LiBa2MIIIQ4 (MIII = Al, Ga, In; Q = S, Se): A Series of Metal Chalcogenides with a Structural Transition

Layered Chalcogenide Scintillators Enabled by Reversible Hydrous-Induced Phase Transformation for High-Resolution X-ray Imaging

Scintillation materials have been widely used in various fields, such as medical diagnosis and industrial detection. Chalcogenides have the potential to become a new generation of high-performance scintillation materials due to their high effective atomic number and good resistance to radiation damage. However, research on their application in radiation detection is currently very scarce. Herein, single crystals of rare earth ion-doped ternary chalcogenides NaGaS2/Eu were grown by a high-temperature solid-phase method. It exhibits unique characteristics of structure transformation by absorbing water molecules from the air. To maintain the anhydrous phase of the material, we have used a strategy of organic-inorganic composites of epoxy resin and NaGaS2/Eu to prepare devices for radiation detection and discuss the irradiation luminescence properties of the two phases. The anhydrous phase of NaGaS2/Eu demonstrates excellent sensitivity to X-rays, with a low detection limit of 250 nGy s-1, which is approximately 1/22 of the medical imaging dose. Additionally, composite flexible films were prepared, which exhibited excellent performance in X-ray imaging. These films enable clear observation of a wide range of objects with a high spatial resolution of up to 13.2 line pairs per millimeter (lp mm-1), indicating that chalcogenide holds promising prospects in the realm of X-ray imaging applications.

Preparation, characterization and DFT+U study of the polar Fe3+-based phase Ba5Fe2ZnIn4S15 containing S= 5/2 zigzag chains

The polar magnetic chalcogenide phase Ba5Fe2ZnIn4S15 was synthesized and its structure solved from single crystal XRD. It is the first member with a 3d magnetic metal (Fe3+) in the Pb5ZnGa6S15-type...

Cationic complex directed thiostannate layers with excellent proton conduction and photocatalysis properties

Three isostructural thiostannates SnS-M (M = Fe, Mn and Zn) have been fabricated using metal-amine complex cations as structure-directing agents. These thiostannates are composed of typical two-dimensional lamellar [Sn3S7]n2n- anionic...

Synthesis and Characterizations of Two Tellurides β-BaGa2Te4 and Ba5Ga2Ge3Te12 with Flexible Chain Structure

Demands for IR birefringent materials are increasing due to the rapid developments of IR laser applications. Herein, two new chain tellurides β-BaGa₂Te₄ and Ba₅Ga₂Ge₃Te₁₂ have been discovered. β-BaGa₂Te₄ crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Imma (no. 74) with unit cell constants of a = 23.813(3) Å, b = 11.9673(19) Å, and c = 6.7215(9) Å, while Ba₅Ga₂Ge₃Te₁₂ crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2₁/c (no. 14) with unit cell constants of a = 13.6540(3) Å, b = 9.6705(2) Å, and c = 23.1134(7) Å. The structure of β-BaGa₂Te₄ can be considered to be the antiparallel arrangement of one-dimensional (1D) [GaTe₂] chains formed by edge-sharing GaTe₄ tetrahedra, which are separated by Ba²⁺ cations. In the crystal structure of Ba₅Ga₂Ge₃Te₁₂, two kinds of 1D chains, namely chain 1 _∞¹[(GaGe)₃Te₈] and chain 2 _∞¹[(GaGe)₂Te₄], are stacked alternately and put together by the coulomb force with Ba²⁺ cations. In addition, First-principles calculations indicate that β-BaGa₂Te₄ has a large birefringence, ∼0.325 at 2050 nm, derived from the superposition of the polarizabilities of GaTe₄ tetrahedra, implying that it has potential as an IR birefringent material. This work may provide some guidance for exploring new IR birefringent crystals.