International Journal of Minerals, Metallurgy and Materials

Volume 23, Number 3, March 2016, Page 348

DOI: 10.1007/s12613-016-1244-x

Influence of growth conditions on the electrochemical synthesis of SnS thin

films and their optical properties

Hosein Kafashan1), Farid Jamali-Sheini2), Reza Ebrahimi-Kahrizsangi1), and Ramin Yousefi3)

1) Advanced Materials Research Center, Materials Engineering Department, Najafabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Isfahan, Iran
2) Department of Physics, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran
3) Department of Physics, Masjed-Soleiman Branch, Islamic Azad University (I.A.U), Masjed-Soleiman, Iran
(Received: 28 May 2015; revised: 26 September 2015; accepted: 28 September 2015)

Abstract: Tin sulfide (SnS) thin films were prepared by electrodeposition onto fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrates using an
aqueous solution containing SnCl2 and Na2S2O3 at various deposition potentials (E) and bath concentrations. The pH value and temperature
of the solution were kept constant. The deposited films were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron
microscopy (FESEM), photoluminescence (PL), and ultravioletvisible (UVVis) spectroscopy. The FESEM images demonstrated that
changes in the deposition potential (E) and solution concentration led to marked changes in the morphology of the deposited SnS films.
Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDXA) results showed that the Sn/S atomic ratio strongly depended on both the solution concentration
and the deposition potential. To obtain an Sn/S atomic ratio approximately equal to 1, the optimal Sn2+/S2O2 3 molar ratio and E parameter
were 1/8 and 1.0 V, respectively. The XRD patterns showed that the synthesized SnS was obviously polycrystalline, with an orthorhombic
structure. The effects of the variations of bath concentration and deposition potential on the band-gap energy (Eg) were studied using PL and
UVVis experiments. The PL spectra of all the SnS films contained two peaks in the visible region and one peak in the infrared (IR) region.
The UVVis spectra showed that the optical band-gap energy varies from 1.21 to 1.44 eV.

Keywords: tin sulfide; thin films; electrodeposition; structural properties; optical properties

1. Introduction (as high as 25%) [89]. The other feature is a direct

The most advanced materials used to manufacture
thin-film solar cells are those based on cadmium telluride
(CdTe) or copper indium gallium diselenide (Cu(In,Ga)Se2
or CIGS) as absorber-layer materials. Despite the great
achievements made with these materials, they still suffer
from several drawbacks [1]. Indium and gallium are scarce
in nature, and cadmium is toxic. Tin sulfide (SnS) is a
promising alternative for photovoltaic applications [2]. SnS
is a semiconductor compound of group IVVI and crystal-
lizes in an orthorhombic structure. It is relatively inexpen-
sive and non-toxic in comparison with other materials. In
addition, both Sn and S are abundant in nature [35]. Two
main features make SnS suitable for use in solar cells. The
first feature is a large optical absorption coefficient of >104
cm1 [67] and a high photoelectric conversion efficiency
band-gap energy of 1.21.75 eV, depending on the deposi-
tion method used and the crystalline structure of the film
[10]; this band-gap energy is very similar to the optimal
value for use in solar cells (1.5 eV) [11]. Moreover, SnS ex-
hibits p-type electrical conductivity that can be controlled
via doping with elements such as N, Ag, Sb, and Cl [12].
Because of these properties of SnS, several methods for
synthesizing this material, such as vacuum evaporation
[1314], spray pyrolysis [1516], chemical deposition
[1718], electrodeposition [1921], a two-stage process
[2223], and radio-frequency (RF) sputtering [24], have
been reported. The electrodeposition method is the most
suitable among these because it is simple, it is cost-effective,
and its parameters can be accurately controlled.
The constant-current method and constant-potential
method are used to perform the cathodic electrodeposition

