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Opis: Topological insulators (TIs) represent a new state of matter that possess a different band structure than regular insulators or conductors. They are characterized with a band gap in the bulk and conductive topological states on the surface, which are spin polarized and robust toward contamination or deformation of the surface. Since the intriguing properties of the TIs are localized at the surface, it is important to obtain knowledge of the possible phenomena happening at the interface between TIs and other materials. This is especially true in the case of metals, due to the fact that such interfaces will be present in the majority of foreseen TI applications. The presented study combines microscopy and spectroscopy techniques for characterization of morphology, stability and chemical interaction at the interface between TI and metals deposited by means of physical vapor deposition. Our research is based on the interface of Bi2Se3 topological insulator with Ag, Ti and Pt – metals that can be encountered in devices or applications predicted to utilize the special properties of topological insulators. STM and SEM imaging of Ag/Bi2Se3 interface showed that Ag atoms arrange on the surface in the form of islands, whereas significantly bigger agglomerates are found at the surface steps. The interface was found to be unstable in time and resulted in the absorption of the metal into the crystal at room temperature. Evidences of a chemical reaction at the Ag/Bi2Se3 interface are presented, showing that new phases (Ag2Se, AgBiSe2 and metallic Bi) are formed. Deposition of Ti on Bi2Se3 resulted in different morphologies depending on the film thickness. At a very low coverage (<1 Å) islands are formed. However, the islands growth is hindered before the completion of a full layer due to the occurrence of a chemical reaction. No surface features could be detected by SEM for Ti coverage up to 20 nm. In contrary, when Ti thickness reached 40 nm, compressive stress triggered buckling of the deposited film. XPS analysis revealed that a redox solid-state reaction occurs at the Ti/Bi2Se3 interface at room temperature forming titanium selenides and metallic Bi. The reaction has significant kinetics even at cryogenic temperature of 130 K. Pt forms a homogenous film over the whole substrate surface, which is stable in time at room temperature. Although the interface of Pt with Bi2Se3 was found to be i less reactive compared to Ag and Ti, an interfacial phase formed upon annealing to ∼90 °C was detected by TEM cross section experiment. A model for prediction of interfacial reactions between a metal and Bi2Se3 based on the standard reduction potential of the metals and Gibbs free energy for a model reaction is presented. Based on these two values the reaction can be expected to result in the formation of binary and/or ternary selenides and Bi. Presented work shows on the importance of metal/topological insulator interfaces characterization taking into account the possibility of a chemical reaction with all of its consequences. Results should be considered for future theoretical and applicative studies involving such interfaces as well as for the possible engineering of 2D TI heterostructures.
Najdeno v: osebi
Ključne besede: topological insulators, topological surface states, Bi2Se3, thin films, Ag, Ti, Pt, morphology, interfaces, solid-state reaction, metal selenides, reactivity, stability, electron microscopy, dissertations
Objavljeno: 09.06.2021; Ogledov: 2117; Prenosov: 150
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Opis: The objective of this research was to investigate how the photocatalytic activity of pure TiO2 can be improved by SnO2 modification. Different molar ratios of tin to titanium were prepared. The correlation between tin concentration and structural properties was investigated to explain the mechanism of photocatalytic efficiency and to optimize the synthesis conditions to obtain enhanced activity of the SnO2-modified TiO2 photocatalysts under UV-irradiation. The SnO2-modified TiO2 photocatalysts were prepared by a low-temperature sol-gel method based on organic tin and titanium precursors. The precursors underwent sol-gel reactions separately to form SnO2-TiO2 sol. The sol-gels were deposited on a glass substrate by a dip-coating technique and dried at 150 ◦C to obtain the photocatalysts in the form of a thin film. To test the thermal stability of the material, an additional set of photocatalysts was prepared by calcining the dried samples in air at 500 ◦C. The photocatalytic activity of the samples was determined by measuring the degradation rate of an azo dye. An increase of up to 30% in the photocatalytic activity of the air-dried samples was obtained when the TiO2 was modified with the SnO2 in a concentration range of 0.1–1 mol.%. At higher SnO2 loadings, the photocatalytic activity of the photocatalyst was reduced compared to the unmodified TiO2. The calcined samples showed an overall reduced photocatalytic activity compared to the air-dried samples. Various characterization techniques (UV-Vis, XRD, N2-physisorption, TEM, EDX, SEM, XAS and photoelectrochemical characterization) were used to explain the mechanism for the enhanced and hindered photocatalytic performances of the SnO2-modified TiO2 photocatalysts. The results showed that the nanocrystalline cassiterite SnO2 is attached to the TiO2 nanocrystallites through the Sn-O-Ti bonds. In this way, the coupling of two semiconductors, SnO2 and TiO2, was demonstrated. Compared to single-phase photocatalysts, the coupling of semiconductors has a beneficial effect on the separation of charge carriers, which prolongs their lifetime for accessibility to participate in the redox reactions. The maximum increase in activity of the thin films was achieved in the low concentration range (0.1–1 mol.%), which means that an optimal ratio and contact of the two phases is achieved for the given physical parameters such as particle size, shape and specific surface area of the catalyst.
Najdeno v: osebi
Ključne besede: photocatalytic activity, Sn-modified TiO2, low-temperature, thin films, XAS analysis
Objavljeno: 05.07.2021; Ogledov: 1280; Prenosov: 0
Polno besedilo (5,18 MB)

