Cull, W.J., Ramasse, Q.M. orcid.org/0000-0001-7466-2283, Biskupek, J. et al. (10 more authors) (2025) Flexible Selenium Nanowires with Tuneable Electronic Bandgaps. Advanced Materials. e2501821. ISSN 0935-9648
Abstract
Manipulating semiconductor properties without altering their chemical composition holds promise for electronic and optical materials. However, linking atomic positions in nanomaterials to their functional properties is challenging due to their polydispersity. This study utilizes nano test tubes to uncover distinct phases of selenium, an elemental semiconductor, demonstrating a remarkable structural plasticity between 0.4 and 3.0 nm. These structures are correlated with their electronic bandgaps, ranging from 2.2 to 2.5 eV, using ultra-low-loss electron energy loss spectroscopy and aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy for individual nanowires in boron nitride nanotubes (BNNT). Notably, the variation in bandgaps diverges from that of bulk selenium and is non-monotonic on the host-nanotube diameter, indicating that conformational distortions in selenium chains begin counteracting quantum confinement effects at sub-nm scales. A 1D phase diagram predicting selenium's atomic structure based on nanotube diameter, regardless of the chemistry of the host nanotube is developed, which can be BNNT or carbon nanotubes. Phase changes in selenium nanowires are imaged in real-time by transmission electron microscopy using BNNT as a test tube with an adjustable diameter. These nanoscale findings pave the way for the development of advanced miniature tuneable and flexible electronic components, including transistors, optical sensors, and photovoltaics.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2025 The Author(s). Advanced Materials published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | RPG-2022-300 Keywords bandgap; boron nitride nanotubes; carbon nanotubes; nanowires; phase change; selenium; transmission electron microscopy |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Chemical & Process Engineering (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 02 Jun 2025 12:51 |
Last Modified: | 02 Jun 2025 12:51 |
Status: | Published online |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/adma.202501821 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:227265 |