One of the significant advantages of using colloidal nanocrystals (NCs) as the building blocks of prospective next-generation solar cells is their solution processability. However, low-waste, high-throughput methods that fully take advantage of this property to deposit conductive, well-adhered films have yet to be realized. Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) is one proposed scalable method for depositing solution-processed absorbing layers for solar cells. Here we demonstrate low-voltage EPD of all-inorganic semiconductor NCs to deposit films. A combination of light scattering, absorbance spectroscopy, and electric measurements are employed to probe the transport processes and electrochemical reactions that occur during EPD. Special emphasis is applied to elucidate the temporally separate current-driven processes that occur during an EPD run. Improvements in film morphology and electronic properties are realized through choice of NC-ligand-solvent combinations, and reactor design. These insights are applied to deposition in both batch and continuous flow reactors.

Low-voltage fabrication of CZTS thin films by electrophoretic deposition of all-inorganic nanocrystals

254th National Meeting (2017)

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