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1. Vapor–liquid assisted chemical vapor deposition of Cu ₂ X materials

   https://doi.org/10.1088/2053-1583/ac8435  

   Shehzad, M Arslan; Lee, Yea-Shine; Cheng, Matthew; Lebedev, Dmitry; Tyner, Alexander C; Das, Paul Masih; Gao, Zhangyuan; Goswami, Pallab; dos Reis, Roberto; Hersam, Mark C; et al (August 2022, 2D Materials)

   Abstract Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are known for their layered structure and tunable functional properties. However, a unified understanding on other transition metal chalcogenides (i.e. M 2 X) is still lacking. Here, the relatively new class of copper-based chalcogenides Cu 2 X (X = Te, Se, S) is thoroughly reported. Cu 2 X are synthesized by an unusual vapor–liquid assisted growth on a Al 2 O 3 /Cu/W stack. Liquid copper plays a significant role in synthesizing these layered systems, and sapphire assists with lateral growth and exfoliation. Similar to traditional TMDs, thickness dependent phonon signatures are observed, and high-resolution atomic images reveal the single phase Cu 2 Te that prefers to grow in lattice-matched layers. Charge transport measurements indicate a metallic nature at room temperature with a transition to a semiconducting nature at low temperatures accompanied by a phase transition, in agreement with band structure calculations. These findings establish a fundamental understanding and thrust Cu 2 Te as a flexible candidate for wide applications from photovoltaics and sensors to nanoelectronics. 

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2. Medium‐Entropy Engineering of Magnetism in Layered Antiferromagnet Cu _x Ni _{2(1‐ x )} Cr _x P ₂ S ₆

   https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202418722  

   Upreti, Dinesh; Basnet, Rabindra; Sharma, M_M; Chhetri, Santosh_Karki; Acharya, Gokul; Nabi, Md_Rafique_Un; Sakon, Josh; Benamara, Mourad; Mortazavi, Mansour; Hu, Jin (December 2024, Advanced Functional Materials)

   Abstract Antiferromagnetic van der Waals‐typeM₂P₂X₆compounds provide a versatile material platform for studying 2D magnetism and relevant phenomena. Establishing ferromagnetism in 2D materials is technologically valuable. Though magnetism is generally tunable via a chemical way, it is challenging to induce ferromagnetism with isovalent chalcogen and bimetallic substitutions inM₂P₂X₆. Here, we report co‐substitution of Cu¹⁺and Cr³⁺for Ni²⁺in Ni₂P₂S₆, creating Cu_xNi_2(1‐x)Cr_xP₂S₆medium‐entropy alloys spanning a full substitution range (x= 0 to 1). Such substitution strategy leads to a unique evolution in crystal structure and magnetic phases that are distinct from traditional isovalent bimetallic doping, with Cu and Cr co‐substitution enhancing ferromagnetic correlations and generating a weak ferromagnetic phase in intermediate compositions. This aliovalent substitution strategy offers a universal approach for tuning layered magnetism in antiferromagnetic systems, which along with the potential for light‐matter interaction and high‐temperature ferroelectricity, can enable multifunctional device applications. 

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3. Crystal structures of two copper(I)–6,6′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridyl (dmbpy) compounds, [Cu(dmbpy) ₂ ] ₂ [ M F ₆ ]· x H ₂ O ( M = Zr, Hf; x = 1.134, 0.671)

   https://doi.org/10.1107/S2056989021007295  

   Wang, Yiran; Nisbet, Matthew L.; Poeppelmeier, Kenneth R. (August 2021, Acta Crystallographica Section E Crystallographic Communications)

   The syntheses and crystal structures of two bimetallic molecular compounds, namely, bis[bis(6,6′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine)copper(I)] hexafluoridozirconate(IV) 1.134-hydrate, [Cu(dmbpy) 2 ] 2 [ZrF 6 ]·1.134H 2 O (dmbpy = 6,6′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridyl, C 12 H 12 N 2 ), (I), and bis[bis(6,6′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine)copper(I)] hexafluoridohafnate(IV) 0.671-hydrate, [Cu(dmbpy) 2 ] 2 [HfF 6 ]·0.671H 2 O, (II), are reported. Apart from a slight site occupany difference for the water molecule of crystallization, compounds (I) and (II) are isostructural, featuring isolated tetrahedral cations of copper(I) ions coordinated by two dmbpy ligands and centrosymmetric, octahedral anions of fluorinated early transition metals. The tetrahedral environments of the copper complexes are distorted owing to the steric effects of the dmbpy ligands. The extended structures are built up through Coulombic interactions between cations and anions and π–π stacking interactions between heterochiral Δ- and Λ-[Cu(dmbpy) 2 ] + complexes. A comparison between the title compounds and other [Cu(dmbpy) 2 ] + compounds with monovalent and bivalent anions reveals a significant influence of the cation-to-anion ratio on the resulting crystal packing architectures, providing insights for future crystal design of distorted tetrahedral copper compounds. 

