| Description |
This thesis provides a platform to experimentally test Dr. Daniel Mattis' theoretical work on the possible superconductive behavior of nanostructured intrinsic semiconductors1-2. The theoretical work hinged on the nano-scale architecture of semiconductors. Therefore, using various types of semiconductor nanocrystals, i.e., quantum dots, to correspond to Dr. Mattis' single electron models, nanoscale structures were formed by self-assembly methods based on the architecture suggested. In detail, various nanocrystal lattices and binary superlattice combinations were studied. In this work, superlattice combinations of palladium (Pd), gamma iron (III) oxide (y-Fe2O3), lead selenide (PbSe) and cadmium selenide (CdSe) nanocrystals were studied as possible material platforms. These nanocrystals were chosen based on their properties as well as their reported ability to form the desired superlattices. The nanocrystals were synthesized through various metal-organic colloidal nucleation-and-growth-based methods. The superlattice formation, in terms of ordering range and uniformity, was studied by transmission electron microscopy. The best results were obtained with the combination of cadmium selenide and lead selenide nanocrystals in an approximate 12 to 1 molar ratio. The optimization of this superlattice then allows for a sufficiently adequate experimental evidence for Dr. Mattis' theory. |
