Portrait of a UK-Africa Capacity Building Initiative Consortium 2015-2022: the Cameroon, Ghana, South Africa and United Kingdom Materials Initiative (CaGSUMI) for developing materials for solar cells.

The CaGSUMI consortium was funded by the Royal Society-Department for International Development (later the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office) on the Africa Capacity Building Initiative programme between the years 2015 and 2022 and involved three Sub-Saharan African universities: Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana, University of Yaoundé I, Cameroon, and the University of Zululand, South Africa; and the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom. The project was used to cement an emergent UK-Africa network in the areas of materials chemistry related to renewable energy generation with both thin films and nanomaterials. The consortium's outputs led to numerous publications of African science in international journals, a number of graduated PhDs who went on to permanent academic positions and prestigious fellowships, the establishment of a capacity-building plan relevant to the chemistry departments in each of the African countries, and the installation of a number of first-in-kind pieces of kit for African laboratories that will keep them on a competitive footing at an international level for the next decade and more.

Ni(II)-Salophen-Comprehensive Analysis on Electrochemical and Spectral Characterization and Biological Studies.

New aspects of the Ni(II)-salophen complex and salophen ligand precursor were found during deep electrochemical and optical characterization, as well as biological studies for new pharmacological applications. Physicochemical and spectroscopic methods (H- and C-NMR, FT-IR and UV-Vis, electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and molar conductance measurements) were also used to prove that the salophen ligand acts as a tetradentate and coordinates to the central metal through nitrogen and oxygen atoms. The electrochemical behavior of the free Schiff salophen ligand (H) and its Ni(II) complex (Ni(II)) was deeply studied in tetrabutylammonium perchlorate solutions in acetonitrile via CV, DPV, and RDE.

Thiourea-Derived Single-Source Molecular Precursor For Spin-Coated PbS Thin Films.

In search of a suitable single-source precursor for the deposition of nanostructured PbS thin films at moderate temperatures under ambient conditions, we have synthesized the ligand N-(thiomorpholine-4-carbothioyl)benzamide and its corresponding lead(II) complex. The structures of both compounds were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. In the complex, two ligands coordinate to a lead(II) atom in hemi-directed geometry through S and O atoms.

Comparative study on the effect of precursors on the morphology and electronic properties of CdS nanoparticles.

Cadmium dithiocarbamate and cadmium ethyl xanthate complexes were synthesized and characterized by microanalysis, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analyses. The complexes were employed as molecular precursors for the fabrication of CdS nanoparticles in hexadecylamine (HDA) and oleylamine (OLA) at a temperature of 250 °C. Spherical and oval shaped particles with sizes ranging from 9.

Synthesis of (Bi Sb )S solid solutions thermal decomposition of bismuth and antimony piperidinedithiocarbamates.

The synthesis of the complete range of (Bi Sb )S solid solutions, where 0 ≤ ≤ 1, by the variation of the mole ratio of bismuth and antimony piperidine dithiocarbamate complexes is reported. There was a near linear expansion of and lattice parameters as the mole ratio of the antimony precursor was increased. The composition of the particles directionally followed the amount of precursor ratio used.

Heterocyclic Bismuth(III) Dithiocarbamato Complexes as Single-Source Precursors for the Synthesis of Anisotropic Bi2 S3 Nanoparticles.

New complexes catena-(μ2 -nitrato-O,O')bis(piperidinedithiocarbamato)bismuth(III) (1) and tetrakis(μ-nitrato)tetrakis[bis(tetrahydroquinolinedithiocarbamato)bismuth(III)] (2) were synthesised and characterised by elemental analysis, FTIR spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The single-crystal X-ray structures of 1 and 2 were determined. The coordination numbers of the Bi(III) ion are 8 for 1 and ≥6 for 2 when the experimental electron density for the nominal 6s(2) lone pair of electrons is included.

Synthesis of anisotropic PbS nanoparticles using heterocyclic dithiocarbamate complexes.

We report the synthesis of lead piperidine and lead tetrahydroquinoline dithiocarbamate (DTC) complexes and their use as single source precursors for the preparation of anisotropic PbS nanoparticles. The complexes were thermolysed in coordinating solvents such hexadecylamime (HDA), tri-n-octylphosphine oxide (TOPO), oleylamine (OA) and decylamine (DA) at various reaction temperatures. The variation of the reaction conditions and precursors produced PbS particles with shapes ranging from spheres to cubes and rods.