Zinc cadmium phosphide arsenide ( Zn- Cd- P- As) is a quaternary system of group II (

IUPAC The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC ) is an international federation of National Adhering Organizations working for the advancement of the chemical sciences, especially by developing nomenclature and terminology. It is ...

group 12) and group V (IUPAC

group 15 A pnictogen ( or ; from grc, πνῑ́γω "to choke" and -gen, "generator") is any of the chemical elements in group 15 of the periodic table. Group 15 is also known as the nitrogen group or nitrogen family. Group 15 consists of the ...

) elements. Many of the

inorganic In chemistry, an inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds, that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as ''inorganic chemist ...

compounds in the system are II-V

semiconductor material A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical conductivity value falling between that of a conductor, such as copper, and an insulator, such as glass. Its resistivity falls as its temperature rises; metals behave in the opposite way. ...

s. The quaternary system of II₃V₂ compounds, (Zn_1−xCd_x)₃(P_1−yAs_y)₂, has been shown to allow

solid solution A solid solution, a term popularly used for metals, is a homogenous mixture of two different kinds of atoms in solid state and have a single crystal structure. Many examples can be found in metallurgy, geology, and solid-state chemistry. The wor ...

continuously over the whole compositional range. This material system and its subsets have applications in

electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

optoelectronics Optoelectronics (or optronics) is the study and application of electronic devices and systems that find, detect and control light, usually considered a sub-field of photonics. In this context, ''light'' often includes invisible forms of radiat ...

, including

photovoltaics Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially ...

, and

thermoelectrics Thermoelectric materials show the thermoelectric effect in a strong or convenient form. The ''thermoelectric effect'' refers to phenomena by which either a temperature difference creates an electric potential or an electric current creates a t ...

List of all binary compounds

This system of elements contains numerous binary compounds and their solid solutions.

Stable at atmospheric pressure

The binary compounds thermodynamically stable at

atmospheric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, ...

are listed in the following table:

Metastable or unstable at atmospheric pressure

Compounds metastable or unstable at atmospheric pressure are the following:

Quaternary compounds

The compounds of the form II₃V₂ have similar crystalline structures and exhibit full solid solution over the whole compositional range. The compounds of the form II-V₂ allow only partial solid solution.

Ternary compounds

The binary compounds in this system form a wide range of solid solutions. This miscibility reflects the close similarity of the structures of the binary phases. The IIV₂ compounds exhibit wide solid solution ranges with CdP₄ even though the stoichiometry and structures of the components differ. The optoelectronic and band properties of some ternary compounds have also been studied. For example, the bandgap of Zn₃(P_1−yAs_y)₂ solid solutions is direct and tunable from 1.0 eV to 1.5 eV. This solubility enables the fabrication of tunable nanowire photodetectors. The solid solution (Zn_1−xCd_x)₃As₂ exhibit a

topological In mathematics, topology (from the Greek words , and ) is concerned with the properties of a geometric object that are preserved under continuous deformations, such as stretching, twisting, crumpling, and bending; that is, without closing ...

phase transition at x ~ 0.62.

Notable binary compounds

Cadmium arsenide (Cd₃As₂)

Cadmium arsenide is a 3D Dirac

semimetal A semimetal is a material with a very small overlap between the bottom of the conduction band and the top of the valence band. According to electronic band theory, solids can be classified as insulators, semiconductors, semimetals, or metals ...

exhibiting the

Nernst effect In physics and chemistry, the Nernst effect (also termed first Nernst–Ettingshausen effect, after Walther Nernst and Albert von Ettingshausen) is a thermoelectric (or thermomagnetic) phenomenon observed when a sample allowing electrical conduct ...

Zinc phosphide (Zn₃P₂)

Zinc phosphide is a semiconductor material with a direct

band gap In solid-state physics, a band gap, also called an energy gap, is an energy range in a solid where no electronic states can exist. In graphs of the electronic band structure of solids, the band gap generally refers to the energy difference ( ...

of 1.5 eV used in photovoltaics. It is also used as a

rodenticide Rodenticides are chemicals made and sold for the purpose of killing rodents. While commonly referred to as "rat poison", rodenticides are also used to kill mice, squirrels, woodchucks, chipmunks, porcupines, nutria, beavers, and voles. Despi ...

in the

pest control Pest control is the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest; any animal, plant or fungus that impacts adversely on human activities or environment. The human response depends on the importance of the damage done and will range ...

industry.

Zinc arsenide (Zn₃As₂)

Zinc arsenide is a semiconductor material with a band gap of 1.0 eV.

References

External links

{{Phosphides II-V semiconductors Zinc compounds Cadmium compounds Arsenides Phosphides II-V compounds