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Synthesis and Characterization of Phase-pure Copper Zinc Tin Sulfide (Cu2ZnSnS4) Nanoparticles

Monahan, Bradley Michael
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1404732007

Abstract Details

2014, Master of Science, University of Toledo, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
Semiconductor nanoparticles have been an important area of research in many different disciplines. A substantial amount of this work has been put toward advancing the field of photovoltaics. However, current p-type photovoltaic materials can not sustain the large scale production needed for future energy demands due to their low elemental abundance. Therefore, Earth abundant semiconductor materials have become of great interest to the photovoltaic community especially, the material copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS), also known by its mineral name kesterite. CZTS exhibits desirable properties for photovoltaics, such as elemental abundance, high absorption coefficient (~104 cm-1), high carrier concentration, and optimum direct band gap (1.5 eV). To date, solution based approaches for making CZTS have yielded the most promising conversion efficiencies in solar cells. To that end, the motivation of nanoparticle based inks that can be used in high throughput production are an attractive route for large scale deployment. This has driven the need to make high quality CZTS nanoparticles that possess the properties of the pure kesterite phase with high monodispersity that can be deposited into dense thin films. The inherent challenge of making a quaternary compound of a single phase has made this a difficult task; however, some of those fundamental problems are addressed in this thesis. This had resulted in the synthesis of phase-pure k-CZTS confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, UV-visible absorption spectroscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. Furthermore, ultra-fast laser spectroscopy was done on CZTS thin films made from phase-pure kesterite nanoparticles synthesized in this work. This thesis provides new data that directly probes the lifetime of photogenerated free carriers in kesterite CZTS (k-CZTS) thin films.
Terry Bigioni, PhD (Advisor)
Dragan Isailovic, PhD (Committee Member)
Wendell Griffith, PhD (Committee Member)
71 p.
Materials Science; Physical Chemistry
CZTS; Kesterite; Nanoparticle; Nanocrystal; Free Carriers; Earth Abundant; Semiconductors; Photoluminescence; Monodisperse;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Monahan, B. M. (2014). Synthesis and Characterization of Phase-pure Copper Zinc Tin Sulfide (Cu2ZnSnS4) Nanoparticles [Master's thesis, University of Toledo]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1404732007

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Monahan, Bradley. Synthesis and Characterization of Phase-pure Copper Zinc Tin Sulfide (Cu2ZnSnS4) Nanoparticles. 2014. University of Toledo, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1404732007.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Monahan, Bradley. "Synthesis and Characterization of Phase-pure Copper Zinc Tin Sulfide (Cu2ZnSnS4) Nanoparticles." Master's thesis, University of Toledo, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1404732007

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

toledo1404732007
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© 2014, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Toledo and OhioLINK.