Unveiling Variations in Electronic and Atomic Structures Due to Nanoscale Wurtzite and Zinc Blende Phase Separation in GaAs Nanowires.

Phase separation is an intriguing phenomenon often found in III-V nanostructures, but its effect on the atomic and electronic structures of III-V nanomaterials is still not fully understood. Here we study the variations in atomic arrangement and band structure due to the coexistence of wurtzite (WZ) and zinc blende (ZB) phases in single GaAs nanowires by using scanning transmission electron microscopy and monochromated electron energy loss spectroscopy. The WZ lattice distances are found to be larger (by ∼1%), along both the nanowire length direction and the perpendicular direction, than the ZB lattice. The band gap of the WZ phase is ∼20 meV smaller than that of the ZB phase. A shift of ∼70 meV in the conduction band edge between the two phases is also found. The direct and local measurements in single GaAs nanowires reveal important effects of phase separation on the properties of individual III-V nanostructures.

Efficient photoactivated hydrogen evolution promoted by CuxO-gCN-TiO2-Au (x = 1,2) nanoarchitectures.

In this work, we propose an original and potentially scalable synthetic route for the fabrication of CuxO-gCN-TiO2-Au (x = 1,2) nanoarchitectures, based on Cu foam anodization, graphitic carbon nitride liquid-phase deposition, and TiO2/Au sputtering. A thorough chemico-physical characterization by complementary analytical tools revealed the formation of nanoarchitectures featuring an intimate contact between the system components and a high dispersion of gold nanoparticles. Modulation of single component interplay yielded excellent functional performances in photoactivated hydrogen evolution, corresponding to a photocurrent of ≈-5.7 mA cm-2 at 0.0 V vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). These features, along with the very good service life, represent a cornerstone for the conversion of natural resources, as water and largely available sunlight, into added-value solar fuels.

Universal Capacitance Boost-Smart Surface Nanoengineering by Zwitterionic Molecules for 2D MXene Supercapacitor.

Two-dimensional nanomaterials, as one of the most widely used substrates for energy storage devices, have achieved great success in terms of the overall capacity. Despite the extensive research effort dedicated to this field, there are still major challenges concerning capacitance modulation and stability of the 2D materials that need to be overcome. Doping of the crystal structures, pillaring methods and 3D structuring of electrodes have been proposed to improve the material properties. However, these strategies are usually accompanied by a significant increase in the cost of the entire material preparation process and also a lack of the versatility for modification of the various types of the chemical structures. Hence in this work, versatile, cheap, and environmentally friendly method for the enhancement of the electrochemical parameter of various MXene-based supercapacitors (Ti3 C2 , Nb2 C, and V2 C), coated with functional and charged organic molecules (zwitterions-ZW) is introduced. The MXene-organic hybrid strategy significantly increases the ionic absorption (capacitance boost) and also forms a passivation layer on the oxidation-prone surface of the MXene through the covalent bonds. Therefore, this work demonstrates a new, cost-effective, and versatile approach (MXene-organic hybrid strategy) for the design and fabrication of hybrid MXene-base electrode materials for energy storage/conversion systems.

Enhancing the NIR Photocurrent in Single GaAs Nanowires with Radial p-i-n Junctions by Uniaxial Strain.

III-V compound nanowires have electrical and optical properties suitable for a wide range of applications, including photovoltaics and photodetectors. Furthermore, their elastic nature allows the use of strain engineering to enhance their performance. Here we have investigated the effect of mechanical strain on the photocurrent and the electrical properties of single GaAs nanowires with radial p-i-n junctions, using a nanoprobing setup. A uniaxial tensile strain of 3% resulted in an increase in photocurrent by more than a factor of 4 during NIR illumination. This effect is attributed to a decrease of 0.2 eV in nanowire bandgap energy, revealed by analysis of the current-voltage characteristics as a function of strain. This analysis also shows how other properties are affected by the strain, including the nanowire resistance. Furthermore, electron-beam-induced current maps show that the charge collection efficiency within the nanowire is unaffected by strain measured up to 0.9%.

Epitaxial Pb on InAs nanowires for quantum devices.

Semiconductor-superconductor hybrids are widely used to realize complex quantum phenomena, such as topological superconductivity and spins coupled to Cooper pairs. Accessing new, exotic regimes at high magnetic fields and increasing operating temperatures beyond the state-of-the-art requires new, epitaxially matched semiconductor-superconductor materials. One challenge is the generation of favourable conditions for heterostructural formation between materials with the desired properties. Here we harness an increased knowledge of metal-on-semiconductor growth to develop InAs nanowires with epitaxially matched, single-crystal, atomically flat Pb films with no axial grain boundaries. These highly ordered heterostructures have a critical temperature of 7 K and a superconducting gap of 1.25 meV, which remains hard at 8.5 T, and therefore they offer a parameter space more than twice as large as those of alternative semiconductor-superconductor hybrids. Additionally, InAs/Pb island devices exhibit magnetic field-driven transitions from a Cooper pair to single-electron charging, a prerequisite for use in topological quantum computation. Semiconductor-Pb hybrids potentially enable access to entirely new regimes for a number of different quantum systems.

