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This research paper reports the fabrication and evaluation of titanium dioxide (TiO2)- and zinc oxide (ZnO)-based dye-sensitized solar cells with anthocyanin dye extracted from pomegranate. TiO2 and ZnO were synthesized using the hydrothermal synthesis and chemical bath deposition techniques, respectively. The scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that TiO2 had nanopillars made up of nano rods with dimensions of 111.866, 90.521, and 81.908 nm, while ZnO had hexagonal patterned nanorods with lengths of 283.294 nm and diameters of 91.782 nm. The absorption spectra of the pomegranate dye were analysed and the strongest absorption peak was found to be at 520 nm, which corresponds to the existing anthocyanin pigment. The band gap of pomegranate dye was noted down to be 2.45 eV. The performance of the dye-sensitized solar cells was evaluated using one sun illumination (100 mW/cm2) where the dye-sensitized solar cell with TiO2 nanopillars achieved an improved efficiency of 0.46% whereas the dye-sensitized solar cell with ZnO nanorods showed a considerably reduced efficiency of 0.42%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the structural, morphological, and optical properties of Cadmium Selenide (CdSe) thin films deposited via the Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD) Technique, focusing on the impact of Iron (Fe) doping. Using Cadmium Chloride (CdCl2) and Ferrous chloride (FeCl2) as precursor materials, the research investigates how Fe doping affects the structural and photoelectric characteristics of the films. Employing various characterization methods including X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and UV–Vis NIR spectroscopy, the study provides a comprehensive analysis of the films. XRD analysis confirms the formation of a cubic structure with a predominant orientation along the (111) plane, consistent with XRD peaks. Additionally, XRD data reveals the degradation of thin films post-annealing. Crystalline size and strain are determined using the Debye-Scherrer and Wilson formulae, while lattice constant and Size-strain plots are derived from X-ray line broadening. The average crystallite size ranges from 12 to 21 nm. Optical band gaps are found to be 2.25 eV, 2.91 eV, 2.87 eV, and 2.85 eV for the samples. Interestingly, a decrease in crystal size with increasing doping concentration correlates with a reduction in bandgap. This investigation offers valuable insights into the fabrication and characterization of CdSe thin films, particularly highlighting the impact of Fe doping on their structural and optical properties. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the fabrication and characterization of CdSe thin films, emphasizing the importance of precise doping control for tailoring material properties and advancing their applications in photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices.

CuAlS2 thin films have been prepared on glass substrates by chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique at a substrate temperature (Ts) 75°C, pH value 10.5, and fixed deposition time 40 minutes. In this study effect of molar concentrations (0.03, 0.05, and 0.06 M) of complex agent Na2EDTA on structural, morphological, and topological properties of deposit thin films were studied by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) with cross section, and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. The result showed that all prepared films were amorphous structures. The cross section analysis showed a good adhesion between prepared films and glass substrates, average thickness of films was affected by concentration of complex agent, where was low at 0.03 and 0.06 M, while was high at 0.05 M. The prepared films showed homogenous and uniform spherical nanoparticles with average grain size (64 to 79 nm) increased with increasing complex agent concentration. AFM images showed that the prepared films at 0.05 and 0.06 M had the same structures as conical and spherical shapes with the homogenous distribution on the surface of the films compared with that at 0.03 M. Also, the surface roughness, and root mean square (rms) roughness were varied in the range (0.33 to 1.74 nm) and (0.44 to 2.34 nm), respectively, where the less roughness were found at 0.05 M complex agent. The prepared films at 0.05 M complex agent showed the best properties which can be useful for many applications in optoelectronics devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the structural, morphological, and optical properties of Cadmium Selenide (CdSe) thin films deposited via the Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD) Technique, focusing on the impact of Iron (Fe) doping. Using Cadmium Chloride (CdCl 2 ) and Ferrous chloride (FeCl 2 ) as precursor materials, the research investigates how Fe doping affects the structural and photoelectric characteristics of the films. Employing various characterization methods including X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and UV-Vis NIR spectroscopy, the study provides a comprehensive analysis of the films. XRD analysis confirms the formation of a cubic structure with a predominant orientation along the (111) plane, consistent with XRD peaks. Additionally, XRD data reveals the degradation of thin films post-annealing. Crystalline size and strain are determined using the Debye-Scherrer and Wilson formulae, while lattice constant and Size-strain plots are derived from X-ray line broadening. The average crystallite size ranges from 12 to 21 nm. Optical band gaps are found to be 2.25 eV, 2.91 eV, 2.87 eV, and 2.85 eV for the samples. Interestingly, a decrease in crystal size with increasing doping concentration correlates with a reduction in bandgap. This investigation offers valuable insights into the fabrication and characterization of CdSe thin films, particularly highlighting the impact of Fe doping on their structural and optical properties. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the fabrication and characterization of CdSe thin films, emphasizing the importance of precise doping control for tailoring material properties and advancing their applications in photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

