Abstract:
A solar energy conversion niobium oxynitride microcone and a method of the synthesis and use of niobium oxynitride microcones are provided. The material is useful for solar energy conversion, optics, photocatalysis, electrochromics, sensors and biomedical applications. According to one embodiment, Nb205 microcones are formed by anodization of (1M NaF and 1 wt. % HF electrolyte −40 V −20 min), they were annealed in ammonia gas to allow their doping with nitrogen. Nitridation of the micro cones shifts the absorption edge from 450 nm for the oxide form to 777 nm for the oxynitride form.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates generally to semiconductor materials. More particularly, the invention relates to Niobium Oxynitride microcones for use in solar energy conversion, optics, photocatalysis, electrochromics, sensors and biomedical applications. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Up till now, the studied niobium oxynitrides in literature are either thin films or powders. Additionally, current methods of fabricating niobium oxynitrides include physical (sputtering) or chemical method (sol gel). What is needed is a method of forming niobium oxynitride microcones to benefit from the decrease of the band gap caused by the N 2p energy. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The current invention relates to the synthesis and use of niobium oxynitride microcones. The material is useful for solar energy conversion, optics, photocatalysis, electrochromics, sensors and biomedical applications. According to one embodiment, Nb 2 O 5  microcones are formed by anodization of (1M NaF and 1 wt. % HF electrolyte −40 V −20 min), they were annealed in ammonia gas to allow their doping with nitrogen. More specifically, prior to anodization, Nb foils are ultrasonically cleaned in acetone, ethanol and finally in distilled water. The anodization electrochemical cell is constructed from Platinum foil (counter electrode) and cleaned Nb foil (working electrode). Both electrodes are immersed in fluoride-containing electrolytes at room temperature (approximately 22° C.). The electrolyte is composed of 1M NaF and 1 wt. % HF electrolyte. Constant voltage (40 V) is applied between the two electrodes using Agilent E3612A DC power supply. After 20 minutes, the samples are rinsed thoroughly with acetone and distilled water and then were left to dry in air. 
         [0004]    After the fabrication of Nb 2 O 5  microcones, it was of great interest to study the development of the properties of this well-ordered structure in terms of band gap engineering. Niobium oxynitride microcones were developed to benefit from the decrease of the band gap caused by the N 2p energy. For the nitridation of niobium oxides to convert it into niobium oxynitrides, the as-anodized Nb 2 O 5  samples were inserted in a quartz tube to be heated in a tube furnace at 450° C. with heating and cooling rates of 5° C./min for different time intervals. Ammonia gas was used to flow into the quartz tube during the annealing process at flow rates of 50, 200 and 300 sccm. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]      FIG. 1  shows a schematic drawing of the band structure in metal oxides (left) and metal oxynitrides (right), according to one embodiment of the current invention. 
           [0006]      FIGS. 2A-2B  show field emission—scanning electron microscope images for the niobium oxide microcones structure ( 2 A) as fabricated by anodization and ( 2 B) after nitridation by annealing in ammonia gas, according to embodiments of the current invention. 
           [0007]      FIGS. 3A-3C  show XPS Survey result for sample niobium oxynitride microcones, according to the current invention. 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  shows absorption of niobium oxide microcones compared to two samples of niobium oxynitride microcones, according to the current invention. 
           [0009]      FIGS. 5A-5B  show FESEM top-view images of (A) as-anodized Nb 2 O 5  micro cones, and (B) the Nb—O—N micro cones formed via annealing in ammonia atmosphere for 7 hours, according to the current invention. 
           [0010]      FIGS. 6A-6C  show XPS Spectra of Nb 3d, O 1s and N 1s in microcones S1 annealed in NH 3  with flow rate 50 sccm at 440° C. for 20 min, according to the current invention. 
           [0011]      FIGS. 7A-7C  show XPS Spectra of Nb 3d, O 1s and N 1s in microcones S2 annealed in NH 3  with flow rate 150 sccm at 450° C. for 180 min, according to the current invention. 
           [0012]      FIGS. 8A-8C  XPS Spectra of Nb 3d, O 1s and N 1s in microcones S3 annealed in NH 3  with flow rate 200 sccm at 440° C. for 20 min, according to the current invention. 
           [0013]      FIGS. 9A-9C  show XPS Spectra of Nb 3d, O 1s and N 1s in microcones S4 annealed in NH 3  with flow rate 300 seem at 450° C. for 20 min, according to the current invention. 
           [0014]      FIGS. 10A-10C  show XPS Spectra of Nb 3d, O 1s and N 1s in microcones S5 annealed in NH 3  with flow rate 300 seem at 450° C. for 60 min, according to the current invention. 
           [0015]      FIGS. 11A-11C  show XPS Spectra of Nb 3d, O 1s and N 1s in microcones S6 annealed in NH 3  with flow rate 200 seem at 450° C. for 300 min, according to the current invention. 
           [0016]      FIGS. 12A-12C  show XPS Spectra of Nb 3d, O 1s and N 1s in microcones S7 annealed in NH 3  with flow rate 200 sccm at 450° C. for 480 min, according to the current invention. 
           [0017]      FIGS. 13A-13B  show XPS Spectra of Nb 3d and O 1s in microcones S8 annealed in air at 440° C. for 20 min, according to the current invention. 
           [0018]      FIGS. 14A-14B  show XPS Spectra of Nb 3d and O 1s in microcones S9 annealed in air at 440° C. for 300 min, according to the current invention. 
