Influence of Sulfur Precursor Solutions on Crystallinity of CuInS₂ Nanocrystals Fabricated with Hot-Injection Method.

The hot-injection method was used for the synthesis of ternary metal chalcogenide nanocrystals (NCs) CuInS2 (CIS); this was achieved by using the metal precursors (copper iodide and indium acetate) and four different types of sulfur precursor solutions. It was discovered that CIS NCs synthesized with different sulfur precursor solutions exhibited the chalcopyrite structure with similar particle sizes of similar to 4.2 nm. As a comparison, CIS NCs synthesized using ODE-S precursor displayed an enhanced luminescence intensity and a long PL decay lifetime, which could be considered as an evidence of improved interior crystallinity.