Fluorine-doped Tin Oxide Substrate Research Articles

One-dimensional ZnO micro/nanostructures: deep insight into the growth mechanism and fine control of the microscopic morphology.

One-dimensional zinc oxide arrays with various finely controlled microscopic morphologies are grown on fluorine-doped tin oxide substrates by a hydrothermal method. The relationship between the microscopic morphologies and the reaction conditions are studied deeply. It is found that although all the studied reaction parameters, like reaction time, pH value, concentration of the reactants and so on, can affect the microstructures of the resultant products, what they affect, in essence, is the concentration of free Zn2+ ions of the solution. By exploring the evolution of the microstructure of the one-dimensional zinc oxide crystals, it is proved that the formation of the various microscopic morphologies is a result of the competition between the kinetic control and the thermodynamic control during the crystal growth, which in turn is mainly determined by the concentration of the free Zn2+ ions in the solution. The in-depth exploration of the growth mechanism of zinc oxide and the fine control of its microscopic morphologies is expected to provide advanced materials for current and future cutting-edge applications of zinc oxide. It is also expected that the growth mechanism reported here can provide theoretical support for achieving other oxide materials whose microstructure can be finely controlled.

A drastic improvement in photocatalytic H2 production by TiO2 nanosheets grown directly on Ta2O5 substrates.

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is the most frequently studied semiconducting material for photocatalytic water splitting. One of the favored forms of TiO2 for photocatalytic applications is layers of erected single-crystalline anatase nanosheets (NSs), while the most frequently reported substrate used for its synthesis is a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO). Herein we demonstrate that anatase TiO2 NS layers can be similarly grown on a Ta2O5 substrate. We found that a Ta2O5 back contact provides a remarkable improvement of the photocatalytic activity of the TiO2 NSs in comparison to a FTO back contact. The TiO2 NSs on Ta2O5 exhibit a 170-fold increase in photocatalytic H2 production rate than that obtained by TiO2 NSs on FTO substrate. The proposed mechanism reveals that such a drastic enhancement of optimized TiO2 NS arrays on the Ta2O5 substrate is attributed to the blocking nature of Ta2O5 for photo-generated electrons in the TiO2 NSs.

Controllable in-situ preparation of high-coverage horizontal TiO2 nanosheet array

TiO2 is an important electron transport material in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Some researchers have prepared dense TiO2 particles and mesoporous TiO2, but there are few reports on preparation of TiO2 nanosheets for solar cells. We have prepared in-situ controllable TiO2 nanosheet array on the fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate with multiple spin-coating method, and the nanosheets were horizontally arranged in order with good shape consistency. Our research provides references for the preparation of solar cells with TiO2 nanosheets as electron transport layer (ETL).

Design and Analysis of High Efficiency Perovskite Solar Cells with Light Trapping Nano-textured Substrates

Recently, the utilization of hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite solar cells under advanced light management designs have attracted intensive attention. In this study, a three-dimensional (3D) finite element method (FEM) technique was used in the COMSOL Multiphysics simulation package to investigate coupled optical and electrical characteristics of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with light trapping nanostructures. Upon the use of nano-textured fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates, we propose two architectures which can guide and trap the light at nanometer dimensions. Two proposed PSCs i.e. concave and trapezoidal structures are compared to the planar structure in order to investigate the effects of using nanostructured substrates on the optoelectronic performance of PSCs. Optical analysis reveals that using optimized concave and trapezoidal structures can enhance the light absorption up to 32 and 26%, respectively at the wavelength of 550 nm. Electrical simulations have shown that in addition to enhanced total carrier generation, the generated carriers can be effectively collected in the proposed nanostructured PSCs. Accordingly, the short-circuit current has risen from 20 mA for planar structure to 25.7 mA for concave and 23.2 mA for trapezoidal PSCs. After analyzing various heights and adopting optimum values, the power conversion efficiency for concave and trapezoidal PSCs experienced substantial increase of 5.5 and 3.5%, compared to the planar structure. These drastic improvements analyzed by coupled optical and electrical modelling of nanostructures can pave the way for further studies to fabricate high efficiency PSCs with nano-textured substrates as a light-trapping technique.

