Semiconductor energy band theory

This book systematically summarizes the researches on electrochemistry of sulphide flotation in our group. The various electrochemical measurements, especially electrochemical corrosive method, electrochemical equilibrium calculations, surface analysis and semiconductor energy band theory, practically, molecular orbital theory, have been used in our studies and introduced in this book. The collectorless and collector-induced flotation behavior of sulphide minerals and the mechanism in various flotation systems have been discussed. The electrochemical corrosive mechanism, mechano-electrochemical behavior and the molecular orbital approach of flotation of sulphide minerals will provide much new information to the researchers in this area. The example of electrochemical flotation separation of sulphide ores listed in this book will demonstrate the good future of flotation electrochemistry of sulphide minerals in industrial applications. 

It is well known that the flotation of sulphides is an electrochemical process, and the adsorption of collectors on the surface of mineral results from the electrons transfer between the mineral surface and the oxidation-reduction composition in the pulp. According to the electrochemical principles and the semiconductor energy band theories, we know that this kind of electron transfer process is decided by electronic structure of the mineral surface and oxidation-reduction activity of the reagent. In this chapter, the flotation mechanism and electron transferring mechanism between a mineral and a reagent will be discussed in the light of the quantum chemistry calculation and the density fimction theory (DFT) as tools. 

Our results will be based on the one electron energy band theory of solids (13) that forms the basis for the present-day understanding of metal and semiconductor physics. It is the counterpart of the chemist s molecular orbital theory, and we shall try to relate our results back to the underlying atomic structure. 

The concentration of electric charge carriers in intrinsic semiconductors are represented by the particle density of electrons, n, and holes, p, both expressed in m They can be calculated from the energy band theory in solids, assuming that the energy difference between the Fermi level and the band edges is larger than the thermal motion kT (0.025 eV at room temperature). Therefore, the statistical distribution of charge carrier follows a classical Boltzmann distribution ... 

It is traditional for quantmn theory of molecular systems (molecular quantum chemistry) to describe the properties of a many-atom system on the grounds of interatomic interactions applying the hnear combination of atomic orbitals (LCAO) approximation in the electronic-structure calculations. The basis of the theory of the electronic structure of solids is the periodicity of the crystalline potential and Bloch-type one-electron states, in the majority of cases approximated by a linear combination of plane waves (LCPW). In a quantmn chemistry of solids the LCAO approach is extended to periodic systems and modified in such a way that the periodicity of the potential is correctly taken into account, but the language traditional for chemistry is used when the interatomic interaction is analyzed to explain the properties of the crystalhne sohds. At first, the quantum chemistry of solids was considered simply as the energy-band theory [2] or the theory of the chemical bond in tetrahedral semiconductors [3]. From the beginning of the 1970s the use of powerful computer codes has become a common practice in molecular quantum chemistry to predict many properties of molecules in the first-principles LCAO calculations. In the condensed-matter studies the accurate description of the system at an atomic scale was much less advanced [4]. 

The extension of the fashionable energy band theory to other crystals than adaman-toid semiconductors is frequently justified with the theorem that the one-electron... 

The high electrical conductivity of metals as well as the high electron (and hole) mobility of inorganic covalently bound semiconductors have both been clarified by the band theory [I9, which slates that the discrele energy levels of individual atoms widen in the solid stale into alternatively allowed and forbidden bands. The... 

The basic theory of the kinetics of charge-transfer reactions is that the electron transfer is most probable when the energy levels of the initial and final states of the system coincide [5] following the Franck-Condon principle. Thus, the efficiency of the redox reaction processes is primarily controlled by the energy overlap between the quantum states in the energy bands of the semiconductor and the donor and acceptor levels of the reactants in the electrolyte (Fig. 1). In the ideal case, the anodic current density is given by the... 

For many years, during and after the development of the modem band theory of electronic conduction in crystalline solids, it was not considered that amorphous materials could behave as semiconductors. The occurrence of bands of allowed electronic energy states, separated by forbidden ranges of energy, to become firmly identified with the interaction of an electronic waveform with a periodic lattice. Thus, it proved difficult for physicists to contemplate the existence of similar features in materials lacking such long-range order. 

The energy states of gaseous atoms split because of the overlap between electron clouds. Obviously, therefore, atoms must come much closer before the clouds of the core electrons begin to overlap compared with the distance at which the clouds of outer (or valence) electrons overlap (Fig. 6.119). Hence, at the equilibrium interatomic distances, the energy levels of the core electrons (in contrast to the valence electrons) do not show any band structure and therefore will be neglected in the following discussion. This simplified picture of the band theory of solids will now be used to explain the differences in conductivity of metals, semiconductors, and insulators. 

A description of charge transport in molecular conductors has been adapted from the band theory of semiconductors (79MI11300). The conductivity is given by the product of the concentration of charge carriers, expressed in the format of an activation energy, and the carrier mobility which is inversely proportional to an exponent of the absolute temperature. Both expressions contain parameters specific to each sample and the general approach is of little use in the design and synthesis of new materials. 

The electronic structure of a solid metal or semiconductor is described by the band theory that considers the possible energy states of delocalized electrons in the crystal lattice. An apparent difficulty for the application of band theory to solid state catalysis is that the theory describes the situation in an infinitely extended lattice whereas the catalytic process is located on an external crystal surface where the lattice ends. In attempting to develop a correlation between catalytic surface processes and the bulk electronic properties of catalysts as described by the band theory, the approach taken in the following pages will be to assume a correlation between bulk and surface electronic properties. For example, it is assumed that lack of electrons in the bulk results in empty orbitals in the surface conversely, excess electrons in the bulk should result in occupied orbitals in the surface (7). This principle gains strong support from the consistency of the description thus achieved. In the following, the principle will be applied to supported catalysts. 

The electrical properties of any material are a result of the material s electronic structure. The presumption that CPs form bands through extensive molecular obital overlap leads to the assumption that their electronic properties can be explained by band theory. With such an approach, the bands and their electronic population are the chief determinants of whether or not a material is conductive. Here, materials are classified as one of three types shown in Scheme 2, being metals, semiconductors, or insulators. Metals are materials that possess partially-filled bands, and this characteristic is the key factor leading to the conductive nature of this class of materials. Semiconductors, on the other hand, have filled (valence bands) and unfilled (conduction bands) bands that are separated by a range of forbidden energies (known as the band gap ). The conduction band can be populated, at the expense of the valence band, by exciting electrons (thermally and/or photochemically) across this band gap. Insulators possess a band structure similar to semiconductors except here the band gap is much larger and inaccessible under the environmental conditions employed. 

It is the Peierl s instability that is believed to be responsible for the fact that most CPs in their neutral state are insulators or, at best, weak semiconductors. Hence, there is enough of an energy separation between the conduction and valence bands that thermal energy alone is insufficient to excite electrons across the band gap. To explain the conductive properties of these polymers, several concepts from band theory and solid state physics have been adopted. For electrical conductivity to occur, an electron must have a vacant place (a hole) to move to and occupy. When bands are completely filled or empty, conduction can not occur. Metals are highly conductive because they possess unfilled bands. Semiconductors possess an energy gap small enough that thermal excitation of electrons from the valence to the conduction bands is sufficient for conductivity however, the band gap in insulators is too large for thermal excitation of an electron accross the band gap. 

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