Determination of the optimum Co concentration in Co:Sb₂S₃ thin films

This current study consists of two phases. In the first step, PbS, Sb₂S₃:Co(0.25%), Sb₂S₃:Co(0.5%), Sb₂S₃:Co(0.75%) and Sb₂S₃:Co (1%) and Sb₂S₃:Co (2.5%) thin films were successfully synthesized on Zn₂SnO₄ coated on FTO conductive glasses using chemical bath deposition method at room temperature. The photovoltaic properties of the synthesized thin films were examined by applying both incident photon-to-current efficiency (IPCE) and current density (J)–voltage (V) measurements. It was observed that Co:Sb₂S₃ thin films with different Co concentrations have higher IPCE (%) and power conversion efficiency (η%) values higher than pure Sb₂S₃. Moreover, the Co concentration, which provides the best efficiency, was determined as 1% compared to other concentrations. In the second phase of the study; structural, elemental and optical properties of Sb₂S₃:Co (1%) thin film were investigated using X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray and optical absorption measurements, respectively. Consequently, it was clearly observed that the Co dopant affects particle size, energy band gap and power conversion efficiency of Sb₂S₃ thin films. In addition, our study suggests that Co:Sb₂S₃ thin films are promising materials that can be used in photovoltaic applications.