Thermal decomposition studies of CuInS

Abstract

Single crystals of copper indium disulphide (CuInS₂) have been successfully grown by the chemical vapour transport (CVT) technique using iodine as the transporting agent. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) were carried out for the CVT grown CuInS₂ single crystals. It was revealed that the crystals are thermally stable between the ambient temperature (300 K) and 845 K and that the decomposition occurs sequentially in three steps. The kinetic parameters, e.g., activation energy, order of reaction, and frequency factor were evaluated using non-mechanistic equations for thermal decomposition.

Keywords

single crystal / CVT single crystal growth / TGA / DTA