A Noninjection Reaction Route to CuInSe2 Nanocrystals with Triethanolamine as the Complexing Agent

The chalcopyrite-type $CuInSe_2$ is a remarkable material for thin film solar cells owing to its electronic structure and optical response. Single-phase sphere-like $CuInSe_2$ nanocrystallite particles were prepared by a facile noninjection method with triethanolamine as the complexing agent and the solvent simultaneously. The period of the reaction was the key to form single-phase $CuInSe_2$ nanocrystals at $240^{\circ}C$. TEM, XRD, XPS, EDX investigations were performed to characterize the morphology and the detailed structure of as-synthesized $CuInSe_2$ nanocrystals. All of the analysis results proved that the synthesized nanocrystals were pure phase and close to the stoichiometric ratio rather than a simple mixture. The band gap of the obtained $CuInSe_2$ nanocrystals was $1.03{\pm}0.03$ eV.