Tuning the morphology of metastable MnS films by simple chemical bath deposition technique

•MnS films with diverse morphological features were prepared without any complexing agent.•The change in morphology of MnS films may be due to the “oriented aggregation”.•The dual role (as sulfur source and structure directing agent) of thiourea was observed.•Sulfur source concentration induced enhancement in the crystallization of films.

In the present investigation, we have prepared the spherical particles, almond-like, and cauliflower-like morphological structures of metastable MnS films on glass substrate by chemical bath deposition technique at low temperature without using any complexing or chelating agent. The morphological change of MnS films with molar ratio may be due to the oriented aggregation of adjacent particles. The compositional purity of deposited film was confirmed by the EDAX study. X-ray diffraction and micro-Raman studies confirm the sulfur source concentration induced enhancement in the crystallization of films with metastable MnS phase (zinc-blende β-MnS, and wurtzite γ-MnS). The shift in PL emission peak with molar ratio may be due to the change in optical energy band gap of the MnS, which was further confirmed by the optical absorbance study. The paramagnetic behavior of the sample was confirmed by the M-H plot.

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