Synthesis of CZTS Nanoparticles for Low-Cost Solar Cells

In this work, uniformly sized Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) nanoparticles with easy control of chemical composition were synthesized and printable ink containing CZTS nanoparticles was prepared for low-cost-solar cell applications. In addition, we studied the effects of synthesis conditions, such as reaction temperature and time, on properties of the CZTS nanoparticles. For CZTS nanoparticles synthesis process, the reactants were mixed as the 2:1:1:4 molar ratios. The reaction temperature and time was varied from 220 degrees C to 320 degrees C and from 3 hours to 5 hours, respectively. The crystal structure and morphology of CZTS nanoparticles prepared under the various conditions were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) was used for compositional analysis of the CZTS nanoparticles.