Fabrication and characterization of Cu₂ZnSnS₄ powders by a hydrothermal method

In this study, Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) powders are successfully synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method, and the concentration of thiourea, reaction time, reaction temperature, and precursor concentration ratio (Zn/Sn) are all examined in order to obtain the optimal conditions for this process. In addition, the characteristics of the resulting powder are examined using the X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), Raman, transmission electron microscope (TEM) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) techniques. The results indicate that the concentration of sulfur ions is 6 times of that of the copper ions, and that the production process required a reaction time of 72 h and a reaction temperature of 180 °C, and the energy gap of the CZTS powder is approximately 1.45 eV.