Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T16:22:02.509Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Dopant-controlled photoluminescence of Ag-doped Zn–In–S nanocrystals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2017

Xinjun Shi
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical Engineering, Ningbo University of Technology, Ningbo 315016, China
Jinju Zheng*
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical Engineering, Ningbo University of Technology, Ningbo 315016, China; and Institute of Materials, Ningbo University of Technology, Ningbo 315016, China
Minhui Shang*
Affiliation:
Institute of Materials, Ningbo University of Technology, Ningbo 315016, China
Tingting Xie
Affiliation:
Institute of Materials, Ningbo University of Technology, Ningbo 315016, China
Jiangbo Xie
Affiliation:
Institute of Materials, Ningbo University of Technology, Ningbo 315016, China
Sheng Cao
Affiliation:
Institute of Materials, Ningbo University of Technology, Ningbo 315016, China
Weiyou Yang
Affiliation:
Institute of Materials, Ningbo University of Technology, Ningbo 315016, China
*
a) Address all correspondence to these authors. e-mail: [email protected]
b) e-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

In this work, we reported the growth of cadmium-free Ag-doped Zn–In–S nanocrystals (NCs) with effective photoluminescence (PL) via a hot-injection strategy. The effects of the nucleation temperatures, reaction times, and Ag-doping concentrations on the PL properties of Ag-doped Zn–In–S NCs were investigated systematically. The as-synthesized NCs exhibit color-tunable PL emissions covering a broad visible range of 472–585 nm. After being passivated by a protective ZnS shell, the PL quantum yield (QY) of the resultant NCs was greatly improved up to 33%. With the increase of the Ag-doping level, the PL is significantly intensified due to the improved concentration of Ag ions which provides more holes to recombine with electrons from the bottom of the conduction band. This also makes the emission via the dopant energy level become a powerful, competitive advantage for the NCs with higher Ag-doping levels, resulting in a longer lifetime and higher PL QY. These results suggest that tailoring the Ag-doping level can be a powerful strategy to control the optical properties of Ag-doped Zn–In–S NCs.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Contributing Editor: Winston V. Schoenfeld

