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Phase separation in wurtzite CuInxGa1−xS2 nanoparticles

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Abstract

It has earlier been reported that that the gallium incorporation in wurtzite CuInS2 (CIS) results in structural distortion, non-homogeneous shape, and distribution of particles. However, a detailed study of the effect of Ga substitution on the structure and morphology has not been reported. Here, we report the synthesis of nanocrystalline CuInxGa1−xS2 (x = 1, 0.7, 0.5, 0.3, and 0) wurtzite particles by solution processing in a nitrogen atmosphere. Structural analyses by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that the as-synthesized CuInS2 (CIS) and CuGaS2 (CGS) nanoparticle were single-phase wurtzite structures, whereas CuIn0.7Ga0.3S2, CuIn0.5Ga0.5S2, and CuIn0.3Ga0.7S2 had three wurtzite phases having In-rich, In–Ga, and Ga-rich compositions. The shape of the resulting nanoparticles was either elongated, polygonal, or tadpole depending on the phase composition. In-rich particles had elongated rod-like morphology, the In–Ga particles were irregular hexagonal/equiaxed, while the Ga-rich phase formed with a tadpole morphology. The bandgap of the wurtzite-CuInxGa1−xS2 increased with Ga substitution: from 1.49 eV for CIS to 2.0 eV for CGS.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the DST-SERB, New Delhi, for the financial support through grant sanction no. ECR/2016/000854. Authors would also like to thank DST for the FIST grant to establish the microscopy facility.

Funding

This study was funded by Department of Science and Technology-Science and Engineering Research Board (DST-SERB) (ECR/2016/000854).

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  1. Department of Ceramic Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, UP, 221005, India

    Maurya Sandeep Pradeepkumar & Md. Imteyaz Ahmad

  2. Department of Metallurgical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, UP, 221005, India

    Avnish Singh Pal, Ankit Singh & Joysurya Basu

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  1. Maurya Sandeep Pradeepkumar
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Pradeepkumar, M.S., Pal, A.S., Singh, A. et al. Phase separation in wurtzite CuInxGa1−xS2 nanoparticles. J Mater Sci 55, 11841–11855 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-020-04844-8

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