{"title":"Structural and optoelectronic properties of Ba3F2ASe3 (A = Zn and Cd) barium fluoro-selenides for energy storage application: In accordance with the Shockley–Queisser limit","authors":"Shahid Mehmood , Shah Rukh Khan , Haifa A. Alyousef , Shaimaa A.M. Abdelmohsen , Areej Saleh Alqarny , Najla Alotaibi , Mohamed Mousa","doi":"10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108090","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108090","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Electronic structure, optical and Solar cell aspects of Barium fluoro-selenides Ba<sub>3</sub>F<sub>2</sub>ZnSe<sub>3</sub> and Ba<sub>3</sub>F<sub>2</sub>CdSe<sub>3</sub> in orthorhombic phase are studied using density functional theory. Structural parameters show accordance with the experimental outcomes. Electronic properties demonstrate that these compounds are semiconductors, active in the visible light spectrum, with bandgap values of 1.80 and 1.67 eV respectively. Additionally, electrical conductivity also provides evidence regarding the semiconducting properties of these compounds. In these compounds the substitution of Cd for Zn results in reduction of bandgap due to increasing atomic size. The optically dynamic nature of these compounds in the visible region make them paramount applicants for optoelectronic devices and are dynamic aspirants for solar cell applications. These compounds-based solar cell device is modeled which shows best performance when using Ws<sub>2</sub> as the ETL, MoO<sub>3</sub> as the HTL [TCO/(IGZO)(SnO<sub>2</sub>)/Ba<sub>3</sub>F<sub>2</sub>ASe<sub>3</sub>(A = Zn and Cd)/(Cu<sub>2</sub>O)(V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub>)/Cu], With J<sub>sc</sub> values of 18.34 and 25.62 mA/cm<sup>2</sup>, V<sub>oc</sub> values of 1.29 and 1.49 V, FF values of 90.03 and 91.33 % and PCE values of 25.08 and 29.82 %, respectively shown by the optimized solar cells devices. Because of their inorganic nature and their ability to enhance photovoltaic performance, this finding opens the way for the experimental development of fluoro-selenides.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":432,"journal":{"name":"Solid State Sciences","volume":"169 ","pages":"Article 108090"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145262905","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Tb concentration dependence on photoluminescence and thermally stimulated luminescence of Li6Gd(BO3)3 single crystals","authors":"Haruaki Ezawa, Takumi Kato, Daisuke Nakauchi, Noriaki Kawaguchi, Takayuki Yanagida","doi":"10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108088","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108088","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The non-doped and Tb: Li<sub>6</sub>Gd(BO<sub>3</sub>)<sub>3</sub> single crystals with varying Tb concentrations (0.1–10 mol%) were synthesized using the floating zone method. The synthesized Li<sub>6</sub>Gd(BO<sub>3</sub>)<sub>3</sub> single crystals were analyzed for their photoluminescence (PL) and thermally stimulated luminescence (TSL) properties. In both PL and TSL spectra, the non-doped and Tb: Li<sub>6</sub>Gd(BO<sub>3</sub>)<sub>3</sub> single crystals exhibited emission peaks corresponding to the transitions from the ground state to the excited states of Gd<sup>3+</sup> and Tb<sup>3+</sup> ions, respectively. The detection limit of the 1 mol% Tb: Li<sub>6</sub>Gd(BO<sub>3</sub>)<sub>3</sub> single crystal was 0.1 mGy, as determined from the TSL dose response function. The 1 mol% Tb: Li<sub>6</sub>Gd(BO<sub>3</sub>)<sub>3</sub> single crystal exhibited a spatial resolution of 10.0 LP/mm after 3 Gy X-ray irradiation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":432,"journal":{"name":"Solid State Sciences","volume":"169 ","pages":"Article 108088"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145217031","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Solid State SciencesPub Date : 2025-09-25DOI: 10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108086
Yury I. Bauman , Andrey Y. Komarovskikh , Roman M. Kenzhin , Alexander M. Volodin , Alexander V. Pervikov , Alexey V. Pustovalov , Yury V. Shubin , Pavel E. Plyusnin , Tatyana A. Maksimova , Ekaterina V. Shelepova , Ilya V. Mishakov , Aleksey A. Vedyagin
