Characterization of Enhanced Crystalline Structures of CdS Thin Films Deposited by Chemical Bath Deposition Caused by Doping with (Cu²⁺, Ag⁺, Au⁺) Transition Metal Ions

Abstract:

In this work, the optical and structural properties of the modified crystalline structures of the nanostructured cadmium sulphide (CdS) semiconductor caused by doping with (Cu²⁺, Ag⁺, Au⁺) transition metal ions are studied. Using the chemical bath deposition technique, thin CdS films of good crystalline quality were deposited, which were doped in synthesis without the need for additional steps, obtaining thicknesses of around 100 nm. The chemical binding energies and their interactions of the CdS semiconductor compound with the different transition metal ions were determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The crystalline and quality phase of the CBD-CdS thin films were determined by X-ray diffraction that were confirmed by Raman scattering, obtaining that the dominant crystalline phase is zinc blende in the (1 1 1) crystalline direction. A change in crystalline quality from monocrystalline to polycrystalline was observed by XRD in the CdS thin films doped with transition metal ions, keeping the crystalline direction (1 1 1) of the zinc blende phase of CdS as the dominant one; this crystalline behaviour was confirmed by HRTEM micrographs, in addition to the different levels of quantum confinement favoured by each transition metal incorporated into the CdS. By Raman scattering measurements, the crystalline zinc blende phase of CdS was confirmed and also allowed the analysis of the phononic interactions of the binary compound, where Raman shifts provided information on the structural quality and also confirm the effects of quantum confinement. UV-visible optical spectroscopy describes the effects of the crystalline structural modifications with blue shifts on the optical band gap energies of the evaluated CdS samples, related with the different levels of quantum confinement given by the (Cu²⁺, Ag⁺, Au⁺) transition metal dopants.

• Periodical: Journal of Nano Research (Volume 81)
• Pages: 21-35
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/p-z1y57K
• Online since: December 2023
• Authors: Jorge Indalecio Contreras-Rascón, Joel Díaz-Reyes*, Álvaro Flores-Pacheco, Mario Enrique Álvarez-Ramos
• Keywords: Ag⁺, Au⁺, CBD, CdS, Cu²⁺, Doping, Structural Effects, Transition Metal Ions

References

[1] M. Shkir, Z. R. Khan, M. Anis, S. S. Shaikh, S. AlFaify, A comprehensive study of opto-electrical and nonlinear properties of Cu@CdS thin films for optoelectronics, Chin. J. Phys. 63 (2020) 51-62.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cjph.2019.10.017

[2] N. Nithya and G. Boopathi, Synthesis and Characterization of CdS and Ag Doped CdS Naboparticle, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) 4 (2015) 2299-2302.

[3] R. Koole, E. Groeneveld, D. Vanmaekelbergh, A. Meijerink, C. de Mello Donegá. Size Effects on Semiconductor Nanoparticles. In: de Mello Donegá, C. (eds) Nanoparticles. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. Chapter 2 (2014) 13-51.

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-662-44823-6_2

[4] S. J. Ikhmayies, R. N. Ahmad-Bitar, Dependence of the photoluminescence of CdS:In thin films on the excitation power of the laser, J. Lumin. 149 (2014) 240-244.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jlumin.2014.01.046

[5] R. Sharma, G. Cai, D. V. Shinde, S. A. Patil, S. Shaikh, A. V. Ghule, R. S. Mane , S.-H. Han, Polyelectrolyte multilayer-assisted fabrication of p-Cu2S/n-CdS heterostructured thin-film phototransistors, J. Mater. Chem. C 2 (2014) 8012-8017.

DOI: 10.1039/c4tc01428f

[6] M. Green, E. Dunlop, J. Hohl-Ebinger, M. Yoshita, N. Kopidakis and X. Hao. Solar cell efficiency tables (version 57). Prog. Photovolt. Res. Appl. 29 (2021) 3-15.

