Abstract
The solubility of Bi3+ in aqueous solution is an important factor that limits the fabrication of high-quality Bi2S3 thin films. In order to find a low-cost method to manufacture high-quality Bi2S3 thin films, we are reporting the preparation of the Bi2S3 thin films based on pulse-plating method in this paper for the first time. The nano-bismuth particles were obtained by electroplating on fluorine-doped SnO2 (FTO)-coated conducting glass substrates with saturated bismuth potassium citrate solution as the electroplating bath, and then it was put into a muffle furnace to oxidize. Finally, the thin films depositing on FTO glass substrates were put into the thioacetamide solution for vulcanization. In the end, the Bi2S3 thin films were successfully prepared on FTO glass substrates. Different characterization techniques were used to characterize the structure, morphology and photoelectrochemical properties of the prepared thin films. The test results revealed that we used this method to synthesize the high-quality Bi2S3 thin films, thus the Bi2S3 materials synthesized through this method are promising candidates in photoelectrochemical application.
Highlights
Bismuth sulfide (Bi2S3) is an important inorganic semiconductor material of the V-VI group
The X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra of the thin films are shown in figure 2
The XRD peaks in figure 2a are from nano-bismuth coating that is compared with the bismuth standard pattern
Summary
Bismuth sulfide (Bi2S3) is an important inorganic semiconductor material of the V-VI group. Lin & Lee [21] prepared bismuth sulfide semiconductor-sensitized tin dioxide solar cells by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) process at room temperature. To circumvent the above-mentioned issues in the preparation of bismuth sulfide thin films and be consistent with the concept of green chemistry, we have employed a simple and economical green synthesis method to fabricate Bi2S3 thin films This is based on electroplating as a conventional effective technology to electrochemically deposit metal or alloy films in solutions. It has numerous advantages including fast deposition rate, adjustable film thickness and selective deposition assisted by pre-prepared patterns conducted at room temperature and atmospheric pressure [26] In this method, the non-toxic and harmless saturated bismuth potassium citrate solution is used as an effective electroplating solution that is soluble in aqueous solution. The preparation method is relatively simple and low cost with potential mass production of Bi2S3 thin films at industrial scale
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