Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Cubic, orthorhombic and amorphous SnS thin films on flexible plastic substrates by CBD

  • Published:
Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Tin sulfide (SnS) thin films were successfully deposited on acetate plastics substrates by chemical bath deposition at 70 °C by 2 h varying the pH value. SnS films exhibited good adherence, compact and uniform. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results showed that it is possible to obtain cubic, amorphous, and orthorhombic crystalline structures for SnS films depending on the pH value in a range from 8.24 to 10.93. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed a morphological transformation of SnS films from spherical shape to flakes shape for cubic and orthorhombic structures, respectively. The pH variation influences on SnS films stoichiometry, for low pH the S/Sn ratio is 0.15 while for pH around of 10.45 the S/Sn ratio is 0.90 which is near-stoichiometric. Raman studies confirm SnS vibrational modes associated with cubic and orthorhombic structure. Optical properties also were modified varying the pH and the absorption coefficients are larger than 104 cm−1 for all SnS films deposited on acetate plastic substrates. The band gap values were obtained from 1.08 to 1.72 eV and associated with cubic, amorphous, and orthorhombic SnS. The results suggest that it is possible to modify the crystalline structure, band gap, and S/Sn ratio varying the pH value, and this work promotes the application of SnS in flexible devices.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. V. Krishnamurthi, H. Khan, T. Ahmed, A. Zavabeti, S.A. Tawfik, S.K. Jain, M.J.S. Spencer, S. Balendhran, K.B. Crozier, Z. Li, L. Fu, M. Mohiuddin, M.X. Low, B. Shabbir, A. Boes, A. Mitchell, C.F. McConville, Y. Li, K. Kalantar-Zadeh, N. Mahmood, S. Walia, Liquid-metal synthesized ultrathin SnS layers for high-performance broadband photodetectors. Adv. Mater. 32(45), 1–10 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  2. M.S. Mahdi, H.S. Al-Arab, H.S. Al-Salman, K. Ibrahim, N.M. Ahmed, A. Hmood, M. Bououdina, A high-performance near-infrared photodetector based on π-SnS phase. Mater. Lett. 273, 127910 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Y. Shan, Y. Li, H. Pang, Applications of tin sulfide-based materials in lithium-ion batteries and sodium-ion batteries. Adv. Funct. Mater. 30(23), 1–31 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. F. Ballipinar, Tin sulfide (SnS) thin-film solar cells deposited by organic chemical vapor sulfurization based on CdS and high transmittance Cd(S, O) n-type layers with the superstrate device structure. MRS Commun. 10(4), 660–666 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. C. Gao, H. Shen, L. Sun, Z. Shen, Chemical bath deposition of SnS films with different crystal structures. Mater. Lett. 65(9), 1413–1415 (2011)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. U. Chalapathi, B. Poornaprakash, S.H. Park, Growth and properties of cubic SnS films prepared by chemical bath deposition using EDTA as the complexing agent. J. Alloys Compd. 689, 938–944 (2016)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. A.R. Garcia-Angelmo, R. Romano-Trujillo, J. Campos-Álvarez, O. Gomez-Daza, M.T.S. Nair, P.K. Nair, Thin film solar cell of SnS absorber with cubic crystalline structure. Phys. Status Solidi Appl. Mater. Sci. 212(10), 2332–2340 (2015)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. J. Breternitz, R. Gunder, H. Hempel, S. Binet, I. Ahmet, S. Schorr, Facile bulk synthesis of π-Cubic SnS. Inorg. Chem. 56(19), 11455–11457 (2017)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. K. Hartman, J.L. Johnson, M.I. Bertoni, D. Recht, M.J. Aziz, M.A. Scarpulla, T. Buonassisi, SnS thin-films by RF sputtering at room temperature. Thin Solid Films 519(21), 7421–7424 (2011)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. C. Gao, H. Shen, Influence of the deposition parameters on the properties of orthorhombic SnS films by chemical bath deposition. Thin Solid Films 520(9), 3523–3527 (2012)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. O.V. Bilousov, Y. Ren, T. Törndahl, O. Donzel-Gargand, T. Ericson, C. Platzer-Björkman, M. Edoff, C. Hägglund, Atomic layer deposition of cubic and orthorhombic phase tin monosulfide. Chem. Mater. 29(7), 2969–2978 (2017)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. M. Calixto-Rodriguez, H. Martinez, A. Sanchez-Juarez, J. Campos-Alvarez, A. Tiburcio-Silver, M.E. Calixto, Structural, optical, and electrical properties of tin sulfide thin films grown by spray pyrolysis. Thin Solid Films 517(7), 2497–2499 (2009)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. H. Kafashan, F. Jamali-Sheini, R. Ebrahimi-Kahrizsangi, R. Yousefi, Influence of growth conditions on the electrochemical synthesis of SnS thin films and their optical properties. Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater. 23(3), 348–357 (2016)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Yanuar, F. Gustavino, C. Linares, K. Djessas, G. Masse, SnS thin films grown by close-spaced vapor transport. J. Mater. Sci. Lett. 19(23), 2135–2137 (2000)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. J.A. Andrade-Arvizu, M.F. García-Sánchez, M. Courel-Piedrahita, J. Santoyo-Morales, D. Jiménez-Olarte, M. Albor-Aguilera, O. Vigil-Galán, Pressure induced directional transformations on close spaced vapor transport deposited SnS thin films. Mater. Des. 110, 878–887 (2016)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. L. Zhu, L. Wang, F. Xue, L. Chen, J. Fu, X. Feng, T. Li, Z.L. Wang, Piezo-phototronic effect enhanced flexible solar cells based on n-ZnO/p-SnS core–shell nanowire array. Adv. Sci. 4(1), 1600185 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. N.M. Hung, C.V. Nguyen, V.K. Arepalli, J. Kim, N.D. Chinh, T.D. Nguyen, D.B. Seo, E.T. Kim, C. Kim, D. Kim, Defect-induced gas-sensing properties of a flexible SnS sensor under UV illumination at room temperature. Sensors 20(19), 1–17 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  18. M.S. Mahdi, K. Ibrahim, A. Hmood, N.M. Ahmed, S.A. Azzez, F.I. Mustafa, A highly sensitive flexible SnS thin film photodetector in the ultraviolet to near infrared prepared by chemical bath deposition. RSC Adv. 6(116), 114980–114988 (2016)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. T. Sall, M. Mollar, B. Marí, Substrate influences on the properties of SnS thin films deposited by chemical spray pyrolysis technique for photovoltaic applications. J. Mater. Sci. 51(16), 7607–7613 (2016)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. V.E. González-Flores, R.N. Mohan, R. Ballinas-Morales, M.T.S. Nair, P.K. Nair, Thin film solar cells of chemically deposited SnS of cubic and orthorhombic structures. Thin Solid Films 672(2019), 62–65 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. E.C. Greyson, J.E. Barton, T.W. Odom, Tetrahedral zinc blende tin sulfide nano-and microcrystals. Small 2(3), 368–371 (2006)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. R.E. Abutbul, E. Segev, L. Zeiri, V. Ezersky, G. Makov, Y. Golan, Synthesis and properties of nanocrystalline π-SnS-a new cubic phase of tin sulphide. RSC Adv. 6(7), 5848–5855 (2016)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. S.S. Hegde, A.G. Kunjomana, P. Murahari, B.K. Prasad, K. Ramesh, Vacuum annealed tin sulfide (SnS) thin films for solar cell applications. Surf. Interfaces 10, 78–84 (2018)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. K. Assili, K. Alouani, X. Vilanova, Structural and optical properties of tin (II) sulfide thin films deposited using organophosphorus precursor (Ph3PS). Semicond. Sci. Technol. 32(2), 1–11 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. K. Ramasamy, V.L. Kuznetsov, K. Gopal, M.A. Malik, J. Raftery, P.P. Edwards, P. O’Brien, Organotin dithiocarbamates: single-source precursors for tin sulfide thin films by aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD). Chem. Mater. 25(3), 266–276 (2013)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. U. Chalapathi, B. Poornaprakash, S.H. Park, Chemically deposited cubic SnS thin films for solar cell applications. Sol. Energy 139, 238–248 (2016)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. M.S. Selim, M.E. Gouda, M.G. El-Shaarawy, A.M. Salem, W.A. Abd El-Ghany, Effect of thickness on optical properties of thermally evaporated SnS films. Thin Solid Films 527, 164–169 (2013)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. U. Chalapathi, B. Poornaprakash, S.H. Park, Effect of post-deposition annealing on the growth and properties of cubic SnS films. Superlattices Microstruct. 103, 221–229 (2017)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. M.S. Mahdi, A. Hmood, K. Ibrahim, N.M. Ahmed, M. Bououdina, Dependence of pH on phase stability, optical and photoelectrical properties of SnS thin films. Superlattices Microstruct. 128, 170–176 (2019)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. A.R. Garcia-Angelmo, M.T.S. Nair, P.K. Nair, Evolution of crystalline structure in SnS thin films prepared by chemical deposition. Solid State Sci. 30, 26–35 (2014)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. C. Gao, H. Shen, L. Sun, Preparation and properties of zinc blende and orthorhombic SnS films by chemical bath deposition. Appl. Surf. Sci. 257(15), 6750–6755 (2011)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. M. Guc, J. Andrade-Arvizu, I.Y. Ahmet, F. Oliva, M. Placidi, X. Alcobé, E. Saucedo, A. Pérez-Rodríguez, A.L. Johnson, V. Izquierdo-Roca, Structural and vibrational properties of α- and π-SnS polymorphs for photovoltaic applications. Acta Mater. 183, 1–10 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. D. Mudusu, K.R. Nandanapalli, S.R. Dugasani, J.W. Kang, S.H. Park, C.W. Tu, Growth of single-crystalline cubic structured tin(II) sulfide (SnS) nanowires by chemical vapor deposition. RSC Adv. 7(66), 41452–41459 (2017)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. N. Koteeswara Reddy, M. Devika, E.S.R. Gopal, Review on Tin (II) Sulfide (SnS) material: synthesis, properties, and applications. Crit. Rev. Solid State Mater. Sci. 40(6), 359–398 (2015)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. C. An, K. Tang, G. Shen, C. Wang, Q. Yang, B. Hai, Y. Qian, Growth of belt-like SnS crystals from ethylenediamine solution. J. Cryst. Growth 244(3–4), 333–338 (2002)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. D.K. Schroder, Semiconductor Material and Device Characterization, 3rd edn. (Wiley, New York, 2006).

