Successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) trend for nanocrystalline mercury sulfide thin films growth

Mercury sulfide (HgS) nanocrystalline thin films have been grown onto amorphous glass substrate by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) trend at room temperature (27 °C). The optimized preparative parameters including ion concentration, number of immersion cycles, and pH of the solution are used for fine nanocrystalline film growth. A further study has been made for the structural, surface morphological, optical and electrical properties of the films by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), optical absorption and dc two point probe method. The as-deposited grown HgS nanocrystalline films exhibited cubic phase, with optical band gap (Eg) of 2.0 eV and electrical resistivity of the order of 103 Ω cm. SEM and TEM images confirmed films of smooth surface morphology and nanocrystaline in nature with fine crystallites of 20–30 nm diameter, respectively.