Qi Yifang, Meador William E, Xiong Jian, Abbaszadeh Mahsa, Thirumala Rooban Venkatesh K G, Delcamp Jared H, Kundu Santanu, Hill Glake Alton, Dai Qilin
Department of Chemistry, Physics, and Atmospheric Sciences, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS, 39217, United States of America.
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi 38677, United States of America.
Nanotechnology. 2021 Apr 2;32(14):145702. doi: 10.1088/1361-6528/abd509.
ZnSnO (ZTO) nanocrystals are extensively studied in various fields. However, size-dependent ZTO nanocrystals are still challenging to understand their structural, optical, photocatalytic, and optoelectronic properties. ZTO nanocrystals are synthesized by a facile hydrothermal reaction method. The structural properties of the synthesized ZTO nanocrystals are studied by x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscope. The sizes of the ZTO nanocrystals are controlled by the pH values of the precursor and the molar ratios of the Zn:Sn in the starting materials. ZTO nanocrystals with the small size of 6 nm and large size of 270 nm are obtained by our method. The Eu ions are doped into ZTO nanocrystals to probe size-dependent Eu doping sites, which shows significant potential applications in light emitting diode phosphors. Moreover, the photocatalytic activity of ZTO nanocrystals on rhodamine (RhB) decoloration are investigated, and the results show that 6 nm ZTO nanocrystals show better performance in the photocatalytic decoloration of RhB compared to 270 nm nanocrystals. Most importantly, we design and fabricate optoelectronic devices to detect IR light based on our nanocrystals and a self-prepared NIR cyanine dye. The device based on small sized ZTO nanocrystals exhibits better device performance under 808 nm IR light compared to that of the large sized ZTO nanocrystals. We believe this work represents ZTO size-dependent properties in term of structural, optical, photocatalytic, and optoelectronic properties as a multifunctional material.
ZnSnO（ZTO）纳米晶体在各个领域都得到了广泛研究。然而，尺寸依赖的ZTO纳米晶体在理解其结构、光学、光催化和光电性能方面仍然具有挑战性。ZTO纳米晶体通过简便的水热反应方法合成。通过X射线衍射和透射电子显微镜研究了合成的ZTO纳米晶体的结构性能。ZTO纳米晶体的尺寸由前驱体的pH值和起始材料中Zn:Sn的摩尔比控制。通过我们的方法获得了尺寸为6nm的小尺寸和270nm的大尺寸ZTO纳米晶体。将Eu离子掺杂到ZTO纳米晶体中以探测尺寸依赖的Eu掺杂位点，这在发光二极管荧光粉中显示出显著的潜在应用。此外，研究了ZTO纳米晶体对罗丹明（RhB）脱色的光催化活性，结果表明，与270nm纳米晶体相比，6nm的ZTO纳米晶体在RhB的光催化脱色中表现出更好的性能。最重要的是，我们基于我们的纳米晶体和自行制备的近红外花菁染料设计并制造了用于检测红外光的光电器件。与大尺寸ZTO纳米晶体相比，基于小尺寸ZTO纳米晶体的器件在808nm红外光下表现出更好的器件性能。我们相信这项工作展示了ZTO作为一种多功能材料在结构、光学、光催化和光电性能方面的尺寸依赖特性。