DOI: 10.1002/pip.3371

[7] N. A. S. Omar, Y. W. Fen, J. Abdullah, N. A. A. Anas, N. S. M. Ramdzan, M. A. Mahdi, Optical and structural properties of cadmium sulphide quantum dots based thin films as potential sensing material for dengue virus E-protein, Results in Physics 11 (2018) 734-739.

DOI: 10.1016/j.rinp.2018.10.032

[8] N. A. S. Omar, Y. W. Fen, S. Saleviter, Y. M. Kamil, W. M. E. M. M. Daniyal, J. Abdullah, M. A. Mahdi, Experimental evaluation on surface plasmon resonance sensor performance based on sensitive hyperbranched polymer nanocomposite thin films, Sens. Actuators A Phys. 303 (2020) 111830. 10 pp.

DOI: 10.1016/j.sna.2020.111830

[9] S. Lin, L. Shan, C. Ma, M. Yuan, Z. Fang, Y. Xiao, L: Dong, D. Li, Y. Guo, High-Performance α-Bi2O3/CdS Heterojunction Photocatalyst: Innovative Design, Electrochemical Performance and DFT Calculation, J. Nano Res. 71 (2022) 13-28.

DOI: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/jnanor.71.13

[10] C. Jing, Y. Zhang, J. Zheng, S. Ge, J. Lin, D. Pan, N. Naik, Z. Guo, In-situ constructing visible light CdS/Cd-MOF photocatalyst with enhanced photodegradation of methylene blue, Particuology 69 (2022) 111-122.

DOI: 10.1016/j.partic.2021.11.013

[11] S. S. Boxi, S. Paria, Effect of silver doping on TiO2, CdS, and ZnS nanoparticles for the photocatalytic degradation of metronidazole under visible light, RSC Adv. 4 (2014) 37752-37760.

DOI: 10.1039/c4ra06192f

[12] O. Vigil-Galán, E. Sánchez-Meza, C. M. Ruiz, J. Sastré-Hernández, A. Morales-Acevedo, F. Cruz-Gandarilla, J. Aguilar-Hernández, E. Saucedo, V. Bermúdez, Physical properties of Bi doped CdTe thin films grown by CSVT and their influence on the CdS/CdTe solar cells PV-properties, Thin Solid Films 515 (2007) 5819-5823.

DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2006.12.050

[13] E. A. Martín-Tovar, R. Castro-Rodríguez, A. Iribarren, Isoelectronic CdTe-doped ZnO thin films grown by PLD, Mater. Lett. 139 (2015) 352-354.

DOI: 10.1016/j.matlet.2014.10.068

[14] E. Hernández-Rodríguez, M. Loeza-Poot, I. Riech, V. Rejón, J. L. Peña, A comparative study of CdS:F and CdS:O thin films deposited by reactive RF-sputtering technique for window layer application in solar cells, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 48 (2015) 255102 (6pp).

DOI: 10.1088/0022-3727/48/25/255102

[15] K. Matsune, H. Oda, T. Toyama, H. Okamoto, Y. Kudriavysev, R. Asomoza, 15% Efficiency CdS/CdTe thin film solar cells using CdS layers doped with metal organic compounds, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 90 (2006) 3108-3114.

DOI: 10.1016/j.solmat.2006.06.030

[16] S. Yılmaz, The investigation of spray pyrolysis grown CdS thin films doped with flourine atoms, Appl. Surf. Sci. 357 (2015) 873-879.

DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2015.09.098

[17] A. Mukherjee, P. Ghosh, A. A. Aboud, P. Mitra, Influence of copper incorporation in CdS: Structural and morphological studies, J. Phys. Chem. Solids 184 (2016) 101-109.

DOI: 10.1016/j.matchemphys.2016.09.030

[18] C. Aiempanakit, M. Aiempanakit, W. Thongjoon, S. Pudwat, K. Aiempanakit, Characterization and electrochromic properties of multi-morphology NiO films prepared by CBD and DC Techniques, Optik 287 (2023) 171131. 9 pp.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijleo.2023.171131

[19] K. Rodríguez-Rosales, J. G. Quiñones-Galván, A. Guillén-Cervantes, E. Campos-González, J. Santos-Cruz, S. A. Mayén-Hernández, J. S. Arias-Cerón, M. de la L. Olvera, O. Zelaya-Angel, L. A. Hernández-Hernández, Nanocrystalline-CdS thin films grown on flexible PET-substrates by chemical bath deposition, Mater. Res. Express 4 (2017) 075904 (8 pages).

