The study of preparation and photoelectrical properties of chemical bath deposited Zn, Sb and Ni-doped CuInS2 films for hydrogen production

Pure and Zn, Sb, Ni-doped CuInS2 films were prepared by chemical bath deposition method. Structural, morphological, optical, and photoelectrochemical properties of the as-grown films were investigated. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that films consisted of the tetragonal CuInS2 phase. The energy band gaps and carrier densities of these samples were in the ranges of 1.48-1.54 eV and 2.38 x 10(18)-9.38 x 10(19), respectively. The maximum photocurrent density cif samples with a potential of -1.0 V vs. a Pt electrode was found to be -8.58 mA/cm(2) with the largest hydrogen production capability of 33.26 mu mol/cm(2) under illumination using a 300 W Xe lamp system. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.