           [0019]      FIGS. 15A-15B  show XPS Spectra of Nb 3d and 0 is in thermal oxide film S10 annealed in air at 450° C. for 300 min, according to the current invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 16  shows GAXRD diffraction patterns of microcones annealed in ammonia (S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, and S7) compared to Nb2O5 microcones annealed in air for 20 min at 450° C. (S8), according to the current invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 17  shows that Raman spectra of microcones annealed in ammonia (S6 and S7) compared to Nb 2 O 5  microcones annealed in air for 5 hours at 450° C. (S9), according to the current invention. 
           [0022]      FIG. 18  shows an illustration of the reflection measurements of microcones at different angles, according to the current invention. 
           [0023]      FIGS. 19A-19D  show the absorption spectra at different incident angles of niobium oxide microcones (S8), and samples annealed in ammonia (S1, S2, and S3), according to the current invention. 
           [0024]      FIGS. 20A-20D  show the absorption spectra at different incident angles of samples annealed in ammonia (S4, S5, S6 and S7), according to the current invention. 
           [0025]      FIG. 21  shows the absorption spectra of niobium microcones annealed in ammonia at different conditions (S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, and S7) compared to that annealed in air for 5 hours (S9), according to the current invention. 
           [0026]      FIG. 22  show PL spectra of niobium oxynitride microcones (S5: annealed in ammonia at flow rate of 300 sccm for 1 hour and S7: annealed in ammonia at flow rate of 200 sccm for 7 hours) compared to niobium oxide microcone (S8: annealed in air for 20 minutes) according to the current invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0027]    The current invention is a method of fabrication of niobium oxynitride microcones using potentiostatic anodization and thermal annealing. Some advantages of the current invention include the material has a heightened absorption in the visible region (up to X=600 nm) that corresponds to lower band gap. Further, the material has a novel architecture comprising larger surface area and stability compared to the other nanostructured forms (pores and channels). In another aspect of the invention, the synthesis method is optimized to obtain oxynitride materials with different nitrogen to oxygen ratios. 
         [0028]    The current invention combines a uniform cone structure with the enhanced properties of oxynitride materials, where niobium oxynitride microcones have better optical properties and chemical stability. 
         [0029]    Ordinary niobium oxides are wide bandgap semiconductor materials limiting their light activity to the ultraviolet region of the light spectrum, which constitutes only 3% of the solar light. According to the niobium oxynitride of the current invention, the band gap is decreased to allow the absorption in the visible light, which accounts for 40% of the light spectrum. The narrow bandgap is a result of the hybridization between the 0 2p and N 2p orbitals (see  FIG. 1 ). 
         [0030]    The current invention provides fabricated niobium oxynitride in a highly ordered and uniform structure as shown in  FIGS. 2A-2B . Until now, in films or powders, the light management and the charge carrier dynamics are not controlled. The microcones structure is considered very stable and can be synthesized on large scale. 
         [0031]    According to one embodiment of the invention, the niobium oxynitride cones are useful for electrochromic applications such as smart windows and screens, in addition to sensors and capacitors. The invention comprises biocompatibility properties that are useful in biological/biomedical applications. 
         [0032]    In on example, niobium oxynitride material was synthesized and characterized in the laboratory to ensure the formation of oxynitride, and to test the optical properties.  FIGS. 3A-3C  show x-ray photoelectron scans showing the binding energies versus intensity counts per second (CPS) of sample niobium oxynitride microcones, according to the current invention.  FIG. 4  shows absorption of niobium oxide microcones compared to two samples of niobium oxynitride microcones, according to the current invention. The samples were also tested as photoanodes for hydrogen production from water splitting. 
         [0033]    Prior to anodization, Nb foils were ultrasonically cleaned in acetone, ethanol and finally in distilled water. The anodization electrochemical cell was constructed from platinum foil (counter electrode) and cleaned Nb foil (working electrode). Both electrodes were immersed in fluoride-containing electrolytes at room temperature (approximately 22° C.). The electrolyte was composed of 1M NaF and 1 wt. % HF electrolyte. Constant voltage (40 V) was applied between the two electrodes using Agilent E3612A DC power supply. After 20 minutes, the samples were rinsed thoroughly with acetone and distilled water and then were left to dry in air. 
         [0034]    Thermal annealing was done after the fabrication of Nb 2 O 5  microcones. The development of niobium oxynitride microcones to make benefit from the decrease of the band gap caused by the N 2p energy is provided. Up till now, the studied niobium oxynitrides in literature are either thin films or powders. For the nitridation of niobium oxides to convert it into niobium oxynitrides, the as-anodized Nb 2 O 5  samples were inserted in a quartz tube to be heated in a tube furnace at 450° C. with heating and cooling rates of 5° C./min for different time intervals. Ammonia gas was used to flow into the quartz tube during the annealing process at flow rates of 50, 200 and 300 sccm. The parameters investigated for the ammonia annealing are shown in Table 1. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Conditions of annealing Nb2O5 microcones in ammonia. 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                   
                 Ammonia 
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                 Flow 
                 Annealing 
                 Annealing 
               
