Multiscale Self-Assembly of Silicon Quantum Dots into an Anisotropic Three-Dimensional Random Network
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- 作者：Serim Ilday ; F. Ömer Ilday ; René Hübner ; Ty J. Prosa ; Isabelle Martin ; Gizem Nogay ; Ismail Kabacelik ; Zoltan Mics ; Mischa Bonn ; Dmitry Turchinovich ; Hande Toffoli ; Daniele Toffoli ; David Friedrich ; Bernd Schmidt ; Karl-Heinz Heinig ; Rasit Turan
- 刊名：Nano Letters
- 出版年：2016
- 出版时间：March 9, 2016
- 年：2016
- 卷：16
- 期：3
- 页码：1942-1948
- 全文大小：424K
- ISSN：1530-6992
文摘
Multiscale self-assembly is ubiquitous in nature but its deliberate use to synthesize multifunctional three-dimensional materials remains rare, partly due to the notoriously difficult problem of controlling topology from atomic to macroscopic scales to obtain intended material properties. Here, we propose a simple, modular, noncolloidal methodology that is based on exploiting universality in stochastic growth dynamics and driving the growth process under far-from-equilibrium conditions toward a preplanned structure. As proof of principle, we demonstrate a confined-but-connected solid structure, comprising an anisotropic random network of silicon quantum-dots that hierarchically self-assembles from the atomic to the microscopic scales. First, quantum-dots form to subsequently interconnect without inflating their diameters to form a random network, and this network then grows in a preferential direction to form undulated and branching nanowire-like structures. This specific topology simultaneously achieves two scale-dependent features, which were previously thought to be mutually exclusive: good electrical conduction on the microscale and a bandgap tunable over a range of energies on the nanoscale.