Green Chemistry Approach for The Synthesis of Transition Metal Sulfides based on Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) and Etching of Their Impurities

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Persistent link to this item

Statistics
View Statistics

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Title

Green Chemistry Approach for The Synthesis of Transition Metal Sulfides based on Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) and Etching of Their Impurities

Published Date

2017-07

Publisher

Type

Thesis or Dissertation

Abstract

Green Chemistry comprises a set of good practices leading to more sustainable and environmentally friendly chemical processes. In the first chapter, this dissertation introduces the Green Chemistry Principles and shows how these Principles can be applied towards the synthesis of transition metal chalcogenides. The next chapter presents results focused on the synthesis of the multinary sulfide Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) using microwave as heating source. The control over the crystalline phase of CZTS was studied as a function of variations in synthetic conditions, such as source of sulfur excess, initial oxidation states of Cu and Sn sources, temperature, and time. A model explaining two different behaviors according to the sulfur excess source is proposed. The third chapter uses the concepts learned from the previous one to develop the synthesis of solid solutions between Cu2ZnSnS4 and Cu2CoSnS4, generating compounds with the formula Cu2(Zn1-xCox)SnS4. Thin films were prepared from aqueous dispersions of these Cu2(Zn1-xCox)SnS4 compounds, and the stability of the films upon annealing in sulfur atmosphere was analyzed. The fourth chapter describes the development of a milder etching solution based on a mixture of ethylenediamine and 2-mercaptoethanol to eliminate undesired copper sulfide (Cu2-XS) or copper selenide (Cu2-XS) phases from CZTS thin films. The development of this etching solution represents a viable alternative to the widely used etching methods based on potassium cyanide (KCN) use. The fifth chapter extends the application of the etching solution to etch other common undesired phases such as ZnS, SnS2, and CuxZnySnz, and a possible mechanism is proposed for the etching process based in a Lewis acid-base reaction between ethylenediamine and 2-mercaptoethanol

Description

University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation.July 2017. Major: Chemistry. Advisor: Eray Aydil. 1 computer file (PDF); xviii, 174 pages.

Related to

Replaces

License

Collections

Series/Report Number

Funding information

Isbn identifier

Doi identifier

Previously Published Citation

Suggested citation

Pinto, Alexandre. (2017). Green Chemistry Approach for The Synthesis of Transition Metal Sulfides based on Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) and Etching of Their Impurities. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/200274.

Content distributed via the University Digital Conservancy may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor. By using these files, users agree to the Terms of Use. Materials in the UDC may contain content that is disturbing and/or harmful. For more information, please see our statement on harmful content in digital repositories.