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We herein report the rapid one-pot synthesis of Cu0.9(In1-xGax)Se2 microcrystals (CIGSe MCs) with diverse morphology using a single solvent for the first time. Besides, new and novel shapes of CIGSe MCs such as trigonal, stacked hexagonal flakes, and bipyramidal hexagonal prism (BPHGPs) are attained as the x-value increases together with a rise in the reaction temperature. Moreover, the electrical properties of CIGSe MCs are tremendously altered, in which BPHGPs exhibited very high mobility of 18.11 (cm2/Vs) and low resistivity of 0.11 (Ωcm). Furthermore, as a proving ground, solar cells are fabricated with a device structure of SLG/Mo/CIGSe/CdS/i-ZnO/Al-ZnO/Ag, wherein power conversion efficiency amended from 0.67 to 4.22% for x = 0.1@225 °C (mixture of irregular and trigonal) and x = 0.3@300 °C (BPHGPs) respectively. Thus, consequential research outcomes firmly emphasize the importance and essence of rapid one-pot synthesis of CIGSe MCs with tunable morphology, which unveiled a significant impact on the electrical properties and solar cell performance.

Herein, different shapes of CdS nanostructures such as irregular, spherical nanoparticles (NPs) and nanorods (NRs) are reported using facile heating up method by tuning the solvent ratio between oleic acid and oleylamine. This is the first report deals with the synthesis of CdS NRs at relatively low reaction temperature as well as investigating the effect of different shapes of CdS on the hybrid solar cells (HSCs) performance. From the structural analysis, a hexagonal crystal structure of CdS is observed. The optical analysis exhibits absorption in the visible region and the calculated bandgap is found to be 2.52 eV. The irregular and agglomerated CdS NPs showed inferior power conversion efficiency (PCE) while CdS NRs have demonstrated maximum PCE of 2.42% in comparison with the standard device. Thus, the research outcomes strongly highlight the impact of various CdS nanostructures on the HSCs performance and open-up new avenue to accomplish the utmost PCE of HSCs in low-cost approach.

Undoped and Al, B and Ga-doped In2S3 thin films were deposited on flexible PET/ITO substrates using chemical bath deposition by varying the deposition temperatures (60, 70, 80 and 90 °C) and growth times (120, 150 and 180 min). Citric acid was used as complexing agent along with indium trichloride and thioacetamide as indium and sulfur sources, respectively. The structural, optical and electrical properties of In2S3 thin films were analyzed by Raman spectroscopy, UV-Vis transmittance spectroscopy and Hall Effect measurement. Structural analysis indicated the tetragonal phase of In2S3 films. The optical characterization showed a maximum transmittance of 80% in the visible region. The band gap energy of In2S3 thin films was tuned from 2.06 to 2.94 eV with respect to doping elements and experimental parameters. The electrical characterization showed n-type conductivity for both undoped and doped In2S3 thin films along with the resistivity values between 1 × 10−2 and 1 × 105 Ωcm.