Insights into the role of strain engineering in tuning photovoltaic, photocatalytic, and thermoelectric properties of the multifunctional chalcogenide perovskites: BaHfS₃ and BaZrS₃

BaHfS₃ and BaZrS₃, two chalcogenide perovskites, show significant promise for next-generation optoelectronic devices due to their adjustable bandgaps, excellent carrier mobilities, and versatile properties. Using density functional theory (DFT) via the WIEN2k package, this study reveals their bandgap energies of 2.05eV and 1.63eV, respectively, situating them in the visible range and making them suitable for photovoltaic (PV) applications. Additionally, both materials satisfy thermodynamic criteria for hydrogen production through water splitting, confirming their photocatalytic potential. Their thermoelectric performance, measured by the figure of merit (ZT) also indicates moderate potential at elevated temperatures. Strain engineering further enhances the PV performance, where a biaxial compressive strain of −6% boosts power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) by 8.34% for BaHfS₃ and 3.30% for BaZrS₃. For photocatalysis, uniaxial and biaxial strains optimize optical absorption and water-splitting kinetics. Furthermore, the thermoelectric properties slightly improve under strain effect. These findings highlight the multifunctional potential of BaHfS₃ and BaZrS₃ for PV, photocatalytic, and thermoelectric applications, with strain engineering providing a robust strategy for performance optimization.