A New Facile Route for the Preparation of Single-Source Precursors for Bulk, Thin-Film, and Nanocrystallite I−III−VI Semiconductors

We report a new simplified synthetic procedure for commercial manufacture of ternary single-source precursors (SSPs). This new synthetic process has been successfully implemented to fabricate known SSPs on bulk scale and the first liquid SSPs to the semiconductors CuInSe₂ and AgIn_xS_y. Single crystal X-ray determination reveals the first unsolvated ternary AgInS SSP. SSPs prepared via this new route have successfully been used in a spray assisted chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process to deposit polycrystalline thin films, and for preparing ternary nanocrystallites.