Solution-Liquid-Solid Growth of Inorganic Materials

华盛顿大学的William S.Buhro获得了化学系的先进材料项目和材料研究部的固态化学项目的支持。研究的重点是发展溶液-液-固(SLS)结晶技术作为低温合成非分子无机固体的通用方法。SLS方法的主要特征是将非标准尺寸的熔融铟或铟/镓液滴分散在有机金属前驱体溶液中，晶须晶体由此生长。催化的有机金属反应发生在液滴-溶液界面，将产物沉积到液滴中的溶液中。液滴变得过饱和，推动了晶须的生长。这项研究的具体目标是：(1)建立SLS生长的详细机制，(2)获得纳米晶须尺寸的控制并产生窄的尺寸分布，(3)获得三元体系中纳米晶须组成的控制，(4)研究异质纳米晶须的制备，以及(5)评估SLS生长对合成III-V氮化物和II-VI硫族化合物的一般性。本研究将探索一种受化学性质和表面反应性限制的新型固态材料低温方法的机理和范围，而传统的高温方法受前体挥发性的限制。由于新方法是由动力学驱动的，因此可以预期出现新的固相。成分和尺寸可控的固态纳米晶须在电子和光学应用中可能是有用的。

This new award to William S. Buhro at Washingon University is supported by the Advanced Materials Program in the Chemistry Division and the Solid-State Chemistry Program in the Division of Materials Research. The focus of the research is the development of the Solution-Liquid-Solid (SLS) crystallization technique as a general method for the low-temperature synthesis of nonmolecular inorganic solids. The primary feature of the SLS method is the dispersion of nonometer-size molten Indium or Indium/Gallium droplets in an organometallic precursor solution, from which the whisker crystals grow. Catalyzed organometallic reactions occur at the droplet-solution interface, depositing the products into solution in the droplet. The droplets become supersaturated, driving whisker growth. The specific goals of the research are to (1) establish the detailed mechanism of SLS growth, (2) gain control of nanowhisker sizes and produce narrow size distributions, (3) gain control of nanowhisker compositions in ternary systems, (4) investigate fabrication of heterostructured nanowhiskers, and (5) assess the generality of SLS growth to the synthesis of III-V nitrides and II-VI chalcogenides. This research will explore the mechanism and scope of a new low-temperature route to solid state materials limited by chemical and surface reactivity compared to traditional high temperature methods which are limited by precursor volatility. Since the new method is kinetically driven, new solid phases can be expected. Solid state nanowhiskers of controlled composition and size are likely to be useful in electronic and optical applications.