Growth of copper indium diselenide ternary thin films (CuInSe2) for solar cells: Optimization of electrodeposition potential and pH parameters.

Herein, copper indium diselenide ternary (CuInSe2) thin film has been deposited on Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) coated glass substrate by electrochemical deposition technique with different potential and pH solutions. CuInSe2 thin films were deposited by one-step electrodeposition before post-depot selenization at 450 °C for 30 min. The effect of potential and pH on the structural and optical properties of CuInSe thin film have been studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV-Visible spectrometer. According to the X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements, it was observed that all samples exhibit prominent reflections (112), (204/220), and (312/116) of tetragonal CuInSe2. The films electrodeposited at -0.8 V potential shows growth and peak values increasing in the (204/220) crystal direction within a pH range of 2.2, whereas the films electrodeposited at pH 2.6 tend to favor an increase in (112) peaks. We also noticed an improvement in surface morphology and adherent of CuInSe2 thin films electrodeposited at -0.8 V applied potential from the solution having pH 2.6. The band gaps of samples electrodeposited at -0.8V potentials from pH 2.6, 2.4, and 2.2 solutions were 1.15 eV, 1.25 eV, and 1.21 eV, respectively. As part of our investigation, we used a Solar Cell capacitance simulator (SCAPS) to perform our electrodeposited films. The most effective Power conversion efficiency (PCE) was obtained for thin films electrodeposited at -0.8 V within the solution having pH 2.4.

The Structural and Electrochemical Properties of CuCoO2 Crystalline Nanopowders and Thin Films: Conductivity Experimental Analysis and Insights from Density Functional Theory Calculations.

A novel manufacturing process is presented for producing nanopowders and thin films of CuCoO2 (CCO) material. This process utilizes three cost-effective synthesis methods: hydrothermal, sol-gel, and solid-state reactions. The resulting delafossite CuCoO2 samples were deposited onto transparent substrates through spray pyrolysis, forming innovative thin films with a nanocrystal powder structure. Prior to the transformation into thin films, CuCoO2 powder was first produced using a low-cost approach. The precursors for both powders and thin films were deposited onto glass surfaces using a spray pyrolysis process, and their characteristics were examined through X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, HR-TEM, UV-visible spectrophotometry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analyses were conducted to determine the conductivity in the transversal direction of this groundbreaking material for solar cell applications. On the other hand, the sheet resistance of the samples was investigated using the four-probe method to obtain the sheet resistivity and then calculate the in-plane conductivity of the samples. We also investigated the aging characteristics of different precursors with varying durations. The functional properties of CuCoO2 samples were explored by studying chelating agent and precursor solution aging periods using Density Functional Theory calculations (DFT). A complementary Density Functional Theory study was also performed in order to evaluate the electronic structure of this compound. Resuming, this study thoroughly discusses the synthesis of delafossite powders and their conversion into thin films, which hold potential as hole transport layers in transparent optoelectronic devices.

Investigation of the stability of organic-inorganic halide perovskite thin films: Insight from experimental and simulation.

Herein, we investigated the stability of lead halide perovskites under ambient conditions after mixing the two cations Formamidinium (FA) and Cesium (Cs). The CsxFA1-xPbI3 perovskites solutions were prepared with different contents of x (0.0, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 1.0) and deposited on substrates by spin-coating technique. The CsxFA1-xPbI3 films were, afterwards, characterized using the X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-visible spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) spectra and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to figure out their crystallinity, morphology, and optical properties. We noticed a stable perovskite structure for the mixed compounds unalike the pure FA and Cs films. The XRD analysis revealed, even after two weeks, the growth and good stability after two weeks of the desired black cubic α-phase perovskite structure in opposite to FAPbI3 and CsPbI3 which, respectively, showed faster degradation and transition into non-perovskite δ-phase and É£-phase no perovskite phases. The mixed perovskites Cs-FA also displayed a high absorbance especially for the ones with 30% of Cs and 70% of FA or 50% of each, with an excellent band gap energy ranging between 1.52 and 1.7 eV where FAPbI3 and CsPbI3 were showing a bandgap between 1.5 and 1.9 eV respectively. Moreover, the performance of the CsxFA1-xPbI3 based solar cells were simulated with SCAPS by using the band gaps obtained from the experimental study and after by varying the band gap, the thickness of the absorber layers and then different types of Electron Transport Layer (ETL). The simulation results revealed that the Cs0.3FA0.7PbI3 based solar cells had the highest higher efficiency around 22.36%.

