The non-aqueous chemical bath deposition of Sb2S3 thin films using SbCl3-thioacetamide complex solution in DMF and the photovoltaic performance of the corresponding solar cells

Abstract

Abstract The Sb2S3 seed layer was deposited on the TiO2 compact layer by repeated step-by-step spin-coating 6.67 mM SbCl3 solution in methanol and 10 mM Na2S solution in methanol/water (v/v, 95/5) to induce the non-aqueous chemical bath deposition of the Sb2S3 thin film. The precursor solution of 40 mM SbCl3 and 80 mM thioacetamide in DMF was pretreated at 100 °C for 120 min to prevent the dissolution of the Sb2S3 seed layer. The Sb2S3 thin film with the thickness of 80 nm was successfully grown on the Sb2S3 seed layer at 120 °C for 80 min using the pretreated precursor solution of SbCl3-thioacetamide complex in DMF. The corresponding solar cells with the architecture of FTO/TiO2 compact layer/Sb2S3 thin film/spiro-OMeTAD/Au achieved an open-circuit voltage of 0.60 V, a short-circuit photocurrent density of 11.15 mA·cm−2, a fill factor of 0.40 and a photoelectric conversion efficiency of 2.70%. The non-aqueous chemical bath deposition using SbCl3-thioacetamide complex solution in DMF can provide a new approach for the preparation of the Sb2S3 thin film.