In this study, quaternary kesterite Cu 2 FeSnS 4 (CFTS 4) has been selected due to its interesting optical and electrical characteristics. The CFTS 4 films were prepared by exploiting the chemical bath deposition process at room temperature. The films were prepared at different deposition periods (1, 3, 5 and 7 h). The EDAX technique was helped in evaluating the compositional element ratio which near to 2:1:1:4. The morphology and structure of CFTS 4 films have been examined by utilizing X-ray diffraction, and field emission scanning electron microscope techniques. XRD charts revealed the absence of sharp peaks and approved the amorphous nature of films under investigations. The transmittance and reflectance data were employed to compute the linear and nonlinear optical constants of the as-deposited CFTS 4 films. The energy gap calculations for the CFTS 4 films grown on glass substrate displayed a direct energy gap and by increasing the deposition time, a reduction in energy gap values from 1.41 to 1.19 eV was obtained. The deep analysis of linear/nonlinear optical properties as a function of deposition time has revealed many characteristics of the investigated films. Moreover, the nonlinear parameters (refractive index n 2 , nonlinear absorption coefficient β c and the third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility χ (3) ) of the CFTS 4 films were boosted with rising up the film thickness and their high values imply the possibility of utilizing these films in various optoelectronic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For cost-effective synthesis of Cu2FeSnS4 (CFTS) thin films, a chemical bath deposition technique was carried out at temperature of 343 K. The formation of tetragonal phase and highly oriented CFTS thin films was confirmed by XRD technique. The morphology and composition of the CFTS thin films were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy and EDX techniques. Linear and nonlinear optical studies of the CFTS thin films were executed to determine a future device application. The chemically prepared CFTS thin films reveal a direct energy gap which decreased from 1.54 to 1.31 eV with increasing the thickness. The nonlinear optical constants of the chemically prepared CFTS thin films such as the nonlinear absorption coefficient βc, the nonlinear refractive index n2 and the third-order susceptibility χ(3) were evaluated and analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reported the synthesis of tin sulfide selenide (SnS1−x Sex) thin films with different compositions (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) using a cost-effective chemical bath deposition technique. The structural properties of the chemically synthesized SnS1−x Sex thin films were analyzed by means of the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). The XRD results demonstrate that all the chemically synthesized SnS1−x Sex thin films are polycrystalline and displayed an orthorhombic phase corresponding to the different compositions. The compositional elements of the SnS1−x Sex thin films were investigated via an energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX). The optical study on the SnS1−x Sex thin films displayed that the chemically deposited SnS1−x Sex films exhibited a direct allowed optical transition and by increasing the Se content the magnitudes of the direct bandgap were decreased from 1.41–1.23 eV while the Urbach energy was increased. The effect of composition on the skin depth δ, absorption coefficient α, linear refractive index n and the static refractive index no of the SnS1−x Sex thin films was studied. Additionally, the results displayed that there is an improvement in the magnitudes of the nonlinear refractive index n2, optical conductivity, third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility χ 3 and the electrical conductivity of the SnS1−x Sex thin films occurred by increasing the selenium content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this paper, we report results on the processing of cadmium zinc sulfide (Cd x Zn 1-x S) ternary compound starting from the deposition of cadmium sulfide (CdS)/zinc sulfide (ZnS) bi-layers buffer configuration and a subsequent thermal annealing for its application to thin film solar cells. The impact of different CdS/ZnS bi-layers buffer configurations as effective alternative to the single CdS buffer layer, as well as the physical and chemical properties of the equivalent Cd x Zn 1-x S ternary compound are presented and discussed. Results on physical properties optimization of Cd x Zn 1-x S ternary compound for future applications to thin film solar cells are presented. Highlights • Synthesis of cadmium zinc sulfide compound starting from bilayers deposition • A varied range of ternary composition can be obtained in a more controlled way. • The impact of different layer thickness on physical properties is studied. • Zinc sulfide thickness lower than 20 nm allows optimal physical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanocrystalline zinc cadmium sulfide (ZnxCd1-xS) thin films were deposited on glass substrate by chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique using the mixed aqueous solution of zinc chloride ((ZnCl2), cadmium chloride (CdCl2), thiourea (CS(NH2)2) and ammonia solution (NH4OH). The as deposited films were characterized by high quality instrument type (HMS-3000). The results show that all the prepared films have n-type conductivity; this is concluded from the Hall measurements. The electrical conductivity is found to decrease with increasing x, while the activation energies are found to be increasing from (0.458 to 0.860 eV) as x increase from ( 0.1to 0.9).

