Dual-Functional Optoelectronic and Magnetic Pyrite/Iron Selenide Core/Shell Nanocrystals

The instability of pyrite nanocrystals’ (NCs) surfaces toward defect formation has until now impeded most applications of these materials. Here, we synthesize FeS2/FeSe x core/shell NCs, with a shell largely composed of hexagonal-phase FeSe. The direct band gap of pyrite was not significantly change...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of physical chemistry. C 2017-04, Vol.121 (14), p.8220-8226
Main Authors: McGrath, Andrew J, Yu, Chenlong, Fiedler, Holger, Butkus, Justinas, Hodgkiss, Justin M, Halpert, Jonathan E
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:The instability of pyrite nanocrystals’ (NCs) surfaces toward defect formation has until now impeded most applications of these materials. Here, we synthesize FeS2/FeSe x core/shell NCs, with a shell largely composed of hexagonal-phase FeSe. The direct band gap of pyrite was not significantly changed due to the iron selenide coating while reduced trap state influence on charge carriers was revealed after the reaction forming the FeSe x layer. The core/shell NCs had significantly higher surface electrical resistivity compared to pyrite. In addition, the iron selenide shell changed the net magnetic character of the NCs from diamagnetic to ferrimagnetic. The core/shell NC synthesis developed here eliminates the issue of intrinsic surface defects in pyrite NCs, and the NCs are expected to find utility as bifunctional NCs in room-temperature magnetoelectronic devices or in biomedical applications.
ISSN:1932-7447
1932-7455
DOI:10.1021/acs.jpcc.7b02643