One-step synthesis of photoluminescent nanofluids by direct loading of reactively sputtered cubic ZrN nanoparticles into organic liquids

Mariia Protsak; Kateryna Biliak; Daniil Nikitin; Pavel Pleskunov; Marco Tosca; Suren Ali-Ogly; Jan Hanuš; Lenka Hanyková; Veronika Červenková; Anastasiya Sergievskaya; Stephanos Konstantinidis; David Cornil; Jérôme Cornil; Miroslav Cieslar; Tereza Košutová; Tomáš Popelář; Lukáš Ondič; Andrei Choukourov

doi:10.1039/D3NR03999D

One-step synthesis of photoluminescent nanofluids by direct loading of reactively sputtered cubic ZrN nanoparticles into organic liquids†

Mariia Protsak,

^a Kateryna Biliak,

^a Daniil Nikitin,

^a Pavel Pleskunov,

^a Marco Tosca,

^ab Suren Ali-Ogly,

^a Jan Hanuš,

^a Lenka Hanyková,

^a Veronika Červenková,^a Anastasiya Sergievskaya,

^c Stephanos Konstantinidis,

^c David Cornil,^d Jérôme Cornil,

^d Miroslav Cieslar,

^e Tereza Košutová,

^f Tomáš Popelář,

^g Lukáš Ondič

^g and Andrei Choukourov

*^a

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Department of Macromolecular Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, V Holešovičkách 2, Prague, Czech Republic
E-mail: choukourov@kmf.troja.mff.cuni.cz

^b ELI Beamlines Facility, the Extreme Light Infrastructure ERIC, Dolni Brezany, Czech Republic

^c Plasma-Surface Interaction Chemistry (ChIPS), University of Mons, Place du Parc 20, 7000 Mons, Belgium

^d Laboratory for Chemistry of Novel Materials, University of Mons, Place du Parc 23, B-7000 Mons, Belgium

^e Department of Physics of Materials, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Ke Karlovu 5, Prague, Czech Republic

^f Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Ke Karlovu 5, Prague, Czech Republic

^g Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Cukrovarnická 10/112, 162 00 Prague, Czech Republic

Abstract

ZrN nanofluids may exhibit unique optoelectronic properties because of the matching of the solar spectrum with interband transitions and localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). Nevertheless, these nanofluids have scarcely been investigated, mainly because of the complexity of the current synthetic routes that involve aggressive chemicals and high temperatures. This work aims to validate reactive dc magnetron sputtering of zirconium in Ar/N₂ as an environmentally benign, annealing-free method to produce 22 nm-sized, highly crystalline, stoichiometric, electrically conductive, and plasmonic ZrN nanoparticles (NPs) of cubic shape and to load them into vacuum-compatible liquids of different chemical compositions (polyethylene glycol (PEG), paraffin, and pentaphenyl trimethyl trisiloxane (PTT)) in one step. The nanofluids demonstrate LSPR in the red/near-IR range that gives them a bluish color in transmittance. The nanofluids also demonstrate complex photoluminescence behavior such that ZrN NPs enhance the photoluminescence (PL) intensity of paraffin and PEG, whereas the PL of PTT remains almost invariable. Based on DFT calculations, different energetic barriers to charge transfer between ZrN and the organic molecules are suggested as the main factors that influence the observed optoelectronic response. Overall, our study provides a novel approach to the synthesis of transition metal nitride nanofluids in an environmentally friendly manner, deepens the understanding of the interactions between ZrN and organic molecules, and unveils new optoelectronic phenomena in such systems.

This article is part of the themed collection: Fundamental Processes in Optical Nanomaterials

Nanoscale

One-step synthesis of photoluminescent nanofluids by direct loading of reactively sputtered cubic ZrN nanoparticles into organic liquids†

Abstract

Supplementary files

Article information

Download Citation

Permissions

One-step synthesis of photoluminescent nanofluids by direct loading of reactively sputtered cubic ZrN nanoparticles into organic liquids

Social activity

Search articles by author

Spotlight

Advertisements