Preparation and photoelectrochemical applications of chemically synthesized Sb-doped p-AgIn5S8 film electrodes

Chemically synthesized Sb-doped p-type AgIn5S8 films with several parameters, such as ratios of Sb/Ag in the reaction solution and multiple depositions of films, were grown on indium–tin-oxide coated glass substrates in this study. The X-ray diffraction patterns of samples show the cubic AgIn5S8 phase in these films. The thicknesses, energy band gaps, and carrier densities of these samples were in the ranges of 537–776 nm, 1.71–1.73 eV, and 6.57×1014–8.82×1014 cm−3, respectively. The maximum photocurrent density of samples with an external potential of −3.5 V vs. a Pt electrode was found to be −5.02 mA/cm2 under illumination using a 300 W Xe lamp system.