               
                   
                 Sample 
                 Rate  
                 Duration 
                 Temperature 
               
               
                   
                 Code 
                 (sccm) 
                 (min) 
                 (° C.) 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 S1 
                 50 
                 20 
                 440 
               
               
                   
                 S2 
                 150 
                 180 
                 450 
               
               
                   
                 S3 
                 200 
                 20 
                 440 
               
               
                   
                 S4 
                 300 
                 20 
                 450 
               
               
                   
                 S5 
                 300 
                 60 
                 450 
               
               
                   
                 S6 
                 200 
                 300 
                 450 
               
               
                   
                 S7 
                 200 
                 420 
                 450 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0035]    Oxide samples S8, S9 and S10 annealed in air, as shown in Table 2, were tested for comparison. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Conditions of fabricating Nb2O5 samples. 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Sample 
                   
               
               
                 Code 
                 Fabrication Procedure 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 S8 
                 Anodized Microcones-Air Annealing (450° C.-20 minutes) 
               
               
                 S9 
                 Anodized Microcones-Air Annealing (450° C.-300 minutes) 
               
               
                 S10 
                 Thermally oxidized by annealing in air (450° C.-300 minutes) 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0036]    Anodized Microcones—Air Annealing (450° C.-300 minutes) S10 Thermally oxidized by annealing in air (450° C.-300 minutes) 
         [0037]    Turning now to morphological and structural characterization,  FIGS. 5A-5B  show the FESEM images of the Nb-O-N microcones. It can be observed that the microcones preserved their morphology after the NH 3  annealing compared to as-anodized oxide sample. However, Nb 2 O 5  some deformation appears and it is thought to be because of the long duration of annealing. 
         [0038]    Table 3 shows the concentrations of the major elements Nb, O, N and also the concentrations of carbon and fluorine in samples annealed in NH3 compared to oxide samples S8, S9 and S10 as found by X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS). The annealing temperature was almost constant (440-450 OC) so that the ammonia flow rate and the annealing duration were the main parameters to convert oxides into oxynitrides 450 0 C). 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 3 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 The atomic concentrations and the positions of peaks of the main elements (Nb, 
               
