A mild solvothermal route to kesterite quaternary Cu2ZnSnS4 nanoparticles

✍ Scribed by M. Cao; Y. Shen

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 779 KB
• Volume: 318
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-0248
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2010.10.071

✦ Synopsis

Quaternary kesterite-type Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 (CZTS) nanoparticles for low-cost thin film solar cell were successfully synthesised using a relatively simple and convenient solvothermal route. Nanoparticles with diameters of about 5-10 nm were obtained at the temperature of 180 1C, analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The morphologies of the continuous CZTS films with satisfactory stoichiometry were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDXA). The crystallinity of CZTS nanoparticles was greatly improved by annealing in H 2 S (5%)/Ar mixed gases analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). High-resolution X-ray photo-emission spectroscopy (XPS) analysis of the four constituent elements confirmed the purity and composition of CZTS nanoparticles. UV-vis absorption spectra measurement indicated that the band gap of as-synthesised CZTS nanoparticles was about 1.5 eV, which was near the optimum value for photovoltaic solar conversion in a single-band-gap device.