Study on the synthesis and formation mechanism of flower-like Cu3SbS4 particles via microwave irradiation

The future development of Cu3SbS4 as an alternative absorber for low cost and high efficiency thin film solar cell depends strongly on the understanding of the formation of mechanism in this system. With this aim, a detailed characterization of Cu3SbS4 particles prepared by microwave irradiation is presented, combining XRD, SEM, and EDX. The development of Cu3SbS4 formation with the increasement of temperature and the prolongation of time are investigated by depth-resolved analysis. Under such conditions, a reaction pathway for the formation of Cu3SbS4 from binary and CuSbS2 compounds as intermediates is proposed. The experimental data supports a formation mechanism of Cu3SbS4 that proceeds rapidly when the CuSbS2 react with the remaining binary phases CuS. During reaction Cu is completely consumed, while Sb is lost through the way of Sb2S3 vapor.