In this work, we report a scanning tunnelling spectroscopy (STS) study of 30 and 10 nm tin dioxide nanoparticles. The STS spectra give a surface band gap of 2.5 eV for both samples and show that the density of surface states in the band gap is around 6 times higher for the 30 nm particles than for the 10 nm particles. This provides direct experimental evidence for our theoretical model, which predicts a decrease in the surface state density as the particle size decreases, and partly accounts for the improved sensitivity of gas sensing devices fabricated with nanoparticles.

Direct evidence of the dependence of surface state density on the size of SnO2 nanoparticles observed by scanning tunnelling spectroscopy

MALAGU', Cesare;MARTINELLI, Giuliano;
2004

Abstract

In this work, we report a scanning tunnelling spectroscopy (STS) study of 30 and 10 nm tin dioxide nanoparticles. The STS spectra give a surface band gap of 2.5 eV for both samples and show that the density of surface states in the band gap is around 6 times higher for the 30 nm particles than for the 10 nm particles. This provides direct experimental evidence for our theoretical model, which predicts a decrease in the surface state density as the particle size decreases, and partly accounts for the improved sensitivity of gas sensing devices fabricated with nanoparticles.
2004
Maffeis, Tgg; Owen, Gt; Malagu', Cesare; Martinelli, Giuliano; Kennedy, Mk; Kruis, Fe; Wilks, Sp
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11392/1204946
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