Abstract
Eco-friendly tin sulfide (SnS) thin films were deposited by chemical solution process using varying concentrations of a sulfur precursor (thioacetamide, 0.50–0.75 M). Optimized thioacetamide concentrations of 0.6 and 0.7 M were obtained for the preparation of single-phase SnS and SnS2 films for photovoltaic absorbers and buffers, respectively. The as-deposited SnS and SnS2 thin films were uniform and pinhole-free without any major cracks and satisfactorily adhered to the substrate; they appeared in dark-brown and orange colors, respectively. Thin-film studies (compositional, structural, optical, and electrical) revealed that the as-prepared SnS and SnS2 films were polycrystalline in nature; exhibited orthorhombic and hexagonal crystal structures with (111) and (001) peaks as the preferred orientation; had optimal band gaps of 1.28 and 2.92 eV; and exhibited p- and n-type electrical conductivity, respectively. This study presents a step towards the growth of SnS and SnS2 binary compounds for a clean and economical power source.
Highlights
In recent years, inorganic semiconductors have been employed to generate clean energy in various optoelectronic and electrochemical fields, mainly because of their high stability under atmospheric conditions [1,2,3,4,5]
The effect of TA concentration on the elemental composition and chemical states of elements was investigated by XPS
such as tin monosulfide (SnS) thin films were prepared using chemical solution process by varying the films deposited at various TA concentrations were determined using Hall effect studies
Summary
Inorganic semiconductors have been employed to generate clean energy in various optoelectronic and electrochemical fields, mainly because of their high stability under atmospheric conditions [1,2,3,4,5]. SnS crystallizes in an orthorhombic structure with the Pnma space group [7] and exhibits excellent optoelectrical properties such as a strong absorption coefficient (> 105 cm−1 ) with direct optical band gap energy ranging from 1.16 to 1.79 eV [8,9] and p-type conductivity with a carrier concentration of the order of 1011 –1018 cm−3 [10], which are suitable for thin-film photovoltaic absorbers. SnS2 has a relatively high optical band gap in the range of 2.04–3.30 eV [17] with direct transitions and exhibits n-type conductivity These promising characteristics make SnS a suitable absorber candidate material. Optimizing the concentration the precursor is highly preferable to obtain high-quality films for the desired applications.
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