An in-depth analysis of nucleation and growth mechanism of CdS thin film synthesized by chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 15295
• Main Authors: Najm, A. S., Naeem, Hasanain Salah, Majdi, Hasan Sh, Hasbullah, Siti Aishah, Hasan, Hiba Ali, Sopian, K., Bais, Badariah, Al-Iessa, Heidar J., Dhahad, Hayder A., Ali, Jamal M., Sultan, Abbas J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 12.09.2022; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 639/301; 639/925; Ammonia; Fabrication; Humanities and Social Sciences; multidisciplinary; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sulfur; Thin films
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-19340-z

The aim of this study is to acquire a deeper understanding of the response mechanism that is associated with the formation of CdS thin films. We presented an effective and new hybrid sensitisation technique, which involved the 1-step linker between the related chemical bath deposition (CBD) process and the traditional doping method during CBD for synthesising high-quality, CdS thin films. The mechanism for the combined synthesis of the films is also describes. CdS films were electrostatically bonded to soda-lime glass, causing the formation of the intermediate complexes [Cd(NH 3 ) 4 ] 2+ , which aided in the collision of these complexes with a soda-lime glass slide. In the one-step fabrication technique, 3-Mercaptopropionic Acid (MPA) was employed as a second source of sulphur ions and a linker molecule. Optical studies showed that the bandgap ranged between (2.26–2.52) eV. CdS + MPA films exhibited a uniform distribution of spherical molecules based on their morphological properties. After annealing, this approach significantly altered the electrical characteristics of CdS films. The CdS + MPA films displayed the highest carrier concentration whereas the CdS + Ag + MPA films exhibited the lowest resistivity, with a jump of 3 orders of magnitude.