Effect of Molybdenum Content on the Optostructural, Morphological and Photoelectrochemical Properties of Bi2Se3 Thin Films

Effect of Mo content on the optostructural and morphological properties of chemically deposited Bi2Se3 thin films were investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), UV-vis spectrophotometer, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis (XPS) were used to characterize the Bi2Se3 and Mo-doped Bi2Se3 thin films. Analysis of XRD pattern revealed that nanocrystalline nature of Bi2Se3 with rhombohedral crystal structure. After Mo doping additional diffraction peaks were observed in XRD pattern indicating the incorporation of Mo4+ ions into the Bi2Se3 lattice. It was observed that, after addition of Mo in to Bi2Se3 the original nanofibrous morphology of Bi2Se3 was retained as it is. The band gap energy of Bi2Se3 was found to be 1.48 eV. After Mo doping to the Bi2Se3 band gap energy were found to be increased up to 1.60 eV. Formation of Mo-doped Bi2Se3 thin films were confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (XPS).