Chiral II-VI semiconductor nanostructure superlattices based on an amino acid ligand

Reaction of L-cysteine with M(NO3)2 x xH2O (M = Cd, Zn) generates M(L-cysteinate), which feature one-dimensional substructures that can be viewed as fragments of bulk structures of CdS (rock salt high pressure phase) and ZnS (wurtzite) because of the bridging modes accessible to the sulfur atom of L-cysteine. The MS substructures are arranged in a regular and periodic fashion within the crystal via the carboxylate function of L-cysteine. Considering the structural similarities with bulk materials, the optical properties of M(L-cysteinate) were studied and indicate blue shifts of the band gap of 2.59 eV (M = Cd, compared to CdS rock salt) and 1.37 eV (M = Zn, compared to ZnS wurtzite) with respect to the bulk MS structures, due to the low dimensionality of the metal-sulfur arrangement. The chelating nature of the cysteine ligand imposes an unusual mer arrangement of three binding S moieties at Cd with a correspondingly high Cd coordination number in a chalcogenide-based material. Density of states calculations show strong electronic structure similarities with the bulk phases and rationalize the band gap changes.     

Effect of layer thickness on the luminescence properties of ZnS/CdS/ZnS quantum dot quantum well

ZnS/CdS/ZnS quantum dot quantum well was prepared. The optical properties of ZnS/CdS/ZnS QDQW with different thickness of CdS well and ZnS shell were studied. Absorption spectra, emission spectra, and luminescence lifetimes were measured. The observed luminescence was assigned to the bulk donor-acceptor pair recombination of CdS and can be enhanced by increasing the thickness of the CdS well or coating an appropriate thickness of ZnS shell on the surface of the CdS well. The luminescence enhancement was caused by the relative reduce in the surface effect. The luminescence lifetimes were influenced strongly by the surface state.     

Electronic and mechanical properties of 5d transition metal mononitrides via first principles

The electronic and mechanical properties of 5d transition metal mononitrides from LaN to AuN are systematically investigated by use of the density-functional theory. For each nitride, six structures are considered, i.e., rocksalt, zinc blende, CsCl, wurtzite, NiAs and WC structures. Among the considered structures, rocksalt structure is the most stable for LaN, HfN and AuN, WC structure for TaN, NiAs structure for WN, wurtzite structure for ReN, OsN, IrN and PtN. The most stable structure for each nitride is mechanically stable. The formation enthalpy increases from LaN to AuN. For LaN, HfN and TaN, the formation enthalpy is negative for all the considered structures, while from WN to AuN, except wurtzite structure in ReN, the formation enthalpy is positive. The calculated density of states shows that they are all metallic. ReN in NiAs structure has the largest bulk modulus, 418 GPa. The largest shear modulus 261 GPa is from TaN in WC structure. Trends are discussed.     

