New symmetric families of silicon quantum dots and their conglomerates as a tunable source of photoluminescence in nanodevices

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new class of silicon quantum dots with customizable symmetry and conglomerate structures, offering tunable photoluminescence for nanodevice applications.

Contribution

It presents novel silicon quantum dots with fullerene-like hollows and their conglomerates, exploring their electronic properties and potential for tunable photoluminescence.

Findings

Quantum confinement effects depend on particle size.

Structural and symmetry properties are inherited from fullerenes.

Conglomerates can host guest atoms, enabling tunability.

Abstract

We propose a new variety of silicon quantum dots containing fullerene-derived hollows of nearly arbitrary symmetry. Conglomerate structures are designed by connecting the quantum dots through two kinds of junctions. The quantum confinement effect is investigated using semiempirical quantum-mechanical method. It is shown that within each family of quantum dots, the band gap and the stability are inversely proportional to the particle effective size. Quantum dots inherit a wide variety of structural and symmetry properties from their parent fullerenes. The conglomerates confine electrons like quasi-molecules with a peculiar electronic structure related to the junctions. Quantum dots and their conglomerates can host guest atoms in their hollows and therefore present a new promising type of tunable photoluminescent nanomaterials.