Phase Transformation-Induced Tetragonal FeCo Nanostructures

Tetragonal FeCo nanostructures are becoming particularly attractive because of their high magnetocrystalline anisotropy and magnetization achievable without rare-earth elements, . Yet, controlling their metastable structure, size and stoichiometry is a challenging task. In this study, we demonstrate AuCu templated FeCo shell growth followed by thermally induced phase transformation of AuCu core from face-centered cubic to L1₀ structure, which triggers the FeCo shell to transform from the body-centered cubic structure to a body-centered tetragonal phase. High coercivity, 846 Oe, and saturation magnetization, 221 emu/g, are achieved in this tetragonal FeCo structure. Beyond a critical FeCo shell thickness, confirmed experimentally and by lattice mismatch calculations, the FeCo shell relaxes. The shell thickness and stoichiometry dictate the magnetic characteristics of the tetragonal FeCo shell. This study provides a general route to utilize phase transformation to fabricate high performance metastable nanomagnets, which could open up their green energy applications

Surface-Stress-Induced Phase Transformation of Ultrathin FeCo Nanowires

Ultrathin metal nanowires have attracted wide attention becau se oftheir unique anisotropy and surface-to-volume effects. In this study, we use ultrathin Au nanowires as the templating core to epitaxially grow magnetic iron–cobalt (FeCo) shell through metal-redox with the control on their thickness and stoichiometry. Large surface-stress-induced phase transformation in Au nanowires triggers and stabilizes metastable tetragonal FeCo nanostructure to enhance its magnetic anisotropy and coercivity. Meanwhile, under illumination, plasmon-induced hotspot in ultrathin Au nanowires enables the light-control on magnetic characteristics of FeCo shell. This study demonstrates the feasibility of surface-stress-induced phase transformation to stabilize and control metastable nanostructures for enhanced magnetic anisotropy, which is one of the key properties of functional magnetic materials

Synergistic Strain Engineering Effect of Hybrid Plasmonic, Catalytic, and Magnetic Core–Shell Nanocrystals

Hybrid core–shell nanocrystals, consisting of distinct components, represent an emerging functional material system, which could facilitate synergistic coupling effects via integrating drastically different functionalities. Here we report a unique strain engineering effect induced by phase transformation between plasmonic core and magnetic shell materials, which leads to a facile surface reconstruction of bimetallic core–shell nanocrystals to enhance their synergistic magnetic and catalytic properties. This advancement dramatically results in two orders of magnitude enhancement in magnetic coercivity and significant improvement in catalytic activity. Mechanistic studies involving the kinetic measurement and theoretical modeling uncover a structural distortion and surface rearrangement mechanism during the core–shell phase transformation pathway. This facile methodology could potentially open up the new design of multifunctional artificial hybrid nanostructures by the combination of phase transformation and surface engineering for emerging technological applications

Metal-Redox Synthesis of MnBi Hard Magnetic Nanoparticles

High coercivity MnBi alloy is a promising candidate as earth abundant permanent magnet for energy-critical technologies. We report here a new metal-redox method to synthesize colloidal MnBi nanoparticles, exhibiting a saturation magnetization of 49 emu/g and coercivity of 15 kOe. It is shown that the magnetic properties of the MnBi nanoalloys can be readily modified by precursor stoichiometry, temperature ramp rate, and reaction temperature, making it a versatile scalable strategy for generation of MnBi

Quantum Dots-Facilitated Printing of ZnO Nanostructure Photodetectors with Improved Performance

A nanocomposite ink composed of zinc oxide precursor (ZnOPr) and crystalline ZnO quantum dots (ZnOPrQDs) has been explored for printing high-performance ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors. The performance of the devices has been compared with their counterparts’ printed from ZnOPr ink without ZnO QDs. Remarkably, higher UV photoresponsivity of 383.6 A/W and the on/off ratio of 2470 are observed in the former, which are significantly better than 14.7 A/W and 949 in the latter. The improved performance is attributed to the increased viscosity in the nanocomposite ink to enable a nanoporous structure with improved crystallinity and surface-to-volume ratio. This is key to enhanced surface electron-depletion effect for higher UV responsivity and on/off ratio. In addition, the QD-assisted printing provides a simple and robust method for printing high-performance optoelectronics and sensors

Designing the Interface of Carbon Nanotube/Biomaterials for High-Performance Ultra-Broadband Photodetection

Inorganic/biomolecule nanohybrids can combine superior electronic and optical properties of inorganic nanostructures and biomolecules for optoelectronics with performance far surpassing that achievable in conventional materials. The key toward a high-performance inorganic/biomolecule nanohybrid is to design their interface based on the electronic structures of the constituents. A major challenge is the lack of knowledge of most biomolecules due to their complex structures and composition. Here, we first calculated the electronic structure and optical properties of one of the cytochrome c (Cyt c) macromolecules (PDB ID: 1HRC) using ab initio OLCAO method, which was followed by experimental confirmation using ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy. For the first time, the highest occupied molecular orbital and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy levels of Cyt c, a well-known electron transport chain in biological systems, were obtained. On the basis of the result, pairing the Cyt c with semiconductor single-wall carbon nanotubes (s-SWCNT) was predicted to have a favorable band alignment and built-in electrical field for exciton dissociation and charge transfer across the s-SWCNT/Cyt c heterojunction interface. Excitingly, photodetectors based on the s-SWCNT/Cyt c heterojunction nanohybrids demonstrated extraordinary ultra-broadband (visible light to infrared) responsivity (46–188 A W^–1) and figure-of-merit detectivity <i>D</i>* (1–6 × 10¹⁰ cm Hz^1/2 W^–1). Moreover, these devices can be fabricated on transparent flexible substrates by a low-lost nonvacuum method and are stable in air. These results suggest that the s-SWCNT/biomolecule nanohybrids may be promising for the development of CNT-based ultra-broadband photodetectors

