First-principles density-functional calculations on the field emission properties of BN nanocones

The first-principles density-functional theory is used to study the geometrical structures and field emission properties of different boron nitride nanocones with 240 disclination. It is found that the nanocones can be stable under applied electric field and the emission current is sensitively dependent on the tips of nanocones. The nanocones with homonuclear bonds at the tip can introduce additional energy states near Fermi level, which can reduce the ionization potential and increase the emission current of these boron nitride nanocones. This investigation indicates that the boron nitride nanocone can be a promising candidate as a field emission electron source.     

Titanium-induced germanium nanocones synthesized by vacuum electron-beam evaporation: growth mechanism and morphology evolution

High-vacuum electron-beam evaporation method is used for large area, metal-nucleated germanium (Ge) nanodots and nanocones on Si₃N₄/Si preparation. Nanodot and nanocone arrays with uniform size in bulk-quantity are synthesized using titanium (Ti) nanocrystals as nucleating center at 750 °C with different Ge deposition amount, respectively. The morphology evolution from nanodot to nanocone is studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The structure of the prepared sample is characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman scattering. Ge nanocones formed by this convenient fabrication process could have potential applications on nanoelectronics and vacuum electron field emission.     

Formation and photoluminescence properties of boron nanocones

This paper reports that a simple chemical vapour deposition method has been adopted to fabricate large scale, high density boron nanocones with thermal evaporation of B/B2O3 powders precursors in an Ar/H2 gas mixture at the synthesis temperature of 1000-1200℃. The lengths of boron nanocones are several micrometres, and the diameters of nanocone tops are in a range of 50-100 nm. transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction indicate that the nanocones are single crystalline α-tetragonal boron. The vapour liquid solid mechanism is the main formation mechanism of boron nanocones. One broad photolumineseence emission peak at the central wavelength of about 650 nm is observed under the 532 nm light excitation. Boron nanocones with good photoluminescence properties are promising candidates for applications in optical emitting devices.     

No-catalyst growth of vertically-aligned AlN nanocone field electron emitter arrays with high emission performance at low temperature

The AlN nanostructures with a wide band-gap of 6.28 eV are considered as ideal cold cathode materials because of their low electron-affinity. Many methods have been devoted to fabricating AlN nanostructures, but high growth temperature over 800°C and the use of the catalysts in most methods limit their practical application and result in their poor field-emission behaviours in uniformity. This paper reports that without any catalysts, a simple chemical vapour deposition method is used to synthesize aligned AlN nanocone arrays at 550°C on silicon substrate or indium tin oxide glass. Field emission measurements show that these nanocones prepared at low temperature have an average turn-on field of 6 V/μm and a threshold field of 11.7 V/μm as well as stable emission behaviours at high field, which suggests that they have promising applications in field emission area.     

Electronic structure of boron nitride nanostructures doped with a carbon atom

We have investigated, using first-principles calculations, the role of a substitutional carbon atom on the electronic properties of boron nitride monolayers, nanotubes, and nanocones. It is shown that electron states in the energy-gap are independent of the curvature, being the same for the monolayer, for the cone and for the tube. It is also found, that the presence of carbon in the boron nitride compounds induces a spin polarization, with magnetic moment of 1.0 μ_B, which does not depend on the curvature.     

Fabrication of highly ordered CuInSe2 films with hollow nanocones for anti-reflection

Highly ordered CuInSe₂ films with hollow nanocones were fabricated by electron beam evaporation and nanospheres lithograph. From the AFM analyses, polystyrene nanospheres with diameter of 220 nm are assembled regularly on glass substrates. After reaction ion etching under different powers and residues removal, different and new surface morphologies of substrates have been obtained, such as smooth nanocones and hollow nanocones. The diffuse reflection spectra demonstrate that films on the substrates with periodic nanopatterned structure have less reflection over wavelengths ranged from 200 nm to 2500 nm due to light trapping. Especially, reflection for hollow nanocone arrays has the larger suppression value than nanocone-patterned films, which proves that surface pattern of hollow nanocones has better anti-reflection effect. Furthermore, while hollow depth increases from 6 nm to 9 nm, its optical antireflective effect becomes remarkable. These results could yield new options for solar-cell design with higher energy conversion efficiency.     

