A mechanochemical route to single phase Cu2ZnSnS4 powder

• Mechanochemical synthesis of phase pure kesterite powder.
• Determination of the cation distribution using neutron diffraction.
• Partial disorder for copper and zinc observed.

With respect to absorber materials in solar cells, Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) has been a focus of interest in recent years. In this work, a new route leading to single phase CZTS powders is presented. For structural characterization X-ray and neutron powder diffraction measurements were performed. Further structural and compositional analysis of the CZTS powder was carried out by means of X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) and wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (WDS). The obtained CZTS powder with an actual composition of Cu2.00(4)Zn1.02(2)Sn0.99(2)S4.00(8) adopts the kesterite-type structure. A detailed cation distribution analysis using the average neutron scattering length method revealed a partial disorder of copper and zinc on the (2c) and (2d) sites.