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Malika FINAL 5 10 2021 with cert.pdf (3.52 MB)

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Electroless Deposition of CdTe on Stainless Steel 304 Substrates

Malika, James Francis
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ysu1620670454283208

Abstract Details

2021, Master of Science in Chemistry, Youngstown State University, Department of Biological Sciences and Chemistry.
The semiconductor cadmium telluride (CdTe) has become the leading material for thin-film photovoltaic applications. Among the many techniques for preparing these thin films, electroless deposition, commonly known as chemical bath deposition, deserves special focus since it has been shown to be a pollution-free, low-temperature and inexpensive method. In this project, CdTe thin films were deposited on stainless steel 304 by the electroless deposition method using cadmium acetate and tellurium oxide dissolved in pH 12.5 NH3(aq). The deposition was based on the gradual release of cadmium ions (Cd2+) and the gradual addition of tellurium as TeO3 2- and their subsequent reduction in a hot aqueous alkaline chemical bath at 70 °C. This was attained by adding a complexing agent such as ammonia and a chemical reducing agent. Using triethanolamine as a complexing agent produced similar results. The following reducing agents were used: aluminum, sodium hypophosphite, formaldehyde, sodium borohydride and hydrazine. All of them deposited a film on stainless steel containing Cd and Te, but formaldehyde produced the best films in terms of uniform thickness, photosensitivity, and rapid growth rate. Electroless deposition of a thin Pt layer on top of the CdTe film improved the cathodic CdTe polarization for hydrogen evolution. The structural and morphological properties of the resulting films were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), stylus profilometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) while the light/dark voltametric methods were used to determine the films’ photosensitivity.
Clovis Linkous, PhD (Advisor)
Timothy Wagner, PhD (Committee Member)
Christopher Arnsten, PhD (Committee Member)
101 p.
Chemistry; Energy; Experiments; Materials Science
Renewable energy; Solar energy conversion; Photovoltaic cells; Electroless deposition

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Malika, J. F. (2021). Electroless Deposition of CdTe on Stainless Steel 304 Substrates [Master's thesis, Youngstown State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ysu1620670454283208

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Malika, James. Electroless Deposition of CdTe on Stainless Steel 304 Substrates. 2021. Youngstown State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ysu1620670454283208.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Malika, James. "Electroless Deposition of CdTe on Stainless Steel 304 Substrates." Master's thesis, Youngstown State University, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ysu1620670454283208

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ysu1620670454283208
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© 2021, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Youngstown State University and OhioLINK.
Release 3.2.12