Organic–inorganic hybrid semiconductors, of which
organometal
halide perovskites are representative examples, have drawn significant
research interest as promising candidates for next-generation optoelectronic
applications. This interest is mainly ascribed to the emergent optoelectronic
properties of the hybrid semiconductors that are distinct from those
of their purely inorganic and organic counterparts as well as different
material fabrication strategies and the other material (e.g., mechanical)
properties that combine the advantages of both. Herein, we present
a high-throughput first-principles material screening study of the
hybrid heterostructured semiconductors (HHSs) that differ entirely
from organometal halide perovskite hybrid ion-substituting semiconductors.
HHSs crystallize as superlattice structures composed of inorganic
tetrahedrally coordinated semiconductor sublayers and organic sublayers
made of bidentate chain-like molecules. By changing the composition
(e.g., IV, III–V, II–VI, I–III–VI2 semiconductor) and polymorph (e.g., wurtzite and zinc-blende)
of the inorganic components, the type of organic molecules (e.g.,
ethylenediamine, ethylene glycol, and ethanedithiol), and the thickness
of the composing layers across 234 candidate HHSs, we investigated
their thermodynamic, electronic structure, and optoelectronic properties.
Thermodynamic stability analysis indicates the existence of 96 stable
HHSs beyond the ZnTe/ZnSe-based ones synthesized experimentally. The
electronic structure and optoelectronic properties of HHSs can be
modulated over a wide range by manipulating their structural variants.
A machine learning approach was further applied to the high-throughput
calculated data to identify the critical descriptors determining thermodynamic
stability and electronic band gap. Our results indicate promising
prospects and provide valuable guidance for the rational design of
organic–inorganic hybrid heterostructured semiconductors for
potential optoelectronic applications.