Effect of Molarity on Structural and Optical Properties of Chemically Deposited Nanocrystalline PbS Thin Film

Abstract

Thin films of PbS were deposited by chemical bath deposition (CBD) method under various molarities using lead acetate as Pb2+ ion source, thiourea as S2- ion source and ammonia as complexing agent at a fixed pH value of 9 under bath temperature of 333 K. Four different molarities of PbS thin films were prepared. The as-prepared films were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), EDX, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Parameters like crystallite size, lattice constant, microstrain, dislocation density were calculated. Optical constants such as extinction coefficient, absorption coefficient were measured from absorption spectra. Studies show that average nanocrystallite size increases from14.2 nm to 18.1 nm as the molarity of the film increases. Optical studies reveal the decrease of band gap from 1.75 eV to 1.44 eV with increasing molarity of the film indicating higher electrical conductivity of the films.