Optimising Aged Nanostructured Nickel Oxide Thin Films for Solar Cells Fabrication

Abstract

The effect of ageing on properties of nickel oxide thin films deposited using spray pyrolysis technique was the focus of this study. Freshly prepared and aged nickel oxide films were successfully deposited by spray pyrolysis technique on a glass substrate at 350°C. The morphological, elemental, structural and optical properties of two different films were studied. The surface morphology was studied using field emission gun scanning electron microscope. The X-ray diffraction shows that both freshly prepared and aged films have a polycrystalline cubic structure with a preferred orientation along the (1 1 1) and (2 0 0) planes. Optical studies show a high transparency in the visible and near infrared regions. The band gap grew with ageing from 3.60 eV to 3.70 eV. The optical constant including the refractive index and extinction coefficient reduced with ageing. Based on the result obtained, the prepared sample can be used as the absorber layer of solar cells. The findings may open new frontiers in affordable and efficient solar cell fabrication in developing countries.