Conformational Gap Control in CsTaS3.

Goesten, Maarten G; Xia, Yi; Aschauer, Ulrich; Amsler, Maximilian (2022). Conformational Gap Control in CsTaS3. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 144(8), pp. 3398-3410. American Chemical Society 10.1021/jacs.1c10947

[img] Text
jacs.1c10947.pdf - Published Version
Restricted to registered users only
Available under License Publisher holds Copyright.

Download (3MB)
[img]
Preview
Text
CsTaS3_accepted.pdf - Accepted Version
Available under License Publisher holds Copyright.

Download (6MB) | Preview

Simple arguments based on orbital energies and crystal symmetry suggest the band gap of CsTaS3 to be suitable for solar cell photovoltaics. Here, we combine chemical theory with sophisticated calculations to describe an intricate relationship between the structure and optical properties of this material. Orbital interactions govern both the presence and nature of CsTaS3's gap. In the first place, through a second-order Jahn-Teller (JT) distortion, which slides the Ta ion along the axial direction of TaS3 chains. This displacement creates a gap that remains direct in the face of minor distortions. Using an advanced methodology, compressive sensing lattice dynamics, we compute the anharmonic interatomic force constants up to the fourth order and use them to renormalize the phonons at finite temperatures. This analysis predicts CsTaS3 to undergo the JT metal-to-semiconductor transition at temperatures below 1000 K. At around room temperature, we find a second distortion that moves the Ta ion along the equatorial direction of the TaS3 chains, giving rise to many possible supercell conformations. By relaxing all symmetry-inequivalent structures with Ta ion displacements, in supercells with up to 12 formula units, we obtain 204 symmetrically distinct conformations and sort them by energy and (direct) band gap magnitude. Since all structures with a gap lie within an energy range of 30 meV/Ta above the ground state, we expect CsTaS3's optical properties to be controlled by the full polymorphic ensemble of gapped conformations. Using the GW-Bethe-Salpeter approach, we predict a band gap of 1.3-1.4 eV as well as potent absorption in the visible range.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

08 Faculty of Science > Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences (DCBP)

UniBE Contributor:

Aschauer, Ulrich Johannes

Subjects:

500 Science > 570 Life sciences; biology
500 Science > 540 Chemistry

ISSN:

0002-7863

Publisher:

American Chemical Society

Language:

English

Submitter:

Pubmed Import

Date Deposited:

21 Feb 2022 08:57

Last Modified:

12 Jun 2023 16:45

Publisher DOI:

10.1021/jacs.1c10947

PubMed ID:

35174711

BORIS DOI:

10.48350/165778

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/165778

Actions (login required)

Edit item Edit item
Provide Feedback