    Google Scholar 

  37. A. Javed, N. Khan, S. Bashir, M. Ahmad, M. Bashir, Thickness dependent structural, electrical and optical properties of cubic SnS thin films. Mater. Chem. Phys. 246, 122831 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. M.M. El-Nahass, H.M. Zeyada, M.S. Aziz, N.A. El-Ghamaz, Optical properties of thermally evaporated SnS thin films. Opt. Mater. 20(3), 159–170 (2002)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. P. Pramanik, P.K. Basu, S. Biswas, Preparation and characterization of chemically deposited tin(II) sulphide thin films. Thin Solid Films 150(2–3), 269–276 (1987)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. B. Thangaraju, P. Kaliannan, Spray pyrolytic deposition and characterization of SnS and SnS2 thin films. J. Phys. D. Appl. Phys. 33(9), 1054–1059 (2000)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. A. Tanuševski, Optical and photoelectric properties of SnS thin films prepared by chemical bath deposition. Semicond. Sci. Technol. 18(6), 501–505 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. R.E. Banai, J.C. Cordell, G. Lindwall, N.J. Tanen, S.-L. Shang, J.R. Nasr, Z.-K. Liu, J.R.S. Brownson, M.W. Horn, Control of phase in tin sulfide thin films produced via RF-sputtering of SnS2 target with post-deposition annealing. J. Electron. Mater. 45(1), 499–508 (2016)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

I.G. Márquez thanks to VIEP-BUAP for the received support, also thanks to CONACyT for the scholarship. Authors are grateful with IFUAP laboratories for the assistance in different characterizations, thanks to Dra. Primavera López for XRD measurements in CIDS-BUAP laboratories, and thanks to Dr. Tomás Díaz Becerril for general assistance in the chemical laboratory.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigación en Dispositivos Semiconductores, Instituto de Ciencias, BUAP, 14 Sur y Av. San Claudio, C. U. Edificio IC-6, C.P. 72570, Puebla, Mexico

    I. G. Márquez, R. Romano-Trujillo, R. Galeazzi, G. García, A. Coyopol, E. Rosendo & C. Morales

  2. Instituto de Física, BUAP, 14 Sur y Av. San Claudio, C. U. Edificio IF2, C.P. 72570, Puebla, Mexico

    J. M. Gracia-Jiménez & N. R. Silva-González

  3. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, BUAP, 14 Sur y Av. San Claudio, C. U. Edificio IFCQ4-201, C.P. 72570, Puebla, Mexico

    F. G. Nieto-Caballero

Authors
  1. I. G. Márquez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. R. Romano-Trujillo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. J. M. Gracia-Jiménez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. R. Galeazzi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. N. R. Silva-González
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. G. García
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. A. Coyopol
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. F. G. Nieto-Caballero
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. E. Rosendo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. C. Morales
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to R. Romano-Trujillo.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Márquez, I.G., Romano-Trujillo, R., Gracia-Jiménez, J.M. et al. Cubic, orthorhombic and amorphous SnS thin films on flexible plastic substrates by CBD. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 32, 15898–15906 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-021-06141-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-021-06141-9

Search

Navigation