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Photovoltaic (PV) systems are regarded as clean and sustainable energy sources and exhibit minimal pollution during their lifetime. The production of hazardous contaminants contaminating water resources, emissions of air pollutants during the manufacturing process, and the impact of PV installations on land use are important environmental factors to consider. The present study aimed to synthesise the F-doped Titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films on a glass substrate employing spin coating followed by the sol-gel process ETL application purpose. Fluorine-doped TiO2 thin films were prepared using the sol-gel spin coating technique. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) results confirmed that the most intense peak was observed at 25.37° corresponding to the crystallographic plane (101) for anatase TiO2. The average transparency of TiO2 was increased by adding the doping level of fluorine and increment in the optical bandgap. The thickness of the thin film was kept at about 300 nm. The resistance of nanocrystalline thin films of different F doped TiO2 was decreased from 1.322×1012 O, 9.728×1011 O, as the F doping concentration was increased from pristine to 7 at. %. Based on electrical measurements, it was observed that a suitable electron transport layer (ETL) of F-doped TiO2 can be synthesized for photovoltaic applications. The present study offers a synthesis and analysis of F-doped TiO2 that can be used to improve the sustainability of PV manufacturing processes, improve its economic value, and mitigate its negative impact on the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we synthesized Co3O4 thin films using a sol–gel spin coating method and investigated the effect of heat treatment on their carbon dioxide (CO2) gas sensing properties. To optimize their crystallinity and enhance their CO2 sensitivity, the thin films were annealed at temperatures ranging from 400∘C to 550∘C. We characterized the morphological, structural, electrical, and optical properties of the Co3O4 thin films to gain insights into their behavior in the low operating temperature range (OTR). Our X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that all the thin films exhibited a cubic structure, with improved crystallinity observed at higher annealing temperatures. We observed a decrease in band edges in the optical transmittance spectra of the thin films as the annealing temperature increased, indicating a redshift in the absorption edge. Notably, the highest electrical conductivity was observed for the sample annealed at 550∘C, suggesting enhanced crystallinity and improved CO2 gas sensitivity. These findings provide valuable insights into the optimization of Co3O4 thin films for CO2 gas sensing applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, n-type CdyZn1−yO (y = 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5 at%) thin films were deposited on p-Si and soda lime glass substrates using sol–gel spin coating technique. From the X-ray diffraction patterns, it was observed that all thin films had wurtzite structure with (002) orientation. Scanning electron micrograph results revealed that the morphology varied with higher Cd doping in ZnO. The bandgap was decreased from 3.29 eV (undoped ZnO) to 3.26 eV (y = 1.5 at%) as Cd content increased. The electronic parameters of the CdyZn1−yO (y = 1 at%) thin film heterojunction such as ideality factor (η) and barrier height (ΦB) were obtained using the thermionic emission theory as 2.53 and 0.70 eV, respectively. CdyZn1−yO (y = 1 at%) showed responsivity 0.01 A/W on 3.2 mW/cm2 exposure of UV light (365 nm) at 4 V bias voltage. The heterojunction so formed seems to be an excellent candidate to be used as an optical sensor (UV photodetector) in optoelectronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work reports the impact of RF sputtering power on CdO:ZnO (3:1) nanocomposite thin films deposited by sputtering. The structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of CdO:ZnO thin films deposited at 40 W, 60 W, 80 W and 100 W RF sputtering power were investigated. The structural and morphological results show that high sputtering power improves the crystallinity of thin films. The thin film deposited at 80 W has (111) and (002) phases corresponding to mixed cubic and wurtzite crystal structure, whereas surface morphology of 100 W thin film shows that particles are densely agglomerate. The energy-dispersive x-ray spectrum shows the presence of Cd and Zn atoms in the CdO:ZnO nanocomposite samples. The films show 75–85% transparency in the visible region and a large variation in optical bandgaps from 2.6 eV to 3.5 eV was observed for the samples deposited at 40–100 W with lowest value for the 80 W thin film. I–V characteristics of all the CdO:ZnO thin films show an ohmic nature and resistance varies from 104 Ω to 109 Ω, suitable for resistive based gas sensor. The optimized thin film of CdO:ZnO deposited at 80 W was used for oxygen gas sensing applications 25–200°C operating temperatures and 25.4% sensor response was observed. The response and recovery times were found 10–20 s. Overall study reflects appreciable impact of RF sputtering power on different parameters under investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]