Easy hydrothermal preparation of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) nanoparticles for solar cell application.

CZTS nanoparticles were synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method at 230 °C for 24 h. The CZTS powder was synthesized with different concentration ratios of sulfur and copper, and the thin film was obtained by spin coating. A copper-rich concentration ratio of CZTS nanoparticles showed better results. The nanoparticles exhibited large absorption spectra, a fact linked to the quality of their optical properties. In addition, crystal structures, surface morphology, band gap, current-voltage, and Mott-Schottky diagram characterization of CZTS nanoparticles were also carried out by x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared spectroscopy and photoelectrochemical measurements, respectively.