Catalyzed Growth for Atomic-Precision Colloidal Chalcogenide Nanowires and Heterostructures: Progress and Perspective

Abstract

One-dimensional colloidal semiconductor nanowires are of wide interest in nanoscale electronics and photonics. As compared to the zero-dimensional counterparts, their geometrical anisotropy offers an additional degree of freedom to tailor the electronic and optical properties and enables customized heterostructures with increased complexity. The colloidal synthetic chemistry developed over past decades has fueled the emergence of diverse one-dimensional nanocrystals and heterostructures, whereas the synthetic pursuit for compositionally and structurally defining them at the atomic-level precision remains yet a giant challenge. Catalyzed growth, wherein nanowires grow at the catalyst-nanowire interfaces in a layer-by-layer manner, offers a promising path toward such an ultimate goal. In this Perspective, we will take a close look at how catalyzed growth would enable the on-demand, atomic-precision control of colloidal nanowires and their heterostructures. We then further highlight their potentials for constructing higher-order heteroarchitectures with new and/or enhanced performances. Finally, we conclude with a forward-looking perspective on future challenges.

On-demand synthesis of high-quality, blue-light-active ZnSe colloidal quantum wires

“…1 a), semiconductor nanowires grow at the catalyst–semiconductor interface in a layer-by-layer manner. It thus offers an effective route to independently manipulate the radial and axial sizes of ZnSe QWs by finely tuning the size of catalysts and the growth time of QWs [ 29 , 33 ]. To grow diameter-controlled ultrathin QWs, small catalysts are required.…”

Subsuming the Metal Seed to Transform Binary Metal Chalcogenide Nanocrystals into Multinary Compositions

“…Subsequent supersaturation promotes NC growth where alloying of the growth phase and seed is feasible depending on the charge balance of coordination sites. There is also another less studied route to materialize multicomponent metal chalcogenide 1D nanostructures, where a liquid metal droplet is used to catalyze the desired semiconductor phase in a solution–liquid–solid (SLS) growth mechanism. , This approach has been long studied for covalent network nanowires of Si, Ge but has also been used to form metal-seeded CuInE 2 , ZnE, CdE (E = S, Se, Te) nanowires. − The seed here is a catalyst to lower the eutectic temperature and at the end of the reaction remains intact as a metal particle either coupled to the semiconductor component as a heterostructure or separated in solution. − …”

Toward Rational Design of Ordered Heterostructures for Energy and Environmental Sustainability: A Review

“…Through the epitaxial growth model, organization of nano‐sized building block into superlattice nanowires is also feasible. In recent years, the superlattice nanowires have held great promise for optoelectronics and solar‐to‐fuel conversion, [ 180,181 ] as they carry engineered band structures and geometric parameters enabling the customization of the charge‐transfer pathway of heterostructure and realization of full utilization of sunlight. [ 137 ] Prior researches suggest the epitaxial growth allows the oriented and site selective growth of new phase on host nanowire to create heterostructured superlattice nanowires.…”