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Zhang X, Kang J, Wei SH. Defect modeling and control in structurally and compositionally complex materials. Nat Comput Sci 2023; 3:210-220. [PMID: 38177885 DOI: 10.1038/s43588-023-00403-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
Conventional computational approaches for modeling defects face difficulties when applied to complex materials, mainly due to the vast configurational space of defects. In this Perspective, we discuss the challenges in calculating defect properties in complex materials, review recent advances in computational techniques and showcase new mechanistic insights developed from these methods. We further discuss the remaining challenges in improving the accuracy and efficiency of defect modeling in complex materials, and provide an outlook on potential research directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xie Zhang
- Beijing Computational Science Research Center, Beijing, China
| | - Jun Kang
- Beijing Computational Science Research Center, Beijing, China
| | - Su-Huai Wei
- Beijing Computational Science Research Center, Beijing, China.
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2
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Ye F, Hong RT, Qiu YB, Xie YZ, Zhang DP, Fan P, Cai XM. Nanocrystalline ZnSnN 2 Prepared by Reactive Sputtering, Its Schottky Diodes and Heterojunction Solar Cells. Nanomaterials (Basel) 2022; 13:178. [PMID: 36616088 PMCID: PMC9823707 DOI: 10.3390/nano13010178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Revised: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 12/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
ZnSnN2 has potential applications in photocatalysis and photovoltaics. However, the difficulty in preparing nondegenerate ZnSnN2 hinders its device application. Here, the preparation of low-electron-density nanocrystalline ZnSnN2 and its device application are demonstrated. Nanocrystalline ZnSnN2 was prepared with reactive sputtering. Nanocrystalline ZnSnN2 with an electron density of approximately 1017 cm-3 can be obtained after annealing at 300 °C. Nanocrystalline ZnSnN2 is found to form Schottky contact with Ag. Both the current I vs. voltage V curves and the capacitance C vs. voltage V curves of these samples follow the related theories of crystalline semiconductors due to the limited long-range order provided by the crystallites with sizes of 2-10 nm. The I-V curves together with the nonlinear C-2-V curves imply that there are interface states at the Ag-nanocrystalline ZnSnN2 interface. The application of nanocrystalline ZnSnN2 to heterojunction solar cells is also demonstrated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fan Ye
- Correspondence: (F.Y.); (X.-M.C.)
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3
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Greenaway AL, Ke S, Culman T, Talley KR, Mangum JS, Heinselman KN, Kingsbury RS, Smaha RW, Gish MK, Miller EM, Persson KA, Gregoire JM, Bauers SR, Neaton JB, Tamboli AC, Zakutayev A. Zinc Titanium Nitride Semiconductor toward Durable Photoelectrochemical Applications. J Am Chem Soc 2022; 144:13673-13687. [PMID: 35857885 PMCID: PMC9354241 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c04241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
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Photoelectrochemical fuel generation is a promising route
to sustainable
liquid fuels produced from water and captured carbon dioxide with
sunlight as the energy input. Development of these technologies requires
photoelectrode materials that are both photocatalytically active and
operationally stable in harsh oxidative and/or reductive electrochemical
environments. Such photocatalysts can be discovered based on co-design
principles, wherein design for stability is based on the propensity
for the photocatalyst to self-passivate under operating conditions
and design for photoactivity is based on the ability to integrate
the photocatalyst with established semiconductor substrates. Here,
we report on the synthesis and characterization of zinc titanium nitride
(ZnTiN2) that follows these design rules by having a wurtzite-derived
crystal structure and showing self-passivating surface oxides created
by electrochemical polarization. The sputtered ZnTiN2 thin
films have optical absorption onsets below 2 eV and n-type electrical
conduction of 3 S/cm. The band gap of this material is reduced from
the 3.36 eV theoretical value by cation-site disorder, and the impact
of cation antisites on the band structure of ZnTiN2 is
explored using density functional theory. Under electrochemical polarization,
the ZnTiN2 surfaces have TiO2- or ZnO-like character,
consistent with Materials Project Pourbaix calculations predicting
the formation of stable solid phases under near-neutral pH. These
results show that ZnTiN2 is a promising candidate for photoelectrochemical
liquid fuel generation and demonstrate a new materials design approach
to other photoelectrodes with self-passivating native operational
surface chemistry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann L Greenaway
- Materials Chemical and Computational Science Directorate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Sijia Ke
- Materials and Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States.,Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Theodore Culman
- Materials Chemical and Computational Science Directorate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Kevin R Talley
- Materials Chemical and Computational Science Directorate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - John S Mangum
