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Cerium oxide (CeO2) thin films were successfully fabricated on glass substrates via spray pyrolysis at 350°C with varying molarities (0.025, 0.05 and 0.1 M). We employed various characterisation techniques to assess how molarity influences these thin films' microstructural, optical, morphological, and surface properties. The as-synthesized samples exhibited a distinct face-centred cubic fluorite structure oriented along the (2 0 0) crystallographic plane. Raman spectroscopy provided insights into imperfections, with the longitudinal optical mode confirming the presence of oxygen vacancies. The peak asymmetry and width in the Raman spectra were associated with the existence of Ce+3 ions and oxygen vacancies. Photoluminescence spectra (PL) illustrated an excitation peak at 400 nm and two emission peaks at 525 nm and 600 nm. Our scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images illustrated how molarity affected the morphologies of the samples, while atomic force microscopy (AFM) allowed us to investigate the film's surface morphologies and roughness values. Transmittance analysis within UV-Vis spectral range indicated that these samples were transparent, with transmittance levels ranging from 20% to 60%. Furthermore, we observed a decrease in the band gap energy (Eg) with increasing molarity. These findings hold significant promise for expanding the applications of cerium oxide in technological devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molybdenum ions with high valence states (Mo6+) can contribute to electrical conductivity and optical transmittance. For this reason, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods doped with molybdenum metal were fabricated on a glass substrate by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis method. The doping concentrations were between 0–10 mol%. The crystallographic properties of the resulting ZnO samples were examined by the X‐ray diffraction (XRD) technique. According to the XRD analysis, it was found that the lattice structure of the samples belonged to the hexagonal (wurtzite) unit cell. The XRD results indicated that the crystals grow in the c‐axis (002) direction. The morphological features of the obtained thin films were studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy. The energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy results displayed that the Mo ions were in the ZnO lattice. Four point probe method was used to determine the electrical conductivity properties of the samples. The 10% mol doped sample has the highest conductivity with values of between 1.58 × 10−9 and 1.58 × 10−6 (ohm‐cm)−1. The optical transmittances of the samples were measured at wavelengths between 300 and 1000 nm. It was observed that the produced films had high optical transparency which was approximately 85%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dried plum-like ZnO assemblies consisting ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized by an ultrasonic spray pyrolysis method (USP). ZnO assemblies were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and field-emission transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show the size of ZnO assemblies is in the range of 300–870 nm, and that of ZnO nanoparticles is from 33 nm to 39 nm. The microstructure and size of ZnO assemblies were successfully controlled by the concentration of the precursor solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tungsten oxide (WO3) is prepared by a low-temperature ultrasonic spray pyrolysis method in air atmosphere, and it is used as an anode buffer layer (ABL) for organic solar cells (OSCs). The properties of the WO3 transition metal oxide material as well as the mechanism of ultrasonic spray pyrolysis processes are investigated. The results show that the ultrasonic spray pyrolysized WO3 ABL exhibits low roughness, matched energy level, and high conductivity, which results in high charge transport efficiency and suppressive recombination in OSCs. As a result, compared to the OSCs based on vacuum thermal evaporated WO3, a higher power conversion efficiency of 3.63% is reached with low-temperature ultrasonic spray pyrolysized WO3 ABL. Furthermore, the mostly spray-coated OSCs with large area was fabricated, which has a power conversion efficiency of ~1%. This work significantly enhances our understanding of the preparation and application of low temperature-processed WO3, and highlights the potential of large area, all spray coated OSCs for sustainable commercial fabrication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]