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Abstract
The selective removal of Cu2-x(S,Se) impurity phases from Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 (CZTSSe) and Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) thin films is a major barrier to achieving high efficiencies in solar cells based on these films. A toxic and hazardous potassium cyanide (KCN) solution is commonly used as a selective etchant to remove Cu2-x(S,Se) from CZTSSe and CIGS thin films. Herein, we report the selective removal of Cu2-x(S,Se) compounds from kesterite CZTSSe thin films using a mixture of ethylenediamine and 2-mercaptoethanol, a safer chemical mixture than KCN. We found that Cu2-xS and kesterite CZTS nanocrystals dissolve in this mixture in seconds and 6 hours, respectively, while wurtzite CZTS nanocrystals do not dissolve even after 6 hours. Etching CZTSSe thin films containing small amounts of Cu2-x(S,Se) phases for 20 minutes removes the Cu2-x(S,Se) phases completely.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 5814-5821 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Green Chemistry |
Volume | 18 |
Issue number | 21 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2016 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© The Royal Society of Chemistry.
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Dive into the research topics of 'Selective removal of Cu2-:X(S,Se) phases from Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 thin films'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 2 Finished
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MRSEC IRG-2: Sustainable Nanocrystal Materials
Kortshagen, U. R. (Coordinator), Aydil, E. S. (Senior Investigator), Campbell, S. A. (Senior Investigator), Francis, L. F. (Senior Investigator), Haynes, C. L. (Senior Investigator), Hogan, C. (Senior Investigator), Mkhoyan, A. (Senior Investigator), Shklovskii, B. I. (Senior Investigator) & Wang, X. (Senior Investigator)
11/1/14 → 10/31/20
Project: Research project
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University of Minnesota MRSEC (DMR-1420013)
Lodge, T. P. (PI)
11/1/14 → 10/31/20
Project: Research project