Simple Colloidal Synthesis of Single-Crystal Sb−Se−S Nanotubes with Composition Dependent Band-Gap Energy in the Near-Infrared

Abstract

We report the first synthesis of high-quality binary and ternary Sb(2)Se(3-x)S(x) nanotubes across the entire compositional range from x = 0 to 3 via a simple, low-cost, colloidal synthetic method of injection of Sb(III)-complex solution into a hot paraffin liquid containing Se, S, or a mixture thereof. In contrast to the classic rolling mechanism, the modular formation of the reported nanotubes follows a four-stage self-seeding process: (i) amorphous nanospheres, (ii) short crystalline nanotubes growing out of relatively large amorphous nanospheres, (iii) long crystalline nanotubes attached to small amorphous nanospheres, and (iv) single-crystal nanotubes. The obtained single-crystal nanotubes have tunable composition, orthorhombic phase, well-defined rectangular cross sections, and growth direction along [001], as revealed by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and selected area electron diffraction studies. UV-vis-NIR absorption spectroscopy reveals that the optical bandgap energy of the Sb(2)Se(3-x)S(x) (0 < or = x < or = 3) nanotubes increases quadratically with the sulfur concentration x with these bandgap energies falling in the range from 1.18 to 1.63 eV at the red edge of the solar spectrum. The present study opens a new avenue to low-cost, large-scale synthesis of high quality semiconductor nanotubes with technological applications in solar energy conversion and also for a wide range of optical nanodevices operating in the near-infrared.

Diameter-Controlled and Surface-Modified Sb2Se3 Nanowires and Their Photodetector Performance

“…These properties are attributable to a fast transition from amorphous to crystalline state. Despite its potential in various applications, research on the synthesis and application of the Sb 2 Se 3 nanostructures has been limited by challenges, such as its low thermoelectric power factor( α 2 σ ), low spectral response ( R λ ), and low external quantum efficiency(EQE), which result in low electrical conductivity(σ, 10 −6 ~ 10 −2  Ω −1 m −1 ) in bulk state5789101112131415161718.…”

Structural and morphological dependences of Sb2S3 nanobars synthesised by organo-colloidal process on precursor concentrations and reaction times

“…The values obtained by using the Kubelka-Munk function for all nine samples were found to be $ 1.6 eV, which is in good agreement with information extracted from absorption spectra. In general, Sb 2 S 3 has a band gap that varies between 1.5 and 2.2 eV, depending on the size, shape and crystallinity in the nanoscale regime [5,10,[18][19][20][21]. So, the direct band gap energy of each sample at around 1.5-1.7 eV corresponds to optical transitions expected for Sb 2 S 3 in the literature.…”

“…So far, Deng et al [10] have described the first synthesis of Sb 2 Se 3-x S x nanotubes across the entire compositional range (x ¼0-3), using a colloidal synthetic method. We performed the first synthesis of the pure Sb 2 S 3 nanomaterial by the colloidal synthetic method [11].…”

Covalently bonded compounds of heavy group 15/16 elements – Synthesis, structure and potential application in material sciences

“…Several synthetic pathways have been established over the years for the generation of binary Sb 2 E 3 and Bi 2 E 3 (E = S, Se, Te) nanoparticles such as polyol processes, [158] solvothermal routes, [149,159,160,161,162,163] glucose-assisted reduction routes, [164] and gas-induced reduction routes. [165] These general approaches have in common, that they typically use two different precursors as group 15 and group 16 element source.…”