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Effect of supporting electrolyte concentration on one-step electrodeposited CuInS2 films for ZnS/CuInS2 solar cell applications

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Abstract

A one-step electrodeposition process was used to obtain CuInS2 (CIS) films on a molybdenum substrate by varying the supporting electrolyte (lithium chloride, LiCl) concentration. The as-deposited samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, profilometry, and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. From characterization, it was found that different concentrations of LiCl mainly lead to a morphological change in the obtained CIS films. Moreover, their chemical composition shifted to the stoichiometric composition for high concentrations of the supporting electrolyte. After annealing, the structural analysis from X-ray diffraction revealed that all samples crystallized in the tetragonal phase of CIS. In addition, it was found that the crystallite size increased for samples grown at higher concentrations of LiCl. Optical studies carried out by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy revealed that the band gap values increased from ~ 1.40 to ~ 1.45 eV (average) after the annealing process. Finally, zinc sulfide (ZnS) thin films were chemically deposited onto electrodeposited CIS films in order to evaluate the photovoltaic response of ZnS/CIS bilayer systems. We discovered that ZnS thin films covered the surface of CIS more effectively for the highest concentration of LiCl and that only the ZnS/CIS bilayer with the CIS film obtained at the highest concentration of LiCl showed a photovoltaic response.

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Data availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article. Other datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the use of Servicio General de Apoyo a la Investigación–SAI, Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain. C.A. Rodríguez acknowledges the valuable advice of Dra. Marcela Vázquez.

Funding

This work was financially supported by the Comisión Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONICYT) through the project FONDECYT Iniciación 11160368 and Gobierno de Aragón–Fondo Social Europeo (E14 17R).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Multidisciplinary Research Institute for Science and Technology, Universidad de La Serena, 1015 Juan Cisternas Av, La Serena, Chile

    C. A. Rodríguez & Adriana C. Mera

  2. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of La Serena, Campus Andrés Bello, 1305 Raúl Bitrán Av., La Serena, Chile

    C. A. Rodríguez, A. Delgadillo & Adriana C. Mera

  3. Thin Films and Electrochemical Process Laboratory, Departamento de Ingeniería de Materiales, Universidad de Concepción, 270 Edmundo Larenas St., Concepción, Chile

    J. Núñez & C. Carrasco

  4. Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Bío-Bío, Campus Fernando May, Chillán, Chile

    G. Cabello-Guzmán

  5. 4MAT, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 50 Roosevelt Av., CP 165/63, 1050, Brussels, Belgium

    M. P. Delplancke

  6. Department of Condensed Matter Physics, ICMA, Universidad de Zaragoza-CSIC, 50009, Zaragoza, Spain

    B. Villacampa

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  1. C. A. Rodríguez
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  7. B. Villacampa
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  8. C. Carrasco
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Correspondence to C. A. Rodríguez.

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Rodríguez, C.A., Delgadillo, A., Núñez, J. et al. Effect of supporting electrolyte concentration on one-step electrodeposited CuInS2 films for ZnS/CuInS2 solar cell applications. J Solid State Electrochem 24, 1405–1414 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-020-04622-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-020-04622-1

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