• Walukiewicz, Wladek
• Schelhas, Laura T.
• Reis, Roberto Dos
• Toney, Michael F.
• Gao, Weiwei
• Pool, Vanessa L.

Abstract

Composites are a class of materials that are formed by mixing two or more components. These materials often have new functional properties compared to their constituent materials. Traditionally composites are formed by self-assembly due to structural dissimilarities or by engineering different layers or structures in the material. Here we report the synthesis of a uniform and stoichiometric composite of CdO and SnTe with a novel nanocomposite structure stabilized by the dissimilarity of the electronic band structure of the constituent materials. The composite has interesting electronic properties which range from highly n-type in CdO to semi-insulating in the intermediate composition range to highly p-type in SnTe. This can be explained by the overlap of the conduction and valence band of the constituent compounds. Ultimately, our work identifies a new class of composite semiconductors in which nanoscale self-organization is driven and stabilized by charge transfer between constituent materials.

Topics

• nanocomposite
• impedance spectroscopy
• compound
• semiconductor
• band structure
• self-assembly