Controllable synthesis of ternary ZnSxSe1-x nanowires with tunable band-gaps for optoelectronic applications

•High-quality ternary ZnSxSe1-x NWs with tunable band-gaps were synthesized.•The ternary ZnSxSe1-x NWs demonstrate excellent tunable optical properties.•The photodetector based on ZnS0.44Se0.56 NW exhibited a high responsivity, photoconductive gain and fast response speed.

High-quality ternary ZnSxSe1-x nanowires (NWs) with tunable band-gaps were synthesized by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. Photoluminescence (PL), absorption and Raman spectra were carried out to study their optical properties, revealing that the band-gaps of ZnSxSe1-x NWs can be accurately controlled and cover the entire range from 2.65 eV to 3.7 eV by changing the component ratio. Optoelectronic properties were further studied by constructing photodetectors (PDs), which exhibited a high responsivity of 1.5 × 106 A W−1, a photoconductive gain of 4.5 × 106 and fast response speed of 520/930 μs. Such high performances are superior to the previous reported results, indicating these ternary ZnSxSe1-x nanostructures will have great potential applications in nano-optoelectronic devices.