Scanning electrochemical microscopy studies of micropatterned copper sulfide (CuxS) thin films fabricated by a wet chemistry method

Abstract

Patterned copper sulfide (CuxS) microstructures on Si (111) wafers were successfully fabricated by a relatively simple solution growth method using copper sulfate, ethylenediaminetetraacetate and sodium thiosulfate aqueous solutions as precursors. The CuxS particles were selectively deposited on a patterned self-assembled monolayer of 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane regions created by photolithography. To obtain high quality CuxS films, preparative conditions such as concentration, proportion, pH and temperature of the precursor solutions were optimized. Various techniques such as optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction, optical absorption and scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) were employed to examine the topography and properties of the micro-patterned CuxS films. Optical microscopy and AFM results indicated that the CuxS micro-pattern possessed high selectivity and clear edge resolution. From combined X-ray diffraction analysis and optical band gap calculations we conclude that Cu9S5 (digenite) was the main phase within the resultant CuxS film. Both SECM image and cyclic voltammograms confirmed that the CuxS film had good electrical conductivity. Moreover, from SECM approach curve analysis, the apparent electron-transfer rate constant (k) in the micro-pattern of CuxS dominated surface was estimated as 0.04cm/s. The SECM current map showed high edge acuity of the micro-patterned CuxS.