Enhancing performance of SnS2 based self-powered photodetector and photocatalyst by Na incorporation

Abstract

Sn and S are environmentally friendly elements that are abundant in nature. The SnS2 compound formed with these elements has intrinsic n-type electrical conductivity and a direct forbidden band gap of ∼2.2 eV. Therefore, it is a very promising compound for visible light optoelectronic applications. In this study, SnS2thin films were coated on p-Si substrates and pn heterojunction structures were obtained. By adding certain amounts of Na element to SnS2, the photosensitivity of the heterojunction devices increased tremendously and reached a high value of 3.2 × 104 under zero bias condition. It was observed that the prepared devices had excellent speeds and stability with rise and decay times of as low as 28 m s and 23 m s. Moreover, the devices were found to be sensitive to visible light even at ultra-low light intensity of ∼0.3 μW/cm2. Furthermore, the responsivity and specific detectivity values of the prepared photodetectors reach very high values of 11 A/W and 8.4 × 1013 Jones at this low light intensity. The NEP value drops to a low level of 2.7 × 10−15 WHz −1/2. In addition, the photocatalytic properties of Na-doped and undoped SnS2 compound were also examined under visible LED light. Compared to undoped samples, photocatalytic efficiency increased by ∼42 % in Na-doped SnS2 thin films. The findings clearly reveal that Na improves both photodetector device performance and the photocatalytic effect of the SnS2 semiconductor.