Atomic insights of electronic states engineering of GaN nanowires by Cu cation substitution for highly efficient lithium ion battery

Electronic engineering of gallium nitride(Ga N) is critical for enhancement of its electrode performance.In this work, copper(Cu) cation substituted Ga N(Cu-Ga N) nanowires were fabricated to understand the electronically engineered electrochemical performance for Li ion storage. Cu cation substitution was revealed at atomic level by combination of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS), X-ray absorption fine structure(XAFS), density functional theory(DFT) simulation, and so forth. The Cu-Ga N electrode delivered high capacity of 813.2 m A h g^(-1) at 0.1 A g^(-1) after 200 cycles, increased by 66% relative to the unsubstituted Ga N electrode. After 2000 cycles at 10 A g^(-1),the reversible capacity was still maintained at326.7 m A h g^(-1). The DFT calculations revealed that Cu substitution introduced the impurity electronic states and efficient interatomic electron migration, which can enhance the charge transfer efficiency and reduce the Li ion adsorption energy on the Cu-Ga N electrode. The ex-situ SEM, TEM, HRTEM, and SAED analyses demonstrated the reversible intercalation Li ion storage mechanism and good structural stability. The concept of atomic-arrangement-assisted electronic engineering strategy is anticipated to open up opportunities for advanced energy storage applications.

One-pot synthesis of toluene from methane and methanol catalyzed by GaN nanowire

The generation of aromatic benzene,toluene,xylene(BTX)compounds from non-petroleum feedstocks is of particular interest for chemists in the eyes of sustainability.Herein,a novel synthesis of toluene catalyzed by GaN semiconductor nanowire arrays is reported.Using methane and methanol as starting materials,the GaN nanowire arrays can synergistically facilitate the facile generation of toluene under either photo-irradiation or thermal-conditions.The detailed computational studies unveiled different mechanisms involved for the photo-and thermal-toluene synthesis.

Improved electron capture capability of field-assisted exponential-doping GaN nanowire array photocathode

The exponential-doping GaN nanowire arrays(GaN NWAs)photocathode has a"light-trapping effect",and the built-in electric field can promote the concentration of the photogene rated carrier center to the top surface of the nanowire.However,in the preparation ofactual NWAs photocathodes,the problem that photons emitted from the sides of the nanowires cannot be effectively collected has been encountered.Our proposed field-assisted exponential-doping GaN NWAs can bend the motion trajectory of the emitted electrons toward the collecting side.In this study,the quantum efficiency(QE)and collection efficiency(CE)of the external field-assisted exponential-doping GaN NWAs photocathode are derived based on the two-dimensional carrier diffusion equation and the initial energy and angular distribution,respectively.For a field-assisted exponential-doping GaN NWAs with a width d=200 nm and a height H=400 nm,the optimal structural parameters are obtained:the incident angleθ=50°and the nanowire spacing is L=335.6 nm.On this basis,the field intensity of 0.5 V/μm can maximize the CE of the NWAs.All the results show that the field-assisted approach does contribute to the collection of emitted electrons,which can provide theoretical guidance for high-performance electron sources based on exponential-doping GaN NWAs photocathodes.And field-assisted exponential-doping GaN NWAs cathode is expected to be verified by the experimental results in the future.

Bending strain effects on the optical and optoelectric properties of GaN nanowires

Elastic strain has been an important method to regulate the electronic structures and physical properties of nanoscale semiconductors due to the promising potentials in improving the performance of their optoelectronic devices.Here,we report the investigation of bending strain effects on the optical and optoelectric properties of individual gallium nitride(GaN)nanowires(NWs).By charactering the near-band emission spectrum of individual GaN NWs at different bending strains with low temperature cathodoluminescence(CL),we reveal that the near-band emission splits into two peaks,where the low energy peak displays a linear redshift with increasing the bending strain while the high energy one shows a slight blueshift.Further localized ultraviolet(UV)photoresponse measurements illustrate that the photoresponse of the GaN NWs shows a linear increase with the bending train,and the maximum enhancement is more than two orders of magnitude.The experimental observations are well interpreted by theoretical calculations on the strain modulation on the electronic band structure of GaN combined with analysis of carrier dynamics and optical waveguide effect in the bending strain field.Our results not only shed light on the bending strain effects on the optical and optoelectric properties of semiconductors,but also hold potential to help the future design of high performance nano-optoelectric devices.