Opis: In recent years a classification of materials based on their topological order gained popularity due to the discovery of materials with special topological character – topological insulators (TI). TI have different band structure than regular insulators or conductors. They are characterized by a band gap in the bulk of the material, but at the surface they possess conductive topological surface states (TSS) that cross the Fermi level. TSS are a consequence of the non-trivial bulk band structure and have properties that differ from ordinary surface states. They are robust toward contamination and deformation of the surface. Additionally, they are also spin polarized, which means that an electron spin is locked to a crystal momentum and, therefore, backscattering during transport is suppressed [1]. Due to their specific properties the TI could be used in fields of spintronics, quantum computing and catalysis [2]. The investigation of the interfaces between metals and the TI has not been given much attention even though its characterization is interesting from fundamental physics and applicative point of view. (In)stability of the contacts with metal electrodes, in a form of a chemical reaction or diffusion, has to be taken into account since it can affect the transport properties of the material or increase the contact resistance. Our research is dedicated to the study of the metal/TI interfaces, in particular to Bi2Se3 with deposited metals that are relevant for electrical contacts (Au, Ag, Pt, Cr, Ti). The thermal and chemical stability of the interfaces are of fundamental importance for understanding the contact behavior, therefore, we focused our work to the characterization of these properties. The metal/TI interfaces are investigated mainly with an electron microscopy (SEM, TEM, STM), EDX microanalysis and XRD. Our previous studies showed that the interface between Bi2Se3, and Ag deposited either chemically or from a vapor phase, results in the formation of new phases already at room temperature [3]. On the contrary, Au deposited on the Bi2Se3 surface shows very limited reactivity and is stable at RT, but diffusion and coalescence of the metal are observed starting from 100 °C [4]. In this contribution, we will present further characterization on the evolution of the Ag/Bi2Se3 and Au/Bi2Se3 interfaces, show preliminary results about recently investigated systems (Pt/Bi2Se3, Ti/Bi2Se3) and compare the thermal and chemical stability of the systems under investigation.
Najdeno v: osebi
Ključne besede: thermal lens spectrometry, photothermal beam deflection spectroscopy, dye remediation, photothermal technique, photocatalytic degradation, reactive blue 19, TiO2 modification
Objavljeno: 20.08.2021; Ogledov: 1353; Prenosov: 0
Polno besedilo (100,42 KB)

Najdeno v: osebi
Ključne besede: topological insulator, optical properties, topological surface states, silica-coated
Objavljeno: 27.09.2021; Ogledov: 1190; Prenosov: 0
Polno besedilo (23,68 MB)

Najdeno v: osebi
Ključne besede: severe plastic deformation, SPD, precipitates, vacancy agglomerates, magnesium alloys, biodegradability
Objavljeno: 03.12.2021; Ogledov: 837; Prenosov: 36
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