核壳结构CdS/ZnS微米球表面处理与光催化制氢性能的关系

具有高活性和稳定性的半导体光催化材料是太阳能光催化制氢领域的研究热点,其中CdS胶体颗粒催化剂因其合适的禁带宽度和带边位置以及较低的原料价格而广受关注.但它在水溶液中不稳定,易受光腐蚀,因而限制了其应用.目前人们致力于用各种方法提高其稳定性,包括各种纳米结构的应用、复合其他催化剂材料以及不同晶相结构复合.ZnS是一种宽禁宽半导体,禁带宽度为3.6 eV,常被用来与CdS形成固溶体调控其能带结构,从而提高其性能和稳定性.其中核壳结构CdS/ZnS异质结具有骑跨型(I型)能带结构,具有特殊的光学和电学性质,在量子点LED和量子点生物荧光显示剂方面获得关注和应用,同时也显示了良好的光催化性能.研究人员对核壳结构CdS/ZnS异质结材料中ZnS壳层厚度对其光学性能包括荧光效率等的影响进行了研究,然而ZnS壳层厚度、颗粒尺寸及其表面处理对光催化性能影响方面的报道很少.本文发展了一种简易的两步法,制备了核壳结构CdS/ZnS微米球光催化剂.首先采用超声喷雾热分解法制备CdS微米球,然后以水浴法在CdS微米球上生长ZnS壳层.采用扫描电镜(SEM)、X射线衍射(XRD)、紫外-可见吸收光谱(UV-vis)和透射电镜(TEM)对所得样品进行了表征.SEM和TEM结果显示,所得微米球为完整包裹的球形核壳结构;XRD表征证实CdS核与ZnS壳层皆为六角相晶型;光催化性能表征结果显示,该样品的光催化制氢性能远高于单独的CdS微米球以及同法所制的ZnS微米球.通过改变前驱液浓度(Zn源浓度分别为0.2,0.3和0.5 mol/L)获得了三种不同厚度的核壳结构CdS/ZnS微米球,X射线荧光光谱结果证实了其壳层厚度成功调控.UV-vis结果发现,其吸收边由内核CdS决定,受壳层厚度的影响不大.光致荧光发射光谱分析发现,随着壳层厚度的增加,其540 nm处的CdS带边发射峰强度逐渐增大.这可能是由于ZnS壳层对CdS表面缺陷的钝化作用降低了其非辐射复合过程,从而提高了荧光发光效率.光催化制氢性能结果表明,前驱液浓度为0.3 mol/L时合成的核壳结构CdS/ZnS微米球的产氢效率最高.为了进一步提高其光催化效率,采用氮气中高温热处理、水热二次硫化法以及两者共用三种方式对性能最优的微米球进行改性,获得了三种核壳结构CdS/ZnS样品.结果发现,这些改性方法未影响其吸收边,但水热二次硫化法处理以及两者共用处理的样品在540 nm处的光致荧光发射峰强度明显高于未处理的和高温热处理的样品,证实水热二次硫化法处理可以有效地消除其表面缺陷,减少非辐射复合.XRD结果表明其晶型没有发生变化.TEM表征发现,经高温热处理后其壳层发生重结晶,形成颗粒包裹形貌,而经水热二次硫化法处理后其壳层同样发生重结晶,但包裹颗粒的尺寸明显更小.光催化性能测试表明,处理后样品的光催化性能皆优于未处理样品,其中两者共用法处理的样品产氢性能和稳定性最高.     

Pulsed Laser Deposition ZnS Buffer Layers for CIGS Solar Cells

Polycrystalline ZnS films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition （PLD） on quartz glass substrates under different growth conditions at different substrate temperatures of 20, 200, 400, and 600 ℃, which is a suitable alternative to chemical bath deposited （CBD） CdS as a buffer layer in Cu（In,Ga）Se2 （CIGS） solar cells. X-ray diffraction studies indicate the films are polycrystalline with zinc-blende structure and they exhibit preferential orientation along the cubic phase β-ZnS （111） direction, which conflicts with the conclusion of wurtzite structure by Murali that the ZnS films deposited by pulse plating technique was polycrystalline with wurtzite structure. The Raman spectra of grown films show Al mode at approximately 350 cm^-1, generally observed in the cubic phase β-ZnS compounds. The planar and the cross-sectional morphology were observed by scanning electron microscopic. The dense, smooth, uniform grains are formed on the quartz glass substrates through PLD technique. The grain size of ZnS deposited by PLD is much smaller than that of CdS by conventional CBD method, which is analyzed as the main reason of detrimental cell performance. The composition of the ZnS films was also measured by X-ray fluorescence. The typical ZnS films obtained in this work are near stoichiometric and only a small amount of S-rich. The energy band gaps at different temperatures were obtained by absorption spectroscopy measurement, which increases from 3.2 eV to 3.7 eV with the increasing of the deposition temperature. ZnS has a wider energy band gap than CdS （2.4 eV）, which can enhance the blue response of the photovoltaic cells. These results show the high-quality of these substitute buffer layer materials are prepared through an all-dry technology, which can be used in the manufacture of CIGS thin film solar cells.     

