TY - JOUR
T1 - Biosynthesis and fabrication of copper oxide thin films as a P-type semiconductor for solar cell applications
AU - Nwanna, Emeka Charles
AU - Imoisili, Patrick Ehi
AU - Bitire, Sarah Oluwabunmi
AU - Jen, Tien Chien
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2021/12
Y1 - 2021/12
N2 - This study aimed to synthesize copper oxide (CuO) thin films using an eco-friendly green synthetic approach. A sol-gel spin coating technique was employed for the synthesis of the CuO thin film using Allium cepa as a reducing agent. The fabricated CuO thin film was investigated using the Fourier Transform-Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Ultraviolet-visible spectra studies (UV-Vis), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the Four-Point Probe measurement. The SEM micrographs revealed that the particles were spherically shaped, while the EDX analysis revealed that the CuO thin film was composed of copper and oxygen elements. Furthermore, the XRD analysis confirmed the monoclinic crystalline structure of the CuO thin film, while the FTIR spectroscopy investigated the chemical bonds formed during the production process. Contrarily, the UV-Vis spectroscopy reported a strong absorption of the film at the visible spectra with an estimated optical energy band gap of 1.48 eV. The electrical analysis, however, disclosed that the synthesized thin film portrayed good semiconducting behaviors.
AB - This study aimed to synthesize copper oxide (CuO) thin films using an eco-friendly green synthetic approach. A sol-gel spin coating technique was employed for the synthesis of the CuO thin film using Allium cepa as a reducing agent. The fabricated CuO thin film was investigated using the Fourier Transform-Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Ultraviolet-visible spectra studies (UV-Vis), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the Four-Point Probe measurement. The SEM micrographs revealed that the particles were spherically shaped, while the EDX analysis revealed that the CuO thin film was composed of copper and oxygen elements. Furthermore, the XRD analysis confirmed the monoclinic crystalline structure of the CuO thin film, while the FTIR spectroscopy investigated the chemical bonds formed during the production process. Contrarily, the UV-Vis spectroscopy reported a strong absorption of the film at the visible spectra with an estimated optical energy band gap of 1.48 eV. The electrical analysis, however, disclosed that the synthesized thin film portrayed good semiconducting behaviors.
KW - Allium cepa
KW - Biosynthesis
KW - CuO
KW - Spin coating
KW - Thin film
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85121572997&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/coatings11121545
DO - 10.3390/coatings11121545
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85121572997
SN - 2079-6412
VL - 11
JO - Coatings
JF - Coatings
IS - 12
M1 - 1545
ER -