Experimental and theoretical study of highly porous lignocellulose assisted metal oxide photoelectrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

Here, we have manufactured extremely porous photoelectrodes comprised of ZnO/TiO2 by adding lignocellulose (LC) fibers extracted from the self-growing plant (Lily) on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate using doctor blade technique for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) uses and first-principle calculations were performed for electronic band structures and density of state (DOS). Density functional theory (DFT) results revealed a high conductivity and narrow electronic bandgap after doping with LC. Experimental results showed the effect of the addition of LC in ZnO (ZnO + LC) and TiO2 (TiO2 + LC) on the structure, morphology, and power conversion efficiency (PCE) was studied in detail using powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, UV–visible spectroscopy, and solar simulant. The addition of LC in ZnO/TiO2 increases the porosity and surface area for higher dye loading and light-harvesting while decreasing the backward scattering of electrons. These developments result in a 38% increase in PCE of (ZnO + LC) as related to the ZnO based DSSC and a 104% increase in the case of (TiO2 + LC) based DSSC. In this work, we express that the development of highly porous metal oxide nano-composites by mixing LC fibers which may solve the electrolyte leakage issue and enhance the porosity of the photoelectrodes and thus enhance the PCE of DSSCs.

An Aqueous Exfoliation of WO3 as a Route for Counterions Fabrication-Improved Photocatalyticand Capacitive Properties of Polyaniline/WO3Composite.

In this paper, we demonstrate a novel, electrochemical route of polyaniline/tungsten oxide (PANI)/WO3) film preparation. Polyaniline composite film was electrodeposited on the FTO (fluorine-doped tin oxide) substrate from the aqueous electrolyte that contained aniline (monomer) and exfoliated WO3 as a source of counter ions. The chemical nature of WO3 incorporated in the polyaniline matrix was investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. SEM (scanning electron microscopy) showed the impact of WO3 presence on the morphology of polyaniline film. PANI/WO3 film was tested as an electrode material in an acidic electrolyte. Performed measurements showed the electroactivity of both components and enhanced electrochemical stability of PANI/WO3 in comparison with PANI/Cl. Thus, PANI/WO3 electrodes were utilized to construct the symmetric supercapacitors. The impact of capacitive and diffusion-controlled processes on the mechanism of electrical energy storage was quantitatively determined. Devices exhibited high electrochemical capacity of 135 mF cm−2 (180 F g−1) and satisfactory retention rate of 70% after 10,000 cycles. The electrochemical energy storage device exhibited 1075.6 W kg−1 of power density and 12.25 Wh kg−1 of energy density. We also investigated the photocatalytic performance of the deposited film. Photodegradation efficiencies of methylene blue and methyl orange using PANI/WO3 and PANI/Cl were compared. The mechanism of dye degradation using WO3-containing films was investigated in the presence of scavengers. Significantly higher efficiency of photodecomposition of dyes was achieved for composite films (84% and 86%) in comparison with PANI/Cl (32% and 39%) for methylene blue and methyl orange, respectively.

High-sensitivity photoelectrochemical visible-blind ultraviolet detector using SrTiO3 nanocrystalline for weak irradiation

We have demonstrated a photoelectrochemical solar-blind ultraviolet (UV) detector based on SrTiO3 (STO) nanocrystalline film in this work. The assembled UV detector presents a high on/off ratio of about 6433 under periodic UV irradiation, a high photocurrent density of 220.6 μA cm−2, and a fast response time of 9 ms. By introducing a block layer (BL) on fluorine-doped tin oxide substrate, the response and decay times are shortened to 6 ms and 8 ms, respectively. The BL plays a crucial part in hindering the recombination of electrons from electrolyte carriers and avoiding short circuits. Due to its excellent light capture capability, the detector based on SrTiO3 nanocrystalline exhibits high sensitivity to weak UV light (5 μW cm−2). Moreover, the detector also exhibits visible-blind characteristics and a good linear response.

