Synthesis of Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} nanoparticles and controlling the morphology with polyethylene glycol

• Published in: Materials research bulletin 2016-05, Vol.77
• Main Authors: Rawat, Kusum, Department of Electronic Science, University of Delhi South Campus, Delhi 110021, Kim, Hee-Joon, Shishodia, P.K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY; CONCENTRATION RATIO; COPPER COMPOUNDS; MATERIALS SCIENCE; MORPHOLOGY; NANOPARTICLES; NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY; NANOSTRUCTURES; POLYETHYLENE GLYCOLS; RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY; SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY; SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS; SOLAR CELLS; SPIN-ON COATING; SURFACE PROPERTIES; THIN FILMS; THIOUREA; TIN SULFIDES; TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY; X-RAY DIFFRACTION; ZINC COMPOUNDS
• ISSN: 0025-5408; 1873-4227
• DOI: 10.1016/J.MATERRESBULL.2016.01.012

Highlights: • Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} nanoparticles were synthesized by wet chemical technique. • First report on the effect of using polyethylene glycol as a structure directing agent on Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} nanoparticles. • The morphology of Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} nanoparticles changes into nanoflakes and nanorods structures with polyethylene glycol concentration. • Polyethylene glycol assisted Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} nanoparticle film exhibits optical bandgap of 1.5 eV which is suitable for the application in solar cells. - Abstract: Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} nanoparticles were synthesized by wet chemical technique using metal thiourea precursor at 250 °C. The structural and morphological properties of as grown nanoparticles have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The influence of different concentration of polyethylene glycol as structure directing agent on the morphologies of Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} nanoparticles are investigated on thin films deposited by spin coating technique. The mean crystallite size of the Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} nanoparticles was found to improve with polyethylene glycol concentration. Scanning electron microscopy images of Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} revealed aggregated spherical shaped nanoparticles whereas the polyethylene glycol assisted Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} nanoparticle films show nanoflakes and nanorods structures with increasing concentration of polyethylene glycol. Transmission electron microscopy analysis has also been performed to determine the size and structure of nanorods. UV–vis absorption spectroscopy shows the broad band absorption with optical bandgap of 1.50 eV for polyethylene glycol assisted Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} films.