DOI: 10.1088/2053-1591/aa7858

[20] D. H. Rose, F. S. Hasoon, R. G. Dhere, D. S. Albin, R. M. Ribelin, X. S. Li, Y. Mahathongdy, T. A. Gessert, P. Sheldon, Fabrication procedures and process sensitivities for CdS/CdTe solar cells, Prog. Photovolt: Res. Appl. 7 (1999) 331-340.

DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-159x(199909/10)7:5<331::aid-pip257>3.0.co;2-p

[21] P. J. Sebastian, p‐type CdS thin films formed by in situ Cu doping in the chemical bath, Appl. Phys. Lett. 62 (1993) 2956-2958.

DOI: 10.1063/1.109181

[22] P. Kumar, N. Saxena, A. Agarwal, V. Gupta, Influence of Ag doping concentration on structural and optical properties of CdS thin film, AIP Conf. Proc. 1661 (2015) 080017

DOI: 10.1063/1.4915408

[23] S. Chandel, P. R. Ajan, A. J. Vallamattom, V. P. N. Nampoori, P. Radhakrishnan, International Conference on Fiber Optics and Photonics, (2012) © OSA Technical Digest (online) (Optica Publishing Group, 2012), paper M3A.6. Page 1.

[24] S. Oros-Ruiz, A. Hernández-Gordillo, C. García-Mendoza, A. A. Rodríguez-Rodríguez, R. Gómez, Comparative activity of CdS nanofibers superficially modified by Au, Cu, and Ni nanoparticles as co-catalysts for photocatalytic hydrogen production under visible light, J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol. 91 (2016) 2205-2210.

DOI: 10.1002/jctb.4992

[25] M. Becerril, H. Silva-López, O. Zelaya-Angel, J. R. Vargas-García, Au doping of CdS polycrystalline films prepared by co-sputtering of CdS–Cd-Au targets, Superficies y Vacío 25 (2012) 214-217.

DOI: 10.47566/2012_syv25_1-040214

[26] K. Takayama, K. Fujiwara, T. Kume, S. Naya, H. Tada, Electron Filtering by an Intervening ZnS Thin Film in the Gold Nanoparticle-Loaded CdS Plasmonic Photocatalyst, J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 8 (2017) 86-90.

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.6b02642

[27] R. Prasanna-Kumari, D. Herrera-Molina, A. Fernández-Pérez, J. E. Diosa, E. Mosquera-Vargas, Study of the Properties of CdS:Al (R = [Al3+]/[Cd2+] = 0.30, 0.40, 0.50) Thin Films Grown by the CBD Method in an Ammonia-Free System, Molecules 28 (2023) 3626, 12 pp.

DOI: 10.3390/molecules28083626

[28] T. Schneller, R. Waser, M. Kosec and D. Payne. Eds., Chemical Solution Deposition of Functional Oxide Thin Films. 2013. Springer Vienna, Vienna

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-211-99311-8

[29] A. S. Najm, H. S. Naeem, H. S. Majdi, S. Hasbullah, H. A. Hasan, K. Sopian, B. Bais, H. J. Al-Iessa, H. A. Dhahad, J. M. Ali, A. J. Sultan, An in-depth analysis of nucleation and growth mechanism of CdS thin film synthesized by chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique, Sci. Rep. 12 (2022) 15295, 21 pp.

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-19340-z

[30] A. Flores-Pacheco, J. I. Contreras-Rascón, J. Díaz-Reyes, P. D. Ángel-Vicente, J. P. Enríquez, S. J. Castillo, M. E. Álvarez-Ramos, Stimulation of the photoluminescent properties of CBD-CdS thin films achieved by structural modifications resulting from Ag+ doping, Phys. Status Solidi RRL 11 (2017) 1700134 (4 pages).

