Physical vapor deposition of SnS:PbS-dithiocarbamate chalcogenide semiconductor thin films: elucidation of optoelectronic and electrochemical features

Abstract

This work reports the first investigation on the physical vapor deposition of thin films of tin sulfide doped lead sulfide (SnS:PbS). In-situ synthesis route using diethyldithiocarbamate (DTC) ligand was adopted for SnS-DTC, PbS-DTC and SnS:PbS-DTC complex formation. PbS-DTC and SnS:PbS-DTC expressed an average crystallite size of 30.98 and 29.74 nm, respectively shown by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. A face centered cubic geometry was revealed from XRD. Ultraviolet visible spectrophotometry expressed a direct and indirect band gap of 3.4 and 3.2 eV, respectively for SnS:PbS-DTC. A smooth morphology with presence of larger agglomerated particles was disclosed by scanning electron microscopy for SnS:PbS-DTC thin films with 615 nm thickness. SnS:PbS-DTC thin films expressed remarkable electrochemical behavior explored via cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry and chronoamperometry showing an improvement in the photo-current response upon potential bias increment. The results of the current research indicated the potential of SnS:PbS-DTC thin films for utilization in different types of photovoltaic devices.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Bandgap
• dithiocarbamate
• photocurrent
• photovoltaics
• tin sulfide

Acknowledgements

Authors want to acknowledge National Centre for Physics, Pakistan for XRD analysis; National Institute of Vacuum Science & Technology, Pakistan for PVD films deposition; Experimental Physics Department (EPD), Pakistan for RBS analysis; School of Natural Sciences, National University of Science and Technology, Pakistan for CV, LSV and chrono-amperometric measurements and Institute of Space Technology, Pakistan for FE-SEM analysis. The concept, idea, data and writing are the intellectual property right of Dr. Khuram Shahzad Ahmad and Lab E-21 of Department of Environmental Sciences, Fatima Jinnah Women University, The Mall, 46000, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Author also want to thank Department of Environmental Sciences, Fatima Jinnah Women University, The Mall, 46000, Rawalpindi, Pakistan for the provisioning of the technical and financial facilities needed for the completion of this work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).