Structural, thermal and optical investigation of tin sulfide nanoparticles for next-generation photovoltaic applications

We report a simple approach for synthesizing monodispersed, crystalline and size-tunable tin sulfide nanoparticles for environment friendly next generation solar cell applications. Both SnS and SnS₂ nanoparticles could be a potential nanomaterial for solar cells. The structural, morphological, thermal and optical properties were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The XRD spectra revealed hexagonal and orthorhombic phases of SnS and SnS2 nanoparticles, respectively, where the grains size ranged from 11 nm to 30 nm. The weight percentage as a function of temperature was determined using TGA analysis. Functional groups were observed by FT-IR. The energy bandgap was determined as 1.41 eV showing usefulness of the nanoparticles in next generation environmental friendly solar energy applications.