               
                 N, O, C and F) obtained from XPS survey analysis. 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Element 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Nb 3d 
                 N 1s 
                 O 1s 
                 C 1s 
                 F 1s 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Sample 
                 At. % 
                 Position 
                 At. % 
                 Position 
                 At. % 
                 Position 
                 At. % 
                 Position 
                 At. % 
                 Position 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 S1 
                 23.2 
                 210 
                 0.31 
                 396 
                 67 
                 531 
                 6 
                 286 
                 3.3 
                 685 
               
               
                 S2 
                 24.2 
                 208 
                 2.51 
                 397 
                 65.2 
                 531 
                 6.9 
                 285 
                 1.2 
                 685 
               
               
                 S5 
                 29 
                 210 
                 0.9 
                 394 
                 64.7 
                 531 
                 5.5 
                 285 
                 0 
                 — 
               
               
                 S6 
                 28.6 
                 206 
                 3 
                 394 
                 60 
                 529 
                 7.3 
                 283 
                 1.2 
                 682 
               
               
                 S7 
                 28 
                 206 
                 5.7 
                 395 
                 64.2 
                 529 
                 1.3 
                 283 
                 0.8 
                 683 
               
               
                 S8 
                 31.64 
                 207 
                 0.83 
                 401 
                 65.5 
                 530 
                 2 
                 285 
                 0 
                 — 
               
               
                 S9 
                 16.9 
                 207 
                 0 
                 — 
                 73 
                 530 
                 10.2 
                 284 
                 0 
                 — 
               
               
                 S10 
                 17.53 
                 207 
                 0 
                 — 
                 75 
                 530 
                 7.5 
                 285 
                 0 
                 — 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0039]    The investigation of oxynitrides by XPS is essential to prove the formation of oxynitrides through nitrogen doping rather than the surface adsorption of nitrogen. Adsorbed nitrogen has binding energy of ≈399 eV. However, oxynitride materials show nitrogen peaks of less binding energy due to N=0 bonds.  FIGS. 6A-6C  show the XPS spectra of sample S1. No peak for nitrogen was observed in the N is spectrum indicating that annealing in flow rate 50 sccm for 20 minutes is not sufficient to allow nitrogen doping. However, N peak appeared at binding energy of 397 eV in the sample S2 by increasing the flow rate to 150 sccm and the duration to 3 hours as shown in  FIGS. 7A-7C . This peak can be related to the N—O bond, while the nitrogen peak observed at 400 eV can be related to adsorbed nitrogen. At a flow rate of 200 sccm and annealing duration of 20 minutes, sample S3 did not show a significant peak for nitrogen as shown in  FIGS. 8A-8C . Increasing the flow rate to 300 sccm at the same annealing duration did not lead to the formation of a significant N peak as shown in  FIGS. 9A-9C . On the other hand, N peak with a binding energy of 396 eV was found by increasing the annealing duration to 1 hour at a flow rate of 300 sccm as shown in  FIGS. 10A-10C . High annealing duration was found to be efficient at a flow rate of 200 sccm to produce high nitrogen doping. This was concluded from the significant N peaks found at 396 and 395 eV for durations 5 and 7 hours as shown in  FIGS. 11A -11C and  FIGS. 12A-12C , respectively. Spectra of Nb 3d and 0 is are analyzed for oxide samples S8, S9 and S10 as shown in  FIGS. 13A-13B ,  FIGS. 14A-14B  and  FIGS. 15A-15B , respectively. It can be observed from Table 3 that the peaks of C is found in the samples were located in a range of binding energies (283-286 eV) that can be attributed to adventitious carbon from handling. 
         [0040]    The XRD patterns of the oxynitride samples (S1 to S7) are shown in  FIG. 16 , and compared to one oxide sample (S8). No significant difference in the peaks can be observed between the oxynitrides and the oxide sample. On the other hand, peaks appearing at 27° and 50° are attributed to (100) and (110) planes of orthorhombic Nb 2 O 5 . 
         [0041]    For more structural analysis, Raman spectroscopy for oxynitride samples (S6 and S7) is compared to that of oxide sample (S9).  FIG. 17  shows that the oxide sample (S9) has more prominent peaks than the oxynitride samples (S6 and S7). The band at 235 cm −1  is characteristic for Nb 2 O 5 . The peaks at 700 and 310 cm −1  can be indicative of the orthorhombic crystal structure of Nb 2 O 5 , which is in agreement with the XRD results. 
         [0042]    Turning now to optical characterization, as explained before, the optical properties are one factor to determine the performance of photoelectrodes. Since it was confirmed by the XPS that nitrogen doping was done at some conditions, it is expected to find differences in the optical properties. Therefore, the UV-Vis absorption of samples annealed in ammonia was measured and compared with niobium oxide sample (S8) at different incident angles from 10 to 60 degrees. Illustration for the reflection measurements at different angles is shown in  FIG. 18 . It was observed in all samples (S1-S8) that the highest red shift is obtained at incident angle of 600 as shown in  FIGS. 19A -19D and  FIGS. 20A-20D . 
         [0043]    In addition, the red shift increases with the increase in the amount of nitrogen doping. The absorption spectra of all the samples are drawn together in  FIG. 21  for better comparison. This absorption increase can be related to the decrease in the bandgap upon the increase in the amount of nitrogen doped in the material. Table 4 summarizes the maximum absorption and the corresponding optical bandgap determined from the equation: 
         [0000]    
       
