[Ge9]4- Zintl clusters are used as soluble germanium source for a bottom–up fabrication of Ge nanomorphologies such as inverse opal structures with tunable composition. The method is based on the assembly and oxidation of [Ge9]4- clusters in a template mold using SiCl4, GeCl4, and PCl3 leading to Si and P-containing Ge phases as shown by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. [Ge9]4- clusters are retained using ethylenediamine (en) as a transfer medium to a mold after removal of the solvent if water is thoroughly excluded, but are oxidized to amorphous Ge in presence of water traces. 1H NMR spectroscopy reveals the oxidative deprotonation of en by [Ge9]4-. Subsequent annealing leads to crystalline Ge. As an example for wet-chemical synthesis of complex Ge nanomorphologies, we describe the fabrication of undoped and P-doped inverse opal-structured Ge films with a rather low oxygen contents. The morphology of the films with regular volume porosity is characterized by SEM, TEM, and grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.201508246/abstract
近日，慕尼黑工业大学和路德维希马克西米利安慕尼黑大学的联合研究小组设计出一种新的合成方法，能够制造出厚度极薄而强度极高，同时又有多孔结构的半导体薄膜。
该团队利用锗作为原材料，同时利用微小的聚合物珠作为模板，随后锗原子簇的溶剂填满聚合物珠之间的缝隙，当稳定的锗网络形成后，就利用高温去除掉聚合物，从而获得多孔的纳米薄膜。这一设计不仅节省了空间，还创造出较大的表面积来提高效率。全世界的公司都在寻找质量轻、强度高的太阳能电池用材料，他们目前主要使用的材料是有机化合物，而这种材料十分敏感，光和热就足以使其分解。因此，锗薄膜是个十分不错的选择。（新能源Leader）
