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- In this study, a facile and potentially scalable synthesis of AgBiS2 (schapbachite) using melts of metal xanthates is presented; AgBiS2 is both a significant mineral and a technologically important material. This ternary material was synthesized by a novel and low-cost solventless route using simple ethyl xanthate complexes of silver and bismuth. p-XRD analysis indicates that the synthesized ternary material is highly crystalline and belongs to the cubic phase (schapbachite). The electrochemical properties of the material were tested; the potential of the synthesized material for application in charge storage shows a high specific capacitance of 460 F g−1 at 2 mV s−1. A capacitance retention of 83% with a 100% coulombic efficiency was observed after 3000 cycles. The charge storage potential, analysed by fabricating actual symmetrical devices, shows a specific capacitance of 14 F g−1 at 2 mV s−1. An energy density of 26 W h kg−1 and a power density of 3.6 kW kg−1 were observed. Besides, the potential for the oxygen evolution reaction was also studied. An overpotential of 414 mV and a Tafel slope of 134 mV dec−1 were obtained for water oxidation. The fabrication of an electrolyzer cell using the synthesized material as the cathode indicates that a current of 10 mA cm−2 can be achieved at a potential of 1.63 V.
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- The development of cost-effective, functional materials that can be efficiently used for sustainable energy generation is highly desirable. Herein, a new molecular precursor of bismuth (tris(selenobenzoato)bismuth(III), [Bi(SeOCPh)3]), has been used to prepare selectively Bi or Bi2Se3 nanosheets via a colloidal route by the judicious control of the reaction parameters. The Bi formation mechanism was investigated, and it was observed that the trioctylphosphine (TOP) plays a crucial role in the formation of Bi. Employing the vapor deposition method resulted in the formation of exclusively Bi2Se3 films at different temperatures. The synthesized nanomaterials and films were characterized by p-XRD, TEM, Raman, SEM, EDX, AFM, XPS, and UV–vis spectroscopy. A minimum sheet thickness of 3.6 nm (i.e., a thickness of 8–9 layers) was observed for bismuth, whereas a thickness of 4 nm (i.e., a thickness of 4 layers) was observed for Bi2Se3 nanosheets. XPS showed surface oxidation of both materials and indicated an uncapped surface of Bi, whereas Bi2Se3 had a capping layer of oleylamine, resulting in reduced surface oxidation. The potential of Bi and Bi2Se3 nanosheets was tested for overall water-splitting application. The OER and HER catalytic performances of Bi2Se3 indicate overpotentials of 385 mV at 10 mA cm–2 and 220 mV, with Tafel slopes of 122 and 178 mV dec–1, respectively. In comparison, Bi showed a much lower OER activity (506 mV at 10 mA cm–2) but a slightly better HER (214 mV at 10 mA cm–2) performance. Similarly, Bi2Se3 nanosheets were observed to exhibit cathodic photocurrent in photoelectrocatalytic activity, which indicated their p-type behavior.
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- Mixed metal halide perovskites are gaining paramount interest due to efficient band gap tenability and improved optical properties compared to their single metal halide perovskites. It is thus valuable to investigate compositional changes in lead halide perovskites to explore energy changes. Herein, we report the synthesis of a lead to lead free hybrid perovskite solid solution (CH3NH3Pb1−xCuxBr3) as nanoparticles and films. The increasing concentration of Cu2+ ions in the site of the Pb2+ ion in the perovskite shifted the diffraction peaks to a larger angle. Uniform spherically shaped nanoparticles were synthesized by a wet chemical method, the higher Cu2+ concentration leads to agglomeration, producing sheet like morphologies. However, the deposition of thin films of CH3NH3Pb1−xCuxBr3 perovskite solid solution shows that well defined morphologies begin to appear with increasing concentrations of Cu2+ in the perovskite structure. The as-prepared bulk lead free CH3NH3CuBr3 perovskite shows a band gap of 1.65 eV. A blue shift in photoluminescence (PL) was observed with copper enriched hybrid perovskites.
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