Mechanical Engineering Department, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.
Nanotechnology. 2012 Jun 29;23(25):255604. doi: 10.1088/0957-4484/23/25/255604. Epub 2012 May 31.
Silicon nanocrystals with sizes between 5 and 10 nm have been produced in a non-thermal plasma reactor using silicon tetrachloride as precursor. We demonstrate that high-quality material can be produced with this method and that production rates as high as 140 mg h(-1) can be obtained, with a maximum precursor utilization rate of roughly 50%. Compared to the case in which particles are produced using silane as the main precursor, the gas composition needs to be modified and hydrogen needs to be added to the mixture to enable the nucleation and growth of the powder. The presence of chlorine in the system leads to the production of nanoparticles with a chlorine terminated surface which is significantly less robust against oxidation in air compared to the case of a hydrogen terminated surface. We also observe that significantly higher power input is needed to guarantee the formation of crystalline particles, which is a consequence not only of the different gas-phase composition, but also of the influence of chlorine on the stability of the crystalline structure.
使用四氯化硅作为前驱体，在非热等离子体反应器中制备了尺寸在 5 到 10nm 之间的硅纳米晶体。我们证明了可以使用这种方法生产高质量的材料，并且可以获得高达 140mg/h 的产率，前驱体的最高利用率约为 50%。与使用硅烷作为主要前驱体生产颗粒的情况相比，需要修改气体组成并向混合物中添加氢气，以促进粉末的成核和生长。系统中氯的存在导致生成具有氯端表面的纳米颗粒，与具有氢端表面的情况相比，其在空气中的氧化稳定性显著降低。我们还观察到，为了保证结晶颗粒的形成，需要输入更高的功率，这不仅是由于不同的气相组成，还由于氯对晶体结构稳定性的影响。
