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Casu A, Lopez M, Melis C, Deiana D, Li H, Colombo L, Falqui A. Thermally Promoted Cation Exchange at the Solid State in the Transmission Electron Microscope: How It Actually Works. ACS NANO 2023; 17:17058-17069. [PMID: 37638526 PMCID: PMC10510578 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c04516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 08/29/2023]
Abstract
Cation exchange offers a strong postsynthetic tool for nanoparticles that are unachievable via direct synthesis, but its velocity makes observing the onset of the reaction in the liquid state almost impossible. After successfully proving that cation exchange reactions can be triggered, performed, and followed live at the solid state by an in situ transmission electron microscopy approach, we studied the deep mechanisms ruling the onset of cation exchange reactions, i.e., the adsorption, penetration, and diffusion of cations in the host matrices of two crystal phases of CdSe. Exploiting an in situ scanning transmission electron microscopy approach with a latest generation heating holder, we were able to trigger, freeze, and image the initial stages of cation exchange with much higher detail. Also, we found a connection between the crystal structure of CdSe, the starting temperature, and the route of the cation exchange reaction. All the experimental results were further reviewed by molecular dynamics simulations of the whole cation exchange reaction divided in subsequent steps. The simulations highlighted how the cation exchange mechanism and the activation energies change with the host crystal structures. Furthermore, the simulative results strongly corroborated the activation temperatures and the cation exchange rates obtained experimentally, providing a deeper understanding of its phenomenology and mechanism at the atomic scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Casu
- Department
of Physics “Aldo Pontremoli”, University of Milan, Via Celoria 16, 20133 Milan, Italy
- Biological
and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE) Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
(KAUST), Nabla Lab, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Miquel Lopez
- Department
of Physics, University of Cagliari, Cittadella, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, 09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy
| | - Claudio Melis
- Department
of Physics, University of Cagliari, Cittadella, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, 09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy
| | - Davide Deiana
- Centre Interdisciplinaire
de Microscopie Électronique (CIME), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Hongbo Li
- Experimental
Center of Advanced Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Luciano Colombo
- Department
of Physics, University of Cagliari, Cittadella, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, 09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy
| | - Andrea Falqui
- Department
of Physics “Aldo Pontremoli”, University of Milan, Via Celoria 16, 20133 Milan, Italy
- Biological
and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE) Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
(KAUST), Nabla Lab, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
- Interdisciplinary
Centre for Nanostructured Materials and Interfaces (CIMaINa), Department
of Physics “Aldo Pontremoli”, University of Milan, Via Celoria 16, 20133 Milan, Italy
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Copper Dithiocarbamates: Coordination Chemistry and Applications in Materials Science, Biosciences and Beyond. INORGANICS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/inorganics9090070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Copper dithiocarbamate complexes have been known for ca. 120 years and find relevance in biology and medicine, especially as anticancer agents and applications in materials science as a single-source precursor (SSPs) to nanoscale copper sulfides. Dithiocarbamates support Cu(I), Cu(II) and Cu(III) and show a rich and diverse coordination chemistry. Homoleptic [Cu(S2CNR2)2] are most common, being known for hundreds of substituents. All contain a Cu(II) centre, being either monomeric (distorted square planar) or dimeric (distorted trigonal bipyramidal) in the solid state, the latter being held together by intermolecular C···S interactions. Their d9 electronic configuration renders them paramagnetic and thus readily detected by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Reaction with a range of oxidants affords d8 Cu(III) complexes, [Cu(S2CNR2)2][X], in which copper remains in a square-planar geometry, but Cu–S bonds shorten by ca. 0.1 Å. These show a wide range of different structural motifs in the solid-state, varying with changes in anion and dithiocarbamate substituents. Cu(I) complexes, [Cu(S2CNR2)2]−, are (briefly) accessible in an electrochemical cell, and the only stable example is recently reported [Cu(S2CNH2)2][NH4]·H2O. Others readily lose a dithiocarbamate and the d10 centres can either be trapped with other coordinating ligands, especially phosphines, or form clusters with tetrahedral [Cu(μ3-S2CNR2)]4 being most common. Over the past decade, a wide range of Cu(I) dithiocarbamate clusters have been prepared and structurally characterised with nuclearities of 3–28, especially exciting being those with interstitial hydride and/or acetylide co-ligands. A range of mixed-valence Cu(I)–Cu(II) and Cu(II)–Cu(III) complexes are known, many of which show novel physical properties, and one Cu(I)–Cu(II)–Cu(III) species has been reported. Copper dithiocarbamates have been widely used as SSPs to nanoscale copper sulfides, allowing control over the phase, particle size and morphology of nanomaterials, and thus giving access to materials with tuneable physical properties. The identification of copper in a range of neurological diseases and the use of disulfiram as a drug for over 50 years makes understanding of the biological formation and action of [Cu(S2CNEt2)2] especially important. Furthermore, the finding that it and related Cu(II) dithiocarbamates are active anticancer agents has pushed them to the fore in studies of metal-based biomedicines.