Corresponding author: Farid Jamali-Sheini, E-mail: faridjamali@iau.ahvaz.ac.ir; Reza Ebrahimi-Kahrizsangi, E-mail: rezaebrahimi@iaun.ac.ir
University of Science and Technology Beijing and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016
H. Kafashan et al., Influence of growth conditions on the electrochemical synthesis of SnS thin films and their optical
of SnS films. The constant-potential method is preferred for
controlling the polarization and deposition potential because
it enables efficient control of both the concentration of each
deposited element and the current. In contrast, the con-
stant-current method is operationally simple and allows the
reference electrode to be omitted [25]. The preparation of
SnS films has been a matter of debate, and several authors
have experimentally investigated the preparation of such
films in previous studies [9,19,2526]. However, many ex-
perimental parameters that affect the electrodeposition of
SnS films need to be precisely investigated. Hence, in this
work, we examined the influence of the experimental pa-
rameters on the quality of electrodeposited SnS films to im-
prove their optical properties.
In the present study, the constant-potential method was
used to deposit thin films on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO)
glass substrates. We investigated the effect of parameters
such as the bath composition (i.e., the Sn2+/S2O2
3 molar ratio)
and the deposition potential (E) on the quality of the depos-
ited films and subsequently analyzed their structure, compo-
sition, and optical properties.
2. Experimental
2.1. Materials and chemicals
Electrodeposition baths containing 2 mM SnCl2 and
different concentrations of Na2S2O3 (420 mM) were
prepared. The pH value of each solution was approximately
3.8, which was reduced to 2.1 by the slow addition of
diluted H2SO4. The glass substrate and Pt electrode were
cleaned ultrasonically and rinsed with ethanol/acetone and
distilled water. The temperature of the bath was maintained
at 60C. The solution was stirred constantly at 750 r/min.
The deposition time (t) was fixed at 30 min for all of the
samples. The deposition potential was varied from 0.6 to
1.2 V. After the deposition was completed, the substrate
was removed from the bath, washed with distilled water,
and then dried with an air jet.
Na2S2O3 is unstable; consequently, the S easily detached
Table 1. Composition of thin films deposited under various deposition potentials (E) (conditions: Sn2+/S2O2
min, and T = 60C)
E / V vs. SCE 0.6 0.7 0.8
Sn/S atomic ratio 0.83/0.17 0.83/0.17 0.62/0.38
As shown in Table 1, the Sn/S atomic ratio was approxi-
mately 1/1 when the deposition potential (E) was 1.0 V.
For other values of E, the Sn/S atomic ratio was greater than
1/1. However, the results in Table 1 clearly demonstrate that
349
from it in the acidic solution. Thus, elemental sulfur was re-
leased from S2O23 as follows:
S2 O32 2H S H 2SO3 (1)
2+
Subsequently, Sn and S were reduced at the cathode
(FTO substrate) to produce SnS:
Sn 2 S 2e SnS (2)
2.2. Apparatus
The SnS thin films were synthesized using a three-elec-
trode electrochemical cell. The cathode (working electrode)
was a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO)-coated glass substrate
(8 /cm sheet resistance) for each sample. The deposition
dimensions were approximately 1 cm 1 cm. A platinum
electrode was used as the anode, and a saturated calomel
electrode (SCE) was used as the reference electrode. The
electric power was supplied by a potentiostat (012 V).
A Philips X'Pert-MPD X-ray diffractometer equipped
with a Cu K radiation source was used to analyze the
phases of the deposited films. Surface morphological inves-
tigations were performed using a TESCAN field-emission
scanning electron microscope equipped with an en-
ergy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDXA) attachment.
Room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy
(Varian) and ultravioletvisible (UVVis, PerkinElmer
Lambda 950) spectroscopy were used to examine the optical
properties of the deposited thin films.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Effect of deposition potential (E) on the composition
of deposited films
To investigate the effect of deposition potential (E) on the
composition of the thin film, we prepared different samples
at various E values while keeping the other conditions such
as the temperature (T), time (t), pH value, and bath concen-
tration constant. Compositions of thin films deposited at
various E values were examined using EDXA analysis; the
results are listed in Table 1.
3 = 1/8, pH 2.1, t = 30
0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2
0.55/0.45 0.54/0.46 0.59/0.41 0.66/0.34
the Sn/S atomic ratio increased to a greater extent when E