Water and nutrient recovery from urine: A lead up trail using nano-structured In2S3 photo electrodes* *R. Jayakrishnan thanks KSCSTE for funding this work under the SPYTiS scheme (Grant No. 25/SPYTiS III/2017/KSCSTE) and also thanks DoECC, Government of Kerala for supporting the work (Grant No. DoECC/E3/R&D/1751/2017).

Developments of economic systems are critical for bio-regenerative life support systems in manned space missions. In this work we report on the feasibility of using two direct sunlight powered processes sequentially for the recovery of water and nutrients from urine. The work presents experimental evidence on nutrient and water recovery achieved using the proto-type designed and developed. We report the design and testing of a solar still which would serve on the nutrient recovery front. The cooled condensate from the solar still is fed into a solar powered electrolysis unit where nano-structured indium sulphide (In2S3) thin films coated over fluorine doped tin oxide (SnO2:F) substrate serve as one of the working electrodes. The electrolysis takes place in the absence of an electrolyte which manifests as a technical achievement of our work. Our results show that the COD level in the recycled water is very low. The In2S3 photo-electrodes are stable without any physical damage after the process.

Effect of oxygen nonstoichiometry on the photoelectrochemical performance of oxide-nanorod based TiO2/Sb2S3 and ZnO/Sb2S3 heterostructured photoanodes

Single crystalline ZnO and TiO2 nanorods are grown on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates by hydrothermal method. The nanorods are annealed under air and reducing conditions to alter the oxygen nonstoichiometry and hence the mid-bandgap defect states. Such an annealing process is shown to impart significant change on the photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance of the photoelectrodes. Large photocurrent densities (J) of 0.78 mA cm−2 are obtained for air annealed (AA) TiO2 nanorods (TNR) compared to hydrogen annealed (HA) TNR (J = 0.36 mA cm−2). ZnO nanorods (ZNR), on the contrary, shows photocurrent density of 0.76 mA cm−2 and 0.36 mA cm−2 for ZNR-HA and ZNR-AA photoanodes, respectively. The contrasting difference in the PEC performance is attributed to the synergetic effect of interfacial impedance with electrolytes and the oxygen nonstoichiometry. Further, to overcome the limitation of light absorption by these materials owing to their wide bandgap, TiO2 and ZnO nanorods are coated with Sb2S3 by chemical bath deposition to form heterostructured TNR-AA/Sb2S3(CBD) and ZNR-HA/Sb2S3(CBD) thin films. Such heterostructures exhibit enhanced photocurrent values of ∼1.39 mA cm−2 and 3.36 mA cm−2 (at 1.6 V versus Ag/AgCl), respectively. The PEC performances of the nanorods are analyzed in terms of the annealing conditions and subsequent introduction of defect states in the bandgap. The present study shows the importance of oxygen defect control at the interface between the oxide and chalcogenide, and its role in the betterment of PEC performance in TiO2/Sb2S3 and ZnO/Sb2S3 heterostructure photoanodes.

Novel cost-effective and electrocatalytically active intermetallic nickel aluminide counter electrode for dye sensitized solar cells

The very high cost, scarcity and dissolubility of platinum (Pt) is the center of debates as a counter electrode (CE) in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) research domain. To deal with such core issues, herein, novel low-cost and electro-catalytically active inter-metallic nickel aluminide (Ni3Al) thin films have been fabricated successfully on fluorine-doped tin oxide substrates by DC magnetron sputtering at room temperature. For the first time, Ni3Al has been utilized as a CE for DSSCs application. Further, the solar cell performance of Ni3Al based DSSC has compared with the sputtered coated Pt thin film based DSSC performance. Under open atmospheric experimental preparation conditions (in air), a maximum power conversion efficiency of 3% has been achieved with Ni3Al CE. The obtained efficiency is quite analogous to a DSSC fabricated with a Pt CE. Further, as-fabricated Ni3Al CEs have exhibited better electrochemical catalytic activity and anti-corrosion effect than that of sputtered Pt CEs. The low-cost and excellent electrocatalytic properties of intermetallic Ni3Al thin films may pave the way towards development of Pt-free CE for DSSCs.

Improved Perovskite Solar Cell Performance by High Growth Rate Spatial Atomic Layer Deposited Titanium Oxide Compact Layer

In this study, titanium dioxide (TiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> ) films are prepared using spatial atomic layer deposition (sALD) as an additional compact layer of tin oxide (SnO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> ) electronic transport layer-based perovskite solar cells. The experimental results show that the deposition of sALD TiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> films on the fluorine-doped tin oxide substrate improves the haze at mid-long wavelengths, compensating the optical loss caused by the absorption of the TiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> layer in short-wavelengths. Compared to conventional cells, the insertion of the sALD TiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> compact layer regardless the thickness shows significantly improved open-circuit voltage, indicating the enhanced hole blocking ability as evidenced by the reduced reverse saturation current. In addition, the change in TiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> thickness is found to have impacts on short-circuit current, fill factor and hysteresis of the devices. The optimal sALD TiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> thickness of 10 nm leads to the best cell conversion efficiency of 20.1%, approximately improved by 6% compared to that of the conventional cells. Compared to conventional ALD techniques and other methods, the sALD which does not require vacuum system has the pinhole-free, low-cost, very fast and simple processes, demonstrating the great potential of sALD films for applications in perovskite solar cells.

Visible-Light-Responsive Oxyhalide PbBiO2Cl Photoelectrode: On-Site Flux Synthesis on a Fluorine-Doped Tin Oxide Electrode.

The performance of photoelectrodes is hugely affected by the preparation method. Although a flux synthesis is useful to endow semiconductor particles with the desired properties such as high crystallinity, there are only a few reports on its application to photoelectrode fabrication, probably because relatively high temperatures are necessary. In the present study, we introduce a new concept for on-site flux synthesis of semiconductor crystals on a commonly used fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate; a seed layer is predeposited and then treated with an appropriate flux containing other required elements at a right temperature lower than the limit temperature of FTO but sufficiently high to transform the seed layer to the target material with the aid of flux. Here, an oxyhalide PbBiO2Cl, one of the promising semiconductors for achieving visible-light water splitting, is selected as a target material. Combination of a BiOCl seed layer and the NaCl-PbCl2 flux containing other precursors enables the seed layer to transform into PbBiO2Cl crystals even at 450 °C. The thickness of the PbBiO2Cl layer can be controlled by changing the thickness of the BiOCl seed layer for efficient photon-to-current conversion. Owing to a good contact at the semiconductor-substrate interfaces as well as the high quality of PbBiO2Cl crystals, the flux-synthesized PbBiO2Cl photoelectrode shows a significantly improved PEC performance compared with those prepared from the particulate PbBiO2Cl samples via the conventional squeegee method. In addition, the present PbBiO2Cl photoelectrodes exhibit both anodic and cathodic photoresponses with substantially high current values depending on the applied potentials; the unusual phenomenon is affected by the conditions in flux-assisted synthesis. The present study provides a new and effective way for fabricating efficient photoelectrodes of various semiconductors on various substrates and a possible option to control their morphologies and p/n types for further improvement in performance.

Enhancement of Photoelectrochemical Properties through α-Fe2O3 Deposition on a Modified Fluorine-Doped Tin Oxide

Hydrogen is attractive energy resource for renewable energy. In order to produce H2, several approaches are suggested. In particular, water splitting is well-known as an eco-friendly production approach. Moreover, electrochemical water splitting has a challenge that noble metal based catalyst. For this reason, photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting has been studied for a long time but not yet to reach a goal of society demand.For PEC water splitting, there are several materials has been considered such as Fe2O3, WO3, TiO2, BiVO4 etc. Among them, Fe2O3 is the most attractive material due to cheap, abundant resources and smaller bandgap than other material. However, it has a demerits of short life time owing to short diffusion length.In this research, we investigated enhancement of PEC performance with electrodeposited Fe2O3 on surface modified fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO). The roughness of FTO substrates were increased with various electrochemistry method in acidic electrolyte. The modified FTO substrate area which leads to increasing electric conductivity. Under optimum condition photocurrent could be enhance with 20% in compare with α–Fe2O3 on pristine FTO substrate. Moreover, over-potential was also reduced with 100 mV. Figure 1

