Large-scale technique to produce quantum dots at ten times lower cost

A method to produce significant amounts of semiconducting nanoparticles for light-emitting displays, sensors, solar panels and biomedical applications has gained momentum with a demonstration by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

While zinc sulfide nanoparticles – a type of quantum dot that is a semiconductor – have many potential applications, high cost and limited availability have been obstacles to their widespread use. That could change, however, because of a scalable ORNL technique.

Unlike conventional inorganic approaches that use expensive precursors, toxic chemicals, high temperatures and high pressures, a team led by ORNL’s Ji-Won Moon used bacteria fed by inexpensive sugar at a temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit in 25- and 250-gallon reactors. Ultimately, the team produced about three-fourths of a pound of zinc sulfide nanoparticles – without process optimization, leaving room for even higher yields.

The ORNL biomanufacturing technique is based on a platform technology that can also produce nanometer-size semiconducting materials as well as magnetic, photovoltaic, catalytic and phosphor materials. Unlike most biological synthesis technologies that occur inside the cell, ORNL’s biomanufactured quantum dot synthesis occurs outside of the cells. As a result, the nanomaterials are produced as loose particles that are easy to separate through simple washing and centrifuging.

The results are encouraging, according to Moon, who also noted that the ORNL approach reduces production costs by approximately 90 percent compared to other methods.

Using this 250-gallon reactor, ORNL researchers produced three-fourths of a pound of zinc sulfide quantum dots, shown in the inset

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology – Manufacturing demonstration of microbially mediated zinc sulfide nanoparticles in pilot-plant scale reactors

“Since biomanufacturing can control the quantum dot diameter, it is possible to produce a wide range of specifically tuned semiconducting nanomaterials, making them attractive for a variety of applications that include electronics, displays, solar cells, computer memory, energy storage, printed electronics and bio-imaging,” Moon said.

Successful biomanufacturing of light-emitting or semiconducting nanoparticles requires the ability to control material synthesis at the nanometer scale with sufficiently high reliability, reproducibility and yield to be cost effective. With the ORNL approach, Moon said that goal has been achieved.

Researchers envision their quantum dots being used initially in buffer layers of photovoltaic cells and other thin film-based devices that can benefit from their electro-optical properties as light-emitting materials.

Abstract
The thermophilic anaerobic metal-reducing bacterium Thermoanaerobacter sp. X513 efficiently produces zinc sulfide (ZnS) nanoparticles (NPs) in laboratory-scale (over 24-L) reactors. To determine whether this process can be up-scaled and adapted for pilot-plant production while maintaining NP yield and quality, a series of pilot-plant scale experiments were performed using 100-L and 900-L reactors. Pasteurization and N2-sparging replaced autoclaving and boiling for deoxygenating media in the transition from small-scale to pilot plant reactors. Consecutive 100-L batches using new or recycled media produced ZnS NPs with highly reproducible ~2-nm average crystallite size (ACS) and yields of ~0.5 g L−1, similar to the small-scale batches. The 900-L pilot plant reactor produced ~320 g ZnS without process optimization or replacement of used medium; this quantity would be sufficient to form a ZnS thin film with ~120 nm thickness over 0.5 m width × 13 km length. At all scales, the bacteria produced significant amounts of acetic, lactic, and formic acids, which could be neutralized by the controlled addition of sodium hydroxide without the use of an organic pH buffer, eliminating 98 % of the buffer chemical costs. The final NP products were characterized using XRD, ICP-OES, TEM, FTIR, PL, DLS, HPLC, and C/N analyses, which confirmed that the growth medium without organic buffer enhanced the ZnS NP properties by reducing carbon and nitrogen surface coatings and supporting better dispersivity with similar ACS.

SOURCES – Oak Ridge National Lab, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Large-scale technique to produce quantum dots at ten times lower cost

A method to produce significant amounts of semiconducting nanoparticles for light-emitting displays, sensors, solar panels and biomedical applications has gained momentum with a demonstration by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

While zinc sulfide nanoparticles – a type of quantum dot that is a semiconductor – have many potential applications, high cost and limited availability have been obstacles to their widespread use. That could change, however, because of a scalable ORNL technique.

Unlike conventional inorganic approaches that use expensive precursors, toxic chemicals, high temperatures and high pressures, a team led by ORNL’s Ji-Won Moon used bacteria fed by inexpensive sugar at a temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit in 25- and 250-gallon reactors. Ultimately, the team produced about three-fourths of a pound of zinc sulfide nanoparticles – without process optimization, leaving room for even higher yields.

The ORNL biomanufacturing technique is based on a platform technology that can also produce nanometer-size semiconducting materials as well as magnetic, photovoltaic, catalytic and phosphor materials. Unlike most biological synthesis technologies that occur inside the cell, ORNL’s biomanufactured quantum dot synthesis occurs outside of the cells. As a result, the nanomaterials are produced as loose particles that are easy to separate through simple washing and centrifuging.

The results are encouraging, according to Moon, who also noted that the ORNL approach reduces production costs by approximately 90 percent compared to other methods.

Using this 250-gallon reactor, ORNL researchers produced three-fourths of a pound of zinc sulfide quantum dots, shown in the inset

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology – Manufacturing demonstration of microbially mediated zinc sulfide nanoparticles in pilot-plant scale reactors

“Since biomanufacturing can control the quantum dot diameter, it is possible to produce a wide range of specifically tuned semiconducting nanomaterials, making them attractive for a variety of applications that include electronics, displays, solar cells, computer memory, energy storage, printed electronics and bio-imaging,” Moon said.

Successful biomanufacturing of light-emitting or semiconducting nanoparticles requires the ability to control material synthesis at the nanometer scale with sufficiently high reliability, reproducibility and yield to be cost effective. With the ORNL approach, Moon said that goal has been achieved.

Researchers envision their quantum dots being used initially in buffer layers of photovoltaic cells and other thin film-based devices that can benefit from their electro-optical properties as light-emitting materials.

Abstract
The thermophilic anaerobic metal-reducing bacterium Thermoanaerobacter sp. X513 efficiently produces zinc sulfide (ZnS) nanoparticles (NPs) in laboratory-scale (over 24-L) reactors. To determine whether this process can be up-scaled and adapted for pilot-plant production while maintaining NP yield and quality, a series of pilot-plant scale experiments were performed using 100-L and 900-L reactors. Pasteurization and N2-sparging replaced autoclaving and boiling for deoxygenating media in the transition from small-scale to pilot plant reactors. Consecutive 100-L batches using new or recycled media produced ZnS NPs with highly reproducible ~2-nm average crystallite size (ACS) and yields of ~0.5 g L−1, similar to the small-scale batches. The 900-L pilot plant reactor produced ~320 g ZnS without process optimization or replacement of used medium; this quantity would be sufficient to form a ZnS thin film with ~120 nm thickness over 0.5 m width × 13 km length. At all scales, the bacteria produced significant amounts of acetic, lactic, and formic acids, which could be neutralized by the controlled addition of sodium hydroxide without the use of an organic pH buffer, eliminating 98 % of the buffer chemical costs. The final NP products were characterized using XRD, ICP-OES, TEM, FTIR, PL, DLS, HPLC, and C/N analyses, which confirmed that the growth medium without organic buffer enhanced the ZnS NP properties by reducing carbon and nitrogen surface coatings and supporting better dispersivity with similar ACS.

SOURCES – Oak Ridge National Lab, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology