Facilities

Nanocrystal Synthesis

The Alivisatos group has end-to-end nanocrystal synthesis and characterization capabilities. These include eight fume hoods with schlenk lines for synthesis, four gloveboxes for air-free manipulation, centrifuges and HPLC for cleaning, as well as x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy for characterization. Further characterization is possible with a variety of optical absorption and fluorescence spectrometers, electrical measurements, and a solar simulator. Single particle measurements can utilize a probe station with cryostat or a confocal microscope with flow cells. Most synthesis is of II-VI semiconductors of various shapes (dots, rods, tetrapods, dot-in-a-rod). Lead chalcogenides are favored for solar devices due to their larger absorption cross section, but the synthetic methods for cadmium chalcogenides are better developed for use in complex heterostructures. There is also some work with degenerate sulfides, including copper sulfide and iron sulfide, and transition metal oxides. Nanocrystals synthesized by the Alivisatos group are being used in RG-1, RG-2, and RG-4 efforts of the LMI-EFRC.

 

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