Room Temperature Multiferroicity of Charge Transfer Crystals

Room temperature multiferroics has been a frontier research field by manipulating spin-driven ferroelectricity or charge-order-driven magnetism. Charge-transfer crystals based on electron donor and acceptor assembly, exhibiting simultaneous spin ordering, are drawing significant interests for the development of all-organic magnetoelectric multiferroics. Here, we report that a remarkable anisotropic magnetization and room temperature multiferroicity can be achieved through assembly of thiophene donor and fullerene acceptor. The crystal motif directs the dimensional and compositional control of charge-transfer networks that could switch magnetization under external stimuli, thereby opening up an attractive class of all-organic nanoferronics

Printable Nanocomposite FeS₂–PbS Nanocrystals/Graphene Heterojunction Photodetectors for Broadband Photodetection

Colloidal nanocrystals are attractive materials for optoelectronics applications because they offer a compelling combination of low-cost solution processing, printability, and spectral tunability through the quantum dot size effect. Here we explore a novel nanocomposite photosensitizer consisting of colloidal nanocrystals of FeS₂ and PbS with complementary optical and microstructural properties for broadband photodetection. Using a newly developed ligand exchange to achieve high-efficiency charge transfer across the nanocomposite FeS₂–PbS sensitizer and graphene on the FeS₂–PbS/graphene photoconductors, an extraordinary photoresponsivity in exceeding ∼10⁶ A/W was obtained in an ultrabroad spectrum of ultraviolet (UV)-visible-near-infrared (NIR). This is in contrast to the nearly 3 orders of magnitude reduction of the photoresponsivity from ∼10⁶ A/W at UV to 10³ A/W at NIR on their counterpart of FeS₂/graphene detectors. This illustrates the combined advantages of the nanocomposite sensitizers and the high charge mobility in FeS₂–PbS/graphene van der Waals heterostructures for nanohybrid optoelectronics with high performance, low cost, and scalability for commercialization

High-Sensitivity Light Detection via Gate Tuning of Organometallic Perovskite/PCBM Bulk Heterojunctions on Ferroelectric Pb_0.92La_0.08Zr_0.52Ti_0.48O₃ Gated Graphene Field Effect Transistors

Organometallic perovskite (OMP) CH₃NH₃PbI₃ doped with [6,6]-phenyl-C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) has been shown to form bulk heterojunction (OMP-PCBM BHJ) for improved charge separation. In this work, the OMP-PCBM BHJ photosensitizer is combined with graphene field effect transistors (GFETs) with a ferroelectric Pb_0.92La_0.08Zr_0.52Ti_0.48O₃ gate of high gating efficiency. A remarkable gate tunability via shifting the Fermi energy of graphene with respect to the valence band maximum and conduction band minimum of the OMP was observed, which is critical for facilitating efficient charge transfer across the OMP-PCBM BHJ/GFET interface. The combination of the high-efficiency charge separation by BHJ and charge transfer by high gate tunability leads to achievement of high photoresponsivity up to 7 × 10⁶ A/W and detectivity exceeding 7 × 10¹² Jones at 550 nm at a small gate voltage of 1.0 V. These results represent almost 2 orders of magnitude improvement over that without a gate tuning under the similar experimental condition, illustrating the importance of the interface electronic structure in optimizing the optoelectronic performance of the OMP-PCBM BHJ/GFET devices

All-Printable ZnO Quantum Dots/Graphene van der Waals Heterostructures for Ultrasensitive Detection of Ultraviolet Light

In ZnO quantum dot/graphene heterojunction photodetectors, fabricated by printing quantum dots (QDs) directly on the graphene field-effect transistor (GFET) channel, the combination of the strong quantum confinement in ZnO QDs and the high charge mobility in graphene allows extraordinary quantum efficiency (or photoconductive gain) in visible-blind ultraviolet (UV) detection. Key to the high performance is a clean van der Waals interface to facilitate an efficient charge transfer from ZnO QDs to graphene upon UV illumination. Here, we report a robust ZnO QD surface activation process and demonstrate that a transition from zero to extraordinarily high photoresponsivity of 9.9 × 10⁸ A/W and a photoconductive gain of 3.6 × 10⁹ can be obtained in ZnO QDs/GFET heterojunction photodetectors, as the ZnO QDs surface is systematically engineered using this process. The high figure-of-merit UV detectivity <i>D*</i> in exceeding 1 × 10¹⁴ Jones represents more than 1 order of magnitude improvement over the best reported previously on ZnO nanostructure-based UV detectors. This result not only sheds light on the critical role of the van der Waals interface in affecting the optoelectronic process in ZnO QDs/GFET heterojunction photodetectors but also demonstrates the viability of printing quantum devices of high performance and low cost