Synthesis and characterization of novel yttrium-incorporated copper selenide (CuSe:Y) thin materials for solar energy applications

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics 2022, Vol.33 (3), p.1154-1161
• Main Authors: Akpu, Nwamaka Ifeyinwa, Asiegbu, Anyalewechi Daniel, Nnanna, Lebe Agwu, Ikhioya, Imosobomeh Lucky, Mgbeojedo, Tochukwu Innocent
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Copper selenides; Dopants; Doping; Energy bands; Energy dispersive X ray spectroscopy; Energy gap; Materials Science; Optical and Electronic Materials; Optical properties; Photovoltaic cells; Preferred orientation; Selenium dioxide; Solar energy; Spray pyrolysis; Thin films; Yttrium
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-021-07397-x

Undoped and Y-doped CuSe with different dopant concentration (0.01–0.04 mol%) have been successfully synthesized using selenium (IV) oxide (SeO 2 ), copper (II) sulfate pentahydrate (CuSO 4 ⋅5H 2 O), and yttrium as sources of Cu 2+ , Se 2− , and Y 3+ ions, respectively, on glass slides via spray pyrolysis method. The impact of yttrium doping on the structural, compositional, morphological, electrical, and optical properties of CuSe were studied using X-ray diffractormeter, Scanning electron microscopy-SEM, Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy-EDX, four-point probe, and 756S UV–Visible spectrophotometer accordingly. The XRD result reveals that the deposited thin materials exhibited a polycrystalline cubic structure with preferred orientation along (200), while the EDX result affirms the existence of the fundamental elements deposited. The electrical studies result supported the fact that the thin films are semiconductors. The optical results revealed high absorbance, low transmittance, and narrowed energy band gap of CuSe films after adding yttrium dopant. Undoped CuSe recorded an energy band gap value of 3.0 eV which experienced a declined range from 2.81 to 2.50 eV upon Y doping. Addition of Y dopant was seen to improve the crystallinity of the films and narrowed the energy band gap of undoped CuSe, thereby boosting the performance of YCuSe for use as photovoltaic material and also a more reliable material for absorber layer in solar energy collection.