Abstract
The purpose of this work is to study the influence of the annealing temperature on the structural, morphological, compositional and optical properties of CuSbSe2 thin films electrodeposited in a single step. CuSbSe2 thin films were grown on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO)/glass substrates using the aqueous electrodeposition technique, then annealed in a tube furnace under nitrogen at temperatures spanning from 250 to 500 °C. The resulting films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis, Raman spectroscopy and UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The annealing temperature plays a fundamental role on the films structural properties; in the range 250–350 °C the formation of pure CuSbSe2 phase from electrodeposited binary selenides occurs. From 400 to 500 °C, CuSbSe2 undergoes a preferential phase orientation change, as well as the increasing formation of copper-rich phases such as Cu3SbSe3 and Cu3SbSe4 due to the partial decomposition of CuSbSe2 and to the antimony losses.
Highlights
The increasing global demand for energy and the urgent need to move from fossil fuels to renewable sources impose the rapid increase of photovoltaic (PV) installations
Based mainly on the work of Tang et al [14,15], in this study we report the synthesis of CuSbSe2 thin films by one-step electrodeposition, followed by a detailed study of the effect of annealing on the electrodeposited films
Linear Sweep Voltammetry formedFigure at the2 potential of −0.4 V/saturated calomel electrode (SCE) without stirring for 30 min at room temper shows the voltammogram of fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO)-coated electrode in the Cu–Sb–Se soludeposit thevoltammograms layers
Summary
The increasing global demand for energy and the urgent need to move from fossil fuels to renewable sources impose the rapid increase of photovoltaic (PV) installations. The most used absorber materials for thin film solar cells are CdTe and. Cd there is a strong need to develop new materials for thin film solar cells. The focus of this work is on CuSbSe2 thin films, a promising candidate for infrared detectors [5], thermoelectric [6], photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical applications [7]. CuSbSe2 is a chalcogenide semiconductor that meets the main properties required for thin film solar cells absorber: direct and ideal band gap (at 1.1 eV) and high absorption coefficient (α > 104 cm−1 ) [8]. According to a theoretical study by Goyal et al, the high absorption in CuSbSe2 is due to the lone pair 5s2 electron present in trivalent “Sb” [9]
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