Platelet CuSbS2 particles with a suitable conduction band position for solar cell applications

Single crystalline platelet chalcostibite (CuSbS2) particles with good shape and size uniformity were successfully prepared using a hot injection method. In this synthesis, sulfur powder in oleylamine (OLA) was employed as a sulfonating agent. The synthesized CuSbS2 had an orthorhombic structure with a plate-like morphology. Selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns confirmed their single crystal nature. Band gap calculation from diffuse reflectance data revealed that it had both direct and indirect band gaps of 1.52 eV and 1.46 eV, respectively. Moreover, valence band (VB) and conduction band (CB) positions were determined by cyclic voltammetry (CV) characterization. Optical and structural properties of CuSbS2 indicate its potential applicability for solar cell applications. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.