Single molecular precursor ink for AgBiS2 thin films: synthesis and characterization

Gu E, Lin X, Tang X, Matt G, Osvet A, Hou Y, Jäger S, Xie C, Karl A, Hock R, Brabec C (2018)

Publication Language: English

Publication Status: Published

Publication Type: Journal article, Original article

Publication year: 2018

Journal

Publisher: ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY

Book Volume: 6

Pages Range: 7642-7651

Journal Issue: 28

DOI: 10.1039/c8tc01195h

Abstract

Recently, AgBiS2 has been demonstrated to be a promising non-toxic, earth-abundant absorber material for solar energy application. In this work, a novel route to deposit AgBiS2 thin films from single molecular precursor ink is presented. It is found that the amount of thiourea has a crucial impact on the formulation of a stable molecular ink. Understanding the coordination chemistry of the molecular precursor ink is important for getting better control over the thin film processing. With the assistance of Raman spectroscopy, possible complexation mechanisms and general coordination states within the molecular ink are studied. In addition, the influence of ink composition as well as the annealing temperature on the structure and morphology of resulting AgBiS2 films is systematically investigated. It is found that the crystallinity and particle size increase with higher annealing temperature. The obtained AgBiS2 thin films show a cubic structure with a preferred orientation in [111] direction. Optical and electrical measurements demonstrate that the obtained AgBiS2 is an indirect band gap material, which features two transition mechanisms with an indirect band gap of around 0.87 eV and a direct one of around 1.21 eV. The high absorption coefficient, low Urbach energy and fast transient photoconductivity confirm its potential as an absorber for photovoltaic applications.

Authors with CRIS profile

Involved external institutions

Bayerisches Zentrum für Angewandte Energieforschung e.V. (ZAE Bayern) Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Gu, E., Lin, X., Tang, X., Matt, G., Osvet, A., Hou, Y.,... Brabec, C. (2018). Single molecular precursor ink for AgBiS2 thin films: synthesis and characterization. Journal of Materials Chemistry C, 6(28), 7642-7651. https://doi.org/10.1039/c8tc01195h

MLA:

Gu, Ening, et al. "Single molecular precursor ink for AgBiS2 thin films: synthesis and characterization." Journal of Materials Chemistry C 6.28 (2018): 7642-7651.

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