References

REFERENCES

Wu, P. and Yan, X-P.: Doped quantum dots for chemo/biosensing and bioimaging. Chem. Soc. Rev. 42(12), 5489 (2013).Google Scholar
Pradhan, N. and Sarma, D.: Advances in light-emitting doped semiconductor nanocrystals. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2(21), 2818 (2011).Google Scholar
Erwin, S.C., Zu, L., Haftel, M.I., Efros, A.L., Kennedy, T.A., and Norris, D.J.: Doping semiconductor nanocrystals. Nature 436(7047), 91 (2005).Google Scholar
Mocatta, D., Cohen, G., Schattner, J., Millo, O., Rabani, E., and Banin, U.: Heavily doped semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots. Science 332(6025), 77 (2011).Google Scholar
Norris, D.J., Efros, A.L., and Erwin, S.C.: Doped nanocrystals. Science 319(5871), 1776 (2008).Google Scholar
Zhang, W., Li, Y., Zhang, H., Zhou, X., and Zhong, X.: Facile synthesis of highly luminescent Mn-doped ZnS nanocrystals. Inorg. Chem. 50(20), 10432 (2011).Google Scholar
Cao, S., Zhao, J., Yang, W., Li, C., and Zheng, J.: Mn2+-doped Zn–In–S quantum dots with tunable bandgaps and high photoluminescence properties. J. Mater. Chem. C 3(34), 8844 (2015).Google Scholar
Cao, S., Zheng, J., Zhao, J., Wang, L., Gao, F., Wei, G., Zeng, R., Tian, L., and Yang, W.: Highly efficient and well-resolved Mn2+ ion emission in MnS/ZnS/CdS quantum dots. J. Mater. Chem. C 1(14), 2540 (2013).Google Scholar
Cao, S., Li, C., Wang, L., Shang, M., Wei, G., Zheng, J., and Yang, W.: Long-lived and well-resolved Mn2+ ion emissions in CuInS–ZnS quantum dots. Sci. Rep. 4, 07510 (2014).Google Scholar
Srivastava, B.B., Jana, S., and Pradhan, N.: Doping Cu in semiconductor nanocrystals: Some old and some new physical insights. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 133(4), 1007 (2011).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Karan, N.S., Sarma, D.D., Kadam, R.M., and Pradhan, N.: Doping transition metal (Mn or Cu) ions in semiconductor nanocrystals. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 1(19), 2863 (2010).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levchuk, I., Wurth, C., Krause, F., Osvet, A., Batentschuk, M., Resch-Genger, U., Kolbeck, C., Herre, P., Steinruck, H.P., Peukert, W., and Brabec, C.J.: Industrially scalable and cost-effective Mn2+ doped Zn x Cd1−x S/ZnS nanocrystals with 70% photoluminescence quantum yield, as efficient down-shifting materials in photovoltaics. Energy Environ. Sci. 9(3), 1083 (2016).Google Scholar
Zhang, W., Zhou, X., and Zhong, X.: One-pot noninjection synthesis of Cu-doped Zn x Cd1−x S nanocrystals with emission color tunable over entire visible spectrum. Inorg. Chem. 51(6), 3579 (2012).Google Scholar
Xie, R. and Peng, X.: Synthesis of Cu-doped InP nanocrystals (d-dots) with ZnSe diffusion barrier as efficient and color-tunable NIR emitters. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 131(30), 10645 (2009).Google Scholar
Zhang, W., Lou, Q., Ji, W., Zhao, J., and Zhong, X.: Color-tunable highly bright photoluminescence of cadmium-free Cu-doped Zn–In–S nanocrystals and electroluminescence. Chem. Mater. 26(2), 1204 (2014).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xuan, T-T., Liu, J-Q., Yu, C-Y., Xie, R-J., and Li, H-L.: Facile synthesis of cadmium-free Zn–In–S:Ag/ZnS nanocrystals for bio-imaging. Sci. Rep. 6, 24459 (2016).Google Scholar
Wang, C., Xu, S., Shao, Y., Wang, Z., Xu, Q., and Cui, Y.: Synthesis of Ag doped ZnlnSe ternary quantum dots with tunable emission. J. Mater. Chem. C 2(26), 5111 (2014).Google Scholar
Zeng, R., Sun, Z., Cao, S., Shen, R., Liu, Z., Xiong, Y., Long, J., Zheng, J., Zhao, Y., Shen, Y., and Wang, D.: Facile synthesis of Ag-doped ZnCdS nanocrystals and transformation into Ag-doped ZnCdSSe nanocrystals with Se treatment. RSC Adv. 5, 1083 (2015).Google Scholar
Zeng, R., Sun, Z., Cao, S., Shen, R., Liu, Z., Long, J., Zheng, J., Shen, Y., and Lin, X.: A facile route to aqueous Ag:ZnCdS and Ag:ZnCdSeS quantum dots: Pure emission color tunable over entire visible spectrum. J. Alloys Compd. 632, 1 (2015).Google Scholar
Chen, Y., Huang, L., Li, S., and Pan, D.: Aqueous synthesis of glutathione-capped Cu+ and Ag+-doped Zn x Cd1−x S quantum dots with full color emission. J. Mater. Chem. C 1(4), 751 (2013).Google Scholar
Li, J., Liu, Y., Hua, J., Tian, L., and Zhao, J.: Photoluminescence properties of transition metal-doped Zn–In–S/ZnS core/shell quantum dots in solid films. RSC Adv. 6(50), 44859 (2016).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yoon, H., Oh, J., Ko, M., Yoo, H., and Do, Y.: Synthesis and characterization of green Zn–Ag–In–S and red Zn–Cu–In–S quantum dots for ultrahigh color quality of down-converted white LEDs. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 7, 7342 (2015).Google Scholar
Song, J., Ma, C., Zhang, W., Yang, S., Wang, S., Lv, L., Zhu, L., Xia, R., and Xu, X.: Tumor cell-targeted Zn3In2S6 and Ag–Zn–In–S quantum dots for color adjustable luminophores. J. Mater. Chem. B 4, 7909 (2016).Google Scholar
Cao, S., Zheng, J., Zhao, J., Yang, Z., Shang, M., Li, C., Yang, W., and Fang, X.: Robust and stable ratiometric temperature sensor based on Zn–In–S quantum dots with intrinsic dual-dopant ion emissions. Adv. Funct. Mater. 26, 7224 (2016).Google Scholar
Zhang, Q-H., Tian, Y., Wang, C-F., and Chen, S.: Construction of Ag-doped Zn–In–S quantum dots toward white LEDs and 3D luminescent patterning. RSC Adv. 6(53), 47616 (2016).Google Scholar
Cao, S., Ji, W., Zhao, J., Yang, W., Li, C., and Zheng, J.: Color-tunable photoluminescence of Cu-doped Zn–In–Se quantum dots and their electroluminescence properties. J. Mater. Chem. C 4(3), 581 (2016).Google Scholar
Xiang, W., Xie, C., Wang, J., Zhong, J., Liang, X., Yang, H., Luo, L., and Chen, Z.: Studies on highly luminescent AgInS2 and Ag–Zn–In–S quantum dots. J. Alloys Compd. 588, 114 (2014).Google Scholar
Prodan, E., Radloff, C., Halas, N., and Nordlander, P.: A hybridization model for the plasmon response of complex nanostructures. Science 302, 419 (2003).Google Scholar
Prodan, E. and Nordlander, P.: Plasmon hybridization in spherical nanoparticles. J. Chem. Phys. 120, 5444 (2004).Google Scholar
Chau, Y., Lim, C., Chiang, C., Voo, N., Idris, N., and Chai, S.: Tunable silver-shell dielectric core nano-beads array for thin-film solar cell application. J. Nanopart. Res. 18, 88 (2016).Google Scholar
Chau, F., Jheng, Y., Joe, F., Wang, F., Yang, W., Jheng, S., Sun, Y., Chu, Y., and Wei, J.: Structurally and materially sensitive hybrid surface plasmon modes in periodic silver-shell nanopearl and its dimer arrays. J. Nanopart. Res. 15, 1424 (2013).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knowles, K.E., Hartstein, K.H., Kilburn, T.B., Marchioro, A., Nelson, H.D., Whitham, P.J., and Gamelin, D.R.: Luminescent colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals containing copper: Synthesis, photophysics, and applications. Chem. Rev. 116, 10820 (2016).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van Embden, J., Chesman, A.S.R., and Jasieniak, J.J.: The heat-up synthesis of colloidal nanocrystals. Chem. Mater. 27(7), 2246 (2015).Google Scholar
Sotelo-Gonzalez, E., Roces, L., Garcia-Granda, S., Fernandez-Arguelles, M.T., Costa-Fernandez, J.M., and Sanz-Medel, A.: Influence of Mn2+ concentration on Mn2+-doped ZnS quantum dot synthesis: Evaluation of the structural and photoluminescent properties. Nanoscale 5(19), 9156 (2013).Google Scholar