A mechanochemical route to single phase Cu2ZnSnS4 powder

With respect to absorber materials in solar cells, Cu2ZnSnS4 CZTS has been a focus of interest in recent years. In this work, a new route leading to single phase CZTS powders is presented. For structural characterization X ray and neutron powder diffraction measurements were performed. Further structural and compositional analysis of the CZTS powder was carried out by means of X ray absorption near edge spectroscopy XANES and wavelength dispersive X ray spectroscopy WDS . The obtained CZTS powder with an actual composition of Cu2.00 4 Zn1.02 2 Sn0.99 2 S4.00 8 adopts the kesterite type structure. A detailed cation distribution analysis using the average neutron scattering length method revealed a partial disorder of copper and zinc on the 2c and 2d site