Structural, morphological and electrical characteristics of electrodeposited Cu2O: Effect of deposition time

• Published in: Applied surface science 2016-03, Vol.366, p.383-388
• Main Authors: Messaoudi, O., assaker, I. Ben, Gannouni, M., Souissi, A., Makhlouf, H., Bardaoui, A., Chtourou, R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Carrier density; COPPER OXIDE; Cu2O; CUPROUS OXIDE; Density; DEPOSITION; Deposition time; Diffraction; Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy; ELECTRODEPOSITION; Electrodes; Film thickness; Reflectance; THIN FILMS
• ISSN: 0169-4332; 1873-5584
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2016.01.035

•Cu2O thin films were prepared by electrodeposition method.•The X-Ray Diffraction demonstrated that the films were pure.•From Mott–Schottky measurements, all the films showed a p-type semiconductor character.•The Cu2O thin films are expected to have an advantage in photovoltaic application. In this work, a new contribution to the knowledge of thickness (or deposition time) dependence of structural, morphological and optical properties is reported, as well as the electrochemical behavior of the Cu2O electrode/(NaOH) electrolyte solution interface. According to these studies, X-ray diffraction revealed that all films are mainly crystallized in Cu2O cubic phase characterized by the preferential orientation along (111) plane. Optical measurements show that both values of reflectance and film thickness increase when increasing the deposition time, unlike the band gap energy which decreases with time. Using the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy data, the interface was modeled as an equivalent circuit approach. From the Mott–Schottky measurements, the flat-band potential and the acceptor density for the Cu2O thin films are determined. All the films showed a p-type semiconductor character with a carrier density varying between 0.949×1017cm−3 and 6×1017cm−3.