- Materials Chemical and Computational Science Directorate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Karen N Heinselman
- Materials Chemical and Computational Science Directorate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Ryan S Kingsbury
- Energy Storage and Distributed Resources Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Rebecca W Smaha
- Materials Chemical and Computational Science Directorate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Melissa K Gish
- Materials Chemical and Computational Science Directorate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Elisa M Miller
- Materials Chemical and Computational Science Directorate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Kristin A Persson
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, United States.,Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - John M Gregoire
- Division of Engineering and Applied Science, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, United States
| | - Sage R Bauers
- Materials Chemical and Computational Science Directorate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Jeffrey B Neaton
- Materials and Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States.,Department of Physics, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, United States.,Kavli Energy Nanosciences Institute at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Adele C Tamboli
- Materials Chemical and Computational Science Directorate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States.,Department of Physics, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Andriy Zakutayev
- Materials Chemical and Computational Science Directorate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
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4
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Zakutayev A. Synthesis of Zn 2NbN 3ternary nitride semiconductor with wurtzite-derived crystal structure. J Phys Condens Matter 2021; 33:354003. [PMID: 33887709 DOI: 10.1088/1361-648x/abfab3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Binary III-N nitride semiconductors with wurtzite crystal structure such as GaN and AlN have been long used in many practical applications ranging from optoelectronics to telecommunication. The structurally related ZnGeN2or ZnSnN2derived from the parent binary compounds by cation mutation (elemental substitution) have recently attracted attention, but such ternary nitride materials are mostly limited to II-IV-N2compositions. This paper demonstrates synthesis and characterization of zinc niobium nitride (Zn2NbN3)-a previously unreported II2-V-N3ternary nitride semiconductor. The Zn2NbN3thin films are synthesized using a one-step adsorption-controlled growth that locks in the targeted stoichiometry, and a two-step deposition/annealing method that suppresses the loss of Zn and N. Measurements indicate that this sputtered Zn2NbN3crystalizes in cation-disordered wurtzite-derived structure, in contrast to chemically related rocksalt-derived Mg2NbN3compound, also synthesized here for comparison using the two-step method. The estimated wurtzite lattice parameter ratio of Zn2NbN3is 1.55, and the optical absorption onset is at 2.1 eV. Both of these values are lower compared to published Zn2NbN3computational values ofc/a= 1.62 andEg= 3.5-3.6 eV. Additional theoretical calculations indicate that this difference is due to cation disorder in experimental samples, suggesting a way to tune the structural parameters and the resulting properties of heterovalent ternary nitride materials. Overall, this work expands the wurtzite family of nitride semiconductors to include Zn2NbN3, and suggests that related II2-V-N3and other ternary nitrides should be possible to synthesize.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andriy Zakutayev
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden CO 80401 United States of America
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5
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Greenaway AL, Loutris AL, Heinselman KN, Melamed CL, Schnepf RR, Tellekamp MB, Woods-Robinson R, Sherbondy R, Bardgett D, Bauers S, Zakutayev A, Christensen ST, Lany S, Tamboli AC. Combinatorial Synthesis of Magnesium Tin Nitride Semiconductors. J Am Chem Soc 2020; 142:8421-8430. [PMID: 32279492 PMCID: PMC10905991 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.0c02092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Nitride materials feature strong chemical bonding character that leads to unique crystal structures, but many ternary nitride chemical spaces remain experimentally unexplored. The search for previously undiscovered ternary nitrides is also an opportunity to explore unique materials properties, such as transitions between cation-ordered and -disordered structures, as well as to identify candidate materials for optoelectronic applications. Here, we present a comprehensive experimental study of MgSnN2, an emerging II-IV-N2 compound, for the first time mapping phase composition and crystal structure, and examining its optoelectronic properties computationally and experimentally. We demonstrate combinatorial cosputtering of cation-disordered, wurtzite-type MgSnN2 across a range of cation compositions and temperatures, as well as the unexpected formation of a secondary, rocksalt-type phase of MgSnN2 at Mg-rich compositions and low temperatures. A computational structure search shows that the rocksalt-type phase is substantially metastable (>70 meV/atom) compared to the wurtzite-type ground state. Spectroscopic ellipsometry reveals optical absorption onsets around 2 eV, consistent with band gap tuning via cation disorder. Finally, we demonstrate epitaxial growth of a mixed wurtzite-rocksalt MgSnN2 on GaN, highlighting an opportunity for polymorphic control via epitaxy. Collectively, these findings lay the groundwork for further exploration of MgSnN2 as a model ternary nitride, with controlled polymorphism, and for device applications, enabled by control of optoelectronic properties via cation ordering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann L. Greenaway
