Template Selection Strategy for Synthesis of One-Dimensional CrSbSe₃ Ferromagnetic Semiconductor Nanoribbons.

Abstract

CrSbSe₃─the only experimentally validated one-dimensional (1D) ferromagnetic semiconductor─has recently attracted significant attention. However, all reported synthesis methods for CrSbSe₃ nanocrystals are based on top-down methods. Here we report a template selection strategy for the bottom-up synthesis of CrSbSe₃ nanoribbons. This strategy relies on comparing the formation energies of potential binary templates to the ternary target product. It enables us to select Sb₂Se₃ with the highest formation energy, along with its 1D crystal structure, as the template instead of Cr₂Se₃ with the lowest formation energy, thereby facilitating the transformation from Sb₂Se₃ to CrSbSe₃ by replacing half of the Sb atoms in Sb₂Se₃ with Cr atoms. The as-prepared CrSbSe₃ nanoribbons exhibit a length of approximately 5 μm, a width ranging from 80 to 120 nm, and a thickness of about 5 nm. The single CrSbSe₃ nanoribbon presents typical semiconductor behavior and ferromagnetism, confirming the intrinsic ferromagnetism in the 1D CrSbSe₃ semiconductor.