High-efficient electron collection capability of graded Al compositional GaN nanowire arrays cathode

Based on the purpose of solving the"secondary absorption"of adjacent nanowires and the lateral emission in the Ga N nanowire arrays(NWAs)cathode,an exponential-doping and graded Al compositional Ga N NWAs photocathode is proposed,which could generate internal electric field to increase the quantum efficiency(QE)of top surface,and the introduction of an external electric field promote the side-emission electrons to shift toward the collecting side.The QE and collection efficiency(CE)of exponential-doping and graded compositional Ga N NWAs under different array structure parameters,incident angles and external electric field intensities are analyzed.The results show that although the collection ratio of emitted electrons in the exponential-doping Ga N NWAs is higher,the graded Al compositional photocathode with a stronger built-in electric field can obtain better CE under the application of an external electric field,and the peak value can reach 33.2%in a specific structure.External electric field has a more significant effect on the CE of uniform-doping Ga N NWAs.The solutions provided in this study can make the Ga N NWAs photocathode more suitable for the strict requirements of vacuum electron sources.

Ultraviolet-infrared dual-color photodetector based on vertical GaN nanowire array and graphene

A monolithic integrated ultraviolet-infrared(UV-IR) dual-color photodetector based on graphene/GaN heterojunction was fabricated by vertically integrating a GaN nanowire array on a silicon substrate with monolayer graphene. The device detects UV and IR lights by different mechanisms. The UV detection is accomplished by the forbidden band absorption of GaN, and the IR detection is realized by the free electron absorption of graphene. At peak wavelengths of 360 nm and 1540 nm, the detector has responsivities up to 6.93 A/W and 0.11 A/W, detection efficiencies of 1.23 × 1012 cm·Hz1/2·W-1 and 1.88 × 1010 cm·Hz1/2·W-1, respectively,and a short response time of less than 3 ms.

Lateral organic-inorganic hybrid Vis-NIR photodetectors based on GaN nanowires promoting photogenerated carriers transfer

The narrow bandgap of the low-energy near-infrared(NIR)polymer would lead to overlap between adjacent energy levels,which is a major barrier to the preparation of Vis-NIR polymer bulk hetero-junction(BHJ)photodetectors with small responsivity and photocurrent.In this study,a high-performance lateral inorganic-organic hybrid photodetector was constructed to eliminate this barrier by combining GaN nanowires(GaN-NWs)with PDPP3T:PC61BM-based BHJ.In stage one,high-quality GaN-NWs were synthesized by the catalyst-free CVD method.The mechanism for controlling GaN-NWs morphology by adjusting the NH3 flow rate was revealed.In stage two,the GaN-NWs with large electron mobility were used to accelerate the transfer of photogenerated carriers in the BHJ layer.Finally,compared with the BHJ device,the BHJ/GaN device demonstrated obvious improvements in responsivity and photocurrent at the wavelength between 400 and 1000 nm.The responsivity and photocurrent increased over 20-fold at the NIR band of 800e900 nm.Besides,owing to the energy level gradient effect,the BHJ/GaN device has a response speed of 7.8/<5.0 ms,which increases over three orders of magnitude than that of the GaN-NWs-based device(tr/tf:7.1/10.9 s).Therefore,the novel device structure proposed in this work holds great potential for preparing high-performance Vis-NIR photodetectors.

A Ga_2O·11Al_2O_3 nanonet prepared by interfacial reaction growth approach and its application in fabricating GaN nanowires

A Ga2O·11Al2O3 nanonet was synthesized by using Ga2O3 powder as the precursor to generate Ga2O vapor in H2 atmosphere which further reacted with Al2O3 at 730 °C to form Ga2O·11Al2O3 at the interfaces of a porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template. The prepared Ga2O·11Al2O3 nanonet then served as a Ga2O-stablizing reservoir to fabricate single crystal GaN nanowires. The residual Ga2O3 powder at the surface of the produced Ga2O·11Al2O3 nanonet and the metallic Ga or Ga2O from the Ga2O·11Al2O3 decomposition reacted with ammonia to yield GaN nanowires at 780 °C. The reaction mechanisms were investigated.

Studies on the nucleation of MBE grown Ⅲ-nitride nanowires on Si

GaN and AlN nanowires（NWs） have attracted great interests for the fabrication of novel nano-sized devices. In this paper, the nucleation processes of GaN and AlN NWs grown on Si substrates by molecular beam epitaxy（MBE）are investigated. It is found that GaN NWs nucleated on in-situ formed Si3N4 fully release the stress upon the interface between GaN NW and amorphous Si3N4 layer, while AlN NWs nucleated by aluminization process gradually release the stress during growth. Depending on the strain status as well as the migration ability of Ⅲ group adatoms, the different growth kinetics of GaN and AlN NWs result in different NW morphologies, i.e., GaN NWs with uniform radii and AlN NWs with tapered bases.