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Electrochemical synthesis and characterization of zinc sulfide (ZnS) semiconducting thin films from citrate-based plating bath

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Abstract

The primary purpose of this article is to synthesize electrochemically a binary semiconductor material ZnS that is generally used for manufacturing solar cells. It has been shown that the properties and composition of the deposits are closely linked to the synthesis conditions, namely the applied potential, the electrolyte concentration and its composition. The electrodeposition was realized from an acidic medium with a pH ranging from 3.5 to 4.5 and containing respectively 0.02 M of zinc chloride (ZnCl2), 0.02 M of sodium thiosulphate (Na2S2O3), and 0.15 M of trisodium citrate (Na3C6H5O7) as complexing agent. The deposition mechanism of ZnS binary alloys was investigated using various electrochemical techniques. ZnS thin films were electrochemically deposited on a tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) substrate in one single step, at a potential of −1 V/SCE. The effects of the concentration ratio ([zinc]/[sulfur]) on the electrochemical, optical, and compositional properties of thin films as well as their surface morphology were also investigated.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support from the Algerian Ministry of Higher Education and the Faculty of Science and Technology at Mohamed El Bachir El Ibrahimi University in the city of Bordj Bou Arréridj - Algeria.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Matter Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, University Mohamed El Bachir El Ibrahimi of Bordj Bou Arréridj, 34030, El Anceur, Algeria

    Meriem Hamla

  2. Energetics and Solid-State Electrochemistry Laboratory (ESEL), Department of Processes Engineering, Faculty of Technology, Ferhat Abbas-Sétif 1 University, 19000, Sétif, Algeria

    Meriem Hamla, Mohamed Benaicha & Oualid Dilmi

  3. Laboratory of Mechanics and Materials Development, Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Djelfa, 17000, Djelfa, Algeria

    Yazid Chetbani

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  1. Meriem Hamla
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Contributions

MH is presently working as a research at the Department of Matter Sciences at the Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Bordj Bou Arréridj, Algeria. She played role in data curation, formal analysis, investigation and writing—original draft preparation. MB contributed to supervision, validation, review and editing. OD contributed to experimentation and investigation. YCH contributed to experimentation and investigation.

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Correspondence to Meriem Hamla.

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Hamla, M., Benaicha, M., Chetbani, Y. et al. Electrochemical synthesis and characterization of zinc sulfide (ZnS) semiconducting thin films from citrate-based plating bath. J Appl Electrochem 54, 1299–1307 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-023-02028-1

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