Synthesis, Characterization, and Mechanism of Formation of Janus-Like Nanoparticles of Tantalum Silicide-Silicon (TaSi₂/Si)

Andrey V Nomoev; Sergey P Bardakhanov; Makoto Schreiber; Dashima Zh Bazarova; Boris B Baldanov; Nikolai A Romanov

doi:10.3390/nano5010026

Synthesis, Characterization, and Mechanism of Formation of Janus-Like Nanoparticles of Tantalum Silicide-Silicon (TaSi₂/Si)

Nanomaterials (Basel). 2014 Dec 25;5(1):26-35. doi: 10.3390/nano5010026.

Authors

Andrey V Nomoev^{1

2}, Sergey P Bardakhanov^{3

4

5}, Makoto Schreiber⁶, Dashima Zh Bazarova⁷, Boris B Baldanov⁸, Nikolai A Romanov⁹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Physical Materials Science, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Sakhyanovoy str., 6, Ulan-Ude 670047, Russia. nomoevav@mail.ru.
² Department of Physics and Engineering, Buryat State University, Smolina str., 24a, Ulan-Ude 670000, Russia. nomoevav@mail.ru.
³ Department of Physics and Engineering, Buryat State University, Smolina str., 24a, Ulan-Ude 670000, Russia. bardnski@gmail.com.
⁴ Institute of Applied and Theoretical Mechanics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Institutskaya str., 4/1, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia. bardnski@gmail.com.
⁵ Department of Physics, Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova str., 2, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia. bardnski@gmail.com.
⁶ Department of Physics and Engineering, Buryat State University, Smolina str., 24a, Ulan-Ude 670000, Russia. mschreib@mail.uoguelph.ca.
⁷ Department of Physics and Engineering, Buryat State University, Smolina str., 24a, Ulan-Ude 670000, Russia. ars-d@mail.ru.
⁸ Department of Physics and Engineering, Buryat State University, Smolina str., 24a, Ulan-Ude 670000, Russia. boris.baldanov@mail.ru.
⁹ Department of Physics and Engineering, Buryat State University, Smolina str., 24a, Ulan-Ude 670000, Russia. nromanovv@mail.ru.

Abstract

Metal-semiconductor Janus-like nanoparticles with the composition tantalum silicide-silicon (TaSi₂/Si) were synthesized for the first time by means of an evaporation method utilizing a high-power electron beam. The composition of the synthesized particles were characterized using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), selective area electron diffraction (SAED), and energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDX) analysis. The system is compared to previously synthesized core-shell type particles in order to show possible differences responsible for the Janus-like structure forming instead of a core-shell architecture. It is proposed that the production of Janus-like as opposed to core-shell or monophase particles occurs due to the ability of Ta and Si to form compounds and the relative content of Ta and Si atoms in the produced vapour. Based on the results, a potential mechanism of formation for the TaSi₂/Si nanoparticles is discussed.

Keywords: Janus-like; TaSi2/Si; XRD analysis; mechanism of formation; nanoparticles.