CuSbSe2 as a Promising Earth-Abundant Photovoltaic Absorber Material: Synthesis and Structural Properties

Abstract

In this work Chalcostibite CuSbSe₂, a promising non-toxic and earth-abundant absorber was synthesized using a mechanical alloying (MA) or ball milling process and studied the structural and phase evolution. The collected sample has been successfully characterized by XRD, Raman, FE-SEM and EDS. From the XRD results analysis, it was found that CuSbSe₂ single phase was formed in 8 hours of milling. Raman shifts of 198, 222 and 259cm^-1 for as-milled CuSbSe₂ had been recorded. EDS exhibits three strong peaks confirming the purity of the sample by detecting only Cu, Sb and Se element respectively. The main purpose of this research is to provide information on direct synthesis of single phase synthesis of chalcostibite CuSbSe₂ single phase at room temperature by wet ball milling process, which has been successfully prepared in a short duration for the first time.