was more negative than 1.0 V than when E was more posi-
tive than 1.0 V. The former result is similar to that reported
by Cheng et al. [25]. Reaction (2) clearly indicates that the
350
effect of the change in voltage on the Sn2+ cations is greater
than that on the elemental S because of the difference in
their valences. Therefore, the increase in the Sn/S atomic ra-
tio with changing voltage is reasonable. The Sn/S atomic ra-
tio was observed to play a key role in these experiments, and
the SnS phase was more likely to form when this atomic ra-
tio approached 1/1. Hence, 1/1 was considered the optimal
Sn/S atomic ratio.
The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the thin films
prepared at different E values are shown in Fig. 1. Substan-
tial peaks appeared in the 2 range from 20 to 60, most of at E = 0.6 V and E = 0.8 V exhibit low uniformity and
which are good matches for the corresponding peaks of or-
thorhombic SnS (according to JCPDS 39-0354, the lattice
constants of SnS are a = 0.43291 nm, b = 1.11923 nm, c =
0.39838 nm, with a/c = 1.086). The films are polycrystalline
in nature, and the peak located at 2 = 33.743 is related to
the SnO2 (200) plane (JCPDS 1-77-452), which corresponds
to the FTO substrate. As clearly evident in Fig. 1, the peaks
in the XRD pattern for the film deposited at E = 1.0 V ex-
hibit the highest intensity among the peaks in the XRD pat-
terns of the films deposited in the range of E values investi-
gated in this study, indicating that the film prepared at E =
1.0 V exhibited the highest crystallinity. Therefore, the
best results were obtained at E = 1.0 V, which indicates
that these results are in good agreement with the results of
EDXA analysis.
Fig. 1. XRD patterns of SnS thin films deposited at T = 60C,
pH 2.1, t = 30 min, Sn2+/S2O2
3 = 1/8 and different deposition
potentials (E).
Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., Vol. 23, No. 3, Mar. 2016
The field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-
SEM) images (Figs. 2(a)2(f)) show different morphologies
for different values of E. These images show that films de-
posited at E = 0.9 V and E = 1.0 V (Figs. 2(c) and 2(d))
exhibit the best morphological features, are uniform, and
exhibit a good distribution. Between the two samples depos-
ited at E = 0.9 V and E = 1.0 V, the film deposited at E =
1.0 V exhibits a good shape and good dispersion. In addi-
tion, some clustering is evident in the sample deposited at E
= 0.9 V. Figs. 2(a) and 2(b) reveal that the films deposited
contain voids. In addition, these samples exhibit a different
morphology compared with that of the samples deposited at
E = 0.9 V and E = 1.0 V. The morphology of the films de-
posited at E = 0.6 V and E = 0.8 V is grain-like, whereas
the morphology of the films deposited at E =1.1 and 1.2
V is sheet-like. On the basis of the FESEM results, the sample
deposited at E = 1.0 V is more uniform and exhibits a better
elemental distribution than the other samples. The afore-
mentioned analyses further indicate that the Sn/S atomic ra-
tio was approximately 1 in films deposited at E = 1.0 V.
Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 show a typical EDXA spectrum and
elemental mapping images, respectively, of the sample de-
posited at E = 1.0 V. As evident in Fig. 4, the Sn and S
elements are well distributed.
3.2. Effect of bath concentration on the composition of
deposited films
To study the effect of bath concentration on the composi-
tion of the deposited films, we prepared baths with different
concentrations (i.e., different Sn2+/S2O2 3 molar ratios).
EDXA analyses were performed to obtain the compositions
of the deposited films; the results are listed in Table 2. On
the basis of the results in Table 2, the sample deposited from
a solution with Sn2+/S2O2 3 = 1/8 exhibited an Sn/S atomic
ratio of approximately 1/1. Therefore, this SnS thin film ex-
hibited the best composition in comparison with the other
films. In addition, the results in Table 2 indicate that either
increasing or decreasing the Sn2+/S2O2 3 molar ratio increased
the Sn/S atomic ratio far from a 1/1 stoichiometry.
Fig. 5 shows the XRD patterns of the thin films deposited
from baths with various concentrations (Sn2+/S2O2 3 = 1/2, 1/8,
and 1/10). These molar ratios were selected to investigate the
effect of bath concentration on the structural and morphologi-
cal properties of the films. As evident in Fig. 5, the films
formed at Sn2+/S2O2 3 = 1/8 and 1/10 were composed pre-
dominantly of SnS. In contrast, in the case of the films depos-
ited at Sn2+/S2O23 = 1/2, the XRD patterns contained fewer
peaks and the peaks were less intense than those in the pat-
H. Kafashan et al., Influence of growth conditions on the electrochemical synthesis of SnS thin films and their optical 351

