Papers by Author: P. Santiago

Abstract: Zinc sulfide (ZnS), a representative of wide band gap semiconductor nanocrystals, has an excitonic Bohr radius (aBZnS ) of 2.5 nm. It makes ZnS nanoparticles (ZnS NP) having such size very interesting as small biomolecular probes for fluorescence and laser scanning microscopy. To date, ZnS NP of diameters larger than aBZnS has been subject of extensive experimental and theoretical studies. However many questions remain open concerning the synthesis of undoped and uncapped ZnS NP of diameters less than 2.5 nm. To further probe into the physical properties of undoped and uncapped ZnS NP, in this work we report on studies of uncapped ZnS nanoparticles synthesized by a wet chemical process at room temperature. Three colloidal suspensions (named A, B and C, respectively) were obtained from 9:1, 1:1 and 1:9 volume mixtures of 1mM ZnSO4 and 0.85mM Na2S aqueous solutions. Qualitative differences in UV-Vis absorption spectra are discussed in the context of Z-contrast scanning transmission electron microscopy (Z-contrast), low and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results. Distribution of particle size is dependent on different volumes of source solutions. For the intermediate mixture, it has been found that about 78% of ZnS nanoparticles have a diameter smaller than the excitonic Bohr Radius of 2.5 nm. HRTEM studies have revealed that nanoparticles grow preferentially with hexagonal structure.

Abstract: Developing new semiconductor materials with improved photocatalytic activity is a promising technology for the remedy of environmental pollution. Here we report on the synthesis of Yb containing TiO2 nanoparticles and their catalytic activity under visible light. Highly monodispersed, spherical TiO2 and TiO2 :Yb nanoparticles of 27- 40 nm size range were prepared through controlled hydrolysis of titanium tetrabutoxide (TTB) and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersion spectroscopy (EDS), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), high angle annular dark field (HAADF), and ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS) techniques. Average size of the nanoparticles was found to decrease with the increase of Yb doping concentration. The photocatalytic activity of Yb doped TiO2 was evaluated by measuring the degradation rates of methylene blue (MB) under UV and visible lights. Doping with ytterbium ions enhanced significantly the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanoparticles for MB oxidation under visible light.