Low temperature deposition of silver sulfide thin films by AACVD for gas sensor application

► Silver sulfide thin films were deposited by aerosol assisted chemical vapor deposition from a single source precursor [Ag(S2CN (C2H5)2)3]2 (1). ► The precursor (1), prepared in high yield by simple reported chemical procedure, was characterized and undergoes facile decomposition at 400 °C. ► The deposited thin films were characterized by SEM, EDX and XRD which suggests the formation of impurity-free mesoporous Ag2S, with well defined particles evenly distributed in the range of 0.3-0.5 μm. ► The optical bandgap energy of the thin film was estimated, and it is about 1.33 eV. ► The thin films were investigated for the gas sensor applications.