Double-walled carbon nanocones: stability and electronic structure

We have applied first-principles calculations, based on the density functional theory, toinvestigate the stability and electronic properties of double-walled carbon nanocones,60°60°, 120°120° and 60°120° with different rotation anglesbetween the walls. We have shown that the most favorable double-walled nanocone studiedhere is that of angles of 60°60°, with rotation angle of 36° and distance between apexes of 4.22 Å.We have found that, the interaction between the walls of rotated double-walled nanoconesintroduce geometric distortion in gap states, such as in Fermi level. These results shouldhave consequences on the field emission properties of double-walled carbon nanocones.Additionally, we also investigated the spin polarization of such structures, and we havefound unpaired electrons, which induces a total spin from 1 and 1/2 for 60°60° and 60°120° double cones, respectively.     

Size effects in ferroelectric nanocones

Ferroelectric size effects in cone-shaped nanoparticles (nanocones) are investigated for the first time. The Euler-Lagrange equations are solved using the direct variational technique. An approximate analytical expression is derived for the dependence of the ferroelectric phase transition temperature on the nanocone size. It is shown that the transition temperature for nanocones can be 2.5 times higher than the transition temperature for bulk materials.     

Controlled Evolution of Silicon Nanocone Arrays Induced by Ar+ Sputtering at Room Temperature

Controlled evolution of silicon nanocone arrays induced by Ar^＋ sputtering at room temperature, using the coating carbon as a mask, is demonstrated. The investigation of scanning electron microscopy indicates that the morphology of silicon nanostructures can be controlled by adjusting the thickness of the coating carbon film. Increasing the thickness of the coating carbon film from 50-60 nm, 250-300 nm and 750-800 nm to 1500 nm, the morphologies of silicon nanostructures are transformed from smooth surface ripple, coarse surface ripple and surface ripple with densely distributed nanocones to nanocone arrays with a high density of about 1 × 10^9- 2 × 10^9 cm^-2.     

Unique electrical properties of nanostructured diamond cones

The preparation and electrical properties of diamond nanocones are reviewed, including a maskless etching pro- cess and mechanism of large-area diamond conical nanostructure arrays using a hot filament chemical vapor deposition （HFCVD） system with negatively biased substrates, and the field electron emission, gas sensing, and quantum transport properties of a diamond nanocone array or an individual diamond nanocone. Optimal cone aspect ratio and array density are investigated, along with the relationships between the cone morphologies and experimental parameters, such as the CH4/H2 ratio of the etching gas, the bias current, and the gas pressure. The reviewed experiments demonstrate the possi- bility of using nanostructured diamond cones as a display device element, a point electron emission source, a gas sensor or a quantum device.     

On the mechanics of C60 fullerene inside open carbon nanocones: A continuum study

Presented herein is a comprehensive study on the mechanics of concentric and eccentric C₆₀ fullerenes inside open carbon nanocones (CNCs) on the basis of the continuum approximation along with the 6–12 Lennard-Jones (LJ) potential function. For concentric configuration, new analytical expressions are derived to evaluate van der Waals (vdW) potential energy and interaction force between the two interacting molecules. Also, semi-analytical expressions in terms of double integrals are extracted to determine the potential energy of an offset C₆₀ fullerene inside open CNCs. The proposed expressions are demonstrated to be dependent on whether the fullerene enters the open nanocone through the small end or the wide end. The effects of geometrical parameters such as small end radius, wide end radius and vertex angle of open nanocone on the distributions of vdW potential energy and interaction force are fully investigated. It is found that the fullerene molecule undergoes an asymmetrical motion inside CNCs. Moreover, for concentric and eccentric configurations, preferred position of system, for which potential energy reaches its minimum value, is obtained for different sizes of nanocone.     

