Copper selenide nanorods grown at room temperature by electrodeposition

Abstract In this work we employed an electrodeposition technique to prepare copper selenide nanorods with various dimensions by changing bath concentration and keeping deposition time fixed. This study reports the effect of bath concentration on the crystal structure, surface morphology and optical properties of copper selenide thin films. The electrodeposited films were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectra properties, the ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) and compositional analysis. Upon bath concentration, the band gap energy of copper selenide decreases from 2.54 eV to 2.35 eV along with an increase in the crystal size form 7–17 nm. The crystal size was found to increase upon increase in bath concentration and materials exhibit better crystallization. Similar results were also observed in the XRD studies, where peak intensity increased upon bath concentration.