Characterizations of Cuprous Oxide Thin Films Prepared by Sol-Gel Spin Coating Technique with Different Additives for the Photoelectrochemical Solar Cell

D S C Halin,I A Talib,A R Daud,M A A Hamid

doi:10.1155/2014/352156

D S C Halin, I A Talib + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/352156

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Abstract

Cuprous oxide (Cu2O) thin films were deposited onto indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass substrate by sol-gel spin coating technique using different additives, namely, polyethylene glycol and ethylene glycol. It was found that the organic additives added had a significant influence on the formation of Cu2O films and lead to different microstructures and optical properties. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis). Based on the FESEM micrographs, the grain size of film prepared using polyethylene glycol additive has smaller grains of about 83 nm with irregular shapes. The highest optical absorbance film was obtained by the addition of polyethylene glycol. The Cu2O thin films were used as a working electrode in the application of photoelectrochemical solar cell (PESC).

Highlights

Cuprous oxide (Cu2O) has a cubic crystal structure with a lattice parameter of 4.27 Aand this material is suitable for solar cell applications
Cu2O thin film was deposited onto indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass using sol-gel technique with two different polymer additives such as polyethylene glycol and ethylene glycol because it is a soft bottom-up approach to achieve a good control over film composition and microstructure
photoelectrochemical solar cell (PESC) based on Cu2O thin films were fabricated and the current-voltage characteristic of PESC of ITO/Cu2O/PVCLiClO4/aluminum was studied under light illumination of 100 mW/cm2

Summary

Introduction

Cuprous oxide (Cu2O) has a cubic crystal structure with a lattice parameter of 4.27 Aand this material is suitable for solar cell applications. As a solar cell material, Cu2O has the advantages of low cost and great availability [1]. Armelao et al [10] used sol-gel dip coating technique to prepare Cu2O film with copper acetate and ethanol without any additive. Cu2O thin film was deposited onto indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass using sol-gel technique with two different polymer additives such as polyethylene glycol and ethylene glycol because it is a soft bottom-up approach to achieve a good control over film composition and microstructure. The purpose of this research is to prepare Cu2O thin film onto indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass substrate for photoelectrochemical solar cell application (PESC) by means of sol-gel spin coating technique and to investigate the behavior of Cu2O thin films under different additives. PESC based on Cu2O thin films were fabricated and the current-voltage characteristic of PESC of ITO/Cu2O/PVCLiClO4/aluminum was studied under light illumination of 100 mW/cm

Experimental

Results and Discussion

Conclusions