Low Temperature Synthesis and Characterization of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) Nanoparticle by Solution Based Solid State Reaction Method

Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) has emerged as a potential candidate in optoelectronic devices due to its non-toxicity, low cost and abundance of its constituents in earth's crust. Conventional CZTS synthesized techniques are either energy intensive or use toxic chemical. A modified, low temperature solid state reaction route for synthesis of CZTS nanoparticles using metal acetates, thiourea and SnCl2 is demonstrated. Synthesis of stoichiometric amount of these precursors at 250 °C for 1 h is sufficient to form single phase. Synthesised powder was characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and UV–visible (UV–vis) absorption spectrumm. Band gap of as prepared CZTS was found to be around 1.45 eV, which is appropriate for use as absorber layer in a thin film solar cell.