Morphological and thermal properties of β-SnS2 crystals grown by spray pyrolysis technique

In this work, β-SnS2 crystals were grown on glass substrates by the spray pyrolysis technique using tin chloride and thiourea precursors. Ex-situ characterizations of the crystals by means of scanning electron microscope, atomic force microscope and X-ray diffraction measurements have revealed a homogeneous and relatively smooth surface. The X-ray diffraction analysis of 910 nm thick β-SnS2 layers grown at substrate temperature Ts=280 °C revealed an obvious crystallographic orientation in the hexagonal phase with a strong (0 0 1) diffraction line. Microprobe analyses as well as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy show the presence of undesirable phase of SnO2. On the other hand, the photothermal properties have been studied, the thermal diffusivity was Dc=16.2×10−6 m2 s−1.