Photoelectrochemical performances of AgInS2 film electrodes fabricated using the sulfurization of Ag-In metal precursors

Ternary silver-indium-sulfide samples were deposited on various substrates using the sulfurization of Ag-In metal precursors. A new procedure for the deposition of AgInS2 samples is reported. The effect of the [Ag]/[In] molar ratio in metal precursors on the structural, morphological, and photoelectrochemical properties of the samples was examined. X-ray diffraction patterns of samples show that the films are in the polycrystalline AgInS2 phase. The thickness and direct band gap of the films were in the ranges of 1.1-1.2 mu m and 1.92-1.94 eV, respectively. The conduction type of all samples was n-type. The carrier concentration, mobility, and resistivity of samples were in the ranges of 1.5 x 10(13)-7.0 x 10(13) cm(-3), 2.6-14.8 cm(2)V(-1)s(-1), and 2.6 x 10(4)-3.5 x 10(4) Omega cm, respectively. It was found that the samples with an [Ag]/[In] molar ratio of 0.89 in Ag-In metal precursors had a maximum photoenhancement current density of 2.43 mAcm(-2) at an applied bias of +0.5 V vs. an Ag/AgCl electrode in contact with electrolyte containing 0.5 M K2SO4. The results show that high-quality AgInS2 films can be obtained using the sulfurization of Ag-In metal precursors for photoelectrochemical (PEC) applications. Crown Copyright (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.