Electrosynthesis and Characterization of Silver Selenide (Ag2Se) and Cerium Doped Silver Selenide (Ce: Ag2Se), Thin Films for Structural Properties Investigation

In this research, Silver Selenide (Ag2Se) and Cerium doped Silver Selenide (Ce: Ag2Se), thin films have been successfully deposited onto FTO glass substrate using electrodeposition method. AgNO3 and Selenium powder were the precursors used for sources of Ag and Se ions respectively. Prototype of the films were again made and subjected to annealing at temperature of 150°C for 5 minutes to remove the element of moisture content in the deposited films. The Structural properties of Ag2S and Ce doped Ag2S thin films investigated using X-ray diffractometry. Variation of structural properties with concentration of cerium dopant, variation of structural properties with deposition time and variation of structural properties with pH were considered in this paper. The structural analysis of pure Ag2Se and cerium-doped Ag2Se thin films reveals significant changes in crystallographic properties with increasing cerium concentration. Ce-doped silver selenide thin films deposited at varying times of 15, 45, and 75 seconds correspond to the orthorhombic structural phase of Ag2Se with the mineral name Naumannite, identified with the JCPDS file number 00-024-1041. Also Ce-doped silver selenide thin films deposited at different pH values of 4.1, 3.4, and 3.1 exhibit significant improvements in crystallographic properties