Preparation and characterization of Cu2SnS3 ternary semiconductor nanostructures via the spray pyrolysis technique for photovoltaic applications

Abstract

Thin films of Cu2SnS3 have been deposited by the spray pyrolysis technique. Various Sn/Cu molar ratios (from 0.0 to 1.0) were applied, which allowed the study of the copper tin sulfide phase. Structural, morphological and compositional analyses have been carried out using x-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The pure CuS thin film showed the covellite phase with hexagonal crystal structure, and with increasing the Sn/Cu molar ratio, the films grown were crystallized with triclinic Cu2SnS3 ternary phase. Optical measurement analysis showed that the deposited layers have a relatively high absorption coefficient (∼105 cm−1) in the visible spectrum, about one order of magnitude higher than in other published reports. Also these layers presented a reduction of about 1 eV in the values of band gap from 2.57 to 1.58 eV with an increment in the Sn/Cu molar ratio from 0.0 to 1.0. The electrical properties studies showed that all these samples are p-type semiconductors and the resistivity decreases with increasing the Sn/Cu molar ratio.