Bicrystalline Zn₃P₂ and Cd₃P₂ nanobelts and their electronic transport properties

As an interesting morphology and phase, the ID bicrystalline (twinned) nanostructures have received much consideration because of their peculiar structure. In this paper, bicrystal nanobelts of Zn₃P₂ and Cd₃P₂ have been prepared on a large scale, via a simple vapor-solid process. The products were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, as well as energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer and the results revealed that both of them are of bicrystal shapes with the preferred growth axis along the [101] directions. P-type Field-effect transistors (FETs) based on single Zn ₃P₂ and Cd₃P₂ nanobelts were fabricated, which revealed the thermal activation of carriers as the dominant transport mechanism, as was verified under the measurements at various temperatures (100-300 K).