Sekar Sankar, Lee Sejoon
Division of Physics & Semiconductor Science, Dongguk University-Seoul, Seoul 04620, Korea.
Quantum-Functional Semiconductor Research Center, Dongguk University-Seoul, Seoul 04620, Korea.
Nanomaterials (Basel). 2021 Mar 1;11(3):613. doi: 10.3390/nano11030613.
High-quality silicon (Si) nanocrystals that simultaneously had superior mesoporous and luminescent characteristics were derived from sticky, red, and brown rice husks via the facile and cost-effective magnesiothermic reduction method. The Si nanocrystals were confirmed to comprise an aggregated morphology with spherical nanocrystals (e.g., average sizes of 15-50 nm). Due to the surface functional groups formed at the nanocrystalline Si surfaces, the Si nanocrystals clearly exhibited multiple luminescence peaks in visible-wavelength regions (i.e., blue, green, and yellow light). Among the synthesized Si nanocrystals, additionally, the brown rice husk (BRH)-derived Si nanocrystals showed to have a strong UV absorption and a high porosity (i.e., large specific surface area: 265.6 m/g, small average pore diameter: 1.91 nm, and large total pore volume: 0.5389 cm/g). These are indicative of the excellent optical and textural characteristics of the BRH-derived Si nanocrystals, compared to previously reported biomass-derived Si nanocrystals. The results suggest that the biomass BRH-derived Si nanocrystals hold great potential as an active source material for optoelectronic devices as well as a highly efficient catalyst or photocatalyst for energy conversion devices.
通过简便且经济高效的镁热还原法，从粘性的红稻壳和棕稻壳中制备出了同时具有优异介孔和发光特性的高质量硅（Si）纳米晶体。经证实，这些硅纳米晶体具有由球形纳米晶体组成的聚集形态（例如，平均尺寸为15 - 50纳米）。由于在纳米晶硅表面形成了表面官能团，硅纳米晶体在可见波长区域（即蓝光、绿光和黄光）清晰地呈现出多个发光峰。此外，在合成的硅纳米晶体中，源自棕稻壳（BRH）的硅纳米晶体表现出强烈的紫外线吸收和高孔隙率（即大比表面积：265.6平方米/克，小平均孔径：1.91纳米，大总孔体积：0.5389立方厘米/克）。与先前报道的生物质衍生硅纳米晶体相比，这些表明了源自BRH的硅纳米晶体具有优异的光学和结构特性。结果表明，生物质BRH衍生的硅纳米晶体作为光电器件的活性源材料以及能量转换器件的高效催化剂或光催化剂具有巨大潜力。
