Crystalline $\alpha $-samarium sesquisulfide nanowires: structure and electronic properties of an unusual intrinsically degenerate semiconductor

We report that $\alpha $-phase samarium sesquisulfide ($\alpha $-Sm2S3) intrinsically takes on an electronic structure similar to that of a heavily degenerate p-type semiconductor by means of UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy and first-principles calculations. When prepared by chemical vapor deposition, these samples were found to have a tendency to crystallize as bundles of nanowires. Additional characterizations using high-resolution electron microscopy, along with selected area electron diffraction and X-ray diffraction, were applied to verify the matching of the modeled structure of $\alpha $-Sm2S3 to that of the experimentally measured material. We expect this compound to be intrinsically well suited for potential applications in the p-type elements of diode devices such as in photovoltaic devices and thermo-electric converters.