Ternary Monolithic ZnS/CdS/rGO Photomembrane with Desirable Charge Separation/Transfer Routes for Effective Photocatalytic and Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Generation

Highly efficient and easy recyclable monolithic photocatalysts with ideal separation/transport route for photogenerated charge carriers are much desired. In this work, a ZnO seed‐induced growth approach is developed to fabricate a ternary monolithic photomembrane, that is, ZnS/CdS heterojunction nanorods in situ grow into the interspaces of multilayer reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets (denoted as ZnS/CdS/rGO). The monolithic ZnS/CdS/rGO photomembrane can serve as an efficient visible‐light photoactive membrane for photocatalytic (PC) or photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen generation. The fast electron transport of 1D CdS nanorods, the excellent electronic conductivity of multilayer stacked rGO sheets, the intense visible‐light absorption of CdS, the unique hierarchical structure, and double heterojunctions (ZnS/CdS and CdS/rGO) efficiently boost the photogenerated electron‐hole pairs separation and transfer across the interfacial domain of the photomembrane under visible‐light irradiation. Furthermore, the superior stability and reusability of the photomembrane is achieved by the ideal process of photogenerated electron‐hole pair separation/transfer, i.e., holes transfer to ZnS and electrons transfer to rGO to inhibit CdS from photocorrosion.     

Synthesis of CdS and ZnS nanowires using single-source molecular precursors

Single-source molecular precursors were used to synthesize II-VI compound semiconductor nanowires for the first time. Cadmium sulfide and zinc sulfide nanowires were prepared using cadmium diethyldithiocarbamate, Cd(S2CNEt2)2, and zinc diethyldithiocarbamate, Zn(S2CNEt2)2, respectively, as precursors in a gold nanocluster-catalyzed vapor-liquid-solid growth process. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy studies show that the CdS and ZnS nanowires are single-crystal wurtzite structures with stoichiometric compositions. In addition, photoluminescence measurements demonstrate that these nanowires exhibit high-quality optical properties. The applicability of our approach to the synthesis of other compound and alloy semiconductors nanowires as well as nanowire heterostructures of these materials is discussed.     

CdO及CdxZn1-xO化合物的结构、能量和电子性能分析

采用基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理的平面波超软赝势计算方法, 研究了纤锌矿结构的CdxZn1-xO化合物以及CdO在纤锌矿结构、岩盐结构和闪锌矿结构的基态电子特性和体结构, 分析了CdO的稳定性. 通过对比纤锌矿结构、岩盐结构和闪锌矿结构CdO的内聚能, 发现岩盐结构和纤锌矿结构CdO的稳定性好, 闪锌矿结构相对较差; 通过对CdxZn1-xO化合物在不同Cd组分下的电子结构计算, 得到了较好的禁带宽度拟合结果, 能带弯曲参量B=1.02 eV; 通过形成能与组分关系的分析, 我们认为当Cd的组分x=0.4左右时, CdxZn1-xO化合物最不稳定, 容易出现相分离现象.     

Kinetically controlled synthesis of wurtzite ZnS nanorods through mild thermolysis of a covalent organic-inorganic network

The high-temperature (over 1020 degrees C) polymorph of ZnS, wurtzite ZnS, has been successfully prepared through a low-temperature (180 degrees C) hydrothermal synthesis route in the presence of ethylenediamine (en). The effects of en concentrations, reactant concentrations, reaction temperatures, and reaction times on crystal structures and shapes of ZnS have been investigated. We have demonstrated that the wurtzite ZnS showing rodlike morphology can be kinetically stabilized in the presence of en, especially at a high reactant concentration under appropriate hydrothermal conditions. Besides phase evolution of ZnS from hexagonal to cubic, morphological transformation from nanorods to nanograins has also been observed in the present investigation. Nanograins of phase-pure cubic ZnS, the thermodynamically stable polymorph, are easily prepared, and no hexagonal ZnS nanorods are detected in "pure" water, i.e., in the absence of en molecules. The above investigations indicate that the controlled fabrication of wurtzite ZnS nanorods is due to a mediated generation of the lamellar phase, ZnS.0.5en, a covalent organic-inorganic network based on ZnS slabs, and to its subsequent thermolysis in aqueous solution. The controlled growth of wurtzite ZnS nanorods and sphalerite ZnS nanograins provides us an opportunity to structurally modulate physical properties. These wurtzite ZnS nanorods display narrower and stronger blue emission than sphalerite ZnS nanograins.     