Structural, morphological, and optical properties of gallium sulfide lm grown by chemical bath deposition have been investigated by XRD, SEM, AFM, and optical absorption techniques. The XRD spectrum indicated that the gallium sulde lm grew in crystalline form and the phase was identified as GaS. Gallium sulde lm had an island-like structure with a random distribution on a glass substrate. The particle size of the crystallites and surface roughness of the lm were found to be 28{48 nm and 11.84 nm, respectively. The direct and indirect band gaps of gallium sulde thin lm were calculated from the absorption spectra as 2.76 and 2.10 eV, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research work, thin films of BiSbS 3 have been successfully synthesized onto well-cleaned soda-lima glass substrates via the chemical bath deposition procedure. The X-ray diffraction patterns of the chemically deposited BiSbS 3 films depicted that the synthesized films exposed polycrystalline nature with orthorhombic structure. The analyses of the linear optical parameters of the chemically deposited BiSbS 3 thin films refer to improving the values of the absorption coefficient, α and the linear refractive index, n via the increase in the film thickness. In addition, there is an observed reduction in the energy gap, E g values from 1.38 to 1.22 eV occurred by raising the film thickness. Furthermore, there is an enhancement in the nonlinear optical constants and the optoelectrical parameters occurred by raising the film thickness where the nonlinear refractive index, n 2 , the optical free carrier concentration, N opt and the optical conductivity σ opt were enlarged with increasing the film thickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycrystalline thin films of copper indium sulphoselenide [CuIn(S,Se)2] were deposited on glass substrate by chemical bath deposition technique. The deposition parameters such as pH, temperature and time were optimized. A set of films having different elemental compositions was prepared by varying Cu/In ratio from 1·87-12·15. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX). The chemical composition of the CuIn(S,Se)2 was found to be nonstoichiometric. The d.c. conductivities of the films were studied below and near room temperature. The thermo-electric power of the films was also measured and type of semiconductivity was ascertained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Zn1− x Li x O films of different Li concentrations were successfully deposited on glass substrates using chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique. Optical properties of the films were studied extensively in the wavelength range 190–800nm from the measurements of the optical transmittance (T) and optical reflectance (R). The mechanism of the optical absorption follows the rule of direct allowed transition. Both the optical energy gap E g and absorption coefficient () were found to be Li concentration-dependent. The refractive index values have been fitted to the single-oscillator models. The values obtained for the single-oscillator energy E o are consistent with the optical gap results. The dependence of the optical constants of ZnO on the photon energy () at selected concentrations of Li were discussed. The exponential dependence of the absorption coefficient as a function of the incident photon energy suggests that the Urbach rule is obeyed and indicated the formation of a band tail. It was found that the optical energy gap decreases with increasing Li content; on the other hand the band tail width exhibits the opposite behaviour. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Thin films of Bismuth oxyiodide (BiOI) were deposited, using chemical bath deposition techniques. The films were characterized using energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for chemical composition, and a spectrophotometer for the analysis of spectral absorbance / transmittance / reflectance. Deposited film thickness ranged between 0.115 and 0.140 µm. The optical properties deduced from the spectral absorbance / transmittance / reflectance include the maximum values of the refractive index n that ranged between 2.62 and 2.64, the extinction coefficient k ranged between 25.84 x 10-3 and 42.92 x 10-3 while the Optical conductivity σ ranged between 0.60 x 1014 S-1 and 0.75 x 1014 S-1. The spectral analysis revealed that some of the films grown are poor transmitters of UV but have good transmission in the VIS-NIR regions. Some of the films show transmittance above 78% in the VIS-NIR regions and a wide band gap that ranged between 3.20 and 3.40 eV. In the mid infrared regions transmittance ranged between 3 and 37%. These properties make the film potential material for poultry protection and warming coatings, solar control and antire reflection coatings and as well material for solar cell fabrication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CuBiS2 thin films have been deposited on a glass substrate by chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique in an acidic medium. Films are deposited for various concentrations of copper and bismuth. The effect of deposition time and temperature on growth of these films have been studied. To obtain good quality films, the films are grown using a complexing agent. The disodium salt of [EDTA] is used as a complexing agent. The effect of deposition time, temperature and pH on growth of these films are reported. Optical, structural and electrical properties of these films are also reported. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Two advanced fabrication methods are introduced: the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)‐added chemical bath deposition technique and molybdenum (Mo) back‐contact formation under 3 kW sputter power. The parameters of the short circuit current density (JSC) and conversion efficiency (η) were improved over standard cells when the ZnS buffer layer was deposited in the H2O2‐added chemical solution. Otherwise, the fill‐factor and η were best at 3 kW Mo sputtering power conditions. Advanced fabrication methods are realised to improve cell performance without modifying the chemical composition of the Cu(In,Ga)Se2 absorption layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]