangular graphite dies. The samples were characterized by the measurements of Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity as a function of temperature. From the experimental data we calculate the dimensionless figure of merit ZT that for a non-optimized material approaches the value 0.2 at 800 K.