Nanocomposites of Silicon Oxides and Carbon: Its Study as Luminescent Nanomaterials

In this work, hybrid structures formed by nanostructured layers, which contain materials, such as porous silicon (PSi), carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene oxide (GO), and silicon-rich oxide (SRO), were studied. The PSi layers were obtained by electrochemical etching over which CNTs and GO were deposited by spin coating. In addition, SRO layers, in which silicon nanocrystals are embedded, were obtained by hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) technique. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra were obtained from the hybrid structures with which a comparative analysis was completed among different PL ones. The SRO layers were used to confine the CNTs and GO. The main purpose of making these hybrid structures is to modulate their PL response and obtain different emission energy regions in the PL response. It was found that the PL spectra of the CNTs/SRO and GO/SRO structures exhibit a shift towards high energies compared to those obtained from the PSi layers; likewise, the PSi/CNTs/SRO and PSi/GO/SRO structures show a similar behavior. To identify the different emission mechanisms originated by PSi, GO, CNTs, and SRO, the PL spectra were deconvolved. It was found that the Psi/CNTs/SRO and Psi/GO/SRO structures exhibit a PL shift in respect to the PSi layers, for this reason, the modulation of the PL emission of the structures makes these hybrid structures promising candidates to be applied in the field of photonic and electroluminescent devices.

Automated summary

This study investigated hybrid structures composed of nanostructured layers, including porous silicon (PSi), carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene oxide (GO), and silicon-rich oxide (SRO). PSi layers were obtained through electrochemical etching, followed by deposition of CNTs and GO through spin coating. SRO layers, embedding silicon nanocrystals, were obtained using hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD). Photoluminescence (PL) spectra were measured and compared for different hybrid structures, revealing a shift towards higher energies in the PL spectra of CNTs/SRO and GO/SRO structures compared to PSi layers. Deconvolution of PL spectra identified different emission mechanisms and demonstrated the potential of these hybrid structures in the field of photonic and electroluminescent devices.