Preparation and characterization of Cu2ZnSnS4 microparticles via a facile solution route

With a novel solvent triethylenetetramine, Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) microparticles were successfully synthesized by a facile solution-chemical method under the open-air condition. Phase constituents, morphology, structure, and optical properties of the as-prepared CZTS microparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectra, scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectrophotometry. The results showed that the synthesized CZTS microparticles had single phase, good crystallinity and stoichiometric composition. The X-ray diffraction pattern showed that the CZTS microparticles had a kesterite structure. Moreover, the prepared products showed the morphology of microparticles with size ranging from 250-500 nm, and their energy band gaps were 1.5 eV which made them promising candidates as absorber materials for photovoltaic applications. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.