D. Haouanoh^a, M. Toubane^a,*, R. Talaighil^a, F. Bensouici^b

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.22, No.2, pp. 177-188, 2025, DOI:10.15251/CL.2025.222.177

Abstract CZTS thin layers were successfully deposited onto both glass and indium-tin oxide substrates using the chemical bath deposition method. The effects of solution pH, deposition time, and annealing temperature on the structural, morphological, and optical properties were investigated. Thermal analysis (DSC/TGA) shows that the CZTS kesterite structure crystallized at 237.2°C. Structural analysis by X- ray Diffraction, Rietveld refinement and Raman spectroscopy, revealed that the kesterite phases formation with the presence of SnO₂cassiterite and ZnO wurtzite structures in the films annealed at a higher temperature with nanocrystalline size. SEM images showed smooth and homogeneous surfaces, with the More >

F. T. Ibrahim^1,*, A. A. Qassim², S. M. A. Al-Dujayli¹

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.22, No.11, pp. 929-937, 2025, DOI:10.15251/CL.2025.2211.929

Abstract This work, pulse laser deposition technique was employee to synthesize Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin films with different lasing energy (500, 600, 700, 800, 900 mJ). Through using different characterization technique to study structural, optical and gas sensing properties. the use of X-ray diffraction, the samples have polycrystalline with cubic structure. The EDX examination showed that the sample contains a suitable amount of Zn, Sn, Cu, and S atoms to form CZTS. UV-VIS measurement indicates that the synthesis of thin films employing a lower laser energy result in a drop in deposit sample thickness, which in turn More >

C. E. H. Merzouk^a, S. Bensmaine^a, L. Ghalmi^a, A. Aissat^b,c,*

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.21, No.2, pp. 113-124, 2024, DOI:10.15251/CL.2024.212.113

Abstract This comparative numerical simulation study investigates the electrical characteristics of two heterojunction thin-film solar cells based on Kësterites Copper Zinc Tin Sulfide. The study compared two solar cells with different structures, Zinc Oxide ZnO/Cadmium Sulfide CdS/Kësterites CZTS/Molybdenum Mo and Zinc Oxide ZnO/Zinc Sulfide ZnS/Kësterites CZTS/Molybdenum Mo, to determine which is more efficient in achieving maximum photovoltaic efficiency. The results showed that the ZnO/ZnS/CZTS/Mo solar cell is the better option, outperforming the CdS/CZTS/Mo solar cell in terms of short-circuit current density J_sc, open-circuit voltage V_oc, form factor FF, and photovoltaic efficiency η. The study also investigated the More >

M. Boonkam, P. Tamdee, P. Tongying^*

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.21, No.4, pp. 335-342, 2024, DOI:10.15251/CL.2024.214.335

Abstract This work presents a facile hydrothermal synthesis method for fabricating a multifunctional composite of copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS) nanoparticles coated onto sepiolite fibers. Morphological analysis confirms the firm attachment of approximately 10 nm CZTS nanoparticles onto the sepiolite surface. Elemental analysis verifies the presence of constituent elements from both CZTS and sepiolite, with a slight deficiency in Cu and an abundance of Zn observed. The compositional formula of CZTS in the composite is estimated as Cu_1.93Zn_1.05Sn_0.98S_4.04. Notably, the material exhibits a narrow band gap of 1.5 eV, enabling effective utilization of the entire visible light More >

R. N. Mondal^a,b,*, S. Sahab¹

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.21, No.10, pp. 771-783, 2024, DOI:10.15251/CL.2024.2110.771

Abstract Cu₂ZnSnS₄ nanocrystals (CZTS NCs), MoS₂ nanosheet (NS) and MoS₂-CZTS nanocomposite (NC) have been synthesized using solvothermal route. Structural characterization of samples have been done by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, HR-TEM. Samples have optically characterized by UV-Vis absorption, photoluminescence (PL) and time co-related single photon counting (TCSPC) study. The XRD, HR-TEM and Raman spectroscopy established tetragonal kesterite phase for both CZTS NCs and MoS2-CZTS NC. Enhancement of efficiency of CZTS NCs to degrade methylene blue (MB) dye, illuminated by visible light, have been observed by loading 1 wt.% MoS₂ NS and found to be ~100% in only 15 minutes. More >

N. Messei^a,*, M. S. Aida^b, A. Attaf^a, N. Hamani^a, S. Laznek^c

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.20, No.2, pp. 165-175, 2023, DOI:10.15251/CL.2023.202.165

Abstract To enhance the efficiency of kesterite Cu₂ZnSnS₄ solar cell, different gradient strategies are investigated. Absorber layer gradient is obtained by partial substitution of sulfur with selenium or tin with germanium. The PV Parameters are calculated using the SCAPS1D program. The effect of the front, back, and double gradient on the cell parameters was investigated. We proposed also the fully graded gap absorber layer profile. The opencircuit voltage has increased to 1.040V, the fill factor has increased to 71.69%, and the efficiency has exceeded 22.95%. In contrast to other types of gradients, the short-circuit current density remains More >

H. A. Mohamed^a, Sh. S. Ali^a, M. R. Ahmed^a, W. S. Mohamed^b,c,*

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.20, No.5, pp. 333-342, 2023, DOI:10.15251/CL.2023.205.333

Abstract This study focuses on thin-film structures made of ITO, CdS, ZnS, CZTSSe, and Mo (i.e., ITO/CdS:ZnS/CZTSSe/Mo) for solar cell applications. The effect of ZnS content on the performance of this cell has been theoretically investigated. The optical losses caused by reflection at various interfaces and absorption in ITO and CdS:ZnS layers have been calculated using the current structure's experimental data. The losses due to charge carrier recombination at the front and back surfaces of the CZTSSe absorber have been calculated using the absorber layer and depletion region parameters. It was discovered that increasing the ZnS More >

Fatiha Daoudi^1,*, Abdelkrim Naas¹, Omar Meglali^1,2, Radia Boudaira³, Ahmed Gueddim¹, A. M. Saeed⁴

Energy Engineering, Vol.120, No.8, pp. 1803-1815, 2023, DOI:10.32604/ee.2023.028423 - 05 June 2023

Abstract The numerical simulations were performed using the AMPS-1D simulator to study the effects of the CZTS as an absorber layer and the contacts’ barrier height on the performance of four ZnO/CdS/CZTS solar cells. To obtain the best cell performances, the barrier heights of the back and front contacts were adjusted between 0.01, 0.77, 0.5, and 1.55 eV, respectively. For simulations, we used the lifetime mode, and the device performances were evaluated under AM1.5 illumination spectra. We found that the efficiency, fill factor, and open-circuit voltage were almost constant at a front contact barrier height of… More > Graphic Abstract