Size-dependent stability of ultra-small α-/β-phase tin nanocrystals synthesized by microplasma
| Autor: | Pagona Papakonstantinou, Davide Mariotti, James Davis, Sean Rawlinson, Sadegh Askari, Paul Maguire, Atta Ul Haq, Vladimir Svrcek, Anna McLister, Supriya Chakrabarti |
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| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
0301 basic medicine
Materials science Science General Physics and Astronomy chemistry.chemical_element 02 engineering and technology Crystal structure Article General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology Crystal 03 medical and health sciences Tetragonal crystal system Microscopy Electron Transmission Phase (matter) Electrochemistry Nanotechnology Diamond cubic lcsh:Science Multidisciplinary Temperature Equipment Design General Chemistry 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology 030104 developmental biology chemistry Nanocrystal Chemical engineering Tin Nanoparticles lcsh:Q Crystallite 0210 nano-technology |
| Zdroj: | Nature Communications, Vol 10, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2019) Nature Communications |
| ISSN: | 2041-1723 |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41467-019-08661-9 |
| Popis: | Nanocrystals sometimes adopt unusual crystal structure configurations in order to maintain structural stability with increasingly large surface-to-volume ratios. The understanding of these transformations is of great scientific interest and represents an opportunity to achieve beneficial materials properties resulting from different crystal arrangements. Here, the phase transformation from α to β phases of tin (Sn) nanocrystals is investigated in nanocrystals with diameters ranging from 6.1 to 1.6 nm. Ultra-small Sn nanocrystals are achieved through our highly non-equilibrium plasma process operated at atmospheric pressures. Larger nanocrystals adopt the β-Sn tetragonal structure, while smaller nanocrystals show stability with the α-Sn diamond cubic structure. Synthesis at other conditions produce nanocrystals with mean diameters within the range 2–3 nm, which exhibit mixed phases. This work represents an important contribution to understand structural stability at the nanoscale and the possibility of achieving phases of relevance for many applications. Key features of tin, including electronic band structure and opto-electronic properties, are influenced by the crystal structure. Here the authors report a microplasma process for the synthesis of ultra-small tin nanocrystals in which the crystal structure is dependent on crystallite size. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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