Methylammonium lead triiodide perovskite-based solar cells efficiency: Insight from experimental and simulation.

This work deals with the growth investigation of the methylammonium lead triiodide (MAPbI3) thin films prepared by the spin coating technique. Firstly, MAPbI3 films were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV-Visible spectroscopy as well as photoluminescence techniques are used to calculate the band gap energy. Indeed, the high-quality MAPbI3 perovskite films were obtained by using Chlorobenzene as an antisolvent with good crystallinity, large grain sizes, and higher absorption compared to MAPbI3 treated by toluene. Secondly, the performance of FTO/TiO2/MAPbI3/Spiro OMeTAD/Au perovskite solar cell was evaluated using a numerical simulation of the Solar Cell by SCAPS simulator. The effect of the structural and physical parameters of MAPbI3 absorber layer and HTL with the different antisolvents, including thickness, defect density, total charge density, donor density and electron affinity. Obtained results are: Jsc of 25.96 mA/cm2, PCE of 30.70%, Voc of 1.259 V, FF of 88.93% of MAPbI3-based solar cells when MAPbI3 is treated by toluene. However, for MAPbI3- Chlorobenzene, the I-V characteristics are rather: Jsc of 28.18 mA/cm2, PCE of 31.81%, FF of 88.19% and Voc of 1.200 V. It is pointed out that the use of chlorobenzene may be of interest to improve the perovskites solar cells performances.

Manufacture of different oxides with high uniformity for copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS) based solar cells.

Herein, we investigate different oxides layers: Zinc Oxide (ZnO), Nickel Oxide (NiO), Titanium Oxide (TiO2), and Copper Oxide (CuO), which are effective materials for Copper Zinc Tin Sulfide (CZTS) based solar cells due to their excellent electrical and optical properties. The different oxide films were prepared using spray pyrolysis as a low-cost technique. Then, the films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and UV-Visible to examine different properties. The XRD pattern showed that the different oxides are polycrystalline. ZnO exhibits a hexagonal wurtzite structure, and NiO is cubic. For the TiO2, (101) and (004) peaks have been identified, corresponding to the tetragonal anatase phase. CuO showed diffraction peaks corresponding to the monoclinic structures. The SEM results revealed that the deposited films consist of crystals with low crystallinity for NiO and good crystallinity for the rest oxides. The band gap was calculated from the UV-visible measurement. We obtained 3.26 eV, 3.34 eV, 3.2 eV, and 1.7 eV for ZnO, NiO, TiO2, and CuO respectively. The performance of the CZTS-based solar cell was checked by using the simulator SCAPS. ZnO and TiO2 were used as window layers where CZTS efficiencies are 24.40% and 24.54%, respectively. These findings show that ZnO and TiO2 films can be produced by low-cost techniques such as spray pyrolysis to be used as windows and electron transport layers for CZTS-based solar cells.

Removal of cadmium and lead ions from aqueous solutions by novel dolomite-quartz@Fe3O4 nanocomposite fabricated as nanoadsorbent.

The elimination of heavy metal ion contaminants from residual waters is critical to protect humans and the environment. The natural clay (dolomite and quartz) based composite Fe3O4 nanoparticles (DQ@Fe3O4) has been largely explored for this purpose. Experimental variables such as temperature, pH, heavy metal concentration, DQ@Fe3O4 dose, and contact time were optimized in details. The DQ@Fe3O4 nanocomposite was found to achieve maximum removals of 95.02% for Pb2+ and 86.89% for Cd2+, at optimal conditions: pH = 8.5, adsorbent dose = 2.8 g L-1, the temperature = 25 °C, and contact time = 140 min, for 150 mg L-1 heavy metal ion initial concentration. The Co-precipitation of dolomite-quartz by Fe3O4 nanoparticles was evidenced by SEM-EDS, TEM, AFM, FTIR, XRD, and TGA analyses. Further, the comparison to the theoretical predictions, of the adsorption kinetics, and at the equilibrium, of the composite, revealed that they fit, respectively to, the pseudo-second-order kinetic, and Langmuir isotherm. These both models were found to better describe the metal binding onto the DQ@Fe3O4 surface. This suggested a homogenous monolayer sorption dominated by surface complexation. Additionally, thermodynamic data have shown that the adsorption of heavy metal ions is considered a spontaneous and exothermic process. Moreover, Monte Carlo (MC) simulations were performed in order to elucidate the interactions occurring between the heavy metal ions and the DQ@Fe3O4 nanocomposite surface. A good correlation was found between the simulated and the experimental data. Moreover, based on the negative values of the adsorption energy (Eads), the adsorption process was confirmed to be spontaneous. In summary, the as-prepared DQ@Fe3O4 can be considered a low-cost-effective heavy metals adsorbent, and it has a great potential application for wastewater treatment.

