Bare and boron-doped cubic silicon carbide nanowires for electrochemical detection of nitrite sensitively

Abstract

Fabrication of eletrochemical sensors based on wide bandgap compound semiconductors has attracted increasing interest in recent years. Here we report for the first time electrochemical nitrite sensors based on cubic silicon carbide (SiC) nanowires (NWs) with smooth surface and boron-doped cubic SiC NWs with fin-like structure. Multiple techniques including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) were used to characterize SiC and boron-doped SiC NWs. As for the electrochemical behavior of both SiC NWs electrode, the cyclic voltammetric results show that both SiC electrodes exhibit wide potential window and excellent electrocatalytic activity toward nitrite oxidation. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) determination reveals that there exists a good linear relationship between the oxidation peak current and the concentration in the range of 50–15000 μmoL L−1 (cubic SiC NWs) and 5–8000 μmoL L−1 (B-doped cubic SiC NWs) with the detection limitation of 5 and 0.5 μmoL L−1 respectively. Compared with previously reported results, both as-prepared nitrite sensors exhibit wider linear response range with comparable high sensitivity, high stability and reproducibility.

Synthesis and characterization of ultralong SiC nanowires with unique optical properties, excellent thermal stability and flexible nanomechanical properties

“…Recently, SiC NWs, as one of the most promising nanoscale building blocks, have attracted increasing interest due to their superior mechanical properties 1 , high temperature oxidation resistance 2 , excellent chemical stability 3 , low thermal expansion coefficients 4 , high thermal conductivity 5 , and large band gap 5 , which enables their applications in composite reinforcements 6 , 7 , nanodevices and optoelectronics 1 , 3 . For example, Yang et al .…”

High‐Performance SiC Nanobelt Photodetectors with Long‐Term Stability Against 300 °C up to 180 Days

“…The high performance and stability of the single B‐doped SiC nanobelt PDs could be mainly attributed to the following points: i) The intrinsic physical performance of the third‐generation semiconductor of SiC, including high breakdown field strength, high radiation resistance, robust chemical inertness, as well as exclusive high thermal conductivity, which could bring the as‐constructed PDs robust work ability; ii) in comparison to the nanowires/nanorods, the nanobelts could provide a larger contact area for building the PDs with an increased resistance and reduced dark current; iii) the incorporated B‐dopants. First, as shown in Figure a,b, the B‐dopants would make the 3 C ‐SiC with smaller band gaps and enhanced light absorptivity, in comparison to pure SiC; second, the carriers are likely to originate from the defect donor levels, and the B‐derived acceptor levels are believed to effectively trap the carriers, leading to an increased resistivity and reduced dark current .…”

“…However, conventional PDs based on Si semiconductors are often limited to serve below 125 °C, which cannot fulfill the abovementioned applications. Silicon carbide (SiC), as one of the most important candidates of third‐generation semiconductors with interesting physical/chemical properties, holds significant advantages to be used under harsh environments in contrast to most conventional semiconductors, including high temperatures, high voltages, high powers, and radiations. Moreover, compared with the conventional bulks, 1D nanostructures (e.g., nanowires, nanobelts, and nanotubes) have attracted extensive interest in exploring novel and efficient nanodevices, due to their typical defect‐free interior nanostructures, high‐crystalline quality, the large surface‐to‐volume ratio, and Debye length comparable to their sizes .…”

Strain Effect in Highly‐Doped n‐Type 3C‐SiC‐on‐Glass Substrate for Mechanical Sensors and Mobility Enhancement

“…To date, high quality and large scale SiC wafers grown on Si have been reported . Applications of SiC‐on‐Si have also been demonstrated such as mechanical sensors, chemical sensors, bio devices . Nevertheless, when subjected to high temperature, the current leakage from SiC to the Si substrate could adversely affect the performance of the SiC sensing element.…”