Laser Assisted Catalytic Growth of ZnS/CdSe Core‐Shell and Wire‐Coil Nanowire Heterostructures

ZnS/CdSe core‐shell and wire‐coil nanowire heterostructures have been synthesized by chemical vapor deposition assisted with pulsed laser ablation. Measurements from high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction have revealed that both ZnS/CdSe core‐shell and wire‐coil nanowires are of single‐crystalline hexagonal wurtzite structures and grow along the [0001] direction. While the lattice parameters of ZnS and CdSe in the core‐shell nanowires are nearly equal to those of bulk ZnS and CdSe, change of the lattice parameters in the CdSe‐coil is attributed to the doping of Zn into CdSe, resulting in the relaxation of compressive strain at the interface between CdSe‐coil and ZnS‐wire. Composition variation across the interfacial regions in the ZnS/CdSe nanowire heterostructures ranges only 10–15 nm despite the pronounced lattice mismatch between ZnS and CdSe by ?11%. Growth mechanisms of the ZnS/CdSe nanowire heterostructures are discussed.     

Simulated Equations of State of ZnO with Rocksalt Phase at High Temperature and High Pressure

The equation of state of ZnO with rocksalt phase under high pressure and high temperature was calculated by using the molecular dynamics method with effective pair potentials which consist of the Coulomb, dispersion, and repulsion interaction. It was shown that molecular dynamics simulation is very successful in accurately reproducing the measured molar volumes of the rocksalt phase of ZnO over a wide range of temperatures and pressures. The simulated P-V -T data matched experimental results up to 10.4 GPa and 1273 K. In addition, the linear thermal expansion coe±cient, isothermal bulk modulus and its pressure derivative were also calculated and compared with available experimental data and the latest theoretical results at ambient condition. At extended temperature and pressure ranges, the P-V -T relationship, linear thermal expansion coe±cient, and isothermal bulk modulus were predicted up to 2273 K and 50 GPa. The detailed knowledge of thermodynamic behavior and equations of state at extreme conditions are of fundamental importance to the understanding of the physical properties of ZnO.     

Preparation of nanosized ZnS-passivated CdS particle films via the MOCVD process with co-fed single source precursors

A novel approach was developed to prepare thin films of nanosized ZnS-passivated CdS particles via a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process with co-fed single source precursors of CdS and ZnS. Single source precursors of CdS and ZnS with sufficiently different reactivity, as judged from thermogravimetry analysis, were prepared and paired up to form ZnS-passivated CdS, (CdS)ZnS, and CdS-modified ZnS, (ZnS)CdS, particle films in a one-step process. For comparison purposes, sequential layer growth of CdS/ZnS and ZnS/CdS particle films was also conducted, and single compound particle films were prepared. These films were characterized with absorption spectrometry, photoluminescence spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and powder X-ray diffraction spectra. The photoluminescence efficiency of the resulting composite particle film of ZnS-passivated CdS was significantly enhanced as compared to that of the plain CdS film, due to the effective passivation of surface electronic states of CdS by ZnS, a material with a higher conduction band than that of CdS. As for particle films of CdS-modified ZnS, a decay in photoluminescence efficiency was observed. The enhancement or decay in photoluminescence efficiency was much more pronounced for the passivated and modified system than for the sequential layer system, proportional to the interfacial area between the CdS and ZnS phases.     

