1 research outputs found
Solution-Grown Sodium Bismuth Dichalcogenides: Toward Earth-Abundant, Biocompatible Semiconductors
Many
technologically relevant semiconductors contain toxic, heavily regulated
(Cd, Pb, As), or relatively scarce (Li, In) elements and often require
high manufacturing costs. We report a facile, general, low-temperature,
and size tunable (4–28 nm) solution phase synthesis of ternary
APnE<sub>2</sub> semiconductors based on Earth-abundant and biocompatible
elements (A = Na, Pn = Bi, E = S or Se). The observed experimental
band gaps (1.20–1.45 eV) fall within the ideal range for solar
cells. Computational investigation of the lowest energy superstructures
that result from “coloring”, caused by mixed cation
sites present in their rock salt lattice, agrees with other better-known
members of this family of materials. Our synthesis unlocks a new class
of low cost and environmentally friendly ternary semiconductors that
show properties of interest for applications in energy conversion