Noninjection synthesis and characterization of Cu2ZnSnSe4 nanocrystals in triethanolamine reaction media

Single-phase and nearly stoichiometric quaternary Cu2ZnSnSe4 nanocrystals were successfully synthesized via a low-temperature and noninjection route in triethanolamine solution under an atmospheric pressure. Triethanolamine was considered as the reaction solvent, the reducing agent and the complexing agent. The noninjection approach features relatively mild synthetic conditions with high reproducibility and large-scale capability. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) analyses confirmed that the structure and the composition of the nanocrystals prepared by this method correspond to those of pure phase Cu2ZnSnSe4. The UV–vis–NIR data demonstrated that the band gap of the obtained Cu2ZnSnSe4 nanocrystals was 1.04 eV.