Abstract
We report the first synthesis of high-quality binary and ternary Sb 2Se 3-xS x nanotubes across the entire compositional range from x = 0to3 via a simple, low-cost, colloidal synthetic method of injection of Sb(III)-complex solution into a hot paraffin liquid containing Se, S, or a mixture thereof. In contrast to the classic rolling mechanism, the modular formation of the reported nanotubes follows a four-stage self- seeding process: (i) amorphous nanospheres, (ii) short crystalline nanotubes growing out of relatively large amorphous nanospheres, (iii) long crystalline nanotubes attached to small amorphous nanospheres, and (iv) single-crystal nanotubes. The obtained single-crystal nanotubes have tunable composition, orthorhombic phase, well-defined rectangular cross sections, and growth direction along [001], as revealed by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and selected area electron diffraction studies. UV-vis-NIR absorption spectroscopy reveals that the optical bandgap energy of the Sb 2Se 3-xS x (0 ≤ x ≤ 3) nanotubes increases quadratically with the sulfur concentration x with these bandgap energies falling in the range from 1.18 to 1.63 eV at the red edge of the solar spectrum. The present study opens a new avenue to low-cost, large-scale synthesis of high quality semiconductor nanotubes with technological applications in solar energy conversion and also for a wide range of optical nanodevices operating in the near-infrared.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 2015-2020 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Nano Letters |
Volume | 9 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 13 2009 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Bioengineering
- Chemistry(all)
- Materials Science(all)
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Mechanical Engineering