Sana Handor^1,*, Mohamed Manoua², Mohamed Sahlaoui¹, Laura Hrostea³, Mustapha Adar⁴, Mohammed Sajieddine¹, Liviu Leontie³, Abdelati Razouk^1,*

Energy Engineering, Vol.123, No.9, 2026, DOI:10.32604/ee.2026.082739 - 06 August 2026

Abstract In this study, thin films of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) were deposited onto glass and indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates at room temperature, using plasma-assisted pulsed DC sputtering with a 99.9% pure stoichiometric TiO₂ target. Our research aims to investigate the influence of film thickness on the optical, structural, and morphological properties of TiO₂ nanostructured thin films, as well as its impact on the photovoltaic performance of heterojunctions where TiO₂ serves as the emitter. Using advanced PRISA software, parameters such as refractive index, film thickness, and band gap energy were determined. Spectrophotometry analysis shows that TiO₂ thin film samples More > Graphic Abstract

Edgar G. Zamorano-Noriega¹, María E. Martínez-Barbosa^1,*, María L. Mota², Ana B. López-Oyama^3,4, Eugenio Rodríguez González⁵, Crescencio García-Guendulain⁶, Ramón Ochoa-Landín⁷, Fernando J. Sánchez-Rodríguez^8,*, Santos J. Castillo^3,*

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.23, No.6, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cl.2026.085590 - 02 July 2026

Abstract The major challenge in developing efficient photovoltaic devices is achieving highlight absorption, optimal charge transport, and low recombination losses. In this work, the effect of the immersion bath numbers in the chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique on the properties of bismuth oxysulfide (Bi₂O₂S) thin films, as emergent materials, was studied. The films were synthesized under eco-friendly conditions, using a low-concentration bismuth nitrate precursor and thioacetamide as the sulfur source, and under basic conditions at moderate temperature, with a reaction time of 3 h. X-ray diffraction demonstrated the formation of a crystalline Bi₂O₂S phase, and the morphological… More >

Nourah A. Alsobai¹, Norah Alsairy², A. Ashour³, A. M. Ismail⁴, Khaled M. Abdelbased⁵, Atef Ismail^6,*

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.23, No.6, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cl.2026.083101 - 02 July 2026

Abstract This study presents a comparative investigation of the structural, DC electrical, and magnetic properties of pure cadmium sulfide (CdS) and 10% chromium-doped CdS (Cd_0.9Cr_0.1S) nanocrystalline thin films deposited by thermal evaporation. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the polycrystalline hexagonal (wurtzite) structure of both films with no detectable secondary phases. Upon Cr doping, the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the principal diffraction peaks increased systematically, leading to a reduction in average crystallite size from 19.8 nm to 13.9 nm, accompanied by an increase in lattice strain (from 2.48 to 3.52) × 10⁻³ and dislocation density (from… More >

Hanaa I. Mohammed¹, Eman M. Nasir^2,*, Iqbal S. Naji²

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.23, No.6, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cl.2026.079657 - 02 July 2026

Abstract Thin films of Cu_xZn_1−xS nanocomposite with varying copper content (x = 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7) were successfully synthesized by the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique from their fabricated powders by the precipitation method for optoelectronic applications. The impact of Cu content on the film’s structural, morphological, optical, and electrical characteristics was investigated. Elemental composition analyses indicated that thin CZS films consisted only of their constituent elements and were free of any noted impurities. XRD patterns demonstrated that all as-grown thin films were polycrystalline in nature and adopted various planes and phases of CuS and ZnS binary… More >

Seham Hassan Salman¹, Sarmad Mahdi Ali¹, Hawraa Hadi^2,*, Dhufr Hadi³

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.23, No.5, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cl.2026.081302 - 02 June 2026

Abstract Films of (SnS) with a thickness of 400 nm were deposited by the thermal evaporation technique to investigate the influence of annealing temperature on their Physics and CO₂ gas-sensing characteristics. The deposited films were annealed at 200, 300, and 400°C. Structural characterization was performed using XRD, and the obtained results revealed that all samples possessed an orthorhombic crystal structure with a preferred orientation (301). The annealing treatment significantly improved the crystallinity of the films and reduced structural defects and lattice strain. Surface morphology investigations were performed using atomic force microscopy (AFM), which revealed noticeable modifications in… More >

