Investigating the Effect of Steric Hindrance within CdS Single-Source Precursors on the Material Properties of AACVD and Spin-Coat-Deposited CdS Thin Films

[Image: see text] Cadmium sulfide (CdS) is an important semiconductor for electronic and photovoltaic applications, particularly when utilized as a thin film for window layers in CdTe solar cells. Deposition of thin-film CdS through the decomposition of single-source precursors is an attractive appr...

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Autores principales: Buckingham, Mark A., Norton, Kane, McNaughter, Paul D., Whitehead, George, Vitorica-Yrezabal, Inigo, Alam, Firoz, Laws, Kristine, Lewis, David J.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: American Chemical Society 2022
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9157504/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35583220
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.2c00616
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author Buckingham, Mark A.
Norton, Kane
McNaughter, Paul D.
Whitehead, George
Vitorica-Yrezabal, Inigo
Alam, Firoz
Laws, Kristine
Lewis, David J.
author_facet Buckingham, Mark A.
Norton, Kane
McNaughter, Paul D.
Whitehead, George
Vitorica-Yrezabal, Inigo
Alam, Firoz
Laws, Kristine
Lewis, David J.
author_sort Buckingham, Mark A.
collection PubMed
description [Image: see text] Cadmium sulfide (CdS) is an important semiconductor for electronic and photovoltaic applications, particularly when utilized as a thin film for window layers in CdTe solar cells. Deposition of thin-film CdS through the decomposition of single-source precursors is an attractive approach due to the facile, low-temperature, and rapid nature of this approach. Tailoring the precursor to affect the decomposition properties is commonly employed to tune desirable temperatures of decomposition. However, altering the precursor structure and the effect this has on the nature of the deposited material is an area far less commonly investigated. Here, we seek to investigate this by altering the ligands around the Cd metal center to increase the steric hindrance of the precursor and investigate the effect this has on the decomposition properties and the properties of deposited thin-film CdS from these precursors. For this, we report the synthesis of four CdS precursors with xanthate and pyridyl ligands ([Cd(n-ethyl xanthate)(2)(3-methyl pyridine)(2)] [1], [Cd(n-ethyl xanthate)(2)(3,5-lutidine)(2)] [2], [(Cd(2)(isopropyl xanthate)(4)(3-methyl pyridine)(2))(n)] [3], and [Cd(isopropyl xanthate)(2)(3,5-lutidine)(2)] [4]). These single-source precursors for CdS were fully characterized by elemental analysis, NMR spectroscopy, single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis. It was found that even with subtle alterations in the xanthate (n-ethyl to isopropyl) and pyridine (3-methyl and 3,5-dimethyl) ligands, a range of hexa-coordinate precursors were formed (two with cis configuration, one with trans configuration, and one as a one-dimensional (1D) polymer). These four precursors were then used in aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD) and spin-coating experiments to deposit eight thin films of CdS, which were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. Comparative quantitative information concerning film thickness and surface roughness was also determined by atomic force microscopy. Finally, the optical properties of all thin films were characterized by ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) absorption spectroscopy, from which the band gap of each deposited film was determined to be commensurate with that of bulk CdS (ca. 2.4 eV).
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spelling pubmed-91575042022-06-02 Investigating the Effect of Steric Hindrance within CdS Single-Source Precursors on the Material Properties of AACVD and Spin-Coat-Deposited CdS Thin Films Buckingham, Mark A. Norton, Kane McNaughter, Paul D. Whitehead, George Vitorica-Yrezabal, Inigo Alam, Firoz Laws, Kristine Lewis, David J. Inorg Chem [Image: see text] Cadmium sulfide (CdS) is an important semiconductor for electronic and photovoltaic applications, particularly when utilized as a thin film for window layers in CdTe solar cells. Deposition of thin-film CdS through the decomposition of single-source precursors is an attractive approach due to the facile, low-temperature, and rapid nature of this approach. Tailoring the precursor to affect the decomposition properties is commonly employed to tune desirable temperatures of decomposition. However, altering the precursor structure and the effect this has on the nature of the deposited material is an area far less commonly investigated. Here, we seek to investigate this by altering the ligands around the Cd metal center to increase the steric hindrance of the precursor and investigate the effect this has on the decomposition properties and the properties of deposited thin-film CdS from these precursors. For this, we report the synthesis of four CdS precursors with xanthate and pyridyl ligands ([Cd(n-ethyl xanthate)(2)(3-methyl pyridine)(2)] [1], [Cd(n-ethyl xanthate)(2)(3,5-lutidine)(2)] [2], [(Cd(2)(isopropyl xanthate)(4)(3-methyl pyridine)(2))(n)] [3], and [Cd(isopropyl xanthate)(2)(3,5-lutidine)(2)] [4]). These single-source precursors for CdS were fully characterized by elemental analysis, NMR spectroscopy, single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis. It was found that even with subtle alterations in the xanthate (n-ethyl to isopropyl) and pyridine (3-methyl and 3,5-dimethyl) ligands, a range of hexa-coordinate precursors were formed (two with cis configuration, one with trans configuration, and one as a one-dimensional (1D) polymer). These four precursors were then used in aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD) and spin-coating experiments to deposit eight thin films of CdS, which were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. Comparative quantitative information concerning film thickness and surface roughness was also determined by atomic force microscopy. Finally, the optical properties of all thin films were characterized by ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) absorption spectroscopy, from which the band gap of each deposited film was determined to be commensurate with that of bulk CdS (ca. 2.4 eV). American Chemical Society 2022-05-18 2022-05-30 /pmc/articles/PMC9157504/ /pubmed/35583220 http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.2c00616 Text en © 2022 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Permits the broadest form of re-use including for commercial purposes, provided that author attribution and integrity are maintained (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Buckingham, Mark A.
Norton, Kane
McNaughter, Paul D.
Whitehead, George
Vitorica-Yrezabal, Inigo
Alam, Firoz
Laws, Kristine
Lewis, David J.
Investigating the Effect of Steric Hindrance within CdS Single-Source Precursors on the Material Properties of AACVD and Spin-Coat-Deposited CdS Thin Films
title Investigating the Effect of Steric Hindrance within CdS Single-Source Precursors on the Material Properties of AACVD and Spin-Coat-Deposited CdS Thin Films
title_full Investigating the Effect of Steric Hindrance within CdS Single-Source Precursors on the Material Properties of AACVD and Spin-Coat-Deposited CdS Thin Films
title_fullStr Investigating the Effect of Steric Hindrance within CdS Single-Source Precursors on the Material Properties of AACVD and Spin-Coat-Deposited CdS Thin Films
title_full_unstemmed Investigating the Effect of Steric Hindrance within CdS Single-Source Precursors on the Material Properties of AACVD and Spin-Coat-Deposited CdS Thin Films
title_short Investigating the Effect of Steric Hindrance within CdS Single-Source Precursors on the Material Properties of AACVD and Spin-Coat-Deposited CdS Thin Films
title_sort investigating the effect of steric hindrance within cds single-source precursors on the material properties of aacvd and spin-coat-deposited cds thin films
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9157504/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35583220
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.2c00616
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