Extraordinary Changes in the Electronic Structure and Properties of CdS and ZnS by Anionic Substitution: Cosubstitution of P and Cl in Place of S

Unlike cation substitution, anion substitution in inorganic materials such as metal oxides and sulfides would be expected to bring about major changes in the electronic structure and properties. In order to explore this important aspect, we have carried out first‐principles DFT calculations to determine the effects of substitution of P and Cl on the properties of CdS and ZnS in hexagonal and cubic structures and show that a sub‐band of the trivalent phosphorus with strong bonding with the cation appears in the gap just above the valence band, causing a reduction in the gap and enhancement of dielectric properties. Experimentally, it has been possible to substitute P and Cl in hexagonal CdS and ZnS. The doping reduces the band gap significantly as predicted by theory. A similar decrease in the band gap is observed in N and F co‐substituted in cubic ZnS. Such anionic substitution helps to improve hydrogen evolution from CdS semiconductor structures and may give rise to other applications as well.     

化学气相沉积法合成高结晶度的三元系Cd1-xZnxS纳米线

以硫化锌、硫化镉和活性碳粉作为反应物, 利用化学气相沉积方法成功合成了单晶Cd1-xZnxS纳米线. 为了解产物的结构、形貌、组分、微结构以及声子振动模式, 对样品进行了扫描电镜、透射电镜、X射线衍射、能谱分析以及拉曼光谱分析. 分析显示合成的纳米线为六方铅锌矿结构, 生长方向沿着[210]方向, 长度均为10 μm, 直径在80-100 nm之间, x的值约为0.2. 拉曼光谱分析显示产物的拉曼峰位与纯CdS相比发生了蓝移.     

化学气相沉积法合成高结晶度的三元系Cd1-xZnxS纳米线

以硫化锌、硫化镉和活性碳粉作为反应物,利用化学气相沉积方法成功合成了单晶Cd1-xZnxS纳米线.为了解产物的结构、形貌、组分、微结构以及声子振动模式,对样品进行了扫描电镜、透射电镜、X射线衍射、能谱分析以及拉曼光谱分析.分析显示合成的纳米线为六方铅锌矿结构,生长方向沿着[210]方向,长度均为10μm,直径在80-100 nm之间,x的值约为0.2.拉曼光谱分析显示产物的拉曼峰位与纯CdS相比发生了蓝移.     

Room-temperature Wurtzite ZnS nanocrystal growth on Zn finger-like peptide nanotubes by controlling their unfolding peptide structures

ZnS nanocrystal, a class of wide-gap semiconductors, has shown interesting optical, electrical, and optoelectric properties via quantum confinement. For those applications, phase controls of ZnS nanocrystals and nanowires were critical to tune their physical properties to the appropriate ones. The wurtzite ZnS nanocrystal growth at room temperature is the useful fabrication; however, the most stable ZnS structure in nanoscale is the zinc blende (cubic) structure, and scientists have just begun exploring the room-temperature synthesis of the wurtzite (hexagonal) structure of ZnS nanocrystals. In this report, we applied the Zn finger-like peptides as templates to control the phase of ZnS nanocrystals to the wurtzite structure at room temperature. The peptide nanotubes, consisting of a 20 amino acids (VAL-CYS-ALA-THR-CYS-GLU-GLN-ILE-ALA-ASP-SER-GLN-HIS-ARG-SER-HIS-ARG-GLN-MET-VAL, M1 peptide) synthesized based on the peptide motif of the Influenza Virus Matrix Protein M1, could grow the wurtzite ZnS nanocrystals on the nanotube templates in solution. In the M1 protein, the unfolding process of the helical peptide motif via pH change creates a linker region between N- and C-terminated helical domains that contains a Zn finger-like Cys2His2 motif. Because the higher pH increases the uptake of Zn ions in the Cys2His2 motif of the M1 peptide by unfolding more helical domains, the pH change can essentially control the size and the number of the nucleation sites in the M1 peptides to grow ZnS nanocrystals with desired phases. Here we optimized the nucleation sites in the M1 peptides by unfolding them via pH change to obtain highly monodisperse and crystalline wurtzite ZnS nanocrystals on the template nanotubes at room temperature. This type of peptide-induced biomineralization technique will provide a clean and reproducible method to produce semiconductor nanotubes due to its efficient nanocrystal formation, and the band gaps of resulting nanotubes can also be tuned simply by phase control of ZnS nanocrystal coatings via the optimization of the unfolding peptide structures.     