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Lee JT, Huang YE, Su EC, Wey MY. In situ phase transformation of polytypic zinc-blende/wurtzite copper indium sulfide via a facile polyol method to boost visible-light photocatalytic performance. CHEMOSPHERE 2021; 277:130348. [PMID: 33784556 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2020] [Revised: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
A zinc-blende/wurtzite (ZB/WZ) copper indium sulfide (CuInS2/CIS) polymorph with high visible-light absorption ability and high charge separation rate was developed by using a facile polyol method. Results showed that when thioacetamide served as a sulfur precursor, the crystalline phase of CIS was zinc-blende. Meanwhile, when thiourea served as a sulfur precursor, the crystalline phase of CIS was wurtzite, which exhibited good photocatalytic acid red 1 (AR1) dye decolorization efficiency. When the precursor/ethylene glycol ratio was 1/50-7/50, the AR1 decolorization efficiency followed the order: T-5-CIS > T-7-CIS > T-3-CIS > T-1-CIS, and the TOC removal efficiency of T-5-CIS was 45.7%. The PL and EIS analyses indicated that T-5-CIS showed the highest charge separation rate. Mott-Schottky analysis demonstrated that the remarkably enhanced photocatalytic decolorization rate was ascribed to the stronger reduction potential of CIS with the mixed ZB/WZ phases and the redox potential difference between the ZB and WZ phases, leading to a good oxidation ability and charge separation. The results indicated that O2- was the main reactive specie in this study, and this study provided a potential photocatalyst in the treatment of dye wastewater.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ju-Ting Lee
- Department of Environmental Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 402, Taiwan, ROC
| | - You-En Huang
- Department of Environmental Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 402, Taiwan, ROC
| | - En-Chin Su
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tunghai University, Taichung, 407, Taiwan, ROC
| | - Ming-Yen Wey
- Department of Environmental Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 402, Taiwan, ROC.
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Sarker JC, Hogarth G. Dithiocarbamate Complexes as Single Source Precursors to Nanoscale Binary, Ternary and Quaternary Metal Sulfides. Chem Rev 2021; 121:6057-6123. [PMID: 33847480 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.0c01183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Nanodimensional metal sulfides are a developing class of low-cost materials with potential applications in areas as wide-ranging as energy storage, electrocatalysis, and imaging. An attractive synthetic strategy, which allows careful control over stoichiometry, is the single source precursor (SSP) approach in which well-defined molecular species containing preformed metal-sulfur bonds are heated to decomposition, either in the vapor or solution phase, resulting in facile loss of organics and formation of nanodimensional metal sulfides. By careful control of the precursor, the decomposition environment and addition of surfactants, this approach affords a range of nanocrystalline materials from a library of precursors. Dithiocarbamates (DTCs) are monoanionic chelating ligands that have been known for over a century and find applications in agriculture, medicine, and materials science. They are easily prepared from nontoxic secondary and primary amines and form stable complexes with all elements. Since pioneering work in the late 1980s, the use of DTC complexes as SSPs to a wide range of binary, ternary, and multinary sulfides has been extensively documented. This review maps these developments, from the formation of thin films, often comprised of embedded nanocrystals, to quantum dots coated with organic ligands or shelled by other metal sulfides that show high photoluminescence quantum yields, and a range of other nanomaterials in which both the phase and morphology of the nanocrystals can be engineered, allowing fine-tuning of technologically important physical properties, thus opening up a myriad of potential applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jagodish C Sarker
- Department of Chemistry, King's College London, Britannia House, 7 Trinity Street, London SE1 1DB, U.K.,Department of Chemistry, Jagannath University, Dhaka-1100, Bangladesh
| | - Graeme Hogarth
- Department of Chemistry, King's College London, Britannia House, 7 Trinity Street, London SE1 1DB, U.K
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