Confining Metastable Wurtzite HgTe for Infrared Optoelectronics

Kseniia A. Sergeeva; Arsenii S. Portniagin; Dario Mastrippolito; Clement Gureghian; Antoine Hage; Dries De Pesseroey; Marco Paye; Erwan Bossavit; Aleksandr A. Sergeev; Zhuo Li; Albin Colle; Céline Rivaux; Sandrine Ithurria; Peter Reiss; Gilles Patriarche; Xiaoyan Zhong; Jing Li; Stefan Klotz; Benoit Baptiste; Debora Pierucci; Francesco Capitani; Christophe Delerue; Andrey L. Rogach; Emmanuel Lhuillier

doi:10.1021/acsnano.6c01515

Confining Metastable Wurtzite HgTe for Infrared Optoelectronics

Kseniia A. Sergeeva (Co-first Author)
, Arsenii S. Portniagin
, Dario Mastrippolito
, Clement Gureghian
, Antoine Hage
, Dries De Pesseroey
, Marco Paye
, Erwan Bossavit
, Aleksandr A. Sergeev
, Zhuo Li
, Albin Colle
, Céline Rivaux
, Sandrine Ithurria
, Peter Reiss
, Gilles Patriarche
, Xiaoyan Zhong
, Jing Li
, Stefan Klotz
, Benoit Baptiste
, Debora Pierucci

Francesco Capitani, Christophe Delerue, Andrey L. Rogach^*, Emmanuel Lhuillier^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

Abstract

Mercury telluride (HgTe) nanocrystals are cornerstone materials for infrared optoelectronics, yet all previously reported forms of HgTe have crystallized in the zinc blende phase. Here, we develop a comprehensive cation exchange route to access metastable wurtzite (WZ) HgTe in both spherical and nanorod morphologies. Structural and spectroscopic characterizations show that WZ HgTe NCs retain the strong confinement tunability of their optical properties while introducing non-cubic lattice and distinct electronic topology. Ab initio modeling reveals that bulk WZ HgTe is a Dirac semimetal, whereas quantum confinement opens a direct gap that enables bright short-wave infrared emission. High-pressure studies demonstrate an irreversible WZ-to-zinc blende phase transition, consistent with its metastable nature, while the WZ phase remains stable at cryogenic temperatures. Electrically driven light-emitting diodes based on WZ HgTe nanorods exhibit superior electroluminescence beyond 2 μm, establishing a platform bridging topological semimetals and confined infrared emitters. © 2026 American Chemical Society

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	10686-10695
Journal	ACS Nano
Volume	20
Issue number	13
Online published	24 Mar 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.6c01515
Publication status	Published - 7 Apr 2026

Funding

This study was supported by the ERC grant AQDtive (grant no. 101086358) and by the French National Research Agency (ANR) through the grants Quicktera (ANR-22-CE09–0018), Operatwist (ANR-22-CE09–0037–01), E-map (ANR-23-CE50–0025), DIRAC (ANR-24-ASM1–0001), camIR (ANR-24-CE42–2757), Piquant (ANR-24-CE09–0786), Phasecraft (ANR-25-CE08–5762–02), and nanomirage (ANR-25-CE09–3398). The study was also supported by the Innovation and Technology Commission of Hong Kong (ITS/027/22MX) and the Research Grant Council of Hong Kong SAR through the RGC Senior Research Fellow Scheme (SRFS 2324–1S04). We acknowledge the use of clean-room facilities at the “Centrale de Proximité Paris-Centre” and support from Renatech+ for micro- and nanofabrication, and the financial support from the CNRS through the MITI interdisciplinary programs (project WITHIN) and Region Ile de France through the Sesame project INSIDE. Z.L. and X.Y.Z. acknowledge the financial support from NSFC (52171014), GuangDong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2024A1515012303), Sino-German Center for Research Promotion (M-0265), RGC (E-CityU101/20), and European Research Council (856538, “3D MAGiC”).