- Materials
and Chemistry Science and Technology Directorate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Amanda L. Loutris
- Materials
and Chemistry Science and Technology Directorate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Karen N. Heinselman
- Materials
and Chemistry Science and Technology Directorate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Celeste L. Melamed
- Materials
and Chemistry Science and Technology Directorate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
- Department
of Physics, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Rekha R. Schnepf
- Materials
and Chemistry Science and Technology Directorate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
- Department
of Physics, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - M. Brooks Tellekamp
- Materials
and Chemistry Science and Technology Directorate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Rachel Woods-Robinson
- Materials
and Chemistry Science and Technology Directorate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
- Applied
Science and Technology Graduate Group, University
of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Energy
Technologies Area, Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94702, United States
| | - Rachel Sherbondy
- Materials
and Chemistry Science and Technology Directorate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
- Department
of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Dylan Bardgett
- Materials
and Chemistry Science and Technology Directorate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Sage Bauers
- Materials
and Chemistry Science and Technology Directorate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Andriy Zakutayev
- Materials
and Chemistry Science and Technology Directorate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Steven T. Christensen
- Materials
and Chemistry Science and Technology Directorate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Stephan Lany
- Materials
and Chemistry Science and Technology Directorate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Adele C. Tamboli
- Materials
and Chemistry Science and Technology Directorate, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
- Department
of Physics, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
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6
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Gogova D, Olsen VS, Bazioti C, Lee IH, Prytz Ø, Vines L, Kuznetsov AY. High electron mobility single-crystalline ZnSnN2 on ZnO (0001) substrates. CrystEngComm 2020. [DOI: 10.1039/d0ce00861c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Making a systematic effort, we have developed single-crystalline ZnSnN2 on ZnO (0001) by reactive magnetron co-sputtering.
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Affiliation(s)
- D. Gogova
- Department of Physics
- Center for Materials Science and Nanotechnology
- University of Oslo
- NO-0316 Oslo
- Norway
| | - V. S. Olsen
- Department of Physics
- Center for Materials Science and Nanotechnology
- University of Oslo
- NO-0316 Oslo
- Norway
| | - C. Bazioti
- Department of Physics
- Center for Materials Science and Nanotechnology
- University of Oslo
- NO-0316 Oslo
- Norway
| | - I.-H. Lee
- Department of Physics
- Center for Materials Science and Nanotechnology
- University of Oslo
- NO-0316 Oslo
- Norway
| | - Ø. Prytz
- Department of Physics
- Center for Materials Science and Nanotechnology
- University of Oslo
- NO-0316 Oslo
- Norway
| | - L. Vines
- Department of Physics
- Center for Materials Science and Nanotechnology
- University of Oslo
- NO-0316 Oslo
- Norway
| | - A. Yu. Kuznetsov
- Department of Physics
- Center for Materials Science and Nanotechnology
- University of Oslo
- NO-0316 Oslo
- Norway
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7
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaojie Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resources Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 5625 Renmin Street, Changchun 130022, P. R. China
| | - Fanzhi Meng
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun 130022, P. R. China
| | - Deliang Chu
- State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resources Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 5625 Renmin Street, Changchun 130022, P. R. China
| | - Mingcai Yao
- State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resources Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 5625 Renmin Street, Changchun 130022, P. R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China
| | - Kai Guan
- State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resources Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 5625 Renmin Street, Changchun 130022, P. R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China
| | - Dongdong Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resources Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 5625 Renmin Street, Changchun 130022, P. R. China
| | - Jian Meng
- State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resources Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 5625 Renmin Street, Changchun 130022, P. R. China
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