Synthesis of metal-capped semiconductor nanowires from heterodimer nanoparticle catalysts

Bo Shen, Liliang Huang, Jiahong Shen, Lingyuan Meng, Edward J. Kluender, Chris Wolverton, Bozhi Tian, Chad A. Mirkin*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

Semiconductor nanowires (NWs) capped with metal nanoparticles (NPs) show multifunctional and synergistic properties, which are important for applications in the fields of catalysis, photonics, and electronics. Conventional colloidal syntheses of this class of hybrid structures require complex sequential seeded growth, where each section requires its own set of growth conditions, and methods for preparing such wires are not universal. Here, we report a new and general method for synthesizing metal-semiconductor nanohybrids based on particle catalysts, prepared by scanning probe block copolymer lithography, and chemical vapor deposition. In this process, metallic heterodimer NPs were used as catalysts for NW growth to form semiconductor NWs capped with metallic particles (Au, Ag, Co, Ni). Interestingly, the growth processes for NWs on NPs are regioselective and controlled by the chemical composition of the metallic heterodimer used. Using a systematic experimental approach, paired with density functional theory calculations, we were able to postulate three different growth modes, one without precedent.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)18324-18329
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of the American Chemical Society
Volume142
Issue number43
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 28 2020

Funding

This material is based upon work supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under Award FA9550-16-1-0150, the Sherman Fairchild Foundation, Inc., Kairos Ventures. This research was also supported by the Air Force Research Laboratory under Agreement FA8650-15-2-5518. J.S. and C.W. acknowledge support from the MRSEC program (DMR-1720319) at the Materials Research Center of Northwestern University. We acknowledge computational resources provided by the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility operated under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231 and the Quest high performance computing facility at Northwestern University. This work made use of the EPIC facility of Northwestern University’s NUANCE Center, which has received support from the Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource (NSF ECCS-1542205); the MRSEC program (NSF DMR-1720139) at the Materials Research Center; the International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN); the Keck Foundation; and the State of Illinois, through the IIN. This work made use of the Jerome B. Cohen X-ray Diffraction Facility supported by the MRSEC and SHyNE. We thank Dr. Kun He for the help of microscopy characterization.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Catalysis
  • General Chemistry
  • Biochemistry
  • Colloid and Surface Chemistry

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