Electrodeposition, characterization and photo electrochemical properties of CdSe and CdTe

CdSe and CdTe are electrodeposited using 0.1 M Cd2+ and different ion concentrations of Se and Te. The effect of the temperature on the electrodeposition process is also studied. The crystal structure of the deposited CdSe and CdTe is investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of samples deposited at optimized parameters reveals that CdSe has spongy spherical grains while CdTe has coralloid morphology. Optical absorption shows the presence of direct transition with band gap energy 1.96 and 1.51 eV for CdSe and CdTe, respectively. The highest photo-conversion efficiencies of electrodeposited CdSe and CdTe films per unit area are 6% and 9.6%, respectively that achieved under simple laboratory conditions.