Epitaxial Growth and Microstructure of Cu2O Nanoparticle/thin Films on SrTiO3(100)

Journal Article · Wed Feb 07 00:00:00 EST 2007 · Nanotechnology, 18:Art. No. 115601

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0957-4484/18/11/115601· OSTI ID:909245

Yu, Zhongqing; Wang, Chong M; Engelhard, Mark H; Nachimuthu, Ponnusamy; McCready, David E; Lyubinetsky, Igor; Thevuthasan, Suntharampillai

Cuprous oxide (Cu2O) was grown on SrTiO3 (STO)(100) by oxygen plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Microstructure of the grown layer and Cu valence state were analyzed using x-ray diffraction (XRD), x-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) as well as electron diffractions. The grown layer was dominated by Cu2O phase, possessing an epitaxial orientation with the substrate such that: Cu2O[001]//STO[001] and Cu2O(100)//STO(100). Cu2O film morphologically shows dependence on the growth rate. Typically, a fast growth will lead to the formation of a thin film with a relatively smooth surface. A slow growth will lead to the development of nanoparticles, featuring the formation of Cu2O pyramid. The pyramids are invariantly defined by the Cu2O {111} planes. Given the fact that the {111} planes correspond to the lowest surface energy of Cu2O, a slow growth will lend the system enough time to allow it to adopt the pyramid configuration by which the overall energy of the system was minimized.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 909245
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-53321; 5105; KP1704020; TRN: US200722%%1172
• Journal Information: Nanotechnology, 18:Art. No. 115601, Vol. 18
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY
CONFIGURATION
ELECTRON DIFFRACTION
MICROSTRUCTURE
MOLECULAR BEAM EPITAXY
ORIENTATION
OXIDES
OXYGEN
SPECTROSCOPY
SUBSTRATES
SURFACE ENERGY
THIN FILMS
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
VALENCE
X-RAY DIFFRACTION
X-RAY PHOTOELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory