Cadmium selenide (CdSe) thin films were grown on borosilicate glass substrates using the RF magnetron sputtering method. In this study, CdSe thin film was deposited at a deposition temperature in the range of 25 °C to 400 °C. The influence of deposition or growth temperature on the structural, morphological, and opto-electrical properties of CdSe films was investigated elaborately to achieve a good-quality window layer for solar-cell applications. The crystal structure, surface morphology, and opto-electrical characteristics of sputtered CdSe films were determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), UV–Vis spectrophotometry, and Hall effect measurement, respectively. The XRD results revealed the polycrystalline nature of CdSe, with a hexagonal structure having a strong preferential orientation toward the (002) plane. As evident from the FESEM images, the average grain size and surface morphology of the films were dependent on deposition temperatures. The carrier concentration was obtained as 10¹⁴ cm⁻³. The band gap in the range of 1.65–1.79 eV was found. The explored results suggested that sputtered CdSe thin film deposited at 300 °C has the potential to be used as a window layer in solar cells.

In this study, Zn based ZIF-8 metal-organic framework were successfully synthesized in a green synthesis approach eliminating hazardous solvents and the need to use surfactant. In this method, the syntheses were done at room temperature followed by a simple hydrothermal method using palm oil derived fatty alcohols (PODFA) with 12 carbon chain in various solvents. The effect of several co-solvents on the formation of ZIF-8 materials and on morphology were investigated. The peak positions agreed well with the simulated ZIF-8. However, as the co-solvents became more polar the (011) peak shifted to a higher 2 value suggesting that the interplanar d-spacing were reduced. The addition of fatty alcohols promoted the formation of MOF-5 and ZIF-8 at the water-fatty alcohols interfaces by viscosity lowering effect similar to those when using commercial surfactants. The mechanism of the formation was suggested to be similar to those at water-alcohol insoluble monolayer interfaces at the liquid-gas interaction. As the polarity of solvents increased, the miscibility of Zn 2+ ions and deprotonated methylimidazole linkers were enhanced causing higher interaction with metal ions which resulted in a smaller unit cell. ZIF-8 exhibited elongated rhombic dodecahedron and truncated dodecahedron morphology at less than 100 nm.