Crystallographic and optical properties of CuSbS 2 and CuSb(S 1-x Se x ) 2 solid solution

Abstract We synthesized CuSbS 2 (CAS), CuSbSe 2 (CASe), and their solid solutions by only a mechanochemical process. CAS powder with good crystallinity was obtained by post-heating at 400 and 500 °C. CASe powder with good crystallinity was obtained by post-heating at 400 and 450 °C. The CuSb(S 1 - x Se x ) 2 (CASSe) solid solutions with 0.0 ≤ x ≤ 1.0 were synthesized by post-heating at 450 °C. The crystal structure of CASSe was analyzed by Rietveld refinement using X-ray diffraction data. CAS, CASe, and CASSe solid solutions have a chalcostibite structure with an orthorhombic system of space group (Pnma). Both indirect and direct band gap energies of CASSe solid solutions were estimated by the diffuse reflectance spectra of ultraviolet/visible/near-infrared (UV-vis-NIR) spectroscopy. The indirect band gap of the CASSe solid solution linearly decreased from 1.40 eV of CuSbS 2 ( x = 0.0) to 1.04 eV of CuSbSe 2 ( x = 1.0). The direct band gap of the CASSe solid solution linearly decreased from 1.45 eV of CuSbS 2 ( x = 0.0) to 1.08 eV of CuSbSe 2 ( x = 1.0). CuSbS 0.8 Se 1.2 ( x = 0.6) and CuSbS 0.4 Se 1.6 ( x = 0.8) had a suitable band gap of about 1.15 eV for an absorber material of a high-efficiency thin-film polycrystalline solar cell.