Research Keywords

Dirac 3D semimetal
HgTe
infrared light-emitting diode
nanocrystals
pressure-induced phase transition
wurtzite

RGC Funding Information

RGC-funded

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10.1021/acsnano.6c01515

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Sergeeva, K. A., Portniagin, A. S., Mastrippolito, D., Gureghian, C., Hage, A., De Pesseroey, D., Paye, M., Bossavit, E., Sergeev, A. A., Li, Z., Colle, A., Rivaux, C., Ithurria, S., Reiss, P., Patriarche, G., Zhong, X., Li, J., Klotz, S., Baptiste, B., ... Lhuillier, E. (2026). Confining Metastable Wurtzite HgTe for Infrared Optoelectronics. ACS Nano, 20(13), 10686-10695. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.6c01515

@article{d7b086f0196443cba23961689d462c72,

title = "Confining Metastable Wurtzite HgTe for Infrared Optoelectronics",

abstract = "Mercury telluride (HgTe) nanocrystals are cornerstone materials for infrared optoelectronics, yet all previously reported forms of HgTe have crystallized in the zinc blende phase. Here, we develop a comprehensive cation exchange route to access metastable wurtzite (WZ) HgTe in both spherical and nanorod morphologies. Structural and spectroscopic characterizations show that WZ HgTe NCs retain the strong confinement tunability of their optical properties while introducing non-cubic lattice and distinct electronic topology. Ab initio modeling reveals that bulk WZ HgTe is a Dirac semimetal, whereas quantum confinement opens a direct gap that enables bright short-wave infrared emission. High-pressure studies demonstrate an irreversible WZ-to-zinc blende phase transition, consistent with its metastable nature, while the WZ phase remains stable at cryogenic temperatures. Electrically driven light-emitting diodes based on WZ HgTe nanorods exhibit superior electroluminescence beyond 2 μm, establishing a platform bridging topological semimetals and confined infrared emitters. {\textcopyright} 2026 American Chemical Society",

keywords = "Dirac 3D semimetal, HgTe, infrared light-emitting diode, nanocrystals, pressure-induced phase transition, wurtzite",

author = "Sergeeva, \{Kseniia A.\} and Portniagin, \{Arsenii S.\} and Dario Mastrippolito and Clement Gureghian and Antoine Hage and \{De Pesseroey\}, Dries and Marco Paye and Erwan Bossavit and Sergeev, \{Aleksandr A.\} and Zhuo Li and Albin Colle and C{\'e}line Rivaux and Sandrine Ithurria and Peter Reiss and Gilles Patriarche and Xiaoyan Zhong and Jing Li and Stefan Klotz and Benoit Baptiste and Debora Pierucci and Francesco Capitani and Christophe Delerue and Rogach, \{Andrey L.\} and Emmanuel Lhuillier",

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day = "7",

doi = "10.1021/acsnano.6c01515",

language = "English",

volume = "20",

pages = "10686--10695",

journal = "ACS Nano",

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publisher = "American Chemical Society",

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Sergeeva, KA , Portniagin, AS, Mastrippolito, D, Gureghian, C, Hage, A, De Pesseroey, D, Paye, M, Bossavit, E, Sergeev, AA, Li, Z, Colle, A, Rivaux, C, Ithurria, S, Reiss, P, Patriarche, G, Zhong, X, Li, J, Klotz, S, Baptiste, B, Pierucci, D, Capitani, F, Delerue, C, Rogach, AL & Lhuillier, E 2026, 'Confining Metastable Wurtzite HgTe for Infrared Optoelectronics', ACS Nano, vol. 20, no. 13, pp. 10686-10695. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.6c01515

TY - JOUR

T1 - Confining Metastable Wurtzite HgTe for Infrared Optoelectronics

AU - Sergeeva, Kseniia A.

AU - Portniagin, Arsenii S.

AU - Mastrippolito, Dario

AU - Gureghian, Clement

AU - Hage, Antoine

AU - De Pesseroey, Dries

AU - Paye, Marco

AU - Bossavit, Erwan

AU - Sergeev, Aleksandr A.

