Scalable synthesis of potential solar cell absorber Cu2SnS3 (CTS) from nanoprecursors

Abstract The present paper demonstrates an easy and scalable mechanochemical synthesis of ternary sulfide Cu 2 SnS 3 (CTS) as a promising solar cell absorber. For the synthesis, pre-milled nanoparticles of CuS and SnS were used. The pure CTS phase was readily obtained after 60 min of milling in a laboratory planetary ball mill and 240 min in an industrial eccentric vibration industrial mill, respectively. The reaction progress of laboratory scale synthesis was studied by the quantitative Rietveld analysis. The reaction speed reaches its maximum at 4.6 min and the reaction is completed at approximately 60 min, according to the fitted data. The products of the syntheses were further characterized by X-ray powder diffractometry, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV–Vis spectroscopy. The results revealed formation of near-stoichiometric CTS nanoparticles with tetragonal I -42 m symmetry. An average crystallites size of approximately 10–15 nm was determined for CTS phase. The SEM images support quintessential polydisperse character of the powders obtained by ball-milling approach. The materials seem to be suitable for photovoltaic applications with the band-gap energies of approximately 1.16–1.19 eV.