Synthesis of nanostructured lean-NO x catalysts by direct laser deposition of monometallic Pt-, Rh- and bimetallic PtRh-nanoparticles on SiO2 support

Monometallic Pt and Rh and bimetallic PtRh catalysts with a highly dispersed noble metal weight loading of ca. 1 wt% were produced via the direct deposition of nanoparticles on different SiO₂ supports by means of pulsed ultra-violet (248 nm) excimer laser ablation of Pt, Rh bulk metal and PtRh alloy targets. Backscattered electron microscopy (BSE), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were employed to characterize the deposited nanoparticles, which were found to exhibit narrow size distribution centred around 2.5 nm. The catalytic activities for lean NO _x reduction of the monometallic and bimetallic catalyst samples were investigated in a flow reactor setup in the temperature range 100–400°C using a test gas mixture representative of oxygen rich diesel engine exhaust gas. For comparison a Rh/SiO₂ reference catalyst prepared by a conventional impregnation method was also tested. Further experiments were performed in which PtRh nanoparticles were deposited on a Rh/SiO₂ reference catalyst sample to study the possibility for controlled modification of its activity. The catalytic activity measurements revealed that among the samples solely prepared by laser deposition the PtRh–SiO₂ nanoparticle catalyst showed the highest activity for NO _x reduction at low temperatures 100–300°C. In addition, it could be demonstrated that the initially low NO _x reduction activity and the N₂ selectivity of the Rh/SiO₂ reference catalyst sample for temperatures below 250°C can be enhanced by post laser deposition of PtRh nanoparticles.     

AuPd纳米粒子作为催化剂制备硼纳米线及其场发射性质

利用化学气相沉积法,采用不同组分的金属合金纳米粒子AuPd作为催化剂,在Si(111)基底上成功制备大面积、高密度的硼纳米线薄膜.纳米线的平均长度约为10μm,直径在50—130 nm之间.结构分析表明,纳米线为单晶结构,硼纳米线的直径随着元素Pd在合金催化剂中比例的增加而减少.场发射特性测试结果表明,通过调整催化剂组分可以实现对硼纳米线的尺寸和密度的调控.     

Columnar growth of crystalline silicon films on aluminium-coated glass by inductively coupled plasma CVD at room temperature

Silicon films were grown on aluminium-coated glass by inductively coupled plasma CVD at room temperature using a mixture of SiH₄ and H₂ as the source gas. The microstructure of the films was evaluated using Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. It was found that the films are composed of columnar grains and their surfaces show a random and uniform distribution of silicon nanocones. Such a microstructure is highly advantageous to the application of the films in solar cells and electron emission devices. Field electron emission measurement of the films demonstrated that the threshold field strength is as low as ～9.8V/μm and the electron emission characteristic is reproducible. In addition, a mechanism is suggested for the columnar growth of crystalline silicon films on aluminium-coated glass at room temperature.     

Properties of 80-MeV oxygen ion irradiated ZnS:Mn nanoparticles and exploitation in nanophotonics

ZnS:Mn nanoparticles of size variation 11–17 nm were synthesized by a simple and inexpensive chemical method and confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Presuming electronic energy loss (S _e>S _n, S _n being nuclear energy loss) to be the dominant phenomenon, they were irradiated by 80-MeV energetic oxygen ions with fluence of 10¹¹ to 10¹³ ions/cm². Photoluminescence (PL) spectra revealed three major emission bands ~445 nm, ~582 nm and ~706 nm; which are ascribed to D–A pair transition, Mn emission and surface state led fluorescence activation. The recovery of Mn emission and tunable surface state emission have been observed with ion fluence variation. Infra-red (IR) spectra of irradiated samples show great extent of oscillation with respect to amplitude due to ion fluence variation however, phonon energy (~98 MeV) remains unchanged. The possible applications of these modified properties in nanophotonics are also highlighted.     

Transmission of electrons through ferromagnetic material and applications to detection of electron spin polarization

The salient features of the total low energy inelastic electron scattering cross section in transition metals are described by a constant term σ₀ plus a term σ_d that is proportional to the number of unoccupied d-orbitals. This simple model predicts that low energy electrons transmitted through a ferromagnetic ultrathin film acquire a transport spin polarization a(χ). Using the ratio σ₀/σ_d as the only adjustable parameter, the model predicts the enhancement of the spin polarization of the low energy cascade electrons as well as a(χ) in reasonable agreement with the existing observations on Fe, Co and Ni. A detector for electron spin polarization P based on the spin dependent transmission of electrons through ferromagnetic material is proposed which should be superior to existing P-detectors by 1–2 orders of magnitude.     

