Tin(II) Sulfide (SnS) Crystal

Tin(II) sulfide (SnS), with a direct energy band-gap of about 1.3 eV, and a high optical absorption coefficient over 5 × 10⁴ cm^-1, is a promising new candidate for applications in the next generation of photovoltaic solar cells. Made of earth-abundant, relatively cheap and environmentally-nontoxic elements, SnS is solution processable and stable in both alkaline and acidic conditions. 

Like the other family members of layered group IV monochalcogenides (including SnSe, GeS, and GeSe), 2D layered SnS has puckered structures - similar to those of black phosphorus. SnS crystallises in the form of an orthorhombic structure, where each Sn(II) atom is coordinated to six S atoms - with three short Sn–S bonds within the surface and three longer Sn-S bonds connecting outer surface of the same layer.

As an analogue to phosphorene, 2D SnS has also been predicted to have strong in-plane anisotropy. However, with two elements of different electronegativity (compared to phosphorene with its single element), the symmetry of SnS structure is rendered, leading to even richer physical properties.

Structure of Tin(II) Sulfide Crystal

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Applications of Tin(II) Sulfide Crystal

In the form of single or few-layer thin films, exfoliated SnS nanosheets have various applications. These include light emitters, field effect transistors (FETs), gas sensors, photodetectors, thermoelectric and photovoltaic devices.

Synthesis

Tin(II) sulfide (SnS) is manufactured using chemical vapour transport (CVT) crystallisation, with crystals having a purity in excess of 99.999%.

Usage

Tin(II) sulfide single crystals can be used to prepare monolayer and few-layer SnS by mechanical or liquid exfoliation.

Viscoelastic transfer using PDMS

Literature and Reviews

• Band-structure, optical properties, and defect physics of the photovoltaic semiconductor SnS, J. Vidal et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 032104 (2012); DIO: 10.1063/1.3675880.
• Few-Layer Tin Sulfide: A New Black-Phosphorus-Analogue 2D Material with a Sizeable Band Gap, Odd−Even Quantum Confinement Effect, and High Carrier Mobility, C. Xin et al., J. Phys. Chem. C, 120, 22663−22669 (2016); DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.6b06673.
• Growth of Large-Size SnS Thin Crystals Driven by Oriented Attachment and Applications to Gas Sensors and Photodetectors, J. Wang et al., ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 8, 9545−9551 (2016); DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b01485.
• Two-Dimensional SnS: A Phosphorene Analogue with Strong In-Plane Electronic Anisotropy, Z. Tian et al., ACS Nano, 11, 2219−2226 (2017); DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.6b08704.
• Nanostructured SnS with inherent anisotropic optical properties for high photoactivity, M. Patel et al., Nanoscale, 8, 2293 (2016); DOI: 10.1039/c5nr06731f.
• Valley physics in tin (II) sulfide, A. S. Rodin et al., Phys. Rew. B, 93, 045431 (2016); DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.93.045431.