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Photo-physical properties of solution-processed CuFe2O4 thin films towards all oxide TiO2/CuFe2O4 heterojunction photovoltaics

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Abstract

Finding low-cost, solution-processed, stable, and environmentally friendly materials that absorb visible light is the main challenge in designing optoelectronic devices such as photovoltaic (PV) cells. Spinel-structured p-type CuFe2O4 (CFO) is an environmentally stable, non-toxic complex oxide known for its superparamagnetic properties. Having a narrow bandgap with a high-absorption coefficient, it has been used for photocatalytic activities and photo-electrochemical water splitting. Here, we explore the feasibility of solution-processed CFO thin film as an absorber layer in n-p heterojunction PV cells. Spin-coated CFO thin film on a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrate shows a single-phase spinel tetragonal crystal structure with an optical band gap of around 2 eV and a high absorption coefficient of 105 cm−1. A steady rise under illumination in the transient photocurrent response of the CFO films confirms its visible light sensitivity. The solution-processed all oxide TiO2/CFO-based n-p heterojunction shows typical diode-like characteristics, and under 1 sun illumination, it shows a photovoltage over 430 mV and photocurrent density of 0.432 mA cm−2. Hence, the studied optoelectronic properties of CFO thin films indicate the possibility of CFO as an active material in PV cells that further strengthens its multifunctionality.

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Data availability

The authors affirm that the core data of this research article is original and has not been previously published, nor is it currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. The data corresponding to the findings of this research is obtainable from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the support of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, via Project No. DST/ INSPIRE/04/2016/000269.

Funding

For funding we have acknowledged the support of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, via Project No. DST/ INSPIRE/04/2016/000269.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Jammu, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, 181221, India

    Parul Garg & Ashok Bera

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  1. Parul Garg
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Contributions

Parul Garg: Conceptualization (supporting); Data curation (lead); Formal analysis (lead); Investigation (lead); Methodology (lead); Writing—original draft (lead). Ashok Bera: Conceptualization (lead); Funding acquisition (lead); Project administration (lead); Resources (lead); Supervision (lead); Validation (lead); Visualization (lead); Writing—review & editing (lead).

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Correspondence to Ashok Bera.

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Garg, P., Bera, A. Photo-physical properties of solution-processed CuFe2O4 thin films towards all oxide TiO2/CuFe2O4 heterojunction photovoltaics. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 35, 817 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-024-12582-9

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