No Arabic abstract
Colloidal nanoplatelets - quasi-two-dimensional sheets of semiconductor exhibiting efficient, spectrally pure fluorescence - form when liquid-phase syntheses of spherical quantum dots are modified. Despite intense interest in their properties, the mechanism behind their anisotropic shape and precise atomic-scale thickness remains unclear, and even counterintuitive when their crystal structure is isotropic. One commonly accepted explanation is that nanoclusters nucleate within molecular templates and then fuse. Here, we test this mechanism for zincblende nanoplatelets and show that they form instead due to an intrinsic instability in growth kinetics. We synthesize CdSe and CdS1-xSex nanoplatelets in template- and solvent-free isotropic melts containing only cadmium carboxylate and chalcogen, a finding incompatible with previous explanations. Our model, based on theoretical results showing enhanced growth on narrow surface facets, rationalizes nanoplatelet formation and experimental dependencies on temperature, time, and carboxylate length. Such understanding should lead to improved syntheses, controlled growth on surfaces, and broader libraries of nanoplatelet materials.
We have synthesized unique colloidal nanoplatelets of the ferromagnetic two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals material CrI3 and have characterized these nanoplatelets structurally, magnetically, and by magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy. The isolated CrI3 nanoplatelets have lateral dimensions of ~25 nm and ensemble thicknesses of only ~4 nm, corresponding to just a few CrI3 monolayers. Magnetic and magneto-optical measurements demonstrate robust 2D ferromagnetic ordering in these nanoplatelets with Curie temperatures similar to those observed in bulk CrI3, despite the strong spatial confinement. These data also show magnetization steps akin to those observed in micron-sized few-layer 2D sheets and associated with concerted spin-reversal of individual CrI3 layers within few-layer van der Waals stacks. Similar data have also been obtained for CrBr3 and anion-alloyed Cr(I1-xBrx)3 nanoplatelets. These results represent the first example of laterally confined 2D van der Waals ferromagnets of any composition. The demonstration of robust ferromagnetism at nanometer lateral dimensions opens new doors for miniaturization in spintronics devices based on van der Waals ferromagnets.
Detection of the metallic Dirac electronic states on the surface of Topological Insulators (TIs) is a tribune for a small number of experimental techniques the most prominent of which is Angle Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy. However, there is no experimental method showing at atomic scale resolution how the Dirac electrons extend inside TI systems. This is a critical issue in the study of important surface quantum properties, especially topological quasiparticle excitations. Herein, by applying advanced DFT-assisted solid-state 125Te Nuclear Magnetic Resonance on Bi2Te3 nanoplatelets, we succeeded in uncovering the hitherto invisible NMR signals with magnetic shielding influenced by the Dirac electrons, and subsequently showed how Dirac electrons spread and interact with the bulk interior of the nanoplatelets.
A theory of electron spin-flip Raman scattering (SFRS) is presented that describes the Raman spectral signals shifted by both single and twice the electron Zeeman energy under nearly resonant excitation of the heavy hole excitons in semiconductor nanoplatelets. We analyze the spin structure of photoexcited intermediate states, derive compound matrix elements of the spin-flip scattering and obtain polarization properties of the one- and two-electron SFRS common for all the intermediate states. We show that, in the resonant scattering process under consideration, the complexes exciton plus localized resident electrons play the role of main intermediate states rather than tightly bound trion states. It is demonstrated that, in addition to the direct photoexcitation (and similar photorecombination) channel, there is another indirect channel contributing to the SFRS process. In the indirect channel, the photohole forms the exciton state with the resident electron removed from the localization site while the photoelectron becomes localized on this site. The theoretical results are compared with recent experimental findings for ensembles of CdSe nanoplatelets.
In this paper we adopt a processing technology to develop elastomer plus nano-graphite hybrid composites with multifunctional properties. Beyond the improvements of the mechanical properties, the research findings demonstrate the synergistic effect of carbon black and graphite nanoplatelets to prepare rubber composite thermally conductive and to design a new class of shock absorbers. It was found that a critical GNPs/CB ratio was apt to reduce the strong interlayer forces among the GNPs sheets, which led to the efficiency on reinforcement in mechanical properties and improvements of the performance of the rubber composites.
The electrical detection of the surface states of topological insulators is strongly impeded by the interference of bulk conduction, which commonly arises due to pronounced doping associated with the formation of lattice defects. As exemplified by the topological insulator Bi2Te2Se, we show that via van der Waals epitaxial growth on thin hBN substrates the structural quality of such nanoplatelets can be substantially improved. The surface state carrier mobility of nanoplatelets on hBN is increased by a factor of about 3 compared to platelets on conventional Si/SiOx substrates, which enables the observation of well-developed Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations. We furthermore demonstrate the possibility to effectively tune the Fermi level position in the films with the aid of a back gate.