The influence of citrate ions on the electrodeposition of CuInSe2

M. A. FRONTINI; M. VAZQUEZ

Banff, Canada

Congreso; 58th Meeting of the International Society of Electrochemistry.; 2007

International Society of Electrochemistry

Low-cost solar cells with the absorbing layer prepared by electrodeposition can be produced. The design includes a double layer of dense and nanoporous TiO2, where the pores are filled with electrodeposited CuInSe2. Titanium dioxide is an n-type wide bandgap semiconductor, the TiO2 layers are supported on conductive glass. CuInSe2 is a p-type semiconductor with a direct bandgap of 1.0 eV. When CuInSe2 is applied onto TiO2 a p-n junction is formed by which sunlight can be converted into electricity. CuInSe2 films have been prepared by electrodeposition from a single bath aqueous solution. The effect of different concentrations of citric acid as complexing agent is evaluated on both, the electrochemical parameters characteristic of the electrodeposition process and the quality of the deposit itself. The films are deposited potentiostatically using a N2-purged electrolyte. TiO2 and CuInSe2 have been characterised with electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and optical absorption spectroscopy.