Annealing Effect on One Step Electrodeposited CuSbSe2 Thin Films

The purpose of this work is to study the influence of the annealing temperature on the structural, morphological, compositional and optical properties of CuSbSe2 thin films electrodeposited in a single step. CuSbSe2 thin films were grown on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO)/glass substrates using the aqueous electrodeposition technique, then annealed in a tube furnace under nitrogen at temperatures spanning from 250 to 500 °C. The resulting films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis, Raman spectroscopy and UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The annealing temperature plays a fundamental role on the films structural properties; in the range 250–350 °C the formation of pure CuSbSe2 phase from electrodeposited binary selenides occurs. From 400 to 500 °C, CuSbSe2 undergoes a preferential phase orientation change, as well as the increasing formation of copper-rich phases such as Cu3SbSe3 and Cu3SbSe4 due to the partial decomposition of CuSbSe2 and to the antimony losses.