Synthesis and characterization of AgGaS2 nanoparticles: a study of growth and fluorescence

Ethane oxidative dehydrogenation with CO2 on thiogallates

The CO2-assisted oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane (ODH-CO2) attracts a lot of research interest since it combines greenhouse gas utilization with the production of valuable chemicals.

One-Pot Synthesis of High-Quality AgGaS2/ZnS-based Photoluminescent Nanocrystals with Widely Tunable Band Gap

Herein, we present a facile colloidal method to synthesize the high-quality AgGaS₂ nanocrystals (NCs) within 2 min via exploiting the high-reactivity S precursor and then extend this synthetic strategy to the preparation of AgGaS₂/ZnS core-shell NCs by a one-pot method without prior purification of AgGaS₂ core. The as-synthesized samples were structurally characterized to confrim the formation of AgGaS₂/ZnS core-shell NCs. The energy band gap of the AgGaS₂/ZnS NCs can be effectively tunable from 2.98 to 2.83 eV by the control of their nonstoichiometry and further continuously decreases to 1.90 eV by the preparation of alloyed AgGa_xIn_1-xS₂/ZnS NCs (1 ≤ x ≤ 0). Benefitting from the efficient band gap modulations, the photoluminescence (PL) colors of the AgGaS₂-based NCs can cover almost the whole visible region from blue (460 nm) to red (671 nm). Our work demonstrates the one-pot synthesis of AgGaS₂/ZnS core-shell NCs and their band gap engineering, which is of crucial in scalability toward industrial application and in tailoring optical characteristics of I-III-VI₂ materials.

Pressure Effect of the Vibrational and Thermodynamic Properties of Chalcopyrite-Type Compound AgGaS₂: A First-Principles Investigation

To explore the structural, vibrational, and thermodynamic properties of the chalcopyrite-type compound AgGaS₂ under pressure, we applied hydrostatic pressure to the relaxed compound based on the first principles calculation and quasi-harmonic approximation. The structural parameters, including lattice constants and bond lengths decrease monotonically with the increasing pressure. The phonon dispersion curves under various pressures reveal the structural phase transition of chalcopyrite-type compound AgGaS₂ at about 4 GPa. The intrinsic mechanism of thermal conductivity for the chalcopyrite-type compound AgGaS₂ has been shown with phonon anharmonicity. The frequencies of the optical phonons at the center point Γ of the first Brillouin zone were calculated with the longitudinal optical–transverse optical (LO–TO) splitting mode. The dependence of the frequencies of the optical phonons on the pressure provides the information for the Raman spectroscopic study under high pressure. The pressure dependence of the Grüneisen parameters indicates that the instability of chalcopyrite-type compound AgGaS₂ is associated with the softening of the acoustic phonon modes at around the center point Γ. The thermal conductivity for chalcopyrite-type compound AgGaS₂ could be reduced by applying external pressure. The various thermodynamic properties, such as the Helmholtz free energy, entropy, and heat capacity, at different temperatures and pressures were discussed and analyzed based on the phonon properties.

Solar light harvesting with multinary metal chalcogenide nanocrystals

The paper reviews the state of the art in the synthesis of multinary (ternary, quaternary and more complex) metal chalcogenide nanocrystals (NCs) and their applications as a light absorbing or an auxiliary component of light-harvesting systems. This includes solid-state and liquid-junction solar cells and photocatalytic/photoelectrochemical systems designed for the conversion of solar light into the electric current or the accumulation of solar energy in the form of products of various chemical reactions. The review discusses general aspects of the light absorption and photophysical properties of multinary metal chalcogenide NCs, the modern state of the synthetic strategies applied to produce the multinary metal chalcogenide NCs and related nanoheterostructures, and recent achievements in the metal chalcogenide NC-based solar cells and the photocatalytic/photoelectrochemical systems. The review is concluded by an outlook with a critical discussion of the most promising ways and challenging aspects of further progress in the metal chalcogenide NC-based solar photovoltaics and photochemistry.