Flash-Joule heating enables rapid solid-state synthesis of multinary chalcogenides: a case study on Cu2Mo6S8
Pranay Ninawe1, Cocoro A Nagasaka1, Jesús M Velázquez1
1Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, California 95616, USA. jevelazquez@ucdavis.edu.
Chemical Communications (Cambridge, England)
|June 16, 2026
Summary
Flash-Joule Heating (FJH) enables ultrafast synthesis of multinary chalcogenides like Cu2Mo6S8 in under a second. This method offers a faster, more energy-efficient route for sustainable solid-state material production.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Solid-State Chemistry
- Inorganic Synthesis
Background:
- Synthesizing multinary chalcogenides efficiently and scalably is difficult.
- Existing methods for solid-state synthesis can be slow and energy-intensive.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate Flash-Joule Heating (FJH) for rapid synthesis of multinary chalcogenides.
- To explore FJH as an energy-efficient and scalable alternative to conventional synthesis.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Flash-Joule Heating (FJH) for ultrafast synthesis.
- Employed step-heating for controlled, phase-pure synthesis.
- Investigated the Chevrel phase compound Cu2Mo6S8 as a model system.
Main Results:
- Achieved sub-second reaction timescales using FJH at temperatures exceeding 2000 °C.
- Demonstrated controlled and phase-pure synthesis via step-heating.
- Successfully synthesized the Chevrel phase Cu2Mo6S8 using both methods.
Conclusions:
- FJH provides a complementary, ultrafast route for solid-state synthesis.
- Both FJH and step-heating offer pathways to faster and more sustainable material production.
- This work advances the synthesis of complex inorganic materials.
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