Document Type : Original Research Article

Authors

• Imtiaz Ahmad ^{1, 2}
• Javaria Razzaq ^{1, 3}
• Ammara Ammara ^{1, 4}
• Ferhan Kaleem ^{1, 5}
• Muhammad Qamar ^{1, 4}
• Shahid Ilahi ^{1, 5}
• Imosobomeh Lucky Ikhioya ^{1, 6}

¹ National Centre for Physics, Quaid-i-Azam University Campus, Islamabad, Pakistan

² Department of Physics, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan

³ Department of Physics, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan

⁴ Department of Physics, Ripah International University Islamabad, Faislabad Campus, Pakistan

⁵ Institute of Chemical Sciences Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan, Pakistan

⁶ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria

Abstract

In this study, a hydrothermal approach has been employed for the synthesis of copper antimony oxide films. Cu₂Sb₂O exhibits an amorphous phase prior to annealing and a polycrystalline phase (monoclinic structure) after annealing at temperatures ranging from 200 to 400^oC, as showed by the XRD. The angles of 26.934^o, 34.228^o, and 38.362^o correspond to the diffraction peaks (111), (211), and (311). High annealing temperature caused the film's lattice to reform and crystalize, which could cause cell ignition. The diffraction angles of the peaks moved higher because it was assumed that the annealing process affected the material. The unannealed Cu₂Sb₂O material displays small nanoparticles and a noteworthy nanoflake structure. Under different annealing temperatures, the nanoparticle's size increases when the film surface is ignited at higher pressure. When nanoparticle clusters were present during annealing, the material's surface energy increased. The absorption spectra displayed a consistent high rate of absorption between 200 to 600 nm, but showed a considerable decline beyond this range, with the minimum point noted between 700 to 850 nm. Yet it increased again between 980 and 1100 nm wavelength range. Light absorption is high in Cu₂Sb₂O, specifically in ultraviolet and blue regions. The film's absorbance increased from 0.145 to 0.185 a.u. when Cu₂Sb₂O was annealed at 200 ^°C. An increase in temperature from 200 to 400 ^°C caused an improvement in Cu₂Sb₂O's absorbance because of its susceptibility to temperature. The low reflectance of the films in both areas makes them ideal for both solar and photovoltaic cells. As the annealing temperature increased from 200 to 400 ^°C, the synthesized Cu₂Sb₂O film's bandgap energy decreased from 1.78 eV to a range of 1.66–1.21 eV.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords

• Copper
• Antimony
• Hydrothermal
• Amorphous
• Monoclinic structure

Main Subjects

• Application of nanomaterial