Investigation of factors affecting the stability of compounds formed by isovalent substitution in layered oxychalcogenides, leading to identification of Ba3Sc2O5Cu2Se2, Ba3Y2O5Cu2S2, Ba3Sc2O5Ag2Se2 and Ba3In2O5Ag2Se2

Gregory J. Limburn, Daniel W. Davies, Neil Langridge, Zahida Malik, Benjamin A.D. Williamson, David O. Scanlon, Geoffrey Hyett*

*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

Four novel compositions containing chalcogenide layers, adopting the Ba3M2O5M′2Ch2 layered structure have been identified: Ba3Sc2O5Cu2Se2, Ba3Y2O5Cu2S2, Ba3Sc2O5Ag2Se2 and Ba3In2O5Ag2Se2. A comprehensive comparison of experimental and computational results providing the crystallographic and electronic structure of the compounds under investigation has been conducted. Materials were synthesised at 800 °C under vacuum using a conventional ceramic synthesis route with combination of binary oxide and chalcogenide precursors. We report their structures determined by Rietveld refinement of X-ray powder diffraction patterns, and band gaps determined from optical measurements, which range from 1.44 eV to 3.04 eV. Through computational modelling we can also present detailed band structures and propose that, based on their predicted transport properties, Ba3Sc2O5Ag2Se2 has potential as a visible light photocatalyst and Ba3Sc2O5Cu2Se2 is of interest as a p-type transparent conductor. These four novel compounds are part of a larger series of sixteen compounds adopting the Ba3M2O5M′2Ch2 structure that we have considered, of which approximately half are stable and can be synthesized. Analysis of the compounds that cannot be synthesized from this group allows us to identify why compounds containing either M = La, or silver sulfide chalcogenide layers, cannot be formed in this structure type.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3784-3795
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Materials Chemistry C
Volume10
Issue number10
Early online date8 Feb 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Mar 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
GH would like to acknowledge the financial support of the EPSRC through the grant EP/T011793/1. Via membership of the UK's HEC Materials Chemistry Consortium, which is funded by the EPSRC (EP/L000202, EP/R029431, EP/T022213), this work used the ARCHER2 UK National Supercomputing Service (www.archer2.ac.uk) and the UK Materials and Molecular Modelling (MMM) Hub (Thomas – EP/P020194 & Young – EP/T022213 supercomputers). DWD, BADW, and DOS would like to acknowledge support from the European Research Council, ERC, (Grant 758345). Finally BADW would like to acknowledge support from the Research Council of Norway (Project no. 275810).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Royal Society of Chemistry. All rights reserved.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemistry
  • Materials Chemistry

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