Real-Time TEM Observation of the Role of Defects on Nickel Silicide Propagation in Silicon Nanowires.

Metal silicides have received significant attention due to their high process compatibility, low resistivity, and structural stability. In nanowire (NW) form, they have been widely prepared using metal diffusion into preformed Si NWs, enabling compositionally controlled high-quality metal silicide nanostructures. However, unlocking the full potential of metal silicide NWs for next-generation nanodevices requires an increased level of mechanistic understanding of this diffusion-driven transformation.

Resolving Multielement Semiconductor Nanocrystals at the Atomic Level: Complete Deciphering of Domains and Order in Complex CuZnSnSe (CZTSe) Tetrapods.

Semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) with high elemental and structural complexity can be engineered to tailor for electronic, photovoltaic, thermoelectric, and battery applications etc. However, this greater complexity causes ambiguity in the atomic structure understanding. This in turn hinders the mechanistic studies of nucleation and growth, the theoretical calculations of functional properties, and the capability to extend functional design across complementary semiconductor nanocrystals.

Solution processable Si/Ge heterostructure NWs enabling anode mass reduction for practical full-cell Li-ion batteries.

Here, we report the solution phase synthesis of axial heterostructure Si and Ge (hSG) nanowires (NWs). The NWs were grown in a high boiling point solvent from a low-cost Sn powder to achieve a powder form product which represents an attractive route from lab-scale to commercial application. Slurry processed anodes of the NWs were investigated in half-cell ( Li-foil) and full-cell ( NMC811) configurations of a lithium ion battery (LIB).

Colloidal Synthesis of Multinary Alkali-Metal Chalcogenides Containing Bi and Sb: An Emerging Class of I-V-VI Nanocrystals with Tunable Composition and Interesting Properties.

The growth mechanism and synthetic controls for colloidal multinary metal chalcogenide nanocrystals (NCs) involving alkali metals and the pnictogen metals Sb and Bi are unknown. Sb and Bi are prone to form metallic nanocrystals that stay as impurities in the final product. Herein, we synthesize colloidal NaBiSbSeS NCs using amine-thiol-Se chemistry.

Cu Current Collector with Binder-Free Lithiophilic Nanowire Coating for High Energy Density Lithium Metal Batteries.

Despite significant efforts to fabricate high energy density (ED) lithium (Li) metal anodes, problems such as dendrite formation and the need for excess Li (leading to low N/P ratios) have hampered Li metal battery (LMB) development. Here, the use of germanium (Ge) nanowires (NWs) directly grown on copper (Cu) substrates (Cu-Ge) to induce lithiophilicity and subsequently guide Li ions for uniform Li metal deposition/stripping during electrochemical cycling is reported. The NW morphology along with the formation of the Li Ge phase promotes uniform Li-ion flux and fast charge kinetic, resulting in the Cu-Ge substrate demonstrating low nucleation overpotentials of 10 mV (four times lower than planar Cu) and high Columbic efficiency (CE) efficiency during Li plating/stripping.

Precursor-Mediated Colloidal Synthesis of Compositionally Tunable Cu-Sb-M-S (M = Zn, Co, and Ni) Nanocrystals and Their Transport Properties.

The solution-based colloidal synthesis of multinary semiconductor compositions has allowed the design of new inorganic materials impacting a large variety of applications. Yet there are certain compositions that have remained elusive-particularly quaternary structures of transition metal-based (e.g.

Subsuming the Metal Seed to Transform Binary Metal Chalcogenide Nanocrystals into Multinary Compositions.

Direct colloidal synthesis of multinary metal chalcogenide nanocrystals typically develops dynamically from the binary metal chalcogenide nanocrystals with the subsequent incorporation of additional metal cations from solution during the growth process. Metal seeding of binary and multinary chalcogenides is also established, although the seed is solely a catalyst for nanocrystal nucleation and the metal from the seed has never been exploited as active alloying nuclei. Here we form colloidal Cu-Bi-Zn-S nanorods (NRs) from Bi-seeded CuS heterostructures.

Phosphine free synthesis of copper telluride nanocrystals in 1D and 2D shapes using Dipehylditelluride (DPDTe) as an air-stable source.

In this paper, we have developed a 'phosphine-free' method for synthesising copper telluride nanocrystals using diphenyl ditelluride as an air-stable tellurium source. The diphenyl ditelluride is shown to have optimal reactivity for the colloidal synthesis of CuTe, allowing optimal control over the phase and morphology. Using this unexplored Te precursor for copper telluride synthesis, 1D nanorods of hexagonal phase (CuTe) were synthesised at a moderate temperature of 180 °C.

Temperature induced diameter variation of silicon nanowires a liquid-solid phase transition in the Zn seed.

Herein, we demonstrate the ability of Zn to catalyze the growth of Si nanowires reaction temperature determined, vapour-liquid-solid (VLS) or vapour-solid-solid (VSS) growth mechanisms. This is the first reported use of a type B catalyst to grow Si nanowires the VSS mechanism to our knowledge whereby the highly faceted Zn seeds resulted in an increased NW diameter. This was used to induce diameter variations along the axial length of individual nanowires by transitioning between VLS and VSS growth.

Direct Growth of Si, Ge, and Si-Ge Heterostructure Nanowires Using Electroplated Zn: An Inexpensive Seeding Technique for Li-Ion Alloying Anodes.

A scalable and cost-effective process is used to electroplate metallic Zn seeds on stainless steel substrates. Si and Ge nanowires (NWs) are subsequently grown by placing the electroplated substrates in the solution phase of a refluxing organic solvent at temperatures >430 °C and injecting the respective liquid precursors. The native oxide layer formed on reactive metals such as Zn can obstruct NW growth and is removed in situ by injecting the reducing agent LiBH .