DOI: 10.1002/pssr.201700134

[31] J. F. Moulder, W. F. Stickle, P. E. Sobol and K. D. Bomben. Handbook of X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy. 1992. Second, Perkin-Elmer Corporation Physical Electronics Division, Edein Prairie, Minessota, USA

[32] A. Naumkin, A. Kraut-Vass, S. Gaarenstroom, C. Powell, NIST X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy Database. 2012.

[33] P. Shindov, P. Philipov, R. Kakanakov, S. Kaneva, T. Anastasova. 2007. ISSE 2007-30th. Int. Spring Semin. Electron. Technol. 2007; Conf. Proc. Emerg. Technol. Electron. Packag 219.

DOI: 10.1109/isse.2007.4432851

[34] S. Tougaard, Quantitative analysis of the inelastic background in surface electron spectroscopy, Surf. Interface Anal. 11 (1988) 453-472.

DOI: 10.1002/sia.740110902

[35] M. Fantauzzi, D. Atzei, B. Elsener, P. Lattanzi, A. Rossi, XPS and XAES analysis of copper, arsenic and sulfur chemical state in enargites, Surf. Interface Anal. 38 (2006) 922-930.

DOI: 10.1002/sia.2348

[36] D. N. G. Krishna, J. Philip, Review on surface-characterization applications of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS): Recent developments and challenges, Appl. Surf. Sci. Adv. 12 (2022) 100332. 30 pp.

DOI: 10.1016/j.apsadv.2022.100332

[37] J. Ohyama, Y. Hitomi, Y. Higuchi, T. Tanaka, Size Controlled Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles by Porphyrin with Four Sulfur Atoms, Top. Catal. 52 (2009) 852-859.

DOI: 10.1007/s11244-009-9229-x

[38] N. Pauly, F. Yubero, S. Tougaard, Quantitative analysis of satellite structures in XPS spectra of gold and silver, Appl. Surf. Sci. 383 (2016) 317-323.

DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2016.03.185

[39] L. Lisco, P. M. Kaminski, A. Abbas, K. Bass, J. W. Bowers, G. Claudio, M. Losurdo, J. M. Walls, The structural properties of CdS deposited by chemical bath deposition and pulsed direct current magnetron sputtering, Thin Solid Films 582 (2015) 323-327.

DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2014.11.062

[40] S. Graulis, D. Chateigner, R. T. Downs, A. F. T. Yokochi, M. Quirós, L. Lutterotti, E. Manakova, J. Butkus, P. Moeck, A. Le Bail, Crystallography Open Database – an open-access collection of crystal structures, J. Appl. Crystallogr. 42 (2009) 726-729.

DOI: 10.1107/s0021889809016690

[41] A. Dey, R. Chakraborty, A. K. Mukhopadhyay, Nanoindentation of Soda Lime–Silica Glass: Effect of Loading Rate, Int. J. Appl. Glas. Sci. 2 (2011) 144-155.

DOI: 10.1111/j.2041-1294.2011.00046.x

[42] N.E. Fard, R. Fazaeli, R. Ghiasi, Band Gap Energies and Photocatalytic Properties of CdS and Ag/CdS Nanoparticles for Azo Dye Degradation, Chem. Eng. Technol. 39 (2016) 149-157.

DOI: 10.1002/ceat.201500116

[43] G. Simon, H. Huang, J. E. Penner-Hahn, S. E. Kesler, L .S. Kao, Oxidation state of gold and arsenic in gold-bearing arsenian pyrite, Am. Mineral. 84 (1999) 1071-1079.

DOI: 10.2138/am-1999-7-809

[44] A.E. Saunders, I. Popov, U. Banin, Synthesis of Hybrid CdS−Au Colloidal Nanostructures, J. Phys. Chem. B 110 (2006) 25421–25429.

DOI: 10.1021/jp065594s

[45] O. Madelung, Semiconductors: Data Handbook, (2004) Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Heidelberg.

