Improvement in Optoelectronic Properties of Bismuth Sulphide Thin Films by Chromium Incorporation at the Orthorhombic Crystal Lattice for Photovoltaic Applications

Abstract

By using the chemical bath deposition approach, binary bismuth sulphides (Bi2S3) and chromium-doped ternary bismuth sulphides (Bi2−xCrxS3) thin films were effectively produced, and their potential for photovoltaic applications was examined. Structural elucidation revealed that Bi2S3 deposited by this simple and cost-effective method retained its orthorhombic crystal lattice by doping up to 3 at.%. The morphological analysis confirmed the crack-free deposition, hence making them suitable for solar cell applications. Optical analysis showed that deposited thin films have a bandgap in the range of 1.30 to 1.17 eV, values of refractive index (n) from 2.9 to 1.3, and an extinction coefficient (k) from 1.03 to 0.3. From the Hall measurements, it followed that the dominant carriers in all doped and undoped samples are electrons, and the carrier density in doped samples is almost two orders of magnitude larger than in Bi2S3. Hence, this suggests that doping is an effective tool to improve the optoelectronic behavior of Bi2S3 thin films by engineering the compositional, structural, and morphological properties.

Pentacoordinated Organotin(IV) Complexes as an Alternative in the Design of Highly Efficient Optoelectronic and Photovoltaic Devices: Synthesis and Photophysical Characterization

“…The presence of PEDOT:PSS and graphene considerably decreases film absorption, and the film with the 1d complex has the lowest absorption. It is important to consider that α is in the range 10 3 –10 4 cm −1 , confirming its potential as a transparent material for solar applications [ 62 ].…”

“…The E U values of hybrid films were calculated from the slope of the exponential edge and are shown in Table 5 . As a reference, the value of E U is zero in a perfect semiconductor [ 62 ]. The highest E U belongs to the film with the 1a complex, and the lowest E U belongs to the film with the 1c complex.…”

“…Apparently, the phenyl substituent favors electron delocalization, a better overlap among the complex molecules and a larger integration into the PEDOT:PSS-graphene matrix. While these E U values are larger than those for some inorganic semiconductor films, such as Bi 2 S 3 (0.26 eV) and Bi 2−x Cr x S 3 (0.35 eV) [ 62 ], they are nevertheless in the same range as those for inorganic semiconductor films, such as Er-doped ZnO (0.49–0.67 eV) [ 64 ]. They are also in the same range as those for hybrid films of the polymer:fullerene blend type, such as polyphenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (0.42–0.48 eV) [ 61 ].…”

Engineering the optical properties of nickel sulphide thin films by zinc integration for photovoltaic applications

“…In eqn (6), d represents the d spacing of lines in the XRD pattern; h, k, and l are miller indices; and a, b, and c represent the lattice constants.…”

“…However, current progress in the generation of energy using solar cells is not sufficient enough to meet the requirements of clean energy owing to the high cost of photovoltaics. [5][6][7] Nickel sulde is an important transition metal sulphide, with the potential to be used as a solar cell material. 8 Owing to its characteristics of metal-insulator and phase-changing paramagnetic-antiferromagnetic material, it has attracted attention.…”