Influence of copper concentration on the opto-structural, morphological and electrical properties of novel MoSb2−xCuxSe2 thin films

In this work, MoSb2−xCuxSe2 nanocrystalline thin films obtained for different copper concentrations (0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 M) on glass substrates by simple chemical bath deposition (CBD) method at room temperature. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns revealed the incorporation of copper content by the conversion of orthorhombic Sb2Se3 into orthorhombic Cu3SbSe3 with shift to higher angles. Average crystallite was found to be 24, 36 and 39 nm for the deposited films. FESEM analysis indicates that morphological transition from spherical grains with cylindrical nanorods to porous nanofibers for 0.3 M and HRTEM confirms the FESEM results with an average grain size of 200 nm for 0.1 M Cu concentration. EDS analysis confirmed the formation of MoSb2−xCuxSe2 thin films. Current–Voltage (I–V) measurements clearly depicted the ohmic nature of the material in the entire region. Thickness of the films was found to be increased with increase in copper content. The band gap energy (Eg) of the film is in the range of 1.644–3.757 eV.