[46] S. R. Ferrá-González, D. Berman-Mendoza, R. García-Gutiérrez, S. J. Castillo, R. Ramírez-Bon, B. E. Gnade, M. A. Quevedo-López, Optical and structural properties of CdS thin films grown by chemical bath deposition doped with Ag by ion exchange, Optik 125 (2014) 1533-1536.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijleo.2013.08.035

[47] M.P. Chamberlain, C. Trallero-Giner, M. Cardona, Theory of one-phonon Raman scattering in semiconductor microcrystallites, Phys. Rev. B 51 (1995) 1680-1693.

DOI: 10.1103/physrevb.51.1680

[48] R. T. Downs, The RRUFF Project: an integrated study of the chemistry, crystallography, Raman and infrared spectroscopy of minerals, Progr. Abstr. 19th Gen. Meet. Int. Mineral. Assoc. Kobe, Japan. (2006) 3-13.

[49] R. R. Prabhu, M. A. Khadar, Study of optical phonon modes of CdS nanoparticles using Raman spectroscopy, Bull. Mater. Sci. 31 (2008) 511-515.

DOI: 10.1007/s12034-008-0080-7

[50] P. Nandakumar, C. Vijayan, M. Rajalakshmi, A. K. Arora, Y. V. G. Murti, Raman spectra of CdS nanocrystals in Nafion: longitudinal optical and confined acoustic phonon modes, Phys. E Low-Dimensional Syst. Nanostructures 11 (2001) 377-383.

DOI: 10.1016/s1386-9477(01)00157-6

[51] Y. Park, D. T. Limmer, Renormalization of excitonic properties by polar phonons, J. Chem. Phys. 157 (2022) 104116, 12 pp.

[52] G. K. Williamson, R. E. Smallman, III. Dislocation densities in some annealed and cold-worked metals from measurements on the X-ray Debye-Scherrer spectrum, The Philosophical Magazine: A Journal of Theoretical Experimental and Applied Physics 1 (1956) 34-46.

DOI: 10.1080/14786435608238074

[53] Y. Li, Z. Jin, N. Tsubaki, Distinctive synthesis of CdS-based photocatalysts based on a Prussian blue analog induction strategy for efficient solar-driven water splitting applications, J. Mater. Chem. C 10 (2022) 18213-18225.

DOI: 10.1039/d2tc03946j

[54] O. Secundino-Sánchez, J. Díaz-Reyes, J. F. Sánchez-Ramírez, J. S. Arias-Cerón, M. Galván-Arellano, O. Vázquez-Cuchillo, Controlled synthesis of electrospun TiO2 nanofibers and their photocatalytic application in the decolouration of Remazol Black B azo dye, Catal. Today 392-393 (2022) 13-22.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cattod.2021.10.003

[55] A. A. Ziabari, F. E. Ghodsi, Growth, characterization and studying of sol–gel derived CdS nanoscrystalline thin films incorporated in polyethyleneglycol: Effects of post-heat treatment, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 105 (2012) 249-262.

DOI: 10.1016/j.solmat.2012.05.014

[56] L. E. Brus, A simple model for the ionization potential, electron affinity, and aqueous redox potentials of small semiconductor crystallites, J. Chem. Phys. 79 (1983) 5566-5571.

DOI: 10.1063/1.445676

[57] K. J. Chang, S. Froyen, M. L. Cohen, Electronic band structures for zinc-blende and wurtzite CdS, Phys. Rev. B 28 (1983) 4736-4743.

DOI: 10.1103/physrevb.28.4736

[58] A. M. Awad, M. Shaban, M. Rabia, The efficiency of M (M = Li, Na, or Cs) doped CdS nanomaterials in optoelectronic applications, Int. J. Energy Res. 46 (2022) 8443-8451.

DOI: 10.1002/er.7640

[59] J. Díaz-Reyes, I. G. Vázquez-Gutiérrez, J. I. Contreras-Rascón, A. Flores-Pacheco, M. E. Álvarez-Ramos, Characterization of enhanced optical and structural properties of CBD-CdS thin films by gold ions doping, Indian J. Phys. 97 (2023) 1101–1107.

DOI: 10.1007/s12648-022-02450-9