Interfacial Polar‐Bonding‐Induced Multifunctionality of Nano‐Silicon in Mesoporous Silica

The optoelectronic response of a material governs its suitability for a wide range of applications, from photon detection to photovoltaic conversion. To conquer the material limitations and achieve improved optoelectronic responses, nanotechnology has been employed to arrange subunits with specific size‐dependent quantum mechanical properties in a hierarchically organized structure. However, building a functional optoelectronic system from nano‐objects remains a formidable challenge. In this paper, the fabrication of a new artificially engineered optoelectronic material by the preferential growth of silicon nanocrystals on the bottom of the pore‐channels of mesoporous silica is reported. The nanocrystals form highly stable interface structures bonded on one side; these structure show strong electron–phonon coupling and a ferroelectric‐like hysteretic switching property. A new class of multifunctional materials is realized by invoking a concept that employs semiconductor nanocrystals for optical sensing and utilizes interfacial polar layers to facilitate carrier transport and emulate ferroelectric‐like switching.