Tuning Hole Mobility of Individual p-Doped GaAs Nanowires by Uniaxial Tensile Stress.

Strain engineering provides an effective way of tailoring the electronic and optoelectronic properties of semiconductor nanomaterials and nanodevices, giving rise to novel functionalities. Here, we present direct experimental evidence of strain-induced modifications of hole mobility in individual gallium arsenide (GaAs) nanowires, using in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The conductivity of the nanowires varied with applied uniaxial tensile stress, showing an initial decrease of ∼5-20% up to a stress of 1-2 GPa, subsequently increasing up to the elastic limit of the nanowires. This is attributed to a hole mobility variation due to changes in the valence band structure caused by stress and strain. The corresponding lattice strain in the nanowires was quantified by in situ four dimensional scanning TEM and showed a complex spatial distribution at all stress levels. Meanwhile, a significant red shift of the band gap induced by the stress and strain was unveiled by monochromated electron energy loss spectroscopy.

Revealing a masked Verwey transition in nanoparticles of coexisting Fe-oxide phases.

The attractive electronic and magnetic properties together with their biocompatibility make iron-oxide nanoparticles appear as functional materials. In Fe-oxide nanoparticle (IONP) ensembles, it is crucial to enhance their performance thanks to controlled size, shape, and stoichiometry ensembles. In light of this, we conduct a comprehensive investigation in an ensemble of ca. 28 nm cuboid-shaped IONPs in which all the analyses concur with the coexistence of magnetite/maghemite phases in their cores. Here, we are disclosing the Verwey transition by temperature dependent (4-210 K) Raman spectroscopy.

Correlation between Electrical Transport and Nanoscale Strain in InAs/In0.6Ga0.4As Core-Shell Nanowires.

Free-standing semiconductor nanowires constitute an ideal material system for the direct manipulation of electrical and optical properties by strain engineering. In this study, we present a direct quantitative correlation between electrical conductivity and nanoscale lattice strain of individual InAs nanowires passivated with a thin epitaxial In0.6Ga0.4As shell. With an in situ electron microscopy electromechanical testing technique, we show that the piezoresistive response of the nanowires is greatly enhanced compared to bulk InAs, and that uniaxial elastic strain leads to increased conductivity, which can be explained by a strain-induced reduction in the band gap. In addition, we observe inhomogeneity in strain distribution, which could have a reverse effect on the conductivity by increasing the scattering of charge carriers. These results provide a direct correlation of nanoscale mechanical strain and electrical transport properties in free-standing nanostructures.

Field-dependent dynamic responses from dilute magnetic nanoparticle dispersions.

The response of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) to an oscillating magnetic field outside the linear response region is important for several applications including magnetic hyperthermia, magnetic resonance imaging and biodetection. The size and magnetic moment are two critical parameters for the performance of a colloidal MNP dispersion. We present and demonstrate the use of optomagnetic (OM) and AC susceptibility (ACS) measurements vs. frequency and magnetic field strength to obtain the size and magnetic moment distributions including the correlation between the distributions. The correlation between the size and the magnetic moment contains information on the morphology and intrinsic structure of the particle. In OM measurements, the variation of the second harmonic light transmission through a dispersion of MNPs is measured in response to an oscillating magnetic field. We solve the Fokker-Planck equations for MNPs with a permanent magnetic moment, and develop analytical approximations to the ACS and the OM signals that also account for the change in the curve shapes with increasing field strength. Further, we describe the influence of induced magnetic moments on the signals, by solving the Fokker-Planck equation for particles, which apart from the permanent magnetic moment may also have an induced magnetic moment and shape anisotropy. Using the results from the Fokker-Planck calculations we fit ACS and OM measurements on two multi-core particle systems. The obtained fit parameters also describe the correlations between the magnetic moment and size of the particles. From such an analysis on a commercially available polydisperse multicore particle system with an average particle size of 80 nm, we find that the MNP magnetic moment is proportional to the square root of the hydrodynamic size.

Ag-catalyzed InAs nanowires grown on transferable graphite flakes.

