Author:
Gahtar A., ,Zaouche C.,Ammari A.,Dahbi L., , ,
Abstract
In this work, the bimetallic (Ni,Co) sulfide film of 852.213 nm thickness was successfully deposited using the spray pyrolysis technique at 300 °C. The compound was prepared with a mixture of nickel acetate (C4H6O4Ni. 4H2O), cobalt chloride (CoCl2. 6H2O), and thiourea (CS(NH2)2) as precursors for Ni, Co, and S, respectively. The temperature and sedimentation time were 300 °C and 10 min, respectively; the film was then, characterized without any thermal post-treatment. The structural, morphological, optical and electrical analysis were carried out to investigate the different properties of the material. The X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the presence of NiCo2S4 according to the JCPDS Card # 98- 004-0019, with an average crystallite size of 34.45 nm. The optical analysis revealed the metallic behavior of the film with an average transmittance of 3.41% in the visible region and a direct optical band gap of 2.15 eV, as well as a high absorption coefficient of α ≈ 104 - 105 cm-1 ). The elementary composition analysis (EDS) confirmed the presence of Ni, Co and S elements in the film. Morphological analysis revealed a homogeneous, compact, crack-free appearance and a granular surface in all studied areas. On the other hand, the film shows a high electrical conductivity of about 1.42×105 S/cm at room temperature. The obtained results show that the bimetallic (Ni, Co) sulfide prepared in this study exhibits a good crystallinity, dense morphology, good stoichiometric ratio and high conductivity. Therefore, it is a potential candidate for application in supercapacitors as electrode material.
Publisher
Virtual Company of Physics
Subject
General Physics and Astronomy,General Chemistry,Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials