Investigation of photocatalytic activity (under visible light) of ultrathin CZTS films produced in different thicknesses by PLD method

Abstract

Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 material has been produced by Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) on Soda Lime Glass (SLG) substrates as a function of the number of laser pulses. As the deposition of ablated material has been augmented with increasing number of laser pulses, it has been observed that CZTS-ultrathin lm's thicknesses and particle sizes have been increased, their crystalline structures have been improved.Larger particles limit the transmission of light and cause thin lms to absorb more photons. Therefore, band gaps of CZTS-ultrathin lms have been reduced. CZTS (61 nm) ultrathin lm with the thinnest one among the thin lms produced in this work, which is Cu and S poor but Sn and Zn rich. By increasing the thickness of the lm, it has been observed that the amount of Cu and S were increased, and the ratio of Sn and Zn were decreased. In addition, it has been systematically investigated that the photocatalytic activity of the ultra-thin CZTS lms coated in different thicknesses by PLD method. Among all the photocatalysts, the CZTS (in 242 nm thickness) photocatalyst has exhibited the highest photocatalytic performance, managing to remove 96.1% of methylene blue (MB) in 240 min. Furthermore, the mechanism that performs photocatalysis has been investigated by scavenger experiments, and it was observed that radical ions have an important role in the reaction, while holes have little effect.

Microstrain effects of laser-ablated Au nanoparticles in enhancing CZTS-based 1 Sun photodetector devices

“…In this context, CZTS thin films offer an intriguing avenue for exploration, leveraging their unique properties to address these challenges. 4,5…”

“…In this context, CZTS thin films offer an intriguing avenue for exploration, leveraging their unique properties to address these challenges. 4,5 Light trapping methods increase the absorbency of thin films produced at very low thicknesses. Among these methods, plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) can be composed of Au, Cu, and Ag metals.…”

A Convenient In Situ Preparation of Cu2ZnSnS4–Anatase Hybrid Nanocomposite for Photocatalysis/Photoelectrochemical Water-Splitting Hydrogen Production

“…This optimized configuration significantly reduced defect-assisted recombination, thereby improving charge transfer and separation efficiencies. Notably, the half-cell solar hydrogen production efficiency of the optimized CZTSSe photocathode reached 6.47% [ 26 , 27 ]. These accomplishments underscore the promising potential of modified CZTS materials for efficient solar hydrogen production, highlighting the significant role CZTS-based materials could play in enhancing photocathode performance for solar-powered hydrogen generation.…”

Spin-Coated CZTS Film with a Gradient Cu-Deficient Interfacial Layer for Solar Hydrogen Evolution

“…It is clearly found that the CZTS-8-8-8, CZTS-8-6-6, and CZTS-8-6-4 samples display higher absorption in the visible light range (approximately 400−1100 nm) compared to the pure CZTS sample. This result could be attributed to the CZTS samples with larger crystallite size and denser film introduced by the incorporation of the GCD-layer, resulting in better coverage and lower light transmittance, 34,35 It is noted that the bandgap of the sample decreases with the introduction of the GCD-layer. To explain this phenomenon, we classified the CZTS, CZTS-8-8-8, CZTS-8-6-6, and CZTS-8-6-4 samples successively as (B-G)-type mixtures, (A-B)-type mixtures, (A-B)-type mixtures, and (A-B)-type mixtures (Figure S13), based on the results in Table S1 and the categorization method for nonstoichiometric kesterite-type materials.…”

“…It is clearly found that the CZTS-8-8-8, CZTS-8-6-6, and CZTS-8-6-4 samples display higher absorption in the visible light range (approximately 400–1100 nm) compared to the pure CZTS sample. This result could be attributed to the CZTS samples with larger crystallite size and denser film introduced by the incorporation of the GCD-layer, resulting in better coverage and lower light transmittance, , thereby leading to the prepared films having higher absorption. Notably, among all samples, CZTS-8-6-6 exhibits the strongest visible light absorption, while the CdS buffer layer shows extremely low light absorption.…”