Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Vol.382, 48-52, 2012
Synthesis of colloidal nanoscaled copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS) particles for photovoltaic applications
In this work, Cu(ln,Ga)Se-2 (CIGS) nanoparticles were synthesized using a wet chemical method. The method is based on a non-vacuum thermal process that does not use selenization. The effects of temperature, source materials, and growth conditions on the phase and particle size were investigated. X-ray diffraction results confirm the formation of a tetragonal CIGS structure as the main phase with the purity more than 99% obtained by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The morphology and size of the samples were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Using these methods, 20-80 nm particles were obtained. Through measurements of the absorption spectra of CIGS nanoparticles, the band gap of the synthesized material was determined to be about 1.44 eV, which corresponds to an acceptable wavelength region for absorber layers in solar cells. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.