Photoelectrochemical characterization of Bi 2Se 3 thin films deposited by SILAR technique

Abstract

Bi 2Se 3 thin films have been deposited by simple and less investigated successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique onto fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrates at room temperature (27 °C). The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies indicate that Bi 2Se 3 thin films are nanocrystalline. These films are used for photoelectrochemical (PEC) characterization in cell with configuration as n-Bi 2Se 3/0.1 M polysulfide/C. The studies such as current–voltage characteristics in dark and light, photovoltaic power output, transient photoresponse, and capacitance–voltage have been carried out. The study reveals that fill factor and power conversion efficiency of the cell are low (0.43 and 0.032%, respectively).The flat bond potential is found to be −0.04 V (SCE).