核壳结构CdS/ZnS纳米微粒的制备与光学特性

CdS and CdS/ZnS core-shell structure nano particles were synthesized in micro emulsion, and characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV absorption spectra and PL. The average diameter of CdS was about 3.3 nm, and CdS/ZnS core-shell structure was confirmed by XRD and UV. Considering the optical properties of CdS/ZnS core-shell structure nanoparticles which have different ZnS shell thickness, the UV absorption edge of CdS/ZnS becomes as lightred-shift with the thickness of ZnS layer increasing, and the absorption of shortwave band is strongly enhanced at the same time. The PL spectra indicate that ZnS shell layer can greatly eliminate surface defects of CdS nanoparticles and make its band-edge directed recombination increased, and the luminous efficiency of CdS is improved greatly when it has appropriate shell thickness.     

Structure determination of CdS and ZnS nanoparticles: direct modeling of synchrotron-radiation diffraction data

We introduce a modified method of powder-diffraction data analysis to obtain precise structural information on freestanding ZnS and CdS nanoparticles with diameters well below 5 nm, i.e., in a range where common bulk-derived approaches fail. The method is based on the Debye equation and allows us to access the crystal structure and the size of the particles with high precision. Detailed information on strain, relaxation effects, stacking faults, and the shape of the particles becomes available. We find significant size differences between our new results and those obtained by established methods, and conclude that a mixed zinc-blende/wurtzite stacking and significant lattice distortions occur in our CdS nanoparticles. Our approach should have direct impact on the understanding and modeling of quantum size effects in nanoparticles.     

半导体纳米粒子在反胶束中的合成及其与芘分子间的跨相电子转移

本文在AOT/异辛烷反胶束中合成了CdS和ZnS半导体纳米粒子。粒子的荧光量子产率随胶束水含量的增大而减小。这可以归结为水含量增大导致胶粒表面Cd²⁺或Zn²⁺离子浓度降低,因为这两种离子在胶粒表面富集有利于形成硫空位,从而增大光生电子-空穴对的发光复合。研究发现,Ag⁺离子可以有效猝灭CdS和ZnS纳米粒子的荧光发射,该猝灭过程可以用Ag⁺离子在胶束中的Poisson分布来描述。以溶解在有机相中的pyrene作电子给体,在光激发下可以向CdS粒子注入电子,而和ZnS粒子间没有电荷转移发生,这可以解释为两种半导体的导带边相对于pyrene激发态氧化电位所处的位置不同。Cu²⁺或Ag⁺离子在ZnS颗粒表面吸附,可以形成Cu_xZn_1-xS或Ag_2xZn_1-xS复合粒子,降低ZnS粒子的导带位置,从而使之能够接受来自pyrene激发态的电子。实验结果证实了这种论点。     

Modeling and Simulation of Bonding and Optical Characters of Ternary Nanocrystals

In this paper, conformations of the ternary structures ZnSe(Te), ZnS(Te), ZnS(Se), CdSe(Te), CdS(Te) and CdS(Se) were optimized, and their orbital, spectra have been investigated at the B3LYP/LANL2DZ level. First, we have found some rules which agreed with experimental results. HOMO–LUMO gaps, WBI values and the wavelengths of the absorption peaks of ternary structures changed gradually with the ratio of Te, Se and S atoms in ternary structures. Second, analysis of Raman spectra revealed that doped structures had the spectra of two relevant binary clusters. Namely, Raman spectra of ternary ZnSe(Te) clusters had the Raman peaks of ZnSe and ZnTe. In this way, with the help of the Raman spectra, the formations of the ternary structures can be determined in experiment. This was important to estimate during synthesis progress. Finally, calculated results have proved that ZnS and CdS structures had the shorter wavelengths of the absorption peaks, the higher excited energies of singlets, and good stability.