Antimony sulphide (Sb2S3) thin films were fabricated by mechanically spraying nanocolloids produced via pulsed laser irradiation in liquid (PLIL) of chemically synthesized Sb2S3 powder dispersed in N,N-dimethylformamide, followed by annealing at temperatures between 300 and 380 °C. This work demonstrates, for the first time, the fabrication of Sb2S3 thin films from PLIL-derived nanocolloids and establishes how annealing-induced changes in crystallinity and sulphur stoichiometry influence their photoelectrochemical and photodetector performance. Increasing the annealing temperature improved crystallinity along with sulphur loss, significantly affecting the optoelectronic properties of the films. The optimized films exhibited a direct band gap of ~1.7 eV, stable photocurrent response, and pronounced pseudocapacitive behaviour, with cyclic voltammetry revealing reversible photo-induced charge storage arising from surface-controlled electrochemical processes. Self-powered FTO/CdS/Sb2S3/C/Ag photodiodes fabricated at different annealing temperatures exhibited responsivities ranging from 0.022 to 0.063 A W¿1 and specific detectivities of 2.9¿7.0 × 1010 Jones under visible-light illumination. The best-performing device achieved a responsivity of 0.08 A W¿1 and a specific detectivity of 8.4 × 1010 Jones under green LED illumination. These findings demonstrate that PLIL-derived Sb2S3 nanocolloids provide a simple, surfactant-free route for producing high-quality multifunctional thin films with promising applications in photovoltaic, photoelectrochemical energy storage, and self-powered photodetection.