{"title":"In-depth insights into the evolution of NiFeCrCu multicomponent alloy in the course of the catalytic growth of carbon nanofibers","authors":"Yury I. Bauman , Andrey Y. Komarovskikh , Roman M. Kenzhin , Alexander M. Volodin , Alexander V. Pervikov , Alexey V. Pustovalov , Yury V. Shubin , Pavel E. Plyusnin , Tatyana A. Maksimova , Ekaterina V. Shelepova , Ilya V. Mishakov , Aleksey A. Vedyagin","doi":"10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108086","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108086","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Multicomponent alloys attract growing attention to be applied in various fields of science and technology. In the present study, Ni<sub>52</sub>Fe<sub>22</sub>Cr<sub>15</sub>Cu<sub>11</sub> alloy was produced via a single-stage method of electric explosion of wire. It was shown that this method makes it possible to obtain a phase-pure powder (solid solution with a <em>fcc</em> structure, a = 3.583 Å) consisting of spherical nanoparticles with an average diameter of ∼70 nm. According to chemical analysis data, the formed alloy nanoparticles are close in composition to the target ratio of metals. Depending on the treatment procedures such as reduction in hydrogen, heating in argon, calcination in air, and catalytic chemical vapor deposition of C<sub>2</sub>-C<sub>4</sub> hydrocarbons, the alloy undergoes different changes. The evolution of the phase composition and magnetic properties of the alloy was monitored using X-ray diffraction analysis and ferromagnetic resonance spectroscopy. As found, the alloy exhibits the phase stability while treating in argon only. Its treatment in hydrogen at temperatures of 500 °C and above facilitates the damage of the solid solution. During the catalytic chemical vapor deposition process performed at 650 °C for 30 min, the carbon yield reached the value of 42 g/g<sub>cat</sub>. According to transmission electron microscopy, the morphology of the deposited carbon is represented by a set of nanofibers with a mosaic structure. The resulting carbon nanofibers have a specific surface area of ∼330 m<sup>2</sup>/g and a pore volume of ∼0.8 cm<sup>3</sup>/g.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":432,"journal":{"name":"Solid State Sciences","volume":"169 ","pages":"Article 108086"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145154984","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Solid State SciencesPub Date : 2025-09-24DOI: 10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108085
Nicola D. Kelly
{"title":"Chemistry and physics of layered oxychalcogenides containing an anti-cuprate type square lattice","authors":"Nicola D. Kelly","doi":"10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108085","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108085","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>There has been significant recent interest in layered solid-state materials containing an [<em>M</em><sub>2</sub>O] square lattice layer (<em>M</em> = transition metal), particularly because [<em>M</em><sub>2</sub>O] is the anti-type of the [CuO<sub>2</sub>] planes in the layered cuprate superconductors. In addition to the superconducting titanium oxypnictides, the [<em>M</em><sub>2</sub>O] anti-cuprate layer also occurs in a wide range of layered oxychalcogenide compounds with <em>M</em> spanning early (Ti, V) to later transition metals (Mn, Co, Fe). The chalcogenide in question – which sandwiches the anti-cuprate layer – may be S, Se or Te, and in combination with a wide range of intervening “spacer” layers, many different structural families have been investigated. This review surveys the structures and physical properties of all these oxychalcogenide materials and relates these properties to their common anti-cuprate square lattice [<em>M</em><sub>2</sub>O] layer. It is organised around the different oxidation states of the metal ion <em>M</em>, in order to explore the effects of the electronic configuration of <em>M</em> on the physical properties of each compound as a whole. A key part of the review highlights the use of soft-chemical modifications to alter physical properties of these materials, in the synthesis of novel van der Waals materials and other metastable compounds. Future avenues for these materials in the bulk, few- and single-layer limits are discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":432,"journal":{"name":"Solid State Sciences","volume":"169 ","pages":"Article 108085"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145154982","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Solid State SciencesPub Date : 2025-09-23DOI: 10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108084
