Elsevier

Current Applied Physics

Volume 11, Issue 4, July 2011, Pages 1031-1034
Current Applied Physics

Electric field assisted processing and characterization of AlSb nanocrystals

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cap.2011.01.024Get rights and content

Abstract

AlSb nanocrystals were produced by the direct flow of electrons through powder mixture of 1:1 M ratio Al:Sb. The phase, morphology, and vibration modes were characterized using XRD, TEM, and Raman spectroscopy. The optical property was also investigated using UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometry. In the present research, the products were pure AlSb nanocrystals at 80 A for 10 min, and 110 A for 3 s, with the indirect energy band gaps of 1.647 eV and 1.688 eV, respectively.

Highlights

► Al and Sb as solid mixture precursors. ► Direct flow of electrons through solid mixtures enables AlSb to be produced. ► Best pure nanocrystals are obtained at 110 A for 3 s. ► Indirect energy gap of these nanocrystals is 1.688 eV.

Introduction

Recently, III–V nanostructured materials are very attractive for a number of applications in science and technology. One of them is AlSb, which has wide variety applications – photovoltaic cells, p–n junction diodes, and anodes for Li-ion batteries [1]. It is zinc-blende structure with a lattice constant of 0.6126 nm [2], [3], and high melting point (1058 °C) [4]. It shows sharp-line donor-acceptor pair spectrum, caused by electron-hole transition process [2]. AlSb is able to use as anodes for lithium-ion batteries – both Al and Sb are active in forming alloys with lithium [5]. Generally, AlSb is the p-type intrinsic semiconductor. By doping with Se, Te and S as donors, it transforms into the n-type extrinsic one [1]. When it was deposited on a Si (001) wafer, it nucleated as the crystalline quantum dots, and formed as defect-free buffers on lattice mismatched substrates [6]. In this research, AlSb nanocrystals were produced by the direct flow of electrons through solid mixtures, and further characterized. This process is novel, fast, effective, and environmentally benign.

Section snippets

Experiment

To produce AlSb nanocrystals, 1:1 M ratio of Al:Sb (total weight of 2 g dried powder) was put in a bottle, mixed by rotation for 1 h at room temperature. The 1 ton force was used to press the powder for 1 min to form a disk, which was connected with two electrical stainless steel electrodes in a tightly closed chamber (Fig. 1). Evacuation was done to achieve 3 × 10−4 mbar absolute pressure. Then each disk was heated by the direct flow of current using 25 DC V, under different conditions: C1

Results and discussion

XRD spectra (Fig. 2) of AlSb, produced by the direct flow of 80 A and 110 A currents through the solid mixtures for different lengths of times, were compared with the JCPDS database [3]. For C1 and C3 conditions, the products were cubic AlSb (JCPDS no. 73-2247) containing some Al and Sb impurities (JCPDS nos. 01-1176 for Al, and 02-0587 and 02-0592 for Sb). At these stages, the chemical reactions of Al and Sb are still incomplete. Upon processing at the C2 and C4 conditions, the products were

Conclusions

Pure AlSb nanocrystals were successfully produced by the direct flow of electrons through solid mixtures – the novel, fast, effective, and environmentally benign process. The phase and nanocrystals were clearly detected, including three Raman shifts at 113.3, 145.9, and 320.2 cm−1. Indirect energy band gaps are 1.647 eV and 1.688 eV, for AlSb nanocrystals with the sizes of 50 nm and 20 nm, respectively.

Acknowledgment

We wish to give thank the Thailand’s Office of the Higher Education Commission for providing financial support through the National Research University (NRU) Project.

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