Multifunctional cobalt oxide nanocomposites for efficient removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions.

In this study, co-precipitation synthesis of natural clay (NC) with Co3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) is carried out to elaborate the super NC@Co3O4 nanocomposites with admirable salinity confrontation, environmental stability and reusability, to eliminate heavy metal pollution such as toxic Pb(II) and Cd(II) ions. The advantages of using the NC@Co3O4 adsorbent are easy synthesis and biocompatibility. In addition, NC@Co3O4 can keep an excellent adsorption capacity by taking into account various environmental parameters such as the pH solution, NC@Co3O4 dose, adsorption process time and the initial heavy metals concentration. Furthermore, FTIR, XRD, TGA, SEM-EDS, TEM and AFM analyses were performed to confirm NC@Co3O4 nanocomposites synthesis and characterisation. The adsorption efficiencies of Pb(II) and Cd(II) ions by NC@Co3O4 nanocomposites were demonstrated to be up to 86.89% and 82.06% respectively. Regarding the adsorption from water onto the NC@Co3O4 nanocomposites, kinetics data were well fitted with PSO kinetic model, whereas a good agreement was found between the equilibrium adsorption and theoretical Langmuir isotherm model leading to maximum adsorption capacities of 55.24 and 52.91 mg/g, for Pb(II) and Cd(II) respectively. Monte Carlo (MC) simulations confirmed the spontaneous of this adsorption based on the negative values of Eads. The MC simulations were performed to highlight the interactions occurring between heavy metal ions and the surface of NC@Co3O4 nanocomposites, these were well correlated with the experimental results. Overall the study showed that NC@Co3O4 nanoadsorbents have strongly versatile applications and are well designed for pollutant removal from wastewater due to their unique adsorptive properties.

Green synthesis of Ag2O nanoparticles using Punica granatum leaf extract for sulfamethoxazole antibiotic adsorption: characterization, experimental study, modeling, and DFT calculation.

Silver oxide (Ag2O) nanoparticles (NPs) were generated by synthesizing green leaf extract of Punica granatum, and afterwards they were used as adsorbent to remove the antibiotic additive sulfamethoxazole (SMX) from aqueous solutions. Prior of their use as adsorbent, the Ag2O NPs were characterized by various methods such as X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The Ag2O NPs were found to be spherically shaped and stabilized by the constituents of the extract. Further, at SMX antibiotic concentration of 100 mg L-1, the Ag2O NPs achieved almost complete removal of 98.93% within 90 min, and by using 0.8 g L-1 of adsorbent dose at pH=4 and temperature T=308 K. In addition, the experimental data were well fitted with the theoretical Langmuir model indicating homogeneous adsorbed layer of the SMX antibiotic on the Ag2O NPs surface. The maximum uptake capacity was 277.85 mg g-1. A good agreement was also found between the kinetic adsorption data and the theoretical pseudo-second-order model. Regarding the thermodynamic adsorption aspects, the data revealed an endothermic nature and confirmed the feasibility and the spontaneity of the adsorption reaction. Furthermore, the regeneration study has shown that the Ag2O NPs could be efficiently reused for up to five cycles. The geometric structures have been optimized and quantum chemical parameters were calculated for the SMX unprotonated (SMX+/-) and protonated (SMX+) using density functional theory (DFT) calculation. The DFT results indicated that the unprotonated SMX+/- reacts more favorably on the Ag2O surface, as compared to the protonated SMX+. The SMX binding mechanism was predominantly controlled by the electrostatic attraction, hydrogen bond, hydrophobic, and π-π interactions. The overall data suggest that the Ag2O NPs have promising potential for antibiotic removal from wastewater.

Manufacture of High-Efficiency and Stable Lead-Free Solar Cells through Antisolvent Quenching Engineering.

