Issue 9, 2017

Tuning the optical, electronic and thermal properties of Cu3NbS4−xSex through chemical substitution

Abstract

Several compositions of the Cu3NbS4−xSex (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 4) series were synthesized through combination of the elements using conventional solid-state reactions. X-ray powder diffraction patterns suggest that the synthesized polycrystalline powder samples are isostructural to sulvanite (Cu3VS4). However, plotting the refined lattice parameters as well as the measured “true” density as a function of Se content (x) showed deviations from linearity, suggesting that the Cu3NbS4−xSex series is not a “true” solid solution. Differential scanning calorimetry data showed that all compounds incongruently melt at ∼1100 K and recrystallize with a minor impurity phase. Optical diffuse reflectance UV/Vis/NIR spectroscopy revealed a nearly linear contraction of the optical band gap with increasing Se content. The direct band gap decreases from 2.53 eV for x = 0.1 to 2.43 eV for x = 0.8. Electronic transport data indicate p-type semiconducting behavior for all samples. Thermal conductivity data showed a rather surprising trend, with the substituted compositions exhibiting higher thermal conductivity than the two end members.

Graphical abstract: Tuning the optical, electronic and thermal properties of Cu3NbS4−xSex through chemical substitution

Article information

Article type
Research Article
Submitted
15 maj 2017
Accepted
14 jun 2017
First published
15 jun 2017

Inorg. Chem. Front., 2017,4, 1493-1500

Tuning the optical, electronic and thermal properties of Cu3NbS4−xSex through chemical substitution

E. M. Chen, S. S. Stoyko, J. A. Aitken and P. F. P. Poudeu, Inorg. Chem. Front., 2017, 4, 1493 DOI: 10.1039/C7QI00264E

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements