Chemosynthesis, characterization and PEC performance of $\mathrm{CdZn}(\mathrm{SSe})_2$ thin films by arrested precipitation technique (APT)

In the present work, we have used simple, cost effective arrested precipitation technique (APT) to deposit $\mathrm{CdZn}(\mathrm{SSe})_2$ thin films. Preparative conditions were optimized during the initial stage of experimentation to obtain good quality $\mathrm{CdZn}(\mathrm{SSe})_2$ thin films. The as-deposited film was studied for its structural, morphological, optical, and compositional analysis by XRD, SEM, UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometer and EDS-analysis techniques respectively. XRD analysis revealed that the film was polycrystalline in nature and exhibit hexagonal crystal structure. The SEM micrograph shows the formation of spherical surface morphology. EDS results confirm the presence of $\mathrm{Cd}$, $\mathrm{Zn}$, $\mathrm{S}$ and $\mathrm{Se}$ elements in the synthesized thin film. The band gap value of thin film was calculated from the absorption spectra which is found to be $1.8$ eV. From J-V measurements, photoconversion efficiency is found to be $0.07$ %.