Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Mercury telluride (HgTe) nanocrystals are cornerstone materials for infrared optoelectronics, yet all previously reported forms of HgTe have crystallized in the zinc blende phase. Here, we develop a comprehensive cation exchange route to access metastable wurtzite (WZ) HgTe in both spherical and nanorod morphologies. Structural and spectroscopic characterizations show that WZ HgTe NCs retain the strong confinement tunability of their optical properties while introducing non-cubic lattice and distinct electronic topology. Ab initio modeling reveals that bulk WZ HgTe is a Dirac semimetal, whereas quantum confinement opens a direct gap that enables bright short-wave infrared emission. High-pressure studies demonstrate an irreversible WZ-to-zinc blende phase transition, consistent with its metastable nature, while the WZ phase remains stable at cryogenic temperatures. Electrically driven light-emitting diodes based on WZ HgTe nanorods exhibit superior electroluminescence beyond 2 μm, establishing a platform bridging topological semimetals and confined infrared emitters.
Source: ACS Nano
Authors: Kseniia A. Sergeeva, Arsenii S. Portniagin, Dario Mastrippolito, Clement Gureghian, Antoine Hage, Dries De Pesseroey, Marco Paye, Erwan Bossavit, Aleksandr A. Sergeev, Zhuo Li, Albin Colle, Céline Rivaux, Sandrine Ithurria, Peter Reiss, Gilles Patriarche, Xiaoyan Zhong, Jing Li, Stefan Klotz, Benoit Baptiste, Debora Pierucci, Francesco Capitani, Christophe Delerue, Andrey L. Rogach, Emmanuel Lhuillier
Institutions: City University of Hong Kong, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Sorbonne Université, Institut des NanoSciences de Paris, Université de Lille, Institut d'Electronique, de Microélectronique et de Nanotechnologie, Synchrotron SOLEIL, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, CEA Grenoble, Université Grenoble Alpes, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, Laboratoire de Physique et d’Étude des Matériaux, Université Paris-Saclay, Centre de Nanosciences et de Nanotechnologies, Laboratoire d'Électronique des Technologies de l'Information, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Institut de minéralogie, de physique des matériaux et de cosmochimie
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: Agence Nationale de la Recherche, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee, Innovation and Technology Commission, Conseil Régional, Île-de-France, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Chinesisch-Deutsche Zentrum für Wissenschaftsförderung, European Research Council, Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province
Awards: G1309842173, Dual-Modality Optical/Chemical Gas Sensing Technologies for Air Pollution Monitoring, Nanocrystals-based short-wave Infrared Imaging, Unconventional Phases in Monolayer TMDs: From Colloidal Synthesis to Multiscale Analysis, G2730414207, G2912450842, Mid infrared source using nanocrystals, G4197854740, G4446120775, HgTe nanocrystals a new platform for THz optoelectronics, G4820587530, G5256542555, G5387359411, Infrared Sensors based on CQD, G584826763, Photodetection in the Infrared with heavy metal-free QUANTum dots, G6249586086, In OPERAndo study of the electronic property modulation of 2D TWISTed hetero-bilayer, Nanobeam soft X-ray microscope to unveil solar cell energy landscape
OpenAlex ID: W7140179342