Growth and Characterization of p-Type and n-Type Sb 2 Se 3 for Use in Thin-Film Photovoltaic Solar Cell Devices

Musa Abubakar Bilya (), Aleksey Nabok, Yashodhan P. Purandare, Ashfaque E. Alam () and I. M. Dharmadasa
Additional contact information
Musa Abubakar Bilya: Materials and Engineering Research Institute (MERI), Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK
Aleksey Nabok: Materials and Engineering Research Institute (MERI), Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK
Yashodhan P. Purandare: Materials and Engineering Research Institute (MERI), Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK
Ashfaque E. Alam: Materials and Engineering Research Institute (MERI), Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK
I. M. Dharmadasa: Materials and Engineering Research Institute (MERI), Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 2, 1-17

Abstract: In this study, a two-electrode electrodeposition technique was employed to grow thin films of antimony selenide (Sb 2 Se 3 ) on glass/fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates. The highest quality thin films were consistently obtained within the range of 1600 mV to 1950 mV. Subsequent electrodeposition experiments were conducted at discrete voltages to produce various layers of thin films. Photoelectrochemical cell (PEC) measurements were performed to characterize the semiconductor material layers, leading to the identification of both p-Type and n-Type conductivity types. Optical absorption spectroscopic analysis revealed energy bandgap values ranging from 1.10 eV to 1.90 eV for AD-deposited Sb 2 Se 3 samples and 1.08 eV to 1.68 eV for heat-treated Sb 2 Se 3 samples, confirming the semiconducting nature of the Sb 2 Se 3 material. Additionally, other characterization techniques, including X-ray diffraction analysis, reveal that the AD-deposited layers are almost amorphous, and heat treatment shows that the material is within the orthorhombic crystalline system. Heat-treated layers grown at ~1740 mV showed highly crystalline material with a bandgap nearing the bulk bandgap of Sb 2 Se 3 . Raman spectroscopy identified vibrational modes specific to the Sb 2 Se 3 phase, further confirming its crystallinity. To explore the thin-film morphology, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was employed, revealing uniformly deposited material composed of grains of varying sizes at different voltages. Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) confirmed the presence of antimony and selenium in the material layers.

Keywords: Sb 2 Se 3 semiconductor material; electrodeposition; cyclic voltammetry; PEC; XRD; Raman spectroscopy; SEM and EDX (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/2/406/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/2/406/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:2:p:406-:d:1318730

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().