Scientific Reports (Sep 2022)

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

  • A. S. Najm,
  • Hasanain Salah Naeem,
  • Hasan Sh. Majdi,
  • Siti Aishah Hasbullah,
  • Hiba Ali Hasan,
  • K. Sopian,
  • Badariah Bais,
  • Heidar J. Al-Iessa,
  • Hayder A. Dhahad,
  • Jamal M. Ali,
  • Abbas J. Sultan

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-19340-z
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 1
pp. 1 – 20

Abstract

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Abstract 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(NH3)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.