Synthesis of Cu2ZnSnSe4 hierarchical nanostructures by colloidal method

Synthesis of Cu2ZnSnSe4 nanostructures have turned large interest among researchers. Among the other methods, colloidal method based synthesis of Cu2ZnSnSe4 nanostructures using non-aqueous solvents has been a subject of study in recent years. In the present work, different morphologies of Cu2ZnSnSe4 nanoparticles were synthesized using oleylamine (OLAM), oleic acid (OLA) and 1-octadecene (1-ODE) as solvents. It was found that the particles were of non-spherical in shape when OLAM was used and its morphology was significantly varied when equal volume of the OLA and 1-ODE was used. This clearly indicate the considerable influence of coordinating and non-coordinating solvents on morphology. In addition to this, hierarchical nanostructures of CZTSe were obtained when mixed solvents of OLAM/OLA with 1-ODE were used. X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) shows the presence of tetragonal CZTSe through its characteristic peaks at (112), (204), and (312) planes. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis clearly shows its morphological variations which depended upon the solvent and solvent mixture. EDX analysis shows presence of elements Cu, Zn, Sn, Se in the synthesized products and non-stoichiometric in nature with deficient of Zn and Sn. The mechanism of influence and role of solvents in tuning of different morphology was analysed. The results are discussed in detail.