Semiconducting nanowires grown by quasi-van-der-Waals epitaxy on graphite flakes are a new class of hybrid materials that hold promise for scalable nanostructured devices within opto-electronics. Here we report on high aspect ratio and stacking fault free Ag-seeded InAs nanowires grown on exfoliated graphite flakes by molecular beam epitaxy. Ag catalyzes the InAs nanowire growth selectively on the graphite flakes and not on the underlying InAs substrates. This allows for easy transfer of the flexible graphite flakes with as-grown nanowire ensembles to arbitrary substrates by a micro-needle manipulator. Besides the possibilities for fabricating novel nanostructure device designs, we show how this method is used to study the parasitic growth and bicrystal match between the graphite flake and the nanowires by transmission electron microscopy.

Correlation between Al grain size, grain boundary grooves and local variations in oxide barrier thickness of Al/AlOx/Al tunnel junctions by transmission electron microscopy.

A thickness variation of only one Ångström makes a significant difference in the current through a tunnel junction due to the exponential thickness dependence of the current. It is thus important to achieve a uniform thickness along the barrier to enhance, for example, the sensitivity and speed of single electron transistors based on the tunnel junctions. Here, we have observed that grooves at Al grain boundaries are associated with a local increase of tunnel barrier thickness. The uniformity of the barrier thickness along the tunnel junction thus increases with increasing Al grain size. We have studied the effect of oxidation time, partial oxygen pressure and also temperature during film growth on the grain size. The implications are that the uniformity improves with higher temperature during film growth.

Atomic structure and oxygen deficiency of the ultrathin aluminium oxide barrier in Al/AlOx/Al Josephson junctions.

Al/AlOx/Al Josephson junctions are the building blocks of a wide range of superconducting quantum devices that are key elements for quantum computers, extremely sensitive magnetometers and radiation detectors. The properties of the junctions and the superconducting quantum devices are determined by the atomic structure of the tunnel barrier. The nanoscale dimension and disordered nature of the barrier oxide have been challenges for the direct experimental investigation of the atomic structure of the tunnel barrier. Here we show that the miniaturized dimension of the barrier and the interfacial interaction between crystalline Al and amorphous AlOx give rise to oxygen deficiency at the metal/oxide interfaces. In the interior of the barrier, the oxide resembles the atomic structure of bulk aluminium oxide. Atomic defects such as oxygen vacancies at the interfaces can be the origin of the two-level systems and contribute to decoherence and noise in superconducting quantum circuits.

Extreme chemical sensitivity of nonlinear conductivity in charge-ordered LuFe(2)O(4).

Nonlinear transport behaviors are crucial for applications in electronic technology. At the nonlinear critical turning point, the nonequilibrium states cause rich physics responses to environment. The corresponding study in this field is crucial for physics and industry application. Here nonlinear conductivity in charge-ordered (CO) LuFe(2)O(4 )has been demonstrated. Remarkable resistivity switching behavior was observed and the gas-sensing property can be reversibly tuned by a small alternation of partial pressure and/or chemical components of the environment. These facts allow us to use LuFe(2)O(4) materials as a sensitive chemical gas sensor in technological applications. Careful analysis of the gas sensing process in LuFe(2)O(4) suggests a novel sensing mechanism in sharp contrast with that discussed for the conventional gas sensors which depend fundamentally on surface chemical reactions.

The structural and physical properties of Ba(1-x)Sr(x)Fe(2)As(2) (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) and Ba(1-x)Sr(x)Fe(1.8)Co(0.2)As(2) (0 ≤ x ≤ 1).

Polycrystalline samples of Ba(1-x)Sr(x)Fe(2)As(2) (0≤x≤1) and Ba(1-x)Sr(x)Fe(1.8)Co(0.2)As(2) (0≤x≤1) have been synthesized by a solid state reaction method. Structural analysis by means of x-ray diffraction shows that the lattice parameters and unit cell volume decrease monotonically with the increase of x for Ba(1-x)Sr(x)Fe(2)As(2). The measurements of transport properties demonstrate that the average size of the Ba(Sr)-site cations could evidently influence the spin density wave (SDW) behavior in Ba(1-x)Sr(x)Fe(2)As(2) and superconductivity in Ba(1-x)Sr(x)Fe(1.8)Co(0.2)As(2) as well. The critical temperature for SDW (T(SDW)) increases with the Sr substitution for Ba in Ba(1-x)Sr(x)Fe(2)As(2) and, on the other hand, the superconducting T(c) decreases with the increase of Sr content in Ba(1-x)Sr(x)Fe(1.8)Co(0.2)As(2). The inhomogeneous distributions of Ba/Sr ions and structural distortions in Ba(0.5)Sr(0.5)Fe(2)As(2) have been investigated by transmission-electron microscopy (TEM) observations.