Modeling of an Evaporation-Condesation type Aerosol Generator for Synthesis of Semiconductor Nanocrystals

Date

2024-4-22

Author

Reyhan, Zeynep Birce

Metadata

Show full item record

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Item Usage Stats

319
views

170
downloads

Cite This

III-V semiconductors are one of the most capable class of materials for optoelectronic and photonic applications due to their air-stability and tunability with direct bandgaps spanning between 0.35 and 6 eV. Gas-phase routes constitute a viable pathway for producing III-V nanocrystals. In gas phase, these crystals can be made to be ligand-free, which is crucial for electronic applications. However, most gas-phase routes require vapor-phase precursors, which are very expensive, highly toxic, and pyrophoric. A straightforward way of producing the required elemental precursors involves using an evaporation-condensation generator (ECG), which is usually in the form of a tubular furnace. There is a need for an ECG that can provide a stable aerosol output with high mass yield. In this study, mathematical modeling and simulations of an ECG was done with the incorporation of momentum, heat, and mass transport, along with aerosol dynamics. Antimony, an important constituent of various III-V compounds, was taken as the test material. Following the experimental results on an ECG configuration that was demonstrated to work at reduced pressure, an ECG was simulated to operate at 6 Torr with varying gas flow rates using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). After the model for simulating the transport phenomena was completed, a comprehensive aerosol dynamics model was derived, and important elements of the aerosol model was incorporated in CFD analysis. Results obtained for the mass flow rate of the aerosol and the yield of the generator were compared with experimental results, indicating order-of-magnitude agreement.

Subject Keywords

Material Synthesis, Aerosol Dynamics, Chemical Engineering, Evaporation Condensation Generator

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/109824

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis