Structural and optical insights to enhance solar cell performance of CdS nanostructures

Sol-gel spin coating technique is used to prepare nanostructured CdS deposited on glass and quartz substrates with Cd:S 1.2:0.1 mol/L, 1000 rpm spin coating speed at 400 degrees C and 800 degrees C annealing temperatures, respectively. The effect of hydrothermal treatment on physical properties of crystalline size and morphology is reported. Structural, topographical and optical properties are investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV-visible spectrophotometer (UV) and photoluminescence (PL). The optical properties are investigated experimentally and theoretically to verify the suitable model for electro-optical systems. Our results are in agreement with experimental and theoretical data. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.