Ternary GePdS3: 1D van der Waals Nanowires for Integration of High-Performance Flexible Photodetectors

One-dimensional (1D) van der Waals (vdW) materials are anticipated to leverage for high-performance, giant polarized, and hybrid-dimension photodetection owing to their dangling-bond free surface, intrinsic crystal structure, and weak vdW interaction. However, only a few related explorations have been conducted, especially in the field of flexible and integrated applications. Here, high-quality 1D vdW GePdS3 nanowires were synthesized and proven to be an n-type semiconductor. The Raman vibration and band gap (1.37-1.68 eV, varying from bulk to single chain) of GePdS3 were systemically studied by experimental and theoretical methods. The photodetector based on a single GePdS3 nanowire possesses fast photoresponse at a broadband spectrum of 254-1550 nm. The highest responsivity and detectivity reach up to ∼219 A/W and ∼2.7 × 1010 Jones (under 254 nm light illumination), respectively. Furthermore, an image sensor with 6 × 6 pixels based on GePdS3 nanowires is integrated on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate and exhibits sensitive and homogeneous detection at 808 nm light. These results indicate that the ternary noble metal chalcogenides show great potential in flexible and broadband optoelectronics applications.