terns of the other films. The results in Fig. 5 indicate that the sample deposited under conditions of E = 1.0 V and
peaks in the pattern of the film deposited at Sn2+/S2O23 = 1/8 Sn2+/S2O2
3 = 1/8 was more crystalline and more uniform than
are more intense than the corresponding peaks in the pattern of the films deposited under other conditions for E and
the film deposited at Sn2+/S2O2 3 = 1/10. Accordingly, the Sn2+/S2O2
3 .

Fig. 2. FESEM images of the films deposited at T = 60C, pH 2.1, t = 30 min, Sn2+/S2O2 3 = 1/8 and different deposition potentials (E):
(a) E = 0.6 V, (b) E = 0.8 V, (c) E = 0.9 V, (d) E = 1.0 V, (e) E = 1.1 V, and (f) E = 1.2 V.
352 Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., Vol. 23, No. 3, Mar. 2016

The effect of the bath concentration on the morphology of

the deposited SnS films is shown in Fig. 6. A decrease of
Sn2+/S2O23 from 1/2 to 1/8 results in a more uniform mor-
phology of the deposited film. The best morphology in
terms of the appearance and arrangement was achieved in
the case of the sample deposited from the bath with
Sn2+/S2O2 2+ 2
3 = 1/8. Interestingly, when the Sn /S2O3 molar

Fig. 3. EDXA spectrum of the SnS thin film deposited at T = ratio was decreased to 1/10, the morphology changed from
60C, pH 2.1, t = 30 min, Sn2+/S2O2
3 = 1/8, and E = 1.0 V. grain-like to flower-like.

Fig. 4. SEM elemental mapping images showing the distribution of S (a) and Sn (b) in the sample deposited at T = 60C, pH 2.1, t =
30 min, Sn2+/S2O2
3 = 1/8, and E = 1.0 V.

Table 2. Composition of the thin films deposited from baths

with various concentrations (conditions: E = 1.0 V, pH 2.1, t =
30 min, and T = 60C)
Sn2+/S2O2 3
1/2 1/4 1/6 1/8 1/10
molar ratio
Sn/S atomic
0.82/0.18 0.63/0.37 0.55/0.45 0.54/0.46 0.56/0.44
ratio ratio

3.3. Optical properties

PL and UVVis analyses were used to investigate the op-
tical properties of films deposited under various conditions
(i.e., under different deposition potentials and bath concen-
trations). PL is a suitable method for investigating the crys-
talline quality and detecting the existence of impurities in
materials. Figs. 7 and 8 show the room-temperature PL
spectra for films deposited under different deposition poten-
tials and bath concentrations, respectively. These results
demonstrate that all of the SnS thin films exhibited three PL
peaks: a first sharp peak of blue emission at wavelengths ()
between 474 and 467 nm, a broad peak of green emission at Fig. 5. XRD patterns of SnS thin films deposited at T = 60C,
533 nm, and a second sharp peak of IR emission between 836 pH 2.1, t = 30 min, and E = 1.0 V from baths with various
and 832 nm. The blue emission peak is attributed to a high concentrations (i.e., various Sn2+/S2O2
3 molar ratios).
H. Kafashan et al., Influence of growth conditions on the electrochemical synthesis of SnS thin films and their optical 353

