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1. Facile one-pot synthesis of high-purity sodium antimony chalcogenides in polar solvents

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d4qi02941k  

   Vaselabadi, Saeed Ahmadi; Benham, Brynn; Wolden, Colin A (January 2025, Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers)

   A simple route is presented for scalable production of sodium antimony chalcogenides (Na₃SbCh₄; NaSbCh₂with Ch = S, Se) based on the reactions of Na chalcogenides with appropriately selected metal halides in ethanolic solution at room temperature. 

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2. Solution‐Processed Arsenic Chalcogenides as Dopant Source and Back Contact for Efficient CdSeTe Solar Cells

   https://doi.org/10.1002/solr.202500229  

   Duan, Xiaomeng; Wang, Yizhao; Li, Lin; Yan, Feng (May 2025, Solar RRL)

   Group V doping in CdSeTe device can improve power conversion efficiency (PCE) and device stability. Arsenic (As) incorporation into CdSeTe has been demonstrated via both in situ and ex situ techniques; however, optimizing the back contact for group V‐doped CdSeTe devices remains a critical challenge. Here, solution‐processed arsenic chalcogenides (i.e., As₂Te₃and As₂Se₃) as dual‐role materials, serving as both dopants and back‐contact materials for high‐efficiency CdSeTe devices, are investigated. During the formation of the back contact, a portion of the arsenic chalcogenides diffuses into the CdSeTe absorber, facilitating p‐type doping. The remaining materials forms a stable back‐contact layer that facilitate carrier collection and reducing recombination losses at the CdSeTe back surface. Particularly, CdSeTe device employing Te rich As₂Te₃layer as the dopant and back‐contact materials achieves a PCE of 18.34%, demonstrating the dual functionality of solution‐processed arsenic chalcogenides in simultaneously doping the absorber and optimizing charge extraction. This solution based cost‐effective As doping approach offers a promising pathway for advancing CdSeTe photovoltaic technology. 

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3. Modulation of electrocatalytic activity by tuning anion electronegativity: case study with copper chalcogenides

   https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7655/ad040f  

   Singh, Harish; Prendergast, David; Nath, Manashi (October 2023, Journal of Physics: Energy)

   Abstract Anion-tuning in metallic chalcogenides has been shown to have a significant impact on their electrocatalytic ability for overall water splitting. In this article, copper-based chalcogenides (Cu₂X, X= O, S, Se, and Te) have been systematically studied to examine the effect of decreasing anion electronegativity and increasing covalency on the electrocatalytic performance. Among the copper chalcogenides, Cu₂Te has the highest oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity and can sustain high current density of 10 and 50 mA cm⁻²for 12 h. The difference in intrinsic catalytic activity of these chalcogenide surfaces have been also probed through density functional theory calculations, which was used to estimate energy of the catalyst activation step. It was observed that the hydroxyl adsorption on the surface catalytic site is critically important for the onset and progress of OER activity. Consequently, it was also observed that the –OH adsorption energy can be used as a simple but accurate descriptor to explain the catalytic efficiency through volcano-like correlation plot. Such observation will have a significant impact on developing design principle for optimal catalytic surface exhibiting high performance as well as prolonged stability. 

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4. A Hybrid Pulsed Laser Deposition Approach to Grow Thin Films of Chalcogenides

   https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202312620  

   Surendran, Mythili; Singh, Shantanu; Chen, Huandong; Wu, Claire; Avishai, Amir; Shao, Yu‐Tsun; Ravichandran, Jayakanth (February 2024, Advanced Materials)

   Abstract Vapor‐pressure mismatched materials such as transition metal chalcogenides have emerged as electronic, photonic, and quantum materials with scientific and technological importance. However, epitaxial growth of vapor‐pressure mismatched materials are challenging due to differences in the reactivity, sticking coefficient, and surface adatom mobility of the mismatched species constituting the material, especially sulfur containing compounds. Here, a novel approach is reported to grow chalcogenides—hybrid pulsed laser deposition—wherein an organosulfur precursor is used as a sulfur source in conjunction with pulsed laser deposition to regulate the stoichiometry of the deposited films. Epitaxial or textured thin films of sulfides with variety of structure and chemistry such as alkaline metal chalcogenides, main group chalcogenides, transition metal chalcogenides, and chalcogenide perovskites are demonstrated, and structural characterization reveal improvement in thin film crystallinity, and surface and interface roughness compared to the state‐of‐the‐art. The growth method can be broadened to other vapor‐pressure mismatched chalcogenides such as selenides and tellurides. This work opens up opportunities for broader epitaxial growth of chalcogenides, especially sulfide‐based thin film technological applications. 

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5. Separation of Tellurium from Metal Chalcogenides through Mild Anhydrous Chlorination

   https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202202364  

   Uible, Madeleine_C; Kieser, Jerod_M; Bart, Suzanne_C (December 2022, Chemistry – A European Journal)

   Abstract The separation of tellurium from cadmium telluride is examined using a unique combination of mild, anhydrous chlorination and complexation of the subsequent tellurium tetrachloride with 3,5‐di‐tert‐butylcatecholate ligands (dtbc). The resulting tellurium complex, Te(dtbc)₂, is isolated in moderate yield and features a 10³to 10⁴reduction in cadmium content, as provided by XRF and ICP‐MS analysis. Similar results were obtained from zinc telluride. A significant separation between Te, Se, and S was observed after treating a complex mixture of metal chalcogenides with this protocol. These three tunable steps can be applied for future applications of CdTe photovoltaic waste. 

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