Thermal and Dimensional Stability of Photocatalytic Material ZnPS<sub>3</sub> Under Extreme Environmental Conditions
Abstract Zinc phosphorus trisulfide (ZnPS 3 ), a promising material for photocatalysis and energy storage, is shown in this study to exhibit remarkable stability under extreme conditions. Its optical and structural properties are explored under high pressure and cryogenic temperatures using photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, Raman scattering, and density functional theory (DFT). The experimental results identify a pressure‐induced phase transition starting at 6.75 GPa and stabilizing by 12.5 GPa, after which ZnPS 3 demonstrates robust stability across a broad pressure range up to 24.5 GPa. DFT calculations support these observations and further predict a semiconductor‐to‐semimetal transition at 100 GPa, while PL measurements reveal defect‐assisted emission that quench under pressure due to enhanced non‐radiative recombination. At cryogenic temperatures, PL quenching intensifies as non‐radiative processes dominate, driven by a rising Grüneisen parameter and reduced phonon population. Cryogenic X‐ray diffraction (XRD) also reveals a high mean thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) of (4.369 ± 0.393) × 10 −5 K −1 , among the highest reported for 2D materials. This unique combination of tunable electronic properties under low pressure and high thermal sensitivity makes ZnPS 3 a strong candidate for sensing applications in extreme environments.
Authors
- Damian Włodarczyk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5923-7569)
- Luis Marcelo Lozano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1902-5550)
- Michael A. Susner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1211-8749)
- A. Suchocki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7126-1951)
- Vivian J. Santamaría‐García (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9284-1218)
- Ajeesh Kumar Somakumar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8911-7456)
- Saranya Narayanan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7266-694X)
- P. Sybilski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9355-9089)
- Julio L. Palma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2611-7560)
- Svetlana V. Boriskina (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6798-8082)
- Ryan Siebenaller
- Emmanuel Rowe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1608-2023)
- Abhishek Mukherjee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2215-5970)
Institutions
- United States Air Force Research Laboratory (US)
- Pennsylvania State University (US)
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (US)
- Institute of Physics (PL)
- The Ohio State University (US)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
- Tecnológico de Monterrey (MX)
- Polish Academy of Sciences (PL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Electronic Materials
- Published
- 2025-06-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/aelm.202500093
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Chalcogenide Semiconductor Thin Films
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.19
Funders
- Siebel Scholars Foundation
- Asian Office of Aerospace Research and Development
- Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey
- Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative
- Division of Materials Research
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Army Research Office