The optoelectronic properties of Sn-doped ZnO nanoparticles.

The rapid rise in the number of fossil fuel uses over the last few decades has increased carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. The purpose of implementing renewable energy solutions, such as solar, hydro, wind, biomass, and other renewable energy sources, is to mitigate global climate change worldwide. Solar energy has received more attention over the last few decades as an alternative source of energy, and it can play an essential role in the future of the energy industry. This is especially true of energy solutions that reduce land use, such as off-grid and on-grid solar rooftop technologies. This study aims to evaluate the energy conversion efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) systems in tropical environments. It also explores the effect of growing plants beneath PV panels. Two identical grid-connected PV systems—each containing five solar panels—were installed. The overall power production of each PV system was about 1.4 kWp. All the collected data were processed and analysed in the same way and by the same method. The PV systems were installed in two different environments—one with the possibility of growing the plants beneath the PV panels (PViGR module) and one with no possibility of growing the plants beneath the PV panels (PViSR module). The experiments were conducted in the Bo Yang District of Songkhla, Thailand over a 12-month period. Our findings indicate that green roof photovoltaic (GRPV) systems can produce around 2100 kWh of electricity in comparison to the 2000 kWh produced by other solar energy systems. Thereby, growing plants beneath PV panels increases electricity production efficiency by around 2%. This difference comes from the growing of plants underneath GRPV systems. Plants do not only help to trap humidity underneath GRPV systems but also help to cool the PV panels by absorbing the temperature beneath GRPV systems. Thus, in the production of electrical energy; the system was clearly showing significant differences in the mentioned results of both PV solar systems, which are evident for great energy efficiency performances in the future.

Mn-doped NiO nanoparticles (NPs), represented as Ni1-xMn_xO with x values of 0.00, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, and 0.08, were synthesized using a chemical precipitation process. These NPs were comprehensively analyzed for their structural, optical, and electrical properties, along with their surface morphology and elemental composition. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) confirmed the single-phase cubic crystal structure and revealed a reduction in crystallite size from 15.26 nm to 10.38 nm as Mn doping increased. Field Emission Scanning Electron microscopy (FE-SEM) determined the average particle sizes ranging from 26.03 nm to 23.30 nm. The optical properties, assessed by UV-Visible Spectroscopy (UV-Vis), revealed a widening of the bandgap from 3.49 eV to 4.10 eV with increasing Mn doping, suggesting tunable optical characteristics. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed the presence of nickel (Ni), oxygen (O), and manganese (Mn) within the NPs. The highest mobility, 1.31 ± 0.03 × 10³ cm²/Vs, was observed in the 6 wt% Mn-doped NiO NPs thin film, as determined by Hall measurements. To assess their practical utility, SCAPS-1D simulation was employed, demonstrating the potential of Mn-doped NiO NPs as a hole transport layer (HTL) in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The enhanced electrical and optical properties, combined with structural tunability, highlight Mn-doped NiO as a promising material for advanced optoelectronic applications. This study provides valuable insights into the development of efficient and stable solar cells, offering a pathway to optimize material design for improved performance in photovoltaic applications.

Antimony trisulfide (Sb₂Se₃), a non-toxic and accessible substance, has possibilities as a material for use in solar cells. The current study numerically analyses Sb₂Se₃ solar cells through the program Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator (SCAPS). A detailed simulation and analysis of the influence of the Sb₂Se₃ layer’s thickness, defect density, band gap, energy level, and carrier concentration on the devices’ performance are carried out. The results indicate that a good device performance is guaranteed with the following values in the Sb₂Se₃ layer: an 800 optimal thickness for the Sb₂Se₃ absorber; less than 10¹⁵ cm⁻³ for the absorber defect density; a 1.2 eV optimum band gap; a 0.1 eV energy level (above the valence band); and a 10¹⁴ cm⁻³ carrier concentration. The highest efficiency of 30% can be attained following optimization of diverse parameters. The simulation outcomes offer beneficial insights and directions for designing and engineering Sb₂Se₃ solar cells.

Tungsten oxide (WO_x) thin films were synthesized through the RF magnetron sputtering method by varying the sputtering power from 30 W to 80 W. Different investigations have been conducted to evaluate the variation in different morphological, optical, and dielectric properties with the sputtering power and prove the possibility of using WO_x in optoelectronic applications. An Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), stylus profilometer, and atomic force microscope (AFM) have been used to investigate the dependency of morphological properties on sputtering power. Transmittance, absorbance, and reflectance of the films, investigated by Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, have allowed for further determination of some necessary parameters, such as absorption coefficient, penetration depth, optical band energy gap, refractive index, extinction coefficient, dielectric parameters, a few types of loss parameters, etc. Variations in these parameters with the incident light spectrum have been closely analyzed. Some important parameters such as transmittance (above 80%), optical band energy gap (~3.7 eV), and refractive index (~2) ensure that as-grown WO_x films can be used in some optoelectronic applications, mainly in photovoltaic research. Furthermore, strong dependencies of all evaluated parameters on the sputtering power were found, which are to be of great use for developing the films with the required properties.

Nickel (Ni) doped Mn₃O₄ nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by a quick and facile chemical precipitation technique to investigate their performance in the degradation of methylene blue (MB) in the absence of light.