         
           
             
               E 
               = 
               
                 1240 
                 λ 
               
             
             , 
           
         
       
     
         [0000]    where E is the bandgap energy and λ is the wavelength in nm. 
         [0000]                                                        TABLE 4                   The maximum absorption and optical bandgap       of niobium oxynitride microcones compared       with niobium oxide.                    Maximum   Optical               Wavelength,   Bandgap,           Sample   nm   eV                            S9   440   2.8           S1   478   2.6           S2   700   1.77           S3   534   2.32           S4   615   2.01           S5   665   1.86           S6   683   1.82           S7   777   1.56                        
For more optical characterization, the photoluminescence (PL) properties were measured at room temperature using excitation source of wavelength 325 nm.  FIG. 22  shows the PL spectra of niobium oxynitride microcones annealed in ammonia at 300 seem for one hour (S5) and that annealed at 200 seem for seven hours (S7) compared to niobium oxide sample (S8). It is observed that the same peaks appear in the three samples at approximately 350, 380 and 470 nm. However, the intensity of the peaks is higher in the oxynitride samples in comparison with the oxide sample, especially for the peak at 470 nm. In addition, the oxynitride sample (S7) that has higher amount of nitrogen shows higher peak intensity than S3. Liu et al. showed the PL spectra at the same excitation wavelength for single-crystalline nanoporous Nb 2 O 5  nanotubes. In contrast, the most prominent peak appeared at nearly 370 nm, while another small peak appeared at nearly 470 nm
 
         [0044]    Both the absorption and the PL spectra revealed the enhanced optical properties of the oxynitride samples. In addition, the good optical properties depend on the amount of nitrogen doping, which is controlled by the annealing conditions. 
         [0045]    The present invention has now been described in accordance with several exemplary embodiments, which are intended to be illustrative in all aspects, rather than restrictive. Thus, the present invention is capable of many variations in detailed implementation, which may be derived from the description contained herein by a person of ordinary skill in the art. For example, the average length of the oxynitride microcones increased from 13.8 to 22 μm. In addition, the tip size, at the top of the cone structure, increased from 2.5 for the oxide to 4 μm for the oxynitride. However, the aspect ratio of the microcone structures before and after annealing in ammonia remained approximately the same. Nitridation shifts the absorption edge from 450 nm for the oxide form to 777 nm for the oxynitride form. That can be turned into a variation in the bandgap from 2.8 to 1.56 eV. All such variations are considered to be within the scope and spirit of the present invention as defined by the following claims and their legal equivalents.