High coercivity in α-Fe2O3 nanostructures synthesized by surfactant-free microwave-assisted solvothermal method

In this report, the cube-like shaped α-Fe₂O₃ nanostructures were prepared by the simple microwave-assisted solvothermal method without using any surfactants. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The well dispersed and size-controlled cubic-like shaped α-Fe₂O₃ nanostructures were obtained by systematic variation of solvents, reaction temperature and time. The magnetic studies manifest that the magnetic properties of α-Fe₂O₃ samples are strongly dependent on the shape and size of the nanostructures. The maximum coercivity (Hc) ∼5.6 kOe is observed for Fe-160-30 sample, which is originating from the varying synthesis conditions, oriented sub-particle structures, surface spin disorder, surface/interface anisotropy and interactions of the nanoparticles at the surface/interface of the nanostructures. Represented synthesis approach facilitates the preparation of nanostructured materials with controlled morphology and properties.     

Gallium nitride nanoparticle synthesis using nonthermal plasma with gallium vapor

Gallium nitride (GaN) nanoparticles are synthesized by the gallium particle trapping effect in a N₂ nonthermal plasma with metallic Ga vapor. A proposed method has an advantage of synthesized GaN nanoparticle purity because the gallium vapor from the inductively heated tungsten boat does not contain any impurity source. The synthesized particle size can be controlled by the amount of Ga vapor, which is adjusted using the plasma emission ratio of nitrogen to gallium, owing to the particle trapping effect. The synthesized nanoparticles are investigated by electron microscopy studies. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) studies confirm that the synthesized GaN nanoparticles (10–40 nm) crystallize in a single-phase wurtzite structure. Room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements indicate the band-edge emission of GaN at around 378 nm without yellow emission, which implies that the synthesized GaN nanoparticles have high crystallinity.     

Preparation of nanocone ZnO thin film and its aging effect of photoluminescence

In this work, a nanocone ZnO thin film was prepared by electron beam evaporation on a Si (1 0 0) substrate. The structural properties of the film were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy and laser Raman scattering, respectively. The aging effect of the nanocone ZnO thin film was studied by photoluminescence spectra. The structural analyses show that the prepared ZnO thin film has a hexagonal wurtzite structure and is preferentially oriented along the c-axis perpendicular to the substrate surface. The photoluminescence spectra show that with the increase of aging time, the green emission of the nanocone ZnO thin film gradually decreases while the ultraviolet emission somewhat increases. The reason for this phenomenon is likely that the green-emission-related oxygen vacancies in the film are gradually filled up. The Raman scattering analyses also suggest that the intensity of the Raman peak related to oxygen vacancies in the nanocone ZnO thin film declines after the film is aged in air for a year. Therefore, the authors think the green emission is mainly connected with oxygen vacancy defects.     

Synthesis,structural, optical,and magnetic properties of Co doped,Sm doped and Co+Sm co-doped ZnS nanoparticles

The compositional, structural, optical and magnetic properties of ZnS, Zn_0.98Co_0.02S, Zn_0.98Sm_0.02S and Zn_0.96Co_0.02Sm_0.02S nanoparticles synthesized by a hydrothermal method are presented and discussed. X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) studies revealed that all the samples exhibited cubic structure without any impurity phases. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results revealed that the Co and Sm ions existed in +2 and +3 states in these samples. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of all the samples exhibited a broad emission in the visible region. The room temperature magnetization versus applied magnetic field (M–H) curves demonstrated that the Sm+Co doped nanoparticles exhibited enhanced ferromagnetic behavior compare to Co and Sm individually doped ZnS nanoparticles, which is probably due to the exchange interaction between conductive electrons with local spin polarized electrons on the Co²⁺ or Sm³⁺ ions. This study intensifies the understanding of the novel performances of co-doped ZnS nanoparticles and also provides possibilities to fabricate future spintronic devices.