Synthesis, Characterization and Chemical Stability of Silicon Dichalcogenides, Si(SexS1-x)2

Eric Toberer, Adele Tamboli, Chen Chen, Xiaotian Zhang, Lakshmi Krishna, Chito Kendrick, Shun-Li Shang, Zi-Kui Liu, Joan Redwing

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Scopus Citations

Abstract

Silicon dichalcogenides have an intriguing crystal structure consisting of long tetrahedral chains held together by van der Waals forces but the electronic and optical properties have been less explored. In the present work, bulk SiSe2, SiS2, and Si(SexS1-x)2 were synthesized by the congruent melt growth method and characterized by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction and UV/visible/IR transmission measurements supported by first-principles calculations. First-principles calculations reveal a nearly linear decrease of band gap energy in Si(SexS1-x)2 with increasing Se content, i.e., from SiS2 to SiSe2 which corresponds with a blue-shift in the transmission spectra from bulk SiSe2 to Si(Se0.6S0.4)2, and to SiS2. Air stability tests demonstrate the formation of toxic H2Se/H2S gas from sample oxidation at room temperature upon exposure to ambient air, and great care should be paid when handling these materials.
Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)151-157
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Crystal Growth
Volume452
DOIs
StatePublished - 2016

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/JA-5K00-65784

Keywords

  • characterizations
  • computer simulations
  • growth from melt
  • solar cells
  • sulfides

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