Materials

Chemtiby
and Physics,
28 (1991)
141-144 141

SHORT COMHUNICATION

CHEMICAL DEPOSITION OF Ag2S FILMS FROM ACIDIC BATH

S.S. DHUMURE and CD. LCKWWDE

Department of Physics, Shivaji University, Kolhapur-416004 (India)

Received November 29, 1990; accepmd January 25, 1991

ABSTRACT

Films of silver sulphide have been deposited fran aqueous

acidic medium bath using thioacetamide as a sulphur releasing
agent. The effects of EDT% as a caaplexing agent and of temperature
on the deposition of Ag2S films have been studied. The optical
bandgap, 'Eg' of 42S film is estimated to be 0.95 eV. The
electrical resistivity of as-deposited films is lo4 - 108 ohm-can.
The films are IT type in nature and showed phrotovoltaic properties.

INTRQDUCTICBI
Metal sulphide t%n film preparaticn by the chemical deposi-
ticn route is attracting considerable attention as it is rela-
tively inexpensive, simple and convenient for large area deposi-
tion @2J. Thin films of ADDS have been deposited Ooto glass
substrates by Mangalam et al.[3,4] in an alkaline medium at a pii
between 8 and 10 using thiourea as a sulphur source. Agueous
soluticns of silver nitrate and thiourea were mixed and then the pH
value was adjusted to arcund 8 to 10 using liquor atnma?ia. The
deposition was carried out at room *mperature for 15 minutes and
adherent deposits of Mat-ray silver sulphide were Obtained.
These films have been used in photoconductive cells and heterojunc
ticn studies. In tha present coinmunicati~ we report cry the chemical
deposition of Ag2S films from an acidic medium using thioaceteppide
as asulphur source.

0254-0584/91/$3.50 0 Elsevier SequoiaPrinted in The Netherlands

142

EXPERIMENTAL
Aqueous solution (15 ml of 0.1 'I) silver nitrate and (15 ml
of 0.5 $ thioacetamide were mixed together in a beaker. Glass
substrates attached to a holder were immersed in it and stirred
continuously during deposition. The solution colour changed to
blackish and after 30 mins the films were taken out of the bath.
The effect of bath temperature and canplexing agent an the Ag2S
deposition was studied. Deposition was carried cut at different
temperatures between 8 and 55 'C and ELDTA (15 ml of 20 m-1 soluticn
was added to the bath as a canplexing agent.

RESULT.3 AND DISCUSSIC8J

Ihe thickness of Ag2S films at different temperatures after
30 mins deposition time was estimated and it was fcund that film
thickness increases with decreasing temperature. The maximum
terminal thickness was between 3 and 3.5 microns at a 8 OC bath
temperature. The films formed at various temperature baths were
adhesive, uniform and grey in colcur. Figure 1 shows the optical
micrograph of Ag2S film deposited at 8 OC.

Fig. 1. Optical micrograph of Ag2S film deposited at 8 OC bath

temperature, x 375.
 143

2
5.5

4.5 1

d
% //:::I:
4 3.5

1.7 2.1 -1 2.5 2.9

Fig. 2. Plots of log QE l/T for films deposited at (1) 8 OC

and (2) 55 OC bath temperature.

The electrical resistivity of the films was studied in the

temperature range of 300 to 575 K, it was found that the roas
temperature resistivity decreases with decreasing bath temperature
The roan temperature resistivity of the film deposited at 55 OC
was 5.2 x 10' ohm-cm which decreased to 8.2 x lo4 ohs+cm for the
film deposited at 8 'C. Figure 2 shows the plot of log q &?ersus
l/T for the film deposited at 8 OC end 55 OC bath temperature.
The film at 8 OC shtmed linear variation giving activation energy
equal to 0.17 eV while the film deposited at 55 'C showed two
slopes corresponding to activation energies as 0.19 and 0.10 ev.
'Iheeffect of EDTA cm the deposition of ADDS films at different
temperatures was studied. In general, with the addition of EDTA,
the film thickness decreases. The optical micrographs showed that
films we uniform and adhesive to the substrates and film morph-
logy did not change significantly. The electrical reSiStivity
study showed that film resistivity decreased by cme order at
different deposition temperatures.
144

The Optical absorption studies have been carried cut using

NV-VIS-NIR spectrophotcmeter. The absorption coefficient ‘4 8
is Of the order of lo4 - 10' an-'. 'J%e optical bandgap, 'Eg' was
estimated by plotting ( a hv I2 z hv plots for Ag2S films.
Figure 3 shows such a plot for Ag2S film deposited at 27 'C. Zhe
'Eg' was estimated to be 0.95 eV.

3. Plot of (a hv)2 vs (hv) for Ag2S film.

The Ag2S films were 'n' type in nature and showed photc-
voltaic activity in a photoelectrochemical cell formed with
lM(NaGi-Na2S-S) electrolyte. The lsc(;c 0.1 &cm2 and voc F 100 mV
has been obtained at 100 mW/cm2 illuminaticn intensity. Further
studies for characterization of the material are in progress.

REFERENCES

1 C.V. Suryanarayana, Bull. of Electrochem, 2 (1986) 57.

2 C.D. Lokhande and S.H. Pawar, In S.H. Pawar, C.H. Bhosale
and R.N. Patil(eds.), Proc . of workshop cm Solid Stat& Enercry
Conversicn, Kolhapur (India) (1985).
3 M.J. Mangalam, K.N. Rao, N. Rangarajan and C.V. SUrYanaraYana,
Ind. J, Pure Aool. Phvs, 1 (1969) 628.
4 M.J. Mangalam, K.N. Rae, N. Rangarajan and C.V. Suryanarayana,
Brit. J. 4~1, Phvs.,z (1969) 1643.