Fig. 6. FESEM images of SnS films

deposited at T = 60C, pH 2.1, t = 30
min, and E = 1.0 V in baths with
various concentrations: (a) Sn2+/S2O2 3 =
1/2, (b) Sn2+/S2O2 2+ 2
3 = 1/4, (c) Sn /S O
2 3
2+ 2
= 1/6, (d) Sn /S2O3 = 1/8, and (e)
Sn2+/S2O23 = 1/10.

density of sulfur and tin vacancies and the presence of various
defects such as interstitials and stacking faults [27]. The green
emission is due to impurities or crystal defects [28]. In addi-
tion, the IR emission peak is related to near-band-edge emis-
sion, and the wavelength of this emission is greater than the
band-gap obtained from UVVis spectrophotometry, as re-
ported by Ghosh et al. [29].
In Fig. 7, the most intense peak is observed at approxi-
mately 472 nm and two other peaks are observed at 533 and
835 nm in the visible and IR regions, respectively. Decreasing
E to more negative values (from E = 0.8 V to E = 1.1 V)
clearly resulted in reduced peak intensity, and the intensity of
354
the strongest peak in the spectrum of the sample deposited at
E = 1.1 V was equal to the intensity of the second-strongest
peak in the spectrum of the sample deposited at E = 0.8 V.
Fig. 8 shows three peaks in the PL spectra of films depos-
ited at Sn2+/S2O2
3 = 1/8 and 1/10, with the strongest peak occ-
urring in the visible region at approximately 470 nm and the
other two peaks occurring at approximately 533 and 835 nm.
As evident in this figure, the PL graph shows a completely
Fig. 7. PL spectra of SnS films deposited at T = 60, pH 2.1, t = 30 min, Sn2+/S2O2
Fig. 8. PL spectra of SnS films deposited at T = 60C, pH 2.1, t = 30 min, E = 1.0 V and various bath concentrations.
Fig. 9(a) shows the UVVis absorbance spectra of samples
deposited under different deposition potentials. In addition,
the plot of ( h)2 versus the photon energy (h) can be
used to estimate the direct band-gap energies according to
the KubelkaMunk model [30], where is the absorption co-
efficient, h is Plancks constant, and is the frequency (Fig.
9(b)).
In addition, the plot of the absorption versus energy can be
used to estimate the direct band-gap energy of materials from
either the maximum of the first derivative of the absorption or
Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., Vol. 23, No. 3, Mar. 2016
different behavior for the film deposited at Sn2+/S2O2
3 = 1/2
compared to those of the films deposited under other bath
concentration values. This behavior could be due to this sam-
ple containing a lower concentration of the SnS phase com-
pared to those of films deposited under other bath concentra-
tions. However, the samples with Sn2+/S2O2 3 = 1/10 and 1/8
exhibit similar behaviors because the major phase in both
these samples is SnS.
3 = 1/8 and various deposition potentials (E).
the intersection of the second derivative of absorption with the
energy axis ( d 2 A / dEg2 ) [31]. Figs. 10 and 11 show the direct
band gaps of SnS thin films produced at various values of E
and various bath concentrations (i.e., various Sn2+/S2O2 3 mo-
lar ratios); the band gaps are estimated from the intersection
of the second derivative and the energy axis. Good agreement
is observed between the results obtained from the two meth-
ods for the SnS films prepared at various E values (Figs. 9(b)
and 10).
Based on the results of the aforementioned analyses, the
H. Kafashan et al., Influence of growth conditions on the electrochemical synthesis of SnS thin films and their optical 355

Fig. 9. (a) Absorbance spectra of SnS thin films deposited at different potentials (E) and (b) plots of (h)2 vs. h for the thin films
prepared at T = 60C, pH 2.1, t = 30 min, Sn2+/S2O2
3 = 1/8 and various E values.

