Assembled Monolayer Nanorod Heterojunctions

Compositional and Interfacial control in heterojunction thin films is critical to the performance of complex devices that separate or combine charges. For high performance, these applications require epitaxially matched interfaces, which are difficult to produce. Here, we present a new architecture for producing low-strain, single-crystalline heterojunctions using self-assembly and in-film cation exchange of colloidal nanorods. A systematic set of experiments demonstrates a cation exchange procedure that lends precise control over compositional depths in a monolayer film of vertically aligned nanorods. Compositional changes are reflected by electrical performance as rectification is induced, quenched, and reversed during cation exchange from CdS to Cu2S to PbS. As an additional benefit, we achieve this single-crystal architecture via an inherently simple and low-temperature wet chemical process, which is general to a variety of chemistries. This permits ensemble measurement of transport through a colloidal nanoparticle film with no interparticle charge hopping.