Valorizing Sb 2 S 3 Ore through Vapor Transport Deposition and Thiourea Treatment: A “Stone-to-Gold” Strategy for High-Efficiency Thin-Film Photovoltaics

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Antimony sulfide (Sb 2 S 3 ) has demonstrated significant application potential in the photovoltaic industry due to its excellent electrical properties and abundance of antimony ore reserves. China, as the world’s largest holder of antimony resources, possesses substantial reserves. However, these resources remain underexploited in high-tech applications, particularly in the field of photovoltaics. Here, we propose an integrated physicochemical treatment and resource recovery strategy to directly transform crude antimony ore into high-efficiency thin-film solar cells. We first implemented a pretreatment process to remove major silica (SiO 2 ) impurities from the raw ore. Subsequently, a novel in situ self-purification process for Sb 2 S 3 is achieved through vapor transport deposition (VTD), enabling the fabrication of high-purity, large-grain, and highly uniform Sb 2 S 3 thin films. Furthermore, in view of the common sulfur deficiency in the formation process of natural Sb 2 S 3 minerals, which leads to sulfur vacancies in VTD-Sb 2 S 3 films, thiourea (TU) treatment was further developed to effectively compensate for the sulfur content through a hydrothermal reaction. As a result, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of Sb 2 S 3 thin-film solar cells is significantly enhanced to 4.67%, offering a feasible technical pathway for the photovoltaic utilization of crude antimony ores, contributing to sustainable resource cycling and providing a platform for further development of mineral-based energy materials.