QUBOP - QUest for BOron Phosphide

Lo scopo del progetto è la sintesi di un nuovo semiconduttore bidimensionale, il fosfuro di boro (BP), e la caratterizzazione delle sue proprietà optoelettroniche con strumenti sperimentali e computazionali. Il BP è un materiale bidimensionale caratterizzato da una gap diretta, alta mobilità di carica, durezza elevata e interazione interlayer debole. Tali proprietà rendono il BP promettente per numerose applicazioni elettroniche e fotoniche, alla pari del fosforo nero, in termini di potenziale tecnologico. Il progetto si articola come una collaborazione tra l’Istituto Officina dei Materiali (IOM) – CNR e l’Università di Trieste, con la partecipazione di Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste come sub-unità aggiuntiva. IOM si occuperà della sintesi del materiale e della sua caratterizzazione sperimentale attraverso misure di microscopia e spettroscopia a effetto tunnel. Il dipartimento di Fisica dell’Università di Trieste effettuerà misure di spettroscopia ottica risolta in tempo (esperimenti pump-probe) e la modellizzazione teorica attraverso calcoli ab-initio. Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste completerà il quadro con misure di spettroscopia nei raggi X soffici.

The reduction of cost-effectiveness ratio in light-harvesting technology would represent a significant step towards the development of a sustainable economy based on solar energy conversion and storage. In this context, the exploitation of low-dimensional materials as building blocks for next-generation devices appears as a promising route to meet the future technological challenges. 2D semiconductors are at the core of this strategy, as they present most of the requested physical and chemical properties for the evolution of more efficient optoelectronic tools. However, actual devices empowered by 2D materials still underperform respect to state-of-the-art silicon-based solar cells and photovoltaics. The QUBOP project, QUest for BOron Phosphide, aims at synthesizing with a bottom-up approach a novel, theoretically predicted flat semiconductor: single-layer boron phosphide (BP). This material is expected to possess a direct bandgap in the near-infrared range, high carrier mobility, an excellent planar and vertical interjunction with other flat 2D materials. Its calculated optoelectronic properties, combined with high mechanical stiffness and complete flatness, could make BP the low-dimensional counterpart of silicon, possibly outperforming other state-of-the-art 2D semiconductors such as black phosphorus or transition metal dichalcogenides. To accomplish this task, the project deploys a multidisciplinary collaboration encompassing advanced growth procedures, experimental surface science, time-resolved optical techniques and first-principle theoretical calculations. This integrated approach, structured in a careful step-by-step validation process, aims at igniting the applied research on BP, by providing specific instructions on the viable synthesis methods, by characterizing its most relevant optoelectronic properties and by developing reliable theoretical calculations simulating realistic conditions. This solid scientific knowledge could pose the basis for the engineering of future high-end light-harvesting devices. The project is carried out by under40 PI and substitute PI.