A Synthetic Exploration of Metal–Semiconductor Hybrid Particles of CuInS₂

Abstract

The ternary copper chalcogenide semiconductor nanoparticles have gained much attention as their optical properties make them ideal candidates for many applications ranging from photovoltaics to bioimaging. While their synthesis is well documented, there have been few reports on the synthesis of ternary copper chalcogenide−metal hybrid nanoparticles, which can further expand the list of potential applications through synergistic properties. To this end, Pt− CuInS 2 hybrids have been synthesized by a two-step approach in high boiling organic solvents. The hybrid nanostructures were characterized employing transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV−Vis spectroscopy, and energydispersive X-ray spectroscopy mapping. We find that during hybrid nanoparticle synthesis under conditions modified from typical Pt nanoparticle reaction schemes, a near-complete shell of Pt forms on the semiconductor nanoparticles. Careful control of the reactivity of the Pt precursor, through choice of organic reducing agent and Pt coordinating ligands, was successfully used to obtain controlled and isolated domains on the semiconductor nanoparticles. This strategy was further extended for the synthesis of Pd−CuInS 2 hybrids.

Enhanced Photocarrier Generation with Selectable Wavelengths by M‐Decorated‐CuInS2 Nanocrystals (M = Au and Pt) Synthesized in a Single Surfactant Process on MoS2 Bilayers

“…However, the density of Pt NPs decorated on CIS NCs is significantly higher than that of Au NPs. Note that the Cu–In ratio of the decorated nanocrystals cannot be estimated by EDS because the results are highly affected by the amount of decorated Au and Pt . Figure S1 (Supporting Information) illustrates the epitaxial relationships between Pt/Au‐decorated on CIS NCs extracted from the TEM observations, respectively.…”

Preciously Determining Energy Levels and Screening Extraction Medium to Design Highly Efficient Carriers Transport Pathways for Zn‐CuInS2 Quantum Dots Based H2 Generation Application

“…It has already been well demonstrated that noble metallic NPs play an important role in improving interfacial carriers transport efficiency by acting as electron traps or shifting the Fermi level of the semiconductor to a more negative level . For current work, tiny Au NPs prepared by in‐situ deposition are used to accelerate interfacial charge transfer.…”

“…Further, the lack of highly active sites for redox reaction further reduces the PEC efficiency. Various noble metal‐based hybrid nanomaterials, including Au/Ag/Pd/Pt‐CuInS 2 and Pt‐CIZS have demonstrated the good PEC performance with help of the noble metals’ electron extraction ability and surface plasmon resonance‐mediated photocatalysis property . On the other hand, hole‐conducting layer such as CdS and poly (3‐octylthiophene) with strong wave function interfacial interaction also have been used as ideal holes transporters …”

Metal/semiconductor interfaces in nanoscale objects: synthesis, emerging properties and applications of hybrid nanostructures

“…79 The CO served a dual role-it reduced the Pt(acac) 2 on the pre-formed Pt-tip and also dictated the nal {100} faceted tip morphology. Some examples of different adaptations of the abovementioned selective deposition methods of gold and platinum resulted in CdSe pyramids/Au, 80 PbS QDs/Au, 81 PbSe QDs/ multiple-domain(s) and sizes of Au, 82 PbTe nanocubes/Au, 83 Ag 2 Se/Au and Ag 3 AuSe 2 /Au, 84 Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 (CZTS, a Cd-free SC with E g $ 1.5 eV) cubes/Au and /Pt, 85 NRs/Au, 86 core@shell or heterodimers with Pt, Pd and Au, 87 QDs/AuAg, 88 CuInS 2 /Pt, 89 CdSe@CdS NR/Pt, 90 CdSe@CdS NR/Co, 57 CdSe@CdS NR/Ni, 91 Bi 2 S 3 /Au nano-dumbbells, 92 anisotropic quasi-2D CdSe nanosheets or nanoplatelets (NPLs) 70,[93][94][95][96] and related 2D cadmium chalcogenides (e.g., CdS 96,97 and CdSe-CdS core-crown NPLs 94,95 ) with metals such as /Au, 70,[93][94][95]97 /Pt, [93][94][95][96][97] /Pd, 93 metal alloys such as Pt-Au 95 and Ni-Pt, 97 as well as selective deposition of distinguishable Pt and Au domains. 95 The mentioned variations include changes to the shape, size, morphology and material of the starting SC, as well as expansion of the deposited metals and alloys, some of which are reproduced in Fig.…”