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    Cation exchange synthesis of AgBiS2 quantum dots for highly efficient solar cells
    (Cambridge : RSC Publ., 2024) Senina, Alina; Prudnikau, Anatol; Wrzesińska-Lashkova, Angelika; Vaynzof, Yana; Paulus, Fabian
    Silver bismuth sulfide (AgBiS2) nanocrystals have emerged as a promising eco-friendly, low-cost solar cell absorber material. Their direct synthesis often relies on the hot-injection method, requiring the application of high temperatures and vacuum for prolonged times. Here, we demonstrate an alternative synthetic approach via a cation exchange reaction. In the first-step, bis(stearoyl)sulfide is used as an air-stable sulfur precursor for the synthesis of small, monodisperse Ag2S nanocrystals at room-temperature. In a second step, bismuth cations are incorporated into the nanocrystal lattice to form ternary AgBiS2 nanocrystals, without altering their size and shape. When implemented into photovoltaic devices, AgBiS2 nanocrystals obtained by cation exchange reach power conversion efficiencies of up to 7.35%, demonstrating the efficacy of the new synthetic approach for the formation of high-quality, ternary semiconducting nanocrystals.
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    Nanoscale friction on MoS2/graphene heterostructures
    (Cambridge : RSC Publ., 2023) Liu, Zhao; Szczefanowicz, Bartosz; Lopes, J. Marcelo J.; Gan, Ziyang; George, Antony; Turchanin, Andrey; Bennewitz, Roland
    Stacked hetero-structures of two-dimensional materials allow for a design of interactions with corresponding electronic and mechanical properties. We report structure, work function, and frictional properties of 1 to 4 layers of MoS2 grown by chemical vapor deposition on epitaxial graphene on SiC(0001). Experiments were performed by atomic force microscopy in ultra-high vacuum. Friction is dominated by adhesion which is mediated by a deformation of the layers to adapt the shape of the tip apex. Friction decreases with increasing number of MoS2 layers as the bending rigidity leads to less deformation. The dependence of friction on applied load and bias voltage can be attributed to variations in the atomic potential corrugation of the interface, which is enhanced by both load and applied bias. Minimal friction is obtained when work function differences are compensated.