Diamond-like semiconductors (DLSs) have structures derived from the cubic or hexagonal form of diamond. The I2-II-IV-VI4 DLS systems are of particular interest due to their tunable nature and possible technological applications in photovoltaics, spintronics, and non-linear optics. Polymorphism may affect important physicochemical properties. Most commonly, polymorphic DLS materials arise from differing modes of closest packing. In quaternary DLSs, polymorphism may also be observed in structures that maintain the same anion packing, but differ in the cation ordering arrangement within the tetrahedral holes. In this work, high-temperature solid-state synthesis in a Li2-II-IV-VI4 system led to the discovery of two polymorphs, crystallizing in the Li2CoSiO4 (Pna21) and wurtz-kesterite (Pn) structures. The two polymorphs were analyzed using optical diffuse reflectance UV/Vis/NIR spectroscopy, single crystal X-ray diffraction, and synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction together with Rietveld refinement. The National Science Foundation supports this work under Grant No. DMR-1201729.

Investigation of novel polymorphic Li2-II-IV-S4 diamond-like semiconductors utilizing synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction

249th National Meeting (2015)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.