Significantly enhancing the stability of a Cu₂ZnSnS₄ aqueous/ethanol-based precursor solution and its application in Cu₂ZnSn(S,Se)₄ solar cells

Abstract

In this work, we report a systematic investigation on the stability of a metal/thiourea aqueous/ethanol-based precursor solution used for fabricating Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin films.

Influencing Mechanism of the Selenization Temperature and Time on the Power Conversion Efficiency of Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4-Based Solar Cells

“…[1][2][3][4] Various deposition methods for the fabrication of CZTSSe films have been reported, including co-evaporation, 5-7 sputtering, [8][9][10][11] electrochemical deposition, [12][13] and solution deposition, [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] etc. CZTSSe-based solar cells with the highest efficiency (12.7%) have been fabricated by a hydrazine-based solution approach, which is promising as well in the light of the production cost.…”

Enhanced efficiency of Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 solar cells via anti-reflectance properties and surface passivation by atomic layer deposited aluminum oxide

“…electrodeposition and solution processing). [8][9][10][11] However, due to the complexity of multernary materials, it is difficult to obtain high quality CZTSSe lms with a low density of defects and states at the interface between CZTSSe and CdS. Thus, CZTSSe devices suffer from an open-circuit voltage (V oc ) decit caused by the signicant recombination of photo-excited carriers due to the existence of large amounts of defects/states at the interface between CZTSSe and CdS.…”

A review on applications of Cu2ZnSnS4 as alternative counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells

“…133 Thiosulfate transforms H 2 S and sulphate anion through disproportionation reaction where H 2 S acts as an in-situ sulfide source of CZTS and sulphate anion functioning as a protective layer on the as prepared CZT precursor. Xiao et al (2015) demonstrated that the low-toxicity 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) can play an important role as an auxiliary ligand in the precursor solution during the synthesis of CZTS which can avoid precipitation and noticeably improve stability of the precursor solution from ∼3 hours to 1 week. 134 Coughlan et al (2015) have investigated the evolution pathway of CZTS nanocrystals revealing that copper sulfide nanoparticles form in the early stages of the reaction before the progressive incorporation of tin and zinc to form stoichiometric CZTS by varying the copper precursor salt and amine concentration.…”

“…Xiao et al (2015) demonstrated that the low-toxicity 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) can play an important role as an auxiliary ligand in the precursor solution during the synthesis of CZTS which can avoid precipitation and noticeably improve stability of the precursor solution from ∼3 hours to 1 week. 134 Coughlan et al (2015) have investigated the evolution pathway of CZTS nanocrystals revealing that copper sulfide nanoparticles form in the early stages of the reaction before the progressive incorporation of tin and zinc to form stoichiometric CZTS by varying the copper precursor salt and amine concentration. 135 Plasmonic Au Nanoparticle core is actually helps to CZTS nanocrystalline shell in a core-shell mechanism manner to develop Au@CZTS coreshell nanostructures which actually enhance the efficiency of the device as reported by .…”