L-cystine-assisted synthesis of Cu2ZnGeS4 nanocrystal powder via solvothermal process

Abstract Cu 2 ZnGeS 4 powders were successfully synthesized via a mild solvothermal method using CuCl, ZnCl 2 , GeCl 4 , l -cystine, and N, N-dimethylformamide as the precursors to realize the process at 200 °C for 24 h. XRD, FE-SEM, XPS, and TEM were employed to characterize the microstructures and constituents of the as-obtained Cu 2 ZnGeS 4 powders. The results showed that the crystalline phase of the as-obtained powders was Cu 2 ZnGeS 4 , and the size of the Cu 2 ZnGeS 4 powders ranged from 100 to 200 nm. UV–vis absorption spectrum showed that the Cu 2 ZnGeS 4 powders exhibited a broad absorption band with a band gap of 2.15 eV in the whole visible range.