Issue 39, 2015

Heating-up synthesis of cadimum-free and color-tunable quaternary and five-component Cu–In–Zn–S-based semiconductor nanocrystals

Abstract

A simple heating-up colloidal approach has been developed to synthesize quaternary Cu–In–Zn–S (CIZS) nanocystals with different emission colors, which can be tuned by varying the Cu : In : Zn precursor ratios. The as-obtained products have a quasi-triangular shape with a small size distribution, and their crystal phase can be varied from cubic zinc-blende to hexagonal wurtzite structure with an increase of Cu stoichiometry. The inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) results reveal that the as-obtained CIZS nanocrystals are Cu-deficient, and the Cu-vacancies have a significant effect on their optical properties. Moreover, the photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the CIZS nanocrystals recorded at different growth periods indicate that the partial cation exchange of Cu+ and In3+ with Zn2+ takes charge of the growth process. After coating a ZnS shell over the CIZS nanocrystals, the PL quantum yield (PLQY) is improved greatly and a blue-shift of the PL peak is observed as compared to that of plain CIZS nanocrystals. More interestingly, the highly luminescent CIZS/ZnS core/shell nanocrystals with different colors have been incorporated into poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) to be fabricated on an engraved “BJTU” glass substrate, and the as-obtained PDMS membranes exhibit a bright emission under UV light, which also show good stability when they are bent arbitrarily or immersed in water. This heating-up method has also been extended to the preparation of five-component Cu–Ag–In–Zn–S and Cu–Mn–In–Zn–S nanocrystals, which possess a cubic zinc-blende crystal structure and have bright luminescence. Our work may shed light on the synthesis of multi-component semiconductor nanocrystals.

Graphical abstract: Heating-up synthesis of cadimum-free and color-tunable quaternary and five-component Cu–In–Zn–S-based semiconductor nanocrystals

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
08 Aug 2015
Accepted
26 Aug 2015
First published
27 Aug 2015

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2015,3, 10114-10120

Heating-up synthesis of cadimum-free and color-tunable quaternary and five-component Cu–In–Zn–S-based semiconductor nanocrystals

Z. Liu, A. Tang, M. Wang, C. Yang and F. Teng, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2015, 3, 10114 DOI: 10.1039/C5TC02469B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements