EPR investigations of non-oxidized silicon nanoparticles from thermal pyrolysis of silane

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) investigations of non-oxidized crystalline silicon nanoparticles (SiNP) from thermal silane pyrolysis revealed that the dangling bond (db) concentration strongly depends on the synthesis temperature. For SiNP synthesized at 1000-1200 °C and processed entirely in inert atmosphere, approximately 1013 cm-2 dbs were found which is at least one order of magnitude higher than the values previously reported for oxidized SiNP. After the synthesis, the dbs can be quenched by the addition of bromine (Br2) that proves their location at the particle surface.