Controllable synthesis of wurtzite Cu(2)ZnSnS(4) nanocrystals by hot-injection approach and growth mechanism studies

Qun Luo; Yongquan Zeng; Liwei Chen; Changqi Ma

doi:10.1002/asia.201402152

Controllable synthesis of wurtzite Cu(2)ZnSnS(4) nanocrystals by hot-injection approach and growth mechanism studies

Chem Asian J. 2014 Aug;9(8):2309-16. doi: 10.1002/asia.201402152. Epub 2014 Jul 8.

Authors

Qun Luo¹, Yongquan Zeng, Liwei Chen, Changqi Ma

Affiliation

¹ Printable Electronics Research Centre, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionic, Academy of Chinese Sciences (CAS), Suzhou 215123 (P. R. China); School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology, Hefei 230026 (P. R. China). qluo2011@sinano.ac.cn.

PMID: 25044700
DOI: 10.1002/asia.201402152

Abstract

Wurtzite Cu2 ZnSnS4 (WZ-CZTS) has been controllably synthesized through a hot-injection route. The crystal-growth mechanism of WZ-CZTS has been investigated by using time-dependent XRD patterns, TEM images, and absorption spectra analysis, and revealed that WZ-CZTS nucleated and grew from monoclinic Cu7 S4 nanocrystals through phase transformation of Cu7 S4 to WZ-CZTS within 5 min. The synthesis processes are dependent on precursor concentration, reaction temperature, reaction time, organic ligand, and sulfur source and have been studied in detail. It was revealed that the width of the WZ-CZTS nanocrystals was mainly controlled by the precursor concentration, which determines the diameter of Cu7 S4 . The length could be regulated by the ratio of dodecanethiol (DDT) to oleylamine (OLA) and reaction time.

Keywords: controllable synthesis; crystal growth; nanostructures; phase transformations; wurtzite CZTS.