Influence of nanocellulose concentration on the tunability of energy bandgap of cadmium telluride thin films

• Published in: Cellulose (London) Vol. 27; no. 14; pp. 8147 - 8153
• Main Authors: Oluyamo, Sunday Samuel, Akinboyewa, Lawrence Olakunle, Fuwape, Ibiyinka Agboola, Olusola, Olajide Ibukun-Olu, Adekoya, Mathew Adefusika
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.09.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aqueous electrolytes; Bioorganic Chemistry; Cadmium; Cadmium telluride; Cadmium tellurides; Ceramics; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Composites; Electrical conduction; Electrical resistivity; Energy gap; Fluorine; Glass; Glass substrates; Intermetallic compounds; Natural Materials; Organic Chemistry; Original Research; Photoelectrochemical devices; Photovoltaic cells; Physical Chemistry; Polymer Sciences; Sustainable Development; Tellurium; Tellurium dioxide; Thin films; Tin oxides; Nanocellulose; Photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell; UV–Vis spectrophotometer; Electrodeposition; Wood dust; CdTe; Celtis philippensis
• ISSN: 0969-0239; 1572-882X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10570-020-03345-w

Cadmium telluride (CdTe) doped nanocellulose thin films were successfully deposited on glass/fluorine-doped tin oxide substrates from an aqueous electrolyte bath containing hydrated cadmium sulfate (3CdSO 4 ·8H 2 O) and tellurium dioxide using electrodeposition technique. Six samples of CdTe thin films were grown with nanocellulose concentrations of (0, 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9) ppm. The results obtained from electronic data of the deposited layers using UV–Vis spectrophotometer agree favourably with the theoretical formulation. The bandgap of the films ranges from 1.32 to 1.67 eV. The lowest bandgap of CdTe (1.32 eV) was achieved at a concentration of 9 ppm. This relatively low energy bandgap is remarkable in recent formation of CdTe. Photoelectrochemical cell measurement shows that the electrical conductivity type of undoped CdTe is n-type while the nanocellulose doped CdTe is p-type in electrical conduction. Hence, it is possible to effectively tune the conductive properties of CdTe by careful addition of nanocellulose concentration.