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A new approach based on hot injection method is proposed to gram-scale Cu2ZnSnS4 nanoparticles production minimizing the use of organic solvents. Nanocrystal synthesis was performed starting from metal chlorides and pure sulphur powder and using Oleylamine as capping agent. As a result, core-shell nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution were obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zinc-rich/copper-poor CuZnSnS (x = 0.2, CZTS) has been successfully produced in film and powder form using two non-aqueous solutions (of metal salts and thiourea) without the need for sulfurization during the annealing phase. A reaction route is proposed and the choices of the solvents (water, ethyleneglycol, ethanol, methanol) and of the tin source (tin chloride pentahydrate or anhydrous) discussed and justified. A pure and coarse-grained material is obtained with a mix of metal salts in methanol and thiourea in ethylene glycol. The tin pentahydrate salt seems a better alternative to the commonly used anhydrous chloride. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The optical properties of sputtered Cu2O thin films doped with the nitrogen concentrations between 1 and 2.5 at% have been investigated by spectrophotometric measurements. All the doped samples exhibit two clearly defined absorption bands at energies below the gap, with an intensity well correlated with the N concentration. This result suggests Cu2O as a promising material for the development of intermediate band solar cells, also considering the band gap of about 2eV which is the optimal value for this kind of devices. Moreover, the sample with the highest doping shows a resistivity of , which is the lowest value ever reported for this semiconductor. As a collateral result, we provide a first estimation of the Relative Sensitivity Factors (RSF) of nitrogen and oxygen atoms under bombardment in a Cu2O matrix. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A systematic use of binary codes derived from the Hägg symbol are used to study close-packed polytypes. Seitz operators acting over the corresponding binary codes are defined and used. The number of non-equivalent polytypes of a given length are calculated through the use of the Seitz operators. The same procedure is applied to the problem of counting the number of polytypes complying with a given symmetry group. All counting problems are reduced to an eigenvector problem in the binary code space. The symmetry of the binary codes leads to the different space groups to which polytypes can belong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planar faulting in in rare earth - cobalt alloys with type structures Th2Ni17 and Th2Zn17 are studied. The structure changes from hexagonal for heavy rare earth to rhombohedral for light rare earth, all exhibiting different degrees of planar disorder. Faulting is quantitatively studied beyond the model of independent faulting events showing the strength of direct solutions to extract defects information from the diffraction patterns. It is showed that the analysis of the decaying term of the probability correlation function, does not only allow to quantify the loss of memory in the system through the correlation length but also, the strength of interaction between faults. The behavior of the decaying terms turns not to be of universal character when scaled against the correlation length and instead depends on the interaction of faulting. The reconstructive phase transition in this system seems to follow a path where the new phase appears within the disordered phase and grows without homogeneous reordering of the disordered arrangement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The optical absorption coefficient of thin film and bulk Cu2O at room temperature is obtained from an accurate analysis of their transmittance and reflectance spectra. These absorption spectra are modeled, together with the low temperature data reported in the literature, using an analytical expression to assess and quantify the role of the different absorption mechanisms. The results suggest that direct forbidden transitions and indirect transitions play an almost equally relevant role. A table of the optical constants of Cu2O single crystal is given for reference. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A systematic use of binary codes derived from the Hagg symbol are used to study close-packed polytypes. Seitz operators acting over the corresponding binary codes are defined and used. The number of non-equivalent polytypes of a given length are calculated through the use of the Seitz operators. The same procedure is applied to the problem of counting the number of polytypes complying with a given symmetry group. All counting problems are reduced to an eigenvector problem in the binary code space. The symmetry of the binary codes leads to the different space groups to which polytypes can belong.