Optimization study of copper precursors for high quality CuInSe2 nanoparticles by wet chemical route

High-quality CuInSe2 nanoparticles have been prepared by the solution phase synthesis procedure utilizing copper acetate or cuprous chloride as the Cu-precursor, indium chloride as the In-precursor and selenium powder as Se precursor, respectively. The synthesis process was optimized to grow 20 to 150 nm sized nanostructures of CuInSe2, and the Cu to In ratio as well as the kind of Cu-precursor used was found to be most important in determining the structure and property of the nanostructures. The synthesized nanostructures were characterized by TEM (transmission electron microscopy), XRD (X-ray diffraction), PL (photoluminescence) and micro-Raman spectroscopy, and detailed microstructural analyses of synthesized samples were also carried out by selective area electron diffraction (SAED) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM).