The effect of dextrin addition during Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 thin film preparation by photochemical deposition

Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 (CZTS) thin films were prepared by annealing films of Cu 2 S, ZnS, and SnS 2 precursors deposited on a soda‐lime glass substrate by photochemical deposition (PCD) from an aqueous solution containing CuSO 4 , ZnSO 4 , SnSO 4 , and Na 2 S 2 O 3 . This paper discusses the effect of adding dextrin as a titrant during the PCD preparation of CZTS thin films. We investigated the effects of dextrin addition on the surface morphology of the resulting films. The surfaces of films prepared with added dextrin were composed of uniformly sized grains. The results also demonstrate that the surface morphology of photochemically deposited CZTS films can be smooth if the proper additives are employed. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)