Thermochromism from Ultrathin Colloidal Sb₂Se₃ Nanowires Undergoing Reversible Growth and Dissolution in an Amine–Thiol Mixture

Abstract

between molecular isomers, a phase transition between inorganic solids, or a change in the crystalline phases of liquid crystals. [8] To date, many thermochromic materials have been reported and commercialized, such as leuco dyes, [9] thermotropic liquid crystals, [10][11][12] titanium and vanadium oxides, [13][14][15] and peptide-based polydiacetylene. [16][17][18] Among these examples, the liquid-based leuco dyes and liquid crystals are unique as they can easily be made to fill various shaped voids, can be deposited onto virtually any substrate, and are straightforward to scale-up in terms of production. However, organic dyes have a tendency to suffer from photodegradation, require longer optical path lengths due to a small absorption coefficient (typically ≈10 4 L mol −1 cm −1 ), and possess limited tunability of the T trans . [19] Liquid crystals require a stringent microencapsulation process to avoid degradation and contamination, [20] and the molecules need to be chemically modified in order to tune the T trans . Instead of addressing these limitations directly, we sought to circumvent them by a different approach to traditional liquid-based thermochromics.Herein, we report a liquid-based thermochromic system based on colloidal antimony selenide (Sb 2 Se 3 ) ultrathin nanowires (NWs) that undergo a reversible growth/dissolution process in a Sn 2+ -added amine-thiol mixture. For brevity, we will refer to this liquid thermochromic system as the amine-thiol nanowire (ATNW) solution. Antimony selenide has an optical bulk bandgap of 1.1-1.2 eV, [21] and therefore absorbs wavelengths across the entire visible and near-infrared (NIR) range. It possesses a high absorption coefficient (>10 5 cm −1 ), [22] has low toxicity, and is composed of relatively earth-abundant constituents. As a material that has in recent times been developed for solar cell and photodetector applications, [23] Sb 2 Se 3 nanostructures are resilient toward photodegradation under hours of continuous irradiation and resistant to oxidation under ambient conditions. We find that ATNWs undergo a continuous color change from transparent pale yellow to dark brown when heated and reverse rapidly to pale yellow when cooled. Different from conventional inorganic pigments whose thermochromic properties are based on changes in crystal structure and/or molecular stoichiometry, the color changes in the ATNW solution are due to rapid crystal growth and dissolution. The Sb 2 Se 3 1806164 (2 of 7) www.advmat.de www.advancedsciencenews.com

Kinetics and mechanistic details of bulk ZnO dissolution using a thiol–imidazole system

“…10 Indeed, the alkahest is known to dissolve a wide range of bulk metal oxides, including, but not limited to, Ag 2 O, As 2 O 3 , Bi 2 O 3 , CdO, Cu 2 O, CuO, In 2 O 3 , GeO 2 , MnO, PbO, Sb 2 O 3 , SeO 2 , SnO, and ZnO. 5,[11][12][13][14][15][16] Through a mild dissolve and recover approach, the alkahest solvent system returns phase-pure binary metal chalcogenide thin lms from dissolved oxide precursors; for example, semiconductor inks for metal sulde thin lms can be derived from dissolved metal oxides, where the sulfur source is the thiol component of the alkahest. Moreover, phase-pure, complex multinary semiconductors can also be solution processed by simply dissolving multiple bulk precursors in the proper stoichiometric ratios with the alkahest solvent system.…”

Ab initio prediction of semiconductivity in a novel two-dimensional Sb2X3 (X= S, Se, Te) monolayers with orthorhombic structure

“…Similarly to , has recently received great attention to be utilized in applications of batteries 51 , 52 , photoelectrical 53 , 54 , thermoelectric devices 55 and photovoltaic light absorber 56 , due to its prodigious properties such as an optimal bandgap (1-1.3 eV) 57 , 58 , hole mobility up to 42 59 , desirable environmental characteristic 60 , 61 , physiochemical stability 41 , low-cost 62 , and elevated thermoelectric power 24 , as well as interesting optoelectronic features with absorption coefficient larger than 105 (at short wavelength) 27 , 63 . Also, a good efficiency in the power conversion up to 9.2 as very recently reported by Li et al 64 On the other hand, is receiving growing research attention within the scientific community because of its gorgeous properties such as low crystallization temperature 65 , and topological insulators 66 .…”

Low-Temperature Photothermal Therapy Based on Borneol-Containing Polymer-Modified MXene Nanosheets

“…When temperature changes were recorded using an infrared thermal (IRT) camera (Figure h), we found that BPM quickly converted the absorbed light into heat, with the solution mean temperature reaching 52.7 °C within 7 min under NIR irradiation (Figure S9b). Such high temperatures cause irreversible protein denaturation and cell membrane destruction, resulting in effective and rapid hyperthermic sterilization . Conversely, no significant temperature changes were observed in the PBS group with the same NIR irradiation.…”

“…Such high temperatures cause irreversible protein denaturation and cell membrane destruction, resulting in effective and rapid hyperthermic sterilization. 43 Conversely, no significant temperature changes were observed in the PBS group with the same NIR irradiation. Here, we found that the solvent had an impact on photothermal performance (Figure S9a), with the heating rate of 2DM being lower in PBS than in deionized (DI) water.…”