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4. Mechanism of morphology variations in colloidal CuGaS ₂ nanorods

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D1NA00434D  

   Keating, Logan; Shim, Moonsub (September 2021, Nanoscale Advances)

   Cu 2− x S nanocrystals can serve as templates and intermediates in the synthesis of a wide range of nanocrystals through seeded growth, cation exchange, and/or catalytic growth. This versatility can facilitate and accelerate the search for environmentally benign nanocrystals of high performance with variable shapes, sizes, and composition. However, expanding the compositional space via Cu 2− x S nanocrystals while achieving necessary uniformity requires an improved understanding of the growth mechanisms. Herein we address several unusual and previously unexplained aspects of the growth of CuGaS 2 nanorods from Cu 2− x S seeds as an example. In particular, we address the origin of the diverse morphologies which manifest from a relatively homogeneous starting mixture. We find that CuGaS 2 nanorods start as Cu 2− x S/CuGaS 2 Janus particles, the majority of which have a {101̄2}/{101̄2} interface that helps to minimize lattice strain. We propose a mechanism that involves concurrent seed growth and cation exchange (CSC), where epitaxial growth of the Cu 2− x S seed, rather than the anticipated catalytic or seeded growth of CuGaS 2 , occurs along with cation exchange that converts growing Cu 2− x S to CuGaS 2 . This mechanism can explain the incorporation of the large number of anions needed to account for the order-of-magnitude volume increase upon CuGaS 2 rod growth (which cannot be accounted for by the commonly assumed catalytic growth mechanism) and variations in morphology, including the pervasive tapering and growth direction change. Insights from the CSC growth mechanism also help to explain a previously puzzling phenomenon of regioselective nucleation of CuInSe 2 on kinked CuGaS 2 nanorods. 

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5. Cu ₄ MnGe ₂ S ₇ and Cu ₂ MnGeS ₄ : two polar thiogermanates exhibiting second harmonic generation in the infrared and structures derived from hexagonal diamond

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D1DT02535J  

   Glenn, Jennifer R.; Cho, Jeong Bin; Wang, Yiqun; Craig, Andrew J.; Zhang, Jian-Han; Cribbs, Marvene; Stoyko, Stanislav S.; Rosello, Kate E.; Barton, Christopher; Bonnoni, Allyson; et al (December 2021, Dalton Transactions)

   The new, quaternary diamond-like semiconductor (DLS) Cu 4 MnGe 2 S 7 was prepared at high-temperature from a stoichiometric reaction of the elements under vacuum. Single crystal X-ray diffraction data were used to solve and refine the structure in the polar space group Cc. Cu 4 MnGe 2 S 7 features [Ge 2 S 7 ] 6− units and adopts the Cu 5 Si 2 S 7 structure type that can be considered a derivative of the hexagonal diamond structure. The DLS Cu 2 MnGeS 4 with the wurtz-stannite structure was similarly prepared at a lower temperature. The achievement of relatively phase-pure samples, confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction data, was nontrival as differential thermal analysis shows an incongruent melting behaviour for both compounds at relatively high temperature. The dark red Cu 2 MnGeS 4 and Cu 4 MnGe 2 S 7 compounds exhibit direct optical bandgaps of 2.21 and 1.98 eV, respectively. The infrared (IR) spectra indicate potentially wide windows of optical transparency up to 25 μm for both materials. Using the Kurtz–Perry powder method, the second-order nonlinear optical susceptibility, χ (2) , values for Cu 2 MnGeS 4 and Cu 4 MnGe 2 S 7 were estimated to be 16.9 ± 2.0 pm V −1 and 2.33 ± 0.86 pm V −1 , respectively, by comparing with an optical-quality standard reference material, AgGaSe 2 (AGSe). Cu 2 MnGeS 4 was found to be phase matchable at λ = 3100 nm, whereas Cu 4 MnGe 2 S 7 was determined to be non-phase matchable at λ = 1600 nm. The weak SHG response of Cu 4 MnGe 2 S 7 precluded phase-matching studies at longer wavelengths. The laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) for Cu 2 MnGeS 4 was estimated to be ∼0.1 GW cm −2 at λ = 1064 nm (pulse width: τ = 30 ps), while the LIDT for Cu 4 MnGe 2 S 7 could not be ascertained due to its weak response. The significant variance in NLO properties can be reasoned using the results from electronic structure calculations. 

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