Yusei Kobayashi , Ikki Tateishi , Monir Uzzaman , Hideyuki Katsumata , Mai Furukawa , Satoshi Kaneco
{"title":"In-situ fabrication of carbon nitride/sulfone-containing covalent organic framework composite with S-scheme charge transfer for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution","authors":"Yusei Kobayashi , Ikki Tateishi , Monir Uzzaman , Hideyuki Katsumata , Mai Furukawa , Satoshi Kaneco","doi":"10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108084","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108084","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To enhance hydrogen evolution under visible light, we developed a composite photocatalyst through the in-situ growth of a sulfone-containing <em>β</em>-ketoenamine covalent organic framework (TpTSN-COF) on graphitic carbon nitride (CN). This in-situ growth method facilitated intimate interfacial contact and uniform dispersion of TpTSN-COF on the CN surface, which is crucial for efficient charge transfer. The optimized composite, CN-COF<sub>40</sub>, showed a remarkable hydrogen evolution rate, approximately 8.5 times higher than that of pristine CN under visible-light irradiation. This significant enhancement is attributed to the formation of an S-scheme heterojunction between TpTSN-COF and CN, which promotes efficient spatial separation of photogenerated electrons and holes, suppressing their recombination. These findings highlight that the strategic combination of sulfone-containing COFs with CN via in-situ growth offers a promising avenue for designing highly active and stable photocatalysts for solar-driven hydrogen production.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":432,"journal":{"name":"Solid State Sciences","volume":"169 ","pages":"Article 108084"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145154985","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Solid State SciencesPub Date : 2025-09-21DOI: 10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108083
G. Alonso-Núñez , A. Infantes-Molina , M.P. Alonso , A.M. Valenzuela-Muñiz , Y. Gochi-Ponce , German Perez-Zuñiga , Y. Verde Gómez
{"title":"Periodic trend of transition metals in the activity of 2D/2D MoS2/g-C3N4 nanohybrids in the HER and OER","authors":"G. Alonso-Núñez , A. Infantes-Molina , M.P. Alonso , A.M. Valenzuela-Muñiz , Y. Gochi-Ponce , German Perez-Zuñiga , Y. Verde Gómez","doi":"10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108083","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108083","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This work presents a novel method for preparing nanohybrids by adding previously synthesized graphitic carbon nitride g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> nanosheets to an aqueous solution of ammonium thiomolybdate (NH<sub>4</sub>)<sub>2</sub>MoS<sub>4</sub> which was synthesized in ammonia solution to form MoS<sub>2</sub>/g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> (2D/2D) interlayered nanostructured hybrid material. This approach increases the activity of MoS<sub>2</sub> since its electronic structure, featuring <em>“d”</em> orbitals, allows the generation of active sites at the Mo edges for H<sup>+</sup>, OH<sup>−</sup>, <sup>−</sup>OOH, and O<sup>−2</sup> adsorption, thus making it a highly efficient catalyst in chemical and electrochemical reactions. The interaction of g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> nanosheets with the MoS<sub>2</sub> was determined by NMR and XPS, leading to a disorder in the MoS<sub>2</sub> crystalline structure as shown from XRD, and therefore increasing the number of unsaturated sites S-Mo-S and 1T-MoS<sub>2</sub> phase formation, as shown in Raman spectra. Additionally, incorporating transition metals such as Ni, Co, and Fe opens a new promising scenario to evaluate their electrochemical effect in the nanohybrid that enhances the availability of active sites during the HER and OER. In this context, NiMoSCN electrocatalyst is the most effective for HER whereas CoMoSCN is for OER. At the current rate of 10 mA/cm<sup>2</sup>, the overpotential of CoMoSCN decreases by up to 50 % with respect to the MoSCN.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":432,"journal":{"name":"Solid State Sciences","volume":"169 ","pages":"Article 108083"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145118726","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Solid State SciencesPub Date : 2025-09-20DOI: 10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108082
