Facile preparation and enhanced photoelectrical performance of Sb2Se3 nano-rods by magnetron sputtering deposition

•A simple route for Sb2Se3 nano-rods by sputtering at a substrate temperature 375 °C.•Regular nano-rods with well-crystallinity, P-type conduction, ideal band-gap.•Good response in photo-electrochemical cell and efficiency of 2.11 % in solar cell.

In this work, a simple and effective method for fabricating Sb2Se3 nano-rods films by magnetron sputtering Sb2Se3 alloy target at a substrate temperature of 375 °C is proposed. The thermally induced regular shape and vertically arrayed nano-rods exhibits a well-crystallized structure with a preferred crystallographic orientation of (221) and a stable valence of Sb3+ and Se 2−. The obtained thin film has a band-gap of 1.32 eV and a high absorption coefficient of 105 cm−1 in visible region. The photo-electrochemical measurements show that the Sb2Se3 nano-rods are p-type semiconductors with an excellent photo-response. A photovoltaic solar cell using the Sb2Se3 nano-rods film as absorber has demonstrated and a clear photovoltaic effect with an encouraging power conversion efficiency of 2.11% can be achieved.

Graphical abstractA simple and effective route for fabricating Sb2Se3 nano-rods films by magnetron sputtering Sb2Se3 alloy target at a substrate temperature of 375 °C. The relatively low substrate temperature of 375 °C was considered as very positive for obtaining regular shape and vertically arrayed nano-rods with well-crystallinity and P-type conduction and ideal optical band-gap. These interesting features have been used in the photo-electrochemical cell with an excellent response and the prototype photovoltaic devices with a conversion efficiency of 2.11%.Download high-res image (190KB)Download full-size image