Tunable photochemical deposition of silver nanostructures on layered ferroelectric CuInP$_2$S6

TL;DR

This study demonstrates the tunable photochemical deposition of silver nanostructures on ferroelectric CuInP$_2$S$_6$, revealing how layer thickness, temperature, and light influence nanostructure shape, distribution, and functional properties for device applications.

Contribution

First report of photocatalytic silver nanostructure deposition on layered ferroelectric CuInP$_2$S$_6$, showing controllable shape and distribution via external parameters and ferroelectric polarization effects.

Findings

AgNS shape and distribution are tunable by layer thickness, temperature, and light wavelength.

Photodeposition initiates from active site creation and nanoparticle nucleation.

AgNS/CIPS heterostructures exhibit resistive switching and surface-enhanced Raman activity.

Abstract

2D layered ferroelectric materials such as CuInP$_2$S6 (CIPS) are promising candidates for novel and high-performance photocatalysts, owning to their ultrathin layer thickness, strong interlayer coupling, and intrinsic spontaneous polarization, while how to control the photocatalytic activity in layered CIPS remains unexplored. In this work, we report for the first time the photocatalytic activity of ferroelectric CIPS for the chemical deposition of silver nanostructures (AgNSs). The results show that the shape and spatial distribution of AgNSs on CIPS are tunable by controlling layer thickness, environmental temperature, and light wavelength. The ferroelectric polarization in CIPS plays a critical role in tunable AgNS photodeposition, as evidenced by layer thickness and temperature dependence experiments. We further reveal that AgNS photodeposition process starts from the active site creation, selective nanoparticle nucleation/aggregation, to the continuous film formation. Moreover, AgNS/CIPS heterostructures prepared by photodeposition exhibit excellent resistance switching behavior and good surface enhancement Raman Scattering activity. Our findings provide new insight into the photocatalytic activity of layered ferroelectrics and offer a new material platform for advanced functional device applications in smart memristors and enhanced chemical sensors.