Mingsheng Li , Pengfei Jie , Tao Wang , Fei Wang , Wenlong Yang
{"title":"N-doped carbon nanotubes engineered with graphdiyne toward enhanced oxygen reduction reaction","authors":"Mingsheng Li , Pengfei Jie , Tao Wang , Fei Wang , Wenlong Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108082","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108082","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Metal-free electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) have attracted significant attention due to their stability and low-cost. However, compared to traditional platinum-based catalysts, their activity still requires enhancement. Herein, we explored an approach to modulate the activity of metal-free ORR catalysts by the in situ growth of graphdiyne (GDY) on N-doped carbon nanotubes (NCNT). The in situ growth of GDY can effectively protect the catalysts during the reaction process. GDY promotes charge transfer at the hetero-interface, thereby regulating the electron density around the ORR active sites. Consequently the oxygen adsorption and activation of the NCNT/GDY heterostructure (NCNT@GDY) are improved, leading to enhanced catalytic activity and four-electron selectivity of the heterostructure. This work demonstrates that the preparation of heterogeneous structures can effectively modulate the catalytic activity of catalysts, an approach that can be extended to the design of other ORR catalysts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":432,"journal":{"name":"Solid State Sciences","volume":"169 ","pages":"Article 108082"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145118727","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Solid State SciencesPub Date : 2025-09-18DOI: 10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108079
Shayesteh Boshagh, Moniba Ahmadi, Maziar Marandi
{"title":"Low-temperature aqueous synthesis of Cu2AgInSe4 quantum dots for application in quantum dots-sensitized solar cells","authors":"Shayesteh Boshagh, Moniba Ahmadi, Maziar Marandi","doi":"10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108079","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108079","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this study, for the first time, the quaternary Cu<sub>2</sub>AgInSe<sub>4</sub> (CAISe) quantum dots (QDs) were synthesized in an aqueous solution using the chemical precipitation method at 90 °C. It was observed that increasing the heating time led to a redshift in the absorption edge wavelength and a decrease in the band gap energy. The synthesized QDs, subjected to different heating durations ranging from 1 to 5 h, were employed as light absorbers in quantum dots sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). The best performance was achieved for the QDSSC with a TiO<sub>2</sub>/CAISe(1 h)/ZnS photoanode, yielding a power conversion efficiency of 1.72 %. It is worth noting that in this study, a ZnS blocking layer was applied to all photoanodes. Subsequently, to enhance the power conversion efficiency, a CdS nanoparticles layer was deposited on the TiO<sub>2</sub> mesoporous sublayer using a successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method. Considering the alignment of the conduction and valence band edges of CdS and CAISe, the CdS layer is deposited first, followed by formation of the CAISe layer. For comparison, each QD was also deposited individually on TiO<sub>2</sub> to evaluate its photovoltaic response. Then, different photoanode structures i.e., the TiO<sub>2</sub>/CdS(Xc)/CAISe/ZnS, (X = 1–8), photoanodes were fabricated and applied in corresponding QDSSCs. It was observed that the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 4.0 % was achieved by the cell with the TiO<sub>2</sub>/CdS(7c)/CAISe/ZnS photoanode.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":432,"journal":{"name":"Solid State Sciences","volume":"169 ","pages":"Article 108079"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145155069","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Solid State SciencesPub Date : 2025-09-16DOI: 10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108081
Hong Li , Hongyang Li , Ran Wang , Shentao Zeng , Wenqi Xu , Ruiling Xie , Cui Luo , Ying Liu
