Dimensionality Engineering of Lead Organic Chalcogenide Semiconductors

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Solid-State Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Two-dimensional (2D) metal organic chalcogenides (MOCs) offer unique optical properties but are limited by large band gaps and restricted versatility.
• Existing MOCs, like silver phenylselenolate (AgSePh), face challenges in elemental and structural tunability.
• There is a need for new 2D materials with controllable electronic and optical characteristics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize a new family of 2D lead organic chalcogenide (LOC) materials.
• To achieve excellent structural and dimensionality tunability in these novel materials.
• To explore the impact of ligand design on the electronic and optical properties of LOCs.

Main Methods:

• Designing organic molecules with specific bonding abilities and utilizing the stereochemical activity of the lead (Pb) lone pair.
• Synthesizing a series of LOCs by introducing electron-donating substituents on benzenethiol ligands.
• Fabricating and characterizing a prototypical single crystal photodetector using the synthesized 2D LOCs.

Main Results:

• Successful synthesis of a new family of 2D LOCs with tunable dimensionality (1D to 2D).
• Achieved reduced band gaps (down to 1.7 eV), broadband emission, and strong electron-phonon coupling.
• Demonstrated dimensionality engineering influencing the transport properties of LOC semiconductors in a photodetector.

Conclusions:

• The developed LOCs offer significant improvements in structural and optical properties compared to traditional MOCs.
• These materials provide a versatile platform for tuning electronic and optical characteristics through molecular design.
• This work opens new avenues for the synthesis and application of novel organic-inorganic hybrid 2D materials, particularly in optoelectronics.