2018 Volume 43 Issue 3 Pages 167-170
We prepared luminescent Si nanoparticles via the Mg reduction of SiO2 particles extracted from rice husks, and investigated their optical properties. The formation of Si powder after Mg reduction and post HCl treatment was confirmed by the absorption of surface Si–H bonds. Weak red, near-infrared photoluminescence (PL) was observed for the Si particles. The luminescence intensity increased by approximately 400 times after HF/HNO3 etching. The PL lifetime of the Si particles after HF/HNO3 etching decreased with decreasing wavelength, indicating that the PL was caused by the recombination of hole–electron pairs in the nanometer-sized Si particles.
