Bimetallic nanoparticles of copper and indium by borohydride reduction

This study investigated the preparation of copper-indium bimetallic nanoparticles through the borohydride reduction in an alcohol solution for application in ink-coating and sputtering target materials. Copper, indium metal and copper-indium intermetallic materials were synthesized by reacting CuCl2 and InCl3 with NaBH4 in 2-propanol (IPA) and tetraethylene glycol (TEG) at room temperature. The Cu-In samples contained Cu2In and CuIn phases with particle sizes of 10-100 nm and 30-200 nm in both the IPA and TEG solutions, respectively. The nanoparticulate Cu-In precursor layer was coated onto a soda-lime glass through spin-casting, where the Cu-In intermetallic phases of Cu2In and Cu11In9 were produced through heat treatment in Ar gas and a microstructured CuInSe2 layer was produced in a selenium atmosphere. Cu, In, Cu-In intermetallic nanoparticles and the films were characterized using powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray analyses. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.