Fig. 10. Band gaps estimated from the intersection of the second derivative and the energy axis for SnS thin films deposited at T =
60C, pH 2.1, t = 30 min, and Sn2+/S2O2
3 = 1/8 and various E values: (a) E = 0.8 V, (b) E = 1.0 V, and (c) E = 1.1 V

Fig. 11. Band gaps estimated from the intersection of the second derivative and the energy axis for SnS thin films deposited at T =
60C, pH 2.1, t = 30 min, and E = 1.0 V and various bath concentrations: (a) Sn2+/S2O2 2+ 2
3 = 1/10, (b) Sn /S2O3 = 1/8, and (c)
2
Sn2+/S2O3 = 1/2.

sample deposited under conditions of E = 1.0 V and
Sn2+/S2O23 = 1/8 exhibits the best Sn/S atomic ratio, highest
crystallinity, and best optical properties among the investi-
gated films. The results in Figs. 911 indicate that the
band-gap energy (Eg) values of SnS films deposited at various
E and Sn2+/S2O2 3 values vary between 1.21 and 1.44 eV.
Therefore, the deposition potential and bath concentration
clearly affect the Eg values of the deposited SnS films.
To investigate the effect of illumination on the electrical
properties of the SnS films, we constructed currentvoltage
(IV) plots. Fig. 12 shows the IV characteristics for SnS de-
posited under conditions of E = 1.0 V and Sn2+/S2O2 3 = 1/8.
Silver paint electrodes were printed on the film surface. The
measurements were performed on films deposited under
356
darkness and under illumination. The current was observed to
increase in the film measured under illumination because the
absorption of photons created an electronhole pair that re-
sulted in an increase of the current.
Fig. 12. Currentvoltage (IV) characteristics of the SnS thin
film produced at T = 60, pH 2.1, t = 30 min, E = 1.0 V, and
Sn2+/S2O2
3 = 1/8.
4. Conclusion
SnS thin films were electrodeposited onto FTO glass sub-
strates from an aqueous solution containing 2 mM SnCl2
and 820 mM Na2S2O3 by changing the deposition potential
and bath concentration while the other conditions were kept
fixed. The Sn/S atomic ratio was approximately 1/1 in films
deposited at a deposition potential (E) equal to 1.0 V. In
films deposited at other values of E, the Sn/S atomic ratio
increased. However, the Sn/S atomic ratio showed a greater
increase when E was more negative than 1.0 V than when
E was more positive than 1.0 V. In addition, the sample
with Sn2+/S2O2 3 = 1/8 exhibited an Sn/S ratio of approxi-
mately 1/1. Accordingly, the sample deposited at E = 1.0 V
and Sn2+/S2O2
3 = 1/8 exhibited better crystallinity and uni-
formity than those deposited under other E values and
Sn2+/S2O23 molar ratios.
The PL spectra of all the samples exhibited three major
peaks: a first sharp peak of blue emission at wavelengths be-
tween 474 and 467 nm, a broad peak of green emission at 533
nm, and a second sharp peak of IR emission between 837 and
833 nm. Changes in E and in the Sn2+/S2O2 3 ratio resulted in
variations in Eg between 1.21 and 1.44 eV. Therefore, the
deposition potential and concentration of the bath clearly af-
fected Eg of the SnS thin films. These SnS films should be
suitable for use as the absorber layers in solar cells to obtain Eg
values of 1.211.44 eV.
Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., Vol. 23, No. 3, Mar. 2016
Acknowledgements
F. Jamali-Sheini and H. Kafashan gratefully acknowledge
the Ahvaz branch of Islamic Azad University for their sup-
porting in this research work. R. Ebrahimi-Kahrizsangi would
like to thank the research affairs of Islamic Azad University,
Najafabad branch. F. Jamali-Sheini also thanks Advanced
Surface Engineering and Nano Materials Research Center,
Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran, for their
instrumentation support.
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