{
  "abstract": "Developing efficient and affordable thin-film solar cells requires absorber materials that can harvest a broad portion of sunlight while minimizing charge-carrier losses. Here, a CuGaS2–CuInS2 heterostructure was developed as an absorber to improve the optical and interfacial properties of CuInS2-based photovoltaic devices. X-ray diffraction confirmed the coexistence of the constituent chalcopyrite phases, with the heterostructure exhibiting an average crystallite size of 39.4 nm and a (112) d-spacing of 3.226 Å. SEM and HR-TEM revealed interconnected morphology, intimate interfacial contact, and well-resolved lattice fringes. UV-visible analysis showed that heterostructure formation reduced the optical bandgap from 1.74 eV for CuInS2 to 1.64 eV, extending visible-light absorption. The FTO/TiO2/CuGaS2–CuInS2/Spiro-OMeTAD/Au device achieved a power conversion efficiency of 7.41% with a fill factor of 0.632, compared with 5.09% and 0.485, respectively, for the CuInS2 device. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy showed a lower charge-transfer resistance of 14.22 Ω and a higher recombination resistance of 2919.9 Ω, while the maximum external quantum efficiency increased from approximately 79% to 86%. These findings demonstrate that heterostructure engineering provides a practical route for simultaneously tuning light absorption and interfacial carrier transport, offering broader potential for the development of efficient thin-film photovoltaic absorbers.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Physics, College of Science, University of Ha'il P.O. Box 2440 Ha'il Saudi Arabia",
    "Faculty of Electrical Technology and Engineering, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka Melaka Malaysia",
    "International Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Sciences (ICIRS), The University of Lahore Lahore 54000 Pakistan",
    "School of Quantitative Sciences, UUM College of Arts & Sciences, Universiti Utara Malaysia Darul Aman Sintok Kedah 06010 Malaysia",
    "Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, College of Engineering, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University P. O. Box 84428 Riyadh 11671 Saudi Arabia",
    "Department of Physical Sciences, College of Science, University of Jeddah Jeddah 23890 Saudi Arabia",
    "Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering at Yanbu, Taibah University Yanbu Al-Bahr 41911 Saudi Arabia",
    "Energy, Industry, and Advanced Technologies Research Center, Taibah University Madinah Saudi Arabia",
    "Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering, Al-Baha University P.O. Box 65799 Albaha Saudi Arabia",
    "Department of Physics, College of Science, Qassim University Buraidah 51452 Saudi Arabia"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Mohamed Bouzidi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "A. F. A. Kadir"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Ali Mujtaba",
      "orcid": "0009-0006-8111-0763"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Adnan Asghar"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Ghada A. Alsawah"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Sultan Albarakati"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Ahmed F. Almutairi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Turki Alkathiri"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        9
      ],
      "name": "Faisal Alresheedi"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7ymd30yn0afz9.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1039/d6ra07913j",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13735820/",
  "id": "7ymd30yn0afz9",
  "issns": [
    "2046-2069"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1039/d6ra07913j",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-3.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC 3.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Chemistry"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2208|Chalcogenide Semiconductor Thin Films"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7225307148",
  "pdf_url": "https://pubs.rsc.org/ra/article-pdf/doi/10.1039/d6ra07913j/15046343/d6ra07913j.pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13735820",
  "pmid": "42990945",
  "published": "2026-11-05",
  "publisher": "Royal Society of Chemistry",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7ymd30yn0afz9.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-09T12:21:25Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13735820",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1039/d6ra07913j"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "heading:Chemistry",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Bandgap engineering of CuGaS2–CuInS2 heterostructures for efficient thin-film photovoltaics",
  "title_text": "Bandgap engineering of CuGaS2–CuInS2 heterostructures for efficient thin-film photovoltaics",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-09T12:21:25Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7ymd30yn0afz9",
  "venue": "RSC Advances",
  "versions": []
}