A solvothermal approach for the size-, shape- and phase-controlled synthesis and properties of CuInS2

Facile and Robust Solvothermal Synthesis of Nanocrystalline CuInS2 Thin Films

“…Our results are different from Kharkwal et al [ 52 ] They synthesized CuInS 2 nanoparticles solvothermally using CuCl, InCl 3 and thiourea at 150 °C for different reaction times (2 to 48 h). They observed small nanoparticles of ≈5 nm for 2 h reaction time and larger nanoparticles (up to ≈27 nm) for 48 h. All nanoparticles showed a pure tetragonal CuInS 2 and with an increase in the particle size, the band gap decreased.…”

“…Along with EDX measurements, it can be concluded that starting from a reaction time of 6 h and a reaction temperature of 140 °C, pure CuInS 2 thin films without any impurities or side products can be grown solvothermally with the help of l -cysteine. The reason for the indeterminable amount of side products like CuS, Cu 2 S or In 2 S 3 is the use of a high enough l -cysteine to Cu precursor ratio of 2.5:1 [ 32 , 51 ] as well as the complex formation between Cu, In and l -cysteine (and cystine) [ 35 , 36 , 52 , 53 ] as will be described below.…”

“…However, reaching a certain temperature/pressure (>120 °C), the organic molecules l -cysteine and l -cystine begin to decompose and release S 2− . When the decomposition of the sulfur source starts and S 2− is released, (InS 2 ) − can be formed [ 35 , 36 , 52 ], but also copper sulfides are possible side products. From previous investigations [ 32 ] with higher l -cysteine contents (Cu:In:S precursor ratio 1:1:4), it is known that during a reaction at 150 °C for 18 h, a compact CuInS 2 bottom layer with an outgrowing In 2 S 3 top layer is formed.…”

Chalcogenide photosensitized titania nanotube arrays

“…The TNAs synthesized by two-step anodization were both spatially ordered and in the precursor solutions [34]. The presence of a high amount of (NH 2 ) 2 CS in the CuInS 8 formulation provided sufficient sulfur vapor to transform the composition to CuInS 2 during the annealing process.…”

The synthesis of hollow CuInS2 microspheres with hierarchical structures

“…Lei et al [29] demonstrated the synthesis of wurtzite CuInS 2 hollow microspheres thin films on the copper substrate in a self-designed solvothermal detached system. Up to now, research were mostly focused on monophasic chalcopyrite or wurtzite CuInS 2 , and the reports on metastable wurtzite and zincblende CuInS 2 nanocrystals are scarce [18,24,25,30]. Distinct from thermodynamically stable chalcopyrite, metastable zincblende or wurtzite CuInS 2 is constructed as regular or random replacement of Cu þ and In 3þ within cation positions of zincblende or wurtzite ZnS lattice [18,28].…”