Finding simple, easily
controlled, and flexible synthetic routes
for the preparation of ternary and hybrid nanostructured semiconductors
is always highly desirable, especially to fulfill the requirements
for mass production to enable application to many fields such as optoelectronics,
thermoelectricity, and catalysis. Moreover, understanding the underlying
reaction mechanisms is equally important, offering a starting point
for its extrapolation from one system to another. In this work, we
developed a new and more straightforward colloidal synthetic way to
form hybrid Au–Ag2X (X = S, Se) nanoparticles under
mild conditions through the reaction of Au and Ag2X nanostructured
precursors in solution. At the solid–solid interface between
metallic domains and the binary chalcogenide domains, a small fraction
of a ternary AuAg3X2 phase was observed to have
grown as a consequence of a solid-state electrochemical reaction,
as confirmed by computational studies. Thus, the formation of stable
ternary phases drives the selective hetero-attachment of Au and Ag2X nanoparticles in solution, consolidates the interface between
their domains, and stabilizes the whole hybrid Au–Ag2X systems.
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