Dissertation Defense: Christopher Sharp, Chemistry

DISSERTATION DEFENSE

Christopher Sharp, Chemistry
*under the direction of Dr. Janet Macdonald

“Cation Exchange in Nanocrystals Towards Novel Ternary Copper Chalcogens”

12.02.22 | 1:00pm CST | 202 Light Hall (RLH) | Zoom

This thesis concerns the synthesis of copper chalcogen nanocrystals through cation exchange with focus on ternary intermediate and final products. Firstly, synthetic targeting of metastable and thermodynamic CuFeS₂ from Cu₂S hosts is demonstrated where electron donor strength dictates whether the hexagonal or tetragonal phase forms. Secondly, high surface area Cu_1.8S Roxbyite nanocubes are synthesized from a cubic SnS with copper-tin-sulfide intermediate shell structures. Finally, preliminary work on an auric ion exchange with Cu₂Se towards an unresolved copper gold selenide product is discussed.