Crystalline α-Sm2S3 nanowires: Structure and optical properties of an unusual intrinsically degenerate semiconductor

► Developed a rapid synthetic method to generate thin films of α-Sm2S3 nanowires. ► Calculated the electronic structure of α-Sm2S3 by density functional theory. ► Predicted that α-Sm2S3 is an intrinsically degenerate p-type semiconductor. ► Found that the gap in the band states of α-Sm2S3 could be engineered to 1.3 eV via sulfur vacancy.