Sico Giuliano, Guarino Vincenzo, Borriello Carmela, Montanino Maria
Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Portici Research Centre, P.le E. Fermi 1, Portici, 80055 Naples, Italy.
Institute of Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials, National Research Council of Italy, Mostra d'Oltremare Pad. 20, V.le J.F. Kennedy 54, 80125 Naples, Italy.
Nanomaterials (Basel). 2024 Dec 13;14(24):2006. doi: 10.3390/nano14242006.
In recent years, the morphology control of semiconductor nanomaterials has been attracting increasing attention toward maximizing their functional properties and reaching their end use in real-world devices. However, the development of easy and cost-effective methods for preparing large-scale patterned semiconductor structures on flexible temperature-sensitive substrates remains ever in demand. In this study, vapor post-treatment (VPT) is investigated as a potential, simple and low-cost post-preparative method to morphologically modify gravure-printed zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticulate thin films at low temperatures. Exposing nanoparticles (NPs) to acidic vapor solution, spontaneous restructuring pathways are observed as a consequence of NPs tending to reduce their high interfacial energy. Depending on the imposed environmental conditions during the treatment (e.g., temperature, vapor composition), various ZnO thin-film morphologies are produced, from dense to porous ones, as a result of the activation and interplay of different spontaneous interface elimination mechanisms, including dissolution-precipitation, grain boundary migration and grain rotation-coalescence. The influence of VPT on structural/optical properties has been examined via XRD, UV-visible and photoluminescence measurements. Controlling NP junctions and network nanoporosity, VPT appears as promising cost-effective, low-temperature and pressureless post-preparative platform for preparing supported ZnO NP-based films with improved connectivity and mechanical stability, favoring their practical use and integration in flexible devices.
近年来，半导体纳米材料的形貌控制越来越受到关注，旨在最大限度地发挥其功能特性并实现其在实际设备中的最终应用。然而，开发在柔性温度敏感衬底上制备大规模图案化半导体结构的简便且经济高效的方法仍然需求迫切。在本研究中，气相后处理（VPT）作为一种潜在的、简单且低成本的后制备方法被用于在低温下对凹版印刷的氧化锌（ZnO）纳米颗粒薄膜进行形貌改性。将纳米颗粒（NPs）暴露于酸性蒸汽溶液中，由于NPs倾向于降低其高界面能，会观察到自发的重构路径。根据处理过程中施加的环境条件（例如温度、蒸汽成分），由于不同自发界面消除机制（包括溶解 - 沉淀、晶界迁移和晶粒旋转 - 聚结）的激活和相互作用，会产生从致密到多孔的各种ZnO薄膜形貌。通过X射线衍射（XRD）、紫外 - 可见光谱和光致发光测量研究了VPT对结构/光学性质的影响。通过控制NP结和网络纳米孔隙率，VPT似乎是一个有前景的、经济高效、低温且无压力的后制备平台，用于制备具有改善的连通性和机械稳定性的负载型ZnO NP基薄膜，有利于它们在柔性器件中的实际应用和集成。