Antisolvent quenching has shown to significantly enhance several perovskite films used in solar cells; however, no studies have been conducted on its impact on MASnI3. Here, we investigated the role that different antisolvents, i.e., diethyl ether, toluene, and chlorobenzene, have on the growth of MASnI3 films. The crystallinity, morphology, topography, and optical properties of the obtained thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), photoluminescence (PL) measurements, and UV-visible spectroscopy. The impact of the different antisolvent treatments was evaluated based on the surface homogeneity as well as the structure of the MASnI3 thin films. In addition, thermal annealing was optimized to control the crystallization process. The applied antisolvent was modified to better manage the supersaturation process. The obtained results support the use of chlorobenzene and toluene to reduce pinholes and increase the grain size. Toluene was found to further improve the morphology and stability of thin films, as it showed less degradation after four weeks under dark with 60% humidity. Furthermore, we performed a simulation using SCAPS-1D software to observe the effect of these antisolvents on the performance of MASnI3-based solar cells. We also produced the device FTO/TiO2/MASnI3/Spiro-OMeTAD/Au, obtaining a remarkable photoconversion efficiency (PCE) improvement of 5.11% when using the MASnI3 device treated with chlorobenzene. A PCE improvement of 9.44% was obtained for the MASnI3 device treated with toluene, which also showed better stability. Our results support antisolvent quenching as a reproducible method to improve perovskite devices under ambient conditions.

Investigation of the Surface Coating, Humidity Degradation, and Recovery of Perovskite Film Phase for Solar-Cell Applications.

Presently, we inquire about the organic/inorganic cation effect on different properties based on structure, morphology, and steadiness in preparing a one-step solution of APbI3 thin films, where A = MA, FA, Cs, using spin coating. This study was conducted to understand those properties well by incorporating device modeling using SCAPS-1D software and to upgrade their chemical composition. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to analyze the crystal structures. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) were conducted to characterize the surface morphology; photoluminescence, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and a UV-Visible spectrometer helped us to study the optical properties. The (110) plane is where we found the perovskite's crystalline structure. According to the XRD results and by changing the type of cation, we influence stabilization and the growth of the APbI3 absorber layer. Hither, a homogenous, smooth-surfaced, pinhole-free perovskite film and large grain size are results from the cesium cation. For the different cations, the band gap's range, revealed by the optical analysis, is from 1.4 to 1.8 eV. Moreover, the stability of CsPbI3 remains excellent for two weeks and in a ~60% humid environment. Based on the UV-Visible spectrometer and photoluminescence characterization, a numerical analysis for fabricated samples was also performed for stability analysis by modeling standard solar-cell structures HTL/APbI3/ETL. Modeling findings are in good agreement with experimental results that CsPbI3 is more stable, showing a loss % in PCE of 14.28%, which is smaller in comparison to FAPbI3 (44.46%) and MAPbI3 (20.24%).

Biosynthesis of SiO2 nanoparticles using extract of Nerium oleander leaves for the removal of tetracycline antibiotic.

Tetracycline (TC) is one of the antibiotics that is found in wastewaters. TC is toxic, carcinogenic, and teratogenic. In this study, the tetracycline was removed from water by adsorption using dioxide silicon nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs) biosynthesized from the extract of Nerium oleander leaves. These nanoparticles were characterized using SEM-EDX, BET-BJH, FTIR-ATR, TEM, and XRD. The influences of various factors such as pH solution, SiO2 NPs dose, adsorption process time, initial TC concentration, and ionic strength on adsorption behaviour of TC onto SiO2 NPs were investigated. TC adsorption on SiO2 NPs could be well described in the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and followed the Langmuir isotherm model with a maximum adsorption capacity was 552.48 mg/g. At optimal conditions, the experimental adsorption results indicated that the SiO2 NPs adsorbed 98.62% of TC. The removal of TC using SiO2 NPs was 99.56% at conditions (SiO2 NPs dose = 0.25 g/L, C0 = 25 mg/L, and t = 40 min) based on Box-Behnken design (BBD) combined with response surface methodology (RSM) modelling. Electrostatic interaction governs the adsorption mechanism is attributed. The reusability of SiO2 NPs was tested, and the performance adsorption was 85.36% after the five cycles. The synthesized SiO2 NPs as promising adsorbent has a potential application for antibiotics removal from wastewaters.