Article Title

Fabrication of Noble metal-semiconductor hybrid nanostructures using phase transfer

Authors

Tanushree Bala, Materials and Surface Science Institute and Department of Chemical and Environmental Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
Ajay Singh, Materials and Surface Science Institute and Department of Chemical and Environmental Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland SFI-Strategic Research Cluster in Solar Energy Research, University of Limerick, Ireland
Ambarish Sanyal, Materials and Surface Science Institute and Department of Chemical and Environmental Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
Catriona O’Sullivan, Materials and Surface Science Institute and Department of Chemical and Environmental Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
Fathima Laffir, Materials and Surface Science Institute and Department of Chemical and Environmental Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
Claudia Coughlan, Materials and Surface Science Institute and Department of Chemical and Environmental Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland SFI-Strategic Research Cluster in Solar Energy Research, University of Limerick, Ireland
Kevin M. Ryan, Materials and Surface Science Institute and Department of Chemical and Environmental Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland SFI-Strategic Research Cluster in Solar Energy Research, University of Limerick, Ireland

Keywords

semiconductor-metal hybrids, Ag tips, Au tips, phase transfer

Abstract

ABSTRACT An easy and effective solution based procedure for the synthesis of noble metal (both Au and Ag) tipped semiconductor nanomaterials is demonstrated where the metal precursors are taken in water and the semiconductors in organic medium, exploiting the phase transfer and reducing capability of suitably chosen ligands. The phase tranfer route is a generalised approach to form either Ag or Au tips on cadmium chalcogenide nanoparticles and nanorods. While multiple dots of noble metals are formed on the semiconductor nanomaterials initially, these coalesce into larger islands with time. The hybrids are characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL), ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV–vis) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). A detailed FTIR analysis was also carried out to delineate the role of the ligands in the synthesis.

Graphical Abstract

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-013-0287-9

Publisher

Tsinghua University Press

Recommended Citation

Tanushree Bala,Ajay Singh,Ambarish Sanyal,Catriona O’Sullivan,Fathima Laffir,Claudia Coughlan,Kevin M. Ryan, Fabrication of Noble metal-semiconductor hybrid nanostructures using phase transfer. NanoRes.2013, 6(2): 121–130