In this work, silver (Ag) doped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were synthesized using zinc chloride, zinc nitrate, and zinc acetate precursors with (0 to 10) wt % Ag doping by a simple reflux chemical method. The nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, ultraviolet visible spectroscopy, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The nanoparticles are studied as a photocatalyst for visible light driven annihilation of methylene blue and rose bengal dyes. The 5 wt % Ag doped ZnO displayed optimum photocatalytic activity toward methylene blue and rose bengal dye degradation at the rate of 13 × 10 −2 min −1 and 10 × 10 −2 min −1 , respectively. Here we report antifungal activity for the first time using Ag doped ZnO nanoparticles against Bipolaris sorokiniana, displaying 45% efficiency for 7 wt % Ag doped ZnO.

Copper Indium di-Selenium, CuInSe2 (CISe) is the most promising absorber material for thin-film solar cells. CISe based solar cells have shown long-term stability and the highest conversion efficiencies of all thin-film solar cells, above 19%. Moreover, CISe based solar cells are very stable and thus their operational lifetimes are long. The deposition method generally has a large impact on the resulting film properties as well as on the production costs. CISe can be prepared by a variety of methods like physical and chemical methods. The present review discusses first the liquid phase synthesis method like chemical bath deposition (CBD), electro-deposition (ED), spray pyrolysis (SP), and successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction method (SILAR), etc. Next, the structural, optical, electrical, and photo-electrochemical properties of CISe, as well as features of solar cells made thereof are reviewed. The last part of the text deals with the application of CISe thin-film absorbers in solar cells. The photo-response properties of the CISe are discussed how they can improve the efficiency and reduce the cost in potential applications.

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The indoor utilization of emerging photovoltaics is promising but power conversion efficiency (PCE) under indoor lighting is still challenging. Dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is one of the most excellent options to harvest and convert the artificial indoor light into electricity. In present study, we investigated the indoor performance of N3 sensitized Titania DSSCs under artificial lighting. We observed a substantial improvement in PEC of solar cell. 2 Under the indoor illumination of 33 mW/cm , the maximum PCE obtained was 28.21 %. Our findings suggests that the obtained high efficiency N3 sensitized Titania DSSCs under artificial lighting have a good potential application for low power electronic devices for their autonomous operation. Graphical abstract shows the result with glowed LED using three series connected DSSCs.

Nickel oxide (NiO) thin films have been synthesized by simple and inexpensive chemical bath deposition at low temperature. The synthesized thin films were annealed at 623 K and used for further characterization. Structural and morphological properties of the NiO thin film were characterized using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope (SEM), respectively. The structural study shows the simple cubic formation of NiO thin films with average crystallite size of 9 nm. Honeycomb like surface morphology with porous structure was observed from the SEM study. NiO thin film electrode has been used as a counter electrode in dye sensitized solar cell. Finally, photovoltaic parameters such as short circuit current density (J sc ), open circuit voltage (V oc ), Fill Factor (FF) and efficiency (g) have been studied.