Single‐Step Synthesis of Cu ₂ ZnSnSe ₄ (CZTSe) Nano‐Particles and Their Testing as Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) Shielding Materials

ABSTRACT

Quaternary metal chalcogenides are versatile materials; however, the studies are not much explored with to respect their utility in the EMI field. Copper‐based chalcogenides are frequently explored for energy applications, for example, solar cells based on copper indium selenides. Herein, a one‐pot method is presented for producing phase‐pure tetragonal nanostructured copper–zinc–tin–selenide. In the current work, CZTSe was synthesized using oleic acid, a proven surface‐passivating agent having a long carbon chain. Additionally, oleylamine was also employed to control the size and shape of the NPs. The so‐generated CZTSe was characterized by FTIR to identify the characteristic functionalities, for example, ─COOH and C─NH. The structural integrity and phase purity of tetragonal CZTSe at nanoscale were studied by powder X‐ray diffraction to estimate cluster diameters of about 12–23 nm, lattice spacings of between 0.13 to 0.33 nm, lattice strain and dislocation density were estimated. Morphological and topological analysis of CZTSe NPs was studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Thermogravimetric analysis exhibited degradation pattern between 30°C to 900°C with an overall weight loss of ∼45%. The electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding performance of CZTSe/PVA nanocomposite films showed predominantly absorption‐based EMI SE ∼ 20.2 dB and 25.2 dB in X and Ku‐band respectively.