AU - Li, Zhuo

AU - Colle, Albin

AU - Rivaux, Céline

AU - Ithurria, Sandrine

AU - Reiss, Peter

AU - Patriarche, Gilles

AU - Zhong, Xiaoyan

AU - Li, Jing

AU - Klotz, Stefan

AU - Baptiste, Benoit

AU - Pierucci, Debora

AU - Capitani, Francesco

AU - Delerue, Christophe

AU - Rogach, Andrey L.

AU - Lhuillier, Emmanuel

PY - 2026/4/7

Y1 - 2026/4/7

N2 - Mercury telluride (HgTe) nanocrystals are cornerstone materials for infrared optoelectronics, yet all previously reported forms of HgTe have crystallized in the zinc blende phase. Here, we develop a comprehensive cation exchange route to access metastable wurtzite (WZ) HgTe in both spherical and nanorod morphologies. Structural and spectroscopic characterizations show that WZ HgTe NCs retain the strong confinement tunability of their optical properties while introducing non-cubic lattice and distinct electronic topology. Ab initio modeling reveals that bulk WZ HgTe is a Dirac semimetal, whereas quantum confinement opens a direct gap that enables bright short-wave infrared emission. High-pressure studies demonstrate an irreversible WZ-to-zinc blende phase transition, consistent with its metastable nature, while the WZ phase remains stable at cryogenic temperatures. Electrically driven light-emitting diodes based on WZ HgTe nanorods exhibit superior electroluminescence beyond 2 μm, establishing a platform bridging topological semimetals and confined infrared emitters. © 2026 American Chemical Society

AB - Mercury telluride (HgTe) nanocrystals are cornerstone materials for infrared optoelectronics, yet all previously reported forms of HgTe have crystallized in the zinc blende phase. Here, we develop a comprehensive cation exchange route to access metastable wurtzite (WZ) HgTe in both spherical and nanorod morphologies. Structural and spectroscopic characterizations show that WZ HgTe NCs retain the strong confinement tunability of their optical properties while introducing non-cubic lattice and distinct electronic topology. Ab initio modeling reveals that bulk WZ HgTe is a Dirac semimetal, whereas quantum confinement opens a direct gap that enables bright short-wave infrared emission. High-pressure studies demonstrate an irreversible WZ-to-zinc blende phase transition, consistent with its metastable nature, while the WZ phase remains stable at cryogenic temperatures. Electrically driven light-emitting diodes based on WZ HgTe nanorods exhibit superior electroluminescence beyond 2 μm, establishing a platform bridging topological semimetals and confined infrared emitters. © 2026 American Chemical Society

KW - Dirac 3D semimetal

KW - HgTe

KW - infrared light-emitting diode

KW - nanocrystals

KW - pressure-induced phase transition

KW - wurtzite

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105034984461

UR - https://www.scopus.com/record/pubmetrics.uri?eid=2-s2.0-105034984461&origin=recordpage

U2 - 10.1021/acsnano.6c01515

DO - 10.1021/acsnano.6c01515

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

C2 - 41876265

SN - 1936-0851

VL - 20

SP - 10686

EP - 10695

JO - ACS Nano

JF - ACS Nano

IS - 13

ER -

Confining Metastable Wurtzite HgTe for Infrared Optoelectronics

Abstract

Funding

Research Keywords

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SRFS: Plasmonically Enhanced Mid-infrared Narrow-bandgap Semiconductor Nanocrystals Towards Practical Optoelectronic Applications

ITF-ExtU-Lead: Dual-modality Optical/Chemical Gas Sensing Technologies for air Pollution Monitoring

EU_RGC: Three Dimensional Characterization of Magnetic Solitons by Electron Magnetic Dichroism

Cite this

Confining Metastable Wurtzite HgTe for Infrared Optoelectronics

Abstract

Funding

Research Keywords

RGC Funding Information

Access Output

Other Access Options

Permanent Link

Other Files and Links

Fingerprint

Projects

SRFS: Plasmonically Enhanced Mid-infrared Narrow-bandgap Semiconductor Nanocrystals Towards Practical Optoelectronic Applications

ITF-ExtU-Lead: Dual-modality Optical/Chemical Gas Sensing Technologies for air Pollution Monitoring

EU_RGC: Three Dimensional Characterization of Magnetic Solitons by Electron Magnetic Dichroism

Cite this