Sb₂S₃ grown by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis and its application in a hybrid solar cell

Abstract

Chemical spray pyrolysis (CSP) is a fast wet-chemical deposition method in which an aerosol is guided by carrier gas onto a hot substrate where the decomposition of the precursor chemicals occurs. The aerosol is produced using an ultrasonic oscillator in a bath of precursor solution and guided by compressed air. The use of the ultrasonic CSP resulted in the growth of homogeneous and well-adhered layers that consist of submicron crystals of single-phase Sb2S3 with a bandgap of 1.6 eV if an abundance of sulfur source is present in the precursor solution (SbCl3/SC(NH2)2 = 1:6) sprayed onto the substrate at 250 °C in air. Solar cells with glass-ITO-TiO2-Sb2S3-P3HT-Au structure and an active area of 1 cm2 had an open circuit voltage of 630 mV, short circuit current density of 5 mA/cm2, a fill factor of 42% and a conversion efficiency of 1.3%. Conversion efficiencies up to 1.9% were obtained from solar cells with smaller areas.

Full‐Inorganic Thin Film Solar Cell and Photodetector Based on “Graphene‐on‐Antimony Sulfide” Heterostructure

“…Raman spectroscopy also showed the same phenomenon (Figure S3b, Supporting Information). The stibnite phase of Sb 2 S 3 was confirmed by the appearance of two strong peaks at 281 and 305 cm −1 , the relatively weak peaks at 189 and 236 cm −1 and weak shoulder at 126 and 155 cm −1 , which were in perfect agreement with previously reported results . Peaks at 155, 189, and 280 cm −1 were attributed to Ag modes and the peaks at 128, 236, and 305 cm −1 were correlated to B1g modes of vibration .…”

“…Peaks at 155, 189, and 280 cm −1 were attributed to Ag modes and the peaks at 128, 236, and 305 cm −1 were correlated to B1g modes of vibration . For the as‐deposited film, there was a weak peak at 115 cm −1 point out the presence of α‐Sb 2 O 3 phases in trace quantity . However, the existence of the secondary phases could not be detected in XRD pattern.…”

“…The stibnite phase of Sb 2 S 3 was confirmed by the appearance of two strong peaks at 281 and 305 cm À1 , the relatively weak peaks at 189 and 236 cm À1 and weak shoulder at 126 and 155 cm À1 , which were in perfect agreement with previously reported results. [32][33][34][35] Peaks at 155, 189, and 280 cm À1 were attributed to Ag modes and the peaks at 128, 236, and 305 cm À1 were correlated to B1g modes of vibration. [33] For the as-deposited film, there was a weak peak at 115 cm À1 point out the presence of α-Sb 2 O 3 phases in trace quantity.…”

“…[33] For the as-deposited film, there was a weak peak at 115 cm À1 point out the presence of α-Sb 2 O 3 phases in trace quantity. [34,35] However, the existence of the secondary phases could not be detected in XRD pattern. The weakening of the Raman peak of Sb 2 O 3 after the sulfurization was seen in Figure S3b, Supporting Information, suggesting a decrease the oxide phase in Sb 2 S 3 layer.…”

“…It has a suitable band gap for the absorption of visible light (from 1.7 to 2.2 eV depending on crystal size), along with a high absorption coefficient (α > 5 Â 10 4 cm À1 ). [5][6][7] Various approaches have been proposed to prepare Sb 2 S 3 thin films, including chemical bath deposition (CBD), [8][9][10][11] spray pyrolysis, [12,13] spin coating, [14] thermal evaporation, [15][16][17][18] and atomic layer deposition (ALD). [19,20] Among these methods, thermal evaporation is an attractive process that allows preparation of materials at large scale and can eliminate the impurity phase, avoid deep oxide defects, and reduce the time needed for crystal growth.…”