Distinctive Electric Properties of Group 14 Oxides: SiO₂, SiO, and SnO₂

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2023

Authors

Antonio Nuno Guerreiro (Author) FEUP; Ilidio B. Costa (Author) FEUP; Antonio B. Vale (Author) FEUP; Maria Helena Braga (Author) FEUP

Journal

Title: International Journal Of Molecular Sciences

Vol. 24 No. 2335

Initial page: 15985

ISSN: 1661-6596

Publisher: MDPI

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 0 Citations

ISI Web of Science

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Associated Projects

LAETA2023 - Programático - ET - Emerging Technologies - LAETA2023 - Programático - ET - Emerging Technologies

CVB - CVB - Cadeia de Valor das Baterias em Portugal

NGS -New Generation Storage - NGS -New Generation Storage

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00Z-93B

DOI: 10.3390/ijms242115985

Abstract (EN): The oxides of group 14 have been widely used in numerous applications in glass, ceramics, optics, pharmaceuticals, and food industries and semiconductors, photovoltaics, thermoelectrics, sensors, and energy storage, namely, batteries. Herein, we simulate and experimentally determine by scanning kelvin probe (SKP) the work functions of three oxides, SiO2, SiO, and SnO2, which were found to be very similar. Electrical properties such as electronic band structure, electron localization function, and carrier mobility were also simulated for the three crystalline oxides, amorphous SiO, and surfaces. The most exciting results were obtained for SiO and seem to show Poole-Frankel emissions or trap-assisted tunneling and propagation of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) with nucleation of solitons on the surface of the Aluminum. These phenomena and proposed models may also describe other oxide-metal heterojunctions and plasmonic and metamaterials devices. The SiO2 was demonstrated to be a stable insulator interacting less with the metals composing the cell than SnO2 and much less than SiO, configuring a typical Cu/SiO2/Al cell potential well. Its surface charge carrier mobility is small, as expected for an insulator. The highest charge carrier mobility at the lowest conduction band energy is the SnO2's and the most symmetrical the SiO's with a similar number of electron holes at the conduction and valence bands, respectively. The SnO2 shows it may perform as an n-type semiconductor.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 17