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The influence of DMSO on the formation and photoelectrochemical properties of CdS thin films by electrodeposition method

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Abstract

The homodispersed CdS nanoparticles were prepared on Sn-doped indium oxide substrates (ITO) to form smooth and uniform CdS thin films by electrodeposition method from a dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solution containing cadmium chloride and sulfur. The structure and morphologies of samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The results indicate that DMSO played an important role in formation of CdS nanofilms by affecting the nucleation and growth of the CdS nanoparticles. So, a DMSO-assisted growth process was proposed as a plausible mechanism for the formation of smooth and uniform CdS nanofilms. According to the photoelectrochemical test, the CdS thin film prepared in 30 % DMSO + 70 % H2O system exhibited maximum photocurrent and open circuit potentials. This is because the deposited CdS nanoparticles had better dispersity on ITO, which facilitated the propagation and kinetic separation of photogenerated charges.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by Shanxi Provincial Key Innovative Research Team in Science and Technology (201513002-10), National Natural Science Foundation of China (51402209, 21176169), Youth Science and Technology Research Fund of Shanxi province(2015021075), Youth Development Fund of Taiyuan University of Technology (2013Z033) and Zhejiang Provincial Science and Technology Key Innovation Team (No. 2011R50012), and Key Laboratory No. 2013E10022.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Interface Science and Engineering in Advanced Materials, Taiyuan University of Technology, Ministry of Education, Taiyuan, 030024, People’s Republic of China

    Qianqian Shen, Jinbo Xue, Husheng Jia & Bingshe Xu

  2. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, People’s Republic of China

    Qianqian Shen, Jinbo Xue, Xuguang Liu, Husheng Jia & Xuefeng Yang

  3. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, People’s Republic of China

    Xuguang Liu

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  1. Qianqian Shen
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  2. Jinbo Xue
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Correspondence to Jinbo Xue or Husheng Jia.

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Shen, Q., Xue, J., Liu, X. et al. The influence of DMSO on the formation and photoelectrochemical properties of CdS thin films by electrodeposition method. J Solid State Electrochem 21, 19–26 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-016-3314-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-016-3314-4

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