{"title":"Dual-layer coating Co@Fe@Fe3O4 heterogeneous magnetic particles and their electromagnetic absorption properties","authors":"Hong Li , Hongyang Li , Ran Wang , Shentao Zeng , Wenqi Xu , Ruiling Xie , Cui Luo , Ying Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108081","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108081","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>By chemical liquid-phase reduction combined with in situ self-oxidation dual-layer core-shell structured heterogeneous Co@Fe@Fe3O4 particles were synthesized. The effects of oxidation conditions on the microstructure, static magnetic properties, and electromagnetic wave absorption performance of heterogeneous Co@Fe@Fe3O4 particles were investigated. The findings indicate that the heterogeneous Co@Fe@Fe3O4 particles are primarily composed of three elements: Co, Fe, and O, displaying a typical core-shell structural characteristic, with shell layer thicknesses of approximately 170 nm for Fe and 140 nm for Fe3O4. The specific saturation magnetization and remanent magnetization have not change significantly with the increase of oxidation temperature but coercivity changes notablely with the increase of oxidation temperature and presenting increasing trend, reached maximum value at 70 °C oxidation temperature. In situ self-oxidation process significantly enhances the dielectric loss tangent of the heterogeneous Co@Fe@Fe3O4 particle samples, while the magnetic loss tangent shows a decline. Typical polarization loss and electrical conductivity loss can be observed for the particles and magnetic loss is primarily dominated by natural resonance. At an oxidation temperature of 60 °C, the heterostructured Co@Fe@Fe3O4 particle samples exhibited the highest attenuation constant α and optimal wave absorption performance, achieving minimum reflection loss of −20.25 dB and maximum effective absorption bandwidth of 4.48 GHz.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":432,"journal":{"name":"Solid State Sciences","volume":"169 ","pages":"Article 108081"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145106630","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Solid State SciencesPub Date : 2025-09-12DOI: 10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108080
Giday G. Welegergs , James Oyim , H.G. Gebretinsae , M.G. Tsegay , Francis Chindeka , Jonathan Britton , Z.Y. Nuru , Malik Maaza , Tebello Nyokong
{"title":"Room-temperature volatile organosulfurs for synthesis of hierarchical Cu7S4 hollow nanotubelets for photodegradation of organic pollutants","authors":"Giday G. Welegergs , James Oyim , H.G. Gebretinsae , M.G. Tsegay , Francis Chindeka , Jonathan Britton , Z.Y. Nuru , Malik Maaza , Tebello Nyokong","doi":"10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108080","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2025.108080","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Herein, a novel, eco-friendly and sustainable green approach has developed for synthesis of uniform hollow Cu<sub>7</sub>S<sub>4</sub> nanotubes on Cu foam using volatile organosulfur compounds of <em>Allium Sativum</em> L for photocatalytic of organic pollutants. This novel method facilitates sulfurization of Cu-foam without the need for surfactants (i.e regent free) at room temperature, resulting in Cu<sub>7</sub>S<sub>4</sub> with unique hollow nanotubelets surface. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to analysis the morphology, composition, structural phase and chemical states of the obtained sample. The N<sub>2</sub> adsorption-desorption isotherm depicts the Brunauer-Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area of Cu<sub>7</sub>S<sub>4</sub> hollow nanotubelets is about 7.2 m<sup>2</sup> g<sup>−1</sup> with a pore size distribution of 46.89 nm. The obtained Cu<sub>7</sub>S<sub>4</sub>@Cu-foam was applied for degradation of methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) pollutants under visible light irradiation and exhibited an enhanced photocatalytic activity. The pseudo first order degradation kinetics rates for MB and MO are found to be 0.012 and 0.0098 min<sup>−1</sup>, respectively. The scavenger studies indicated that the hydroxyl radicals (<sup>•</sup>OH) and holes (h<sup>+</sup>) active species are mainly responsible for the degradation of MB and MO dyes. The higher photocatalytic activities are attributed to the enhanced light absorption, increased adsorption capacity, and better charge separation in the Cu<sub>7</sub>S<sub>4</sub> catalyst.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":432,"journal":{"name":"Solid State Sciences","volume":"169 ","pages":"Article 108080"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145106629","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}