Oxide removal and stabilization of bismuth thin films through chemically bound thiol layers

Bismuth has been identified as a material of interest for electronic applications due to its extremely high electron mobility and quantum confinement effects observed at nanoscale dimensions. However, it is also the case that Bi nanostructures are readily oxidised in ambient air, necessitating addit...

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Main Authors: Verni, Giuseppe Alessio, Long, Brenda, Gity, Farzan, Lanius, Martin, Schüffelgen, Peter, Mussler, Gregor, Grützmacher, Detlev, Greer, Jim, Holmes, Justin D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Royal Society of Chemistry 2018
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55520/
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author Verni, Giuseppe Alessio
Long, Brenda
Gity, Farzan
Lanius, Martin
Schüffelgen, Peter
Mussler, Gregor
Grützmacher, Detlev
Greer, Jim
Holmes, Justin D.
author_facet Verni, Giuseppe Alessio
Long, Brenda
Gity, Farzan
Lanius, Martin
Schüffelgen, Peter
Mussler, Gregor
Grützmacher, Detlev
Greer, Jim
Holmes, Justin D.
author_sort Verni, Giuseppe Alessio
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Bismuth has been identified as a material of interest for electronic applications due to its extremely high electron mobility and quantum confinement effects observed at nanoscale dimensions. However, it is also the case that Bi nanostructures are readily oxidised in ambient air, necessitating additional capping steps to prevent surface re-oxidation, thus limiting the processing potential of this material. This article describes an oxide removal and surface stabilization method performed on molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) grown bismuth thin-films using ambient air wet-chemistry. Alkanethiol molecules were used to dissolve the readily formed bismuth oxides through a catalytic reaction; the bare surface was then reacted with the free thiols to form an organic layer which showed resistance to complete reoxidation for up to 10 days.
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spelling nottingham-555202018-11-12T15:17:36Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55520/ Oxide removal and stabilization of bismuth thin films through chemically bound thiol layers Verni, Giuseppe Alessio Long, Brenda Gity, Farzan Lanius, Martin Schüffelgen, Peter Mussler, Gregor Grützmacher, Detlev Greer, Jim Holmes, Justin D. Bismuth has been identified as a material of interest for electronic applications due to its extremely high electron mobility and quantum confinement effects observed at nanoscale dimensions. However, it is also the case that Bi nanostructures are readily oxidised in ambient air, necessitating additional capping steps to prevent surface re-oxidation, thus limiting the processing potential of this material. This article describes an oxide removal and surface stabilization method performed on molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) grown bismuth thin-films using ambient air wet-chemistry. Alkanethiol molecules were used to dissolve the readily formed bismuth oxides through a catalytic reaction; the bare surface was then reacted with the free thiols to form an organic layer which showed resistance to complete reoxidation for up to 10 days. Royal Society of Chemistry 2018-09-27 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en cc_by_nc https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55520/1/untitled.pdf Verni, Giuseppe Alessio, Long, Brenda, Gity, Farzan, Lanius, Martin, Schüffelgen, Peter, Mussler, Gregor, Grützmacher, Detlev, Greer, Jim and Holmes, Justin D. (2018) Oxide removal and stabilization of bismuth thin films through chemically bound thiol layers. RSC Advances, 8 (58). pp. 33368-33373. ISSN 2046-2069 https://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2018/RA/C8RA06840B#!divAbstract doi:10.1039/C8RA06840B doi:10.1039/C8RA06840B
spellingShingle Verni, Giuseppe Alessio
Long, Brenda
Gity, Farzan
Lanius, Martin
Schüffelgen, Peter
Mussler, Gregor
Grützmacher, Detlev
Greer, Jim
Holmes, Justin D.
Oxide removal and stabilization of bismuth thin films through chemically bound thiol layers
title Oxide removal and stabilization of bismuth thin films through chemically bound thiol layers
title_full Oxide removal and stabilization of bismuth thin films through chemically bound thiol layers
title_fullStr Oxide removal and stabilization of bismuth thin films through chemically bound thiol layers
title_full_unstemmed Oxide removal and stabilization of bismuth thin films through chemically bound thiol layers
title_short Oxide removal and stabilization of bismuth thin films through chemically bound thiol layers
title_sort oxide removal and stabilization of bismuth thin films through chemically bound thiol layers
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55520/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55520/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/55520/