Synthesis of Ultrawide Band Gap TeO<sub>2</sub> Nanoparticles by Pulsed Laser Ablation in Liquids: Top Ablation versus Bottom Ablation
R. Subedi, Grégory Guisbiers
Abstract
High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Ultrawide band gap (UWBG) semiconductors are the future components of electronic devices due to their large energy band gap (>3.2 eV). In this article, spherical TeO 2 nanoparticles, with sizes around ∼39 ± 12 and ∼29 ± 6 nm, were successfully synthesized by irradiating a pure tellurium target, totally submerged in ethanol, using a “Top-ablation” or “Bottom-ablation” synthesis protocol, respectively. Mostly, α-TeO 2 nanoparticles were created (>95%) with only a small amount of γ-TeO 2 nanoparticles being produced (<5%). Both colloids exhibited a ζ-potential larger than |30 mV|, indicating a stable colloidal solution. The energy band gaps of the TeO 2 nanoparticles synthesized by the Top-ablation and Bottom-ablation synthesis protocols were determined to be around 5.3 and 5.8 eV, respectively. Finally, TeO 2 UWBG nanoparticles were successfully synthesized using either a Top-ablation or Bottom-ablation synthesis protocol. The main advantage of the Bottom-ablation synthesis protocol is its ability to obtain smaller nanoparticles compared to that of the Top-ablation synthesis protocol.