Synthesis of Iron Sulfide and Iron Oxide Nanocrystal Thin Films for Green Energy Applications

Solar radiation and hydrogen generation via splitting water molecules have been recognized as sustainable and clean energy sources having great industrial potentials. In this regard, thin film materials for photovoltaic and photoanodes applications have been widely developed in the last decade. For thin film photovoltaic applications, taking material availability, extraction/processing cost, energy conversion efficiency, and eco-friendliness into account, FeS2 (pyrite) has been predicted to hold the leading position among the most plausible candidates such as Cu2S, Cu2O, CuO, etc. On the other hand, feasible water splitting on nanostructured surface and/or hybrid nanostructures has been observed in the last few years. In terms of processing cost, feasibility in scale-up for mass production, material engineering for efficiency, etc., physical vapor depositions (PVDs), e.g., magnetron-sputtering deposition, have great advantages. Here, we present our recent studies on synthesis of iron sulfide and oxide layered and nanostructured films by combining PVD and thermal vapor sulfurization/oxidation techniques.