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Cadmium sulphide quantum dots with tunable electronic properties by bacterial precipitation.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Marusak, KE; Feng, Y; Eben, CF; Payne, ST; Cao, Y; You, L; Zauscher, S
Published in: RSC advances
January 2016

We present a new method to fabricate semiconducting, transition metal nanoparticles (NPs) with tunable bandgap energies using engineered Escherichia coli. These bacteria overexpress the Treponema denticola cysteine desulfhydrase gene to facilitate precipitation of cadmium sulphide (CdS) NPs. Analysis with transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveal that the bacterially precipitated NPs are agglomerates of mostly quantum dots, with diameters that can range from 3 to 15 nm, embedded in a carbon-rich matrix. Additionally, conditions for bacterial CdS precipitation can be tuned to produce NPs with bandgap energies that range from quantum-confined to bulk CdS. Furthermore, inducing precipitation at different stages of bacterial growth allows for control over whether the precipitation occurs intra- or extracellularly. This control can be critically important in utilizing bacterial precipitation for the environmentally-friendly fabrication of functional, electronic and catalytic materials. Notably, the measured photoelectrochemical current generated by these NPs is comparable to values reported in the literature and higher than that of synthesized chemical bath deposited CdS NPs. This suggests that bacterially precipitated CdS NPs have potential for applications ranging from photovoltaics to photocatalysis in hydrogen evolution.

Duke Scholars

Published In

RSC advances

DOI

EISSN

2046-2069

ISSN

2046-2069

Publication Date

January 2016

Volume

6

Issue

80

Start / End Page

76158 / 76166

Related Subject Headings

  • 34 Chemical sciences
  • 03 Chemical Sciences
 

Citation

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Marusak, K. E., Feng, Y., Eben, C. F., Payne, S. T., Cao, Y., You, L., & Zauscher, S. (2016). Cadmium sulphide quantum dots with tunable electronic properties by bacterial precipitation. RSC Advances, 6(80), 76158–76166. https://doi.org/10.1039/c6ra13835g
Marusak, K. E., Y. Feng, C. F. Eben, S. T. Payne, Y. Cao, L. You, and S. Zauscher. “Cadmium sulphide quantum dots with tunable electronic properties by bacterial precipitation.RSC Advances 6, no. 80 (January 2016): 76158–66. https://doi.org/10.1039/c6ra13835g.
Marusak KE, Feng Y, Eben CF, Payne ST, Cao Y, You L, et al. Cadmium sulphide quantum dots with tunable electronic properties by bacterial precipitation. RSC advances. 2016 Jan;6(80):76158–66.
Marusak, K. E., et al. “Cadmium sulphide quantum dots with tunable electronic properties by bacterial precipitation.RSC Advances, vol. 6, no. 80, Jan. 2016, pp. 76158–66. Epmc, doi:10.1039/c6ra13835g.
Marusak KE, Feng Y, Eben CF, Payne ST, Cao Y, You L, Zauscher S. Cadmium sulphide quantum dots with tunable electronic properties by bacterial precipitation. RSC advances. 2016 Jan;6(80):76158–76166.
Journal cover image

Published In

RSC advances

DOI

EISSN

2046-2069

ISSN

2046-2069

Publication Date

January 2016

Volume

6

Issue

80

Start / End Page

76158 / 76166

Related Subject Headings

  • 34 Chemical sciences
  • 03 Chemical Sciences