Zhadyra Toreniyaz¹, Guzal Ismailova¹, Oleg Prikhodko¹, Zhasulan Nakysbekov¹, Tilek Kuanyshbekov², Nurkadam Tolep¹, Dmitry Terekhov³, Zhandos Tolepov^1,*

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.23, No.5, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cl.2026.081101 - 02 June 2026

Abstract Amorphous selenium (a-Se) thin films were deposited by vacuum thermal evaporation and investigated in planar photoconductive structures to evaluate their optical and photoelectrical properties in the low-field regime. SEM analysis showed continuous film coverage with a thickness of about 250 nm. Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction confirmed the amorphous structure of the as-deposited films and the formation of trigonal crystalline selenium after annealing. Optical analysis based on transmission and reflectance spectra yielded an optical band gap E g = 1.96   eV and an Urbach energy E U = 0.083   eV ,… More >

Irfan Saif Ud Din¹, Imran Siddique^2,3,4,5, Zohaib Zahid¹, Muhammad Nadeem⁶, Ibrahim Alraddadi^2,*, Taha Radwan^7,*

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.147, No.2, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmes.2026.081726 - 27 May 2026

Abstract This study examines the variable thermal conductivity and electroosmotic performance of Sutterby hybrid nanofluid (SBHNF) thin film flow over a stretched inclined sheet using an artificial neural network (ANN)-based on NARX (Multilayer Nonlinear Autoregressive Networks with Exogenous Inputs) multiple-layer backpropagation simulation with the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm (LMA). AA7075 and AA7072 nanoparticles suspended in sodium alginate (SA) base fluid make up the hybrid nanofluid (HNF), which was selected due to its improved heat transfer properties and superior thermal conductivity. The model’s practical applicability is enhanced by melting heat, nonlinear thermal radiation, boundary slip, and Newtonian heating effects,… More >

Md Al Rifat Anan¹, Donghyeon Ryu², Yu-Lin Shen^1,*

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.147, No.2, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmes.2026.080371 - 27 May 2026

Abstract The development of surface wrinkles on thin films bonded to compliant substrates is recognized as a form of mechanical instability. While this wrinkling behavior is widely studied when the thin film is under direct compression, much less attention has been devoted to the prediction of wrinkle formation caused by tension and cyclic compression-tension deformations. This work focuses on compression vs. tension-induced wrinkles using a relatively stiff polymeric film on an elastomeric substrate as the model system. Experimental observations show that parallel wrinkles formed during unidirectional compression gradually disappear under reverse loading. When the thin film… More >

Bushra A. Hasan¹, Ameer J. Fadhl², Ahmad A. Hasan¹, Yasser A. Jebbar^3,*

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.23, No.4, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cl.2026.079634 - 09 May 2026

Abstract Copper zinc tin sulfide selenide, Cu₂ZnSn(S_1−xSe_x)₄, absorbers are promising earth-abundant and environmentally benign materials for low-cost photovoltaic applications. This study investigates the structural and optical properties of Cu₂ZnSn(S_1−xSe_x)₄ nanostructured thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition using melt-quenched targets with selenium compositions x = 0.0–1.0. X-ray diffraction revealed that films with low selenium content remained amorphous, whereas higher selenium incorporation promoted the formation of polycrystalline kesterite–stannite phases with preferred orientations along (112), (200), (220), and (312). The crystallite size increased from 12.3 to 17.9 nm as selenium reached x = 1.0, indicating enhanced crystal growth. Atomic force… More >

Md. Rakib Hasan¹, Afrina Sharmin², Mimi Mondal^1,3, Md. Ahasan Habib¹, Rinku Majumder¹, Muhammad Shahriar Bashar^2,*, Md. Salahuddin Mina^1,*

Chalcogenide Letters, Vol.23, No.3, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cl.2026.079270 - 03 April 2026

Abstract In this work, spin-coated Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) thin films with systematically varied thicknesses were investigated to understand their influence on structural, compositional, and optical properties relevant to high-performance photovoltaic applications. CZTS absorber layers were fabricated using a sol-gel spin-coating technique, which offers simplicity, low cost, and excellent thickness control, followed by annealing at 450°C under a nitrogen atmosphere to promote crystallization and phase formation. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that films with a thickness of approximately 608 nm exhibited the highest crystallinity and a preferred orientation along the (112) plane, indicating enhanced structural order and improved grain… More >