Soft-Chemical\nMethod for Synthesizing Intermetallic\nAntimonide Nanocrystals from Ternary Chalcogenide

Abstract

The synthesis of intermetallic antimonides usually depends\non either\nthe high-temperature alloying technique from high-purity metals or\nthe flux method in highly poisonous Pb-melt. In this paper, we introduced\na soft-chemical method to synthesize intermetallic antimonides from\nternary chalcogenide precursors under an argon atmosphere below 200\n°C. Powder X-ray diffraction and compositional analysis clearly\nindicate that a new phase of the Ag₃Sb nanocrystal was\nsynthesized from the Ag₃SbS₃ precursors. Three\ntypes of trialkylphosphines (TAPs) were applied as desulfurization\nagents, and the transformation mechanism was elucidated. The capability\nof the desulfurization agent follows the sequence of triphenylphosphine\n(TPP) > tributylphosphine (TBP) > trioctylphosphine (TOP).\nBesides, this TAP-driven desulfurization route to synthesize the intermetallic\nphase could also be possible for AgSbSe₂ and Sb₂S₃. Therefore, this paper provides an efficient and mild\ntechnique for the fabrication of intermetallic nanocrystals.