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 CuInSe(2) and AgIn(x)S(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.