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Ternary-structured thiospinels have attracted great attention in recent years for energy applications due to their attractive characteristics such as simple production, earth-abundant components and non-toxic nature. In this work, copper cobalt sulfide (CuCo 2 S 4 or carrollite) thiospinel nanocrystals were synthesized by a hot-injection method, and detailed electrical and optoelectronic characterizations were performed in a Schottky device. The synthesized nanocrystals were used as an interfacial layer between the Au metal and p-Si semiconductor to obtain an Au/CuCo 2 S 4 /p-Si device. The structural and morphological characterizations confirmed the crystallinity, nanostructure and composition of the CuCo 2 S 4 nanocrystals. The I-V and C-V measurements were employed to characterize the Au/CuCo 2 S 4 /p-Si device for various illumination intensities. The obtained device exhibited good rectifying and photodiode properties as well as good photocapacitance. The Au/CuCo 2 S 4 /p-Si device can be used and improved for optoelectronic applications.

The broad application potential of superhydrophobic coatings is limited by the usage of environment-threatening materials and poor durability. The nature-inspired design and fabrication of self-healing coatings is a promising approach for addressing these issues. In this study, we report a fluorine-free and biocompatible superhydrophobic coating that can be thermally healed after abrasion. The coating is composed of silica nanoparticles and carnauba wax, and the self-healing is based on surface enrichment of wax in analogy to the wax secretion in plant leaves. The coating not only exhibits fast self-healing, just in 1 min under moderate heating, but also displays increased water repellency and thermal stability after healing. The rapid selfhealing ability of the coating is attributed to the relatively low melting point of carnauba wax and its migration to the surface of the hydrophilic silica nanoparticles. The dependence of self-healing on the size and loading of particles provides insights into the process. Furthermore, the coating exhibits high levels of biocompatibility where the viability of fibroblast L929 cells was ∼90%. The presented approach and insights provide valuable guidelines in the design and fabrication of self-healing superhydrophobic coatings.

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Chevrel phases consisted of abundant materials, are of great interest in a variety of energy conversion and storage technologies because of unique structural and electronic features. Herein, crystalline