SnTe Nanocrystals:  A New Example of Narrow-Gap Semiconductor Quantum Dots

Abstract

A solution-phase synthesis of monodisperse SnTe nanocrystals via the reaction of bis[bis(trimethylsilyl)amino]tin(II) with trioctylphosphine telluride in oleylamine is demonstrated. The obtained SnTe nanocrystals are single-crystalline particles with a cubic rock-salt crystal structure. The size of the SnTe nanocrystals can be precisely tuned in the range of 4.5−15 nm by tailoring the reaction temperature and stabilizer concentration. These SnTe nanocrystals exhibit size-tunable band gap energies of 0.38−0.8 eV. The narrow size-distributions allow assembling SnTe nanocrystals into 3-dimensional superlattices.

Amorphous and Crystalline GeTe Nanocrystals

“…[ 7 ] where the less reactive GeI 2 and highly coordinating oxygen-containing TOPO ligands were used to react with Te/TOP solution at 250 ° C. In that system, the role of DDT was viewed as an activating agent for the weakly reactive germanium precursor in the environment of TOPO ligands. [ 9 ] Under the experimental conditions we employed in this work (lower temperatures and lack of stabilizing oxygen-containing TOPO ligand), we observed that DDT increases the temperature of nucleation and slows down the growth of particles, which is likely due to the formation of more thermally stable germanium-sulfur complexes compared to the less stable Ge[N(SiMe 3 ) 2 ] 2 precursor. The lower reactivity of Ge[N(SiMe 3 ) 2 ] 2 precursor in the presence of DDT can also be inferred from the change in the crystallite size of GeTe particles prepared under identical conditions with and without thiols.…”

“…Recently, tin chalcogenide NPs (SnS and SnTe) were prepared with good control over size and shape by using a novel precursor for metal-chalcogenide chemistry, namely, tin-amide complex Sn[N(SiMe 3 ) 2 ] 2 , in the presence of Te/TOP. [ 9 ] The advantage of Group IV-amido precursors is that they display excellent solubility in most of nonpolar reaction media used for nanomaterials synthesis as well as suffi ciently high air and moisture stability under ambient conditions. At the same time, they are highly reactive at high temperatures and rapidly undergo thermolysis to generate reactive intermediates that are important for the fast nucleation and slow growth kinetics.…”

Non-monotonic pressure dependence of band gap in SnTe

“…Tin telluride (SnTe) is an important narrow band gap semiconductor with many unique properties [1][2][3][4], and can be adjusted through doping and alloying easily [5][6][7][8]. Recently, topological classification of quantum matter has been extended to a new class of matter, namely, topological crystalline insulators (TCI) [9].…”

The Preparation of IV–VI Semiconductor Nanomaterials

“…770 nm. SnTe has also been prepared from Sn [N[(CH 3 ) 3 Si] 2 ] 2 , which was dissolved in ODE and injected into a hot a solution of TOPTe and OAm at 150 C, followed by growth for 1-2 minutes at 120 C. 73 The resulting particles were approximately spherical, monodispersed and able to close-pack on a microscope grid. Bandgaps were found between ca.…”