Heterostructured CIGS–Au nanoparticles: from Au–CIGS side-by-side structure to Au-core/CIGS-shell configuration

Heterostructured Au-Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) nanoparticles (nps) with Au-CIGS side-by-side and Au-core/CIGS-shell configurations have been synthesized in a controllable manner using seed mediated growth. Detailed microstructure analysis reveals that (112) planes in the tetragonal chalcopyrite CIGS serve as the predominant termination surfaces during single phase CIGS nanoparticle growth. Preferential nucleation of Au on such planes determines the Au-CIGS side-by-side configuration when the pre-synthesized CIGS nps are used as the seeds for further Au growth. Reversing the growth sequence by employing Au nano-seeds results in Au-core/CIGS-shell configuration, as determined by the non-preferential nucleation of CIGS on the spherical Au nanoparticle surface. The different morphological configurations of the heterostructures are found to modify the surface plasmon resonance of Au in the corresponding samples.