Low-Temperature Chemical Sintering Technique for Flexible Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Chemically sintered, mesoporous TiO2 electrodes were prepared at low-temperature (≤150 °C) using polymeric- binder free TiO2 paste consisting of binary-liquid mixture of 1-octanol and a series of chlorinated hydrocarbons (CHCs), such as carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), tetrachloroethylene (C2Cl4) or chloroform (CHCl3). In this work, CHCs were introduced to lower the boiling point of the mixture and to perform as an active agent for chemical treatment of TiO2 paste. Long chain alcohol 1-octanol increased the viscosity and diminished the surface tension of TiO2 paste to the hydrophobic surface of the substrate, which promoted the paste adhesion. A maximum power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of c.a. 6.66 and 4.30% (under 1 sun illumination –100 mW cm-2) were obtained for the rigid dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) with fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) and the flexible one with indium tin oxide-polyethylene naphthalate (ITO/PEN) substrates, respectively. Under LED daylight illumination, maximum PCEs of 10.10% at 3.39 mW cm-2 and 8.35% at 1.87 mW cm-2 have also achieved for DSSCs prepared on FTO substrate. The improved chemical bonding of particle network and strong adhesion to the substrates facilitated the electron transfer from TiO2 photoelectrodes to charge collectors, which played an important role for the significant enhancement of photocurrent density as well as PCE of DSSCs. The effect of CHCs on TiO2 is found to be a promising strategy to prepare well-connected TiO2 film for other applications.

Optimization of a Zinc Oxide Photoelectrode for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

In this study, the influence of the seed-layer thickness of photoelectrodes on the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells was investigated. Al-doped ZnO films deposited on fluorine-doped tin oxide substrates by using facing targets sputtering systems of various thicknesses were used as seed layers, and ZnO rod array photoelectrodes were synthesized on the AZO seed layers via the hydrothermal process. The crystallinity of the ZnO photoelectrode was improved, and the average diameter of the ZnO rod increased from 100 ± 10 to 250 ± 10 nm as the thickness of the seed layer increased from 200 to 600 nm. The maximum fill factor, open-circuit voltage, current density, and power conversion efficiency of the ZnO rod array photoelectrode with a seed layer of thickness 600 nm were 31.08%, 0.53 V, 5.53 mA/cm2, and 0.91%, respectively.

Photo-Chlorine Production with Hydrothermally Grown and Vacuum-Annealed Nanocrystalline Rutile

Photo-generated high-energy surface states can help to produce chlorine in aqueous environments. Here, aligned rutile (TiO2) nanocrystal arrays are grown onto fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates and activated either by hydrothermal Sr/Ba surface doping and/or by vacuum-annealing. With vacuum-annealing, highly photoactive films are obtained with photocurrents of typically 8 mA cm−2 at 1.0 V vs. SCE in 1 M KCl (LED illumination with λ = 385 nm and approx. 100 mW cm−2). Photoelectrochemical chlorine production is demonstrated at proof-of-concept scale in 4 M NaCl and suggested to be linked mainly to the production of Ti(III) surface species by vacuum-annealing, as detected by post-catalysis XPS, rather than to Sr/Ba doping at the rutile surface. The vacuum-annealing treatment is proposed to beneficially affect (i) bulk semiconductor TiO2 nanocrystal properties and electron harvesting, (ii) surface TiO2 reactivity towards chloride adsorption and oxidation, and (iii) FTO substrate performance.Graphical abstractPhoto-chlorine production is possible in aqueous chloride media under neutral conditions with rutile nanocrystal arrays under illumination from band gap–matched LEDs.

Micro-Structures Produced by Crystal Growth from Located Nuclei and Their Transfer Aiming at Functional Surfaces

Hydrothermal processes can produce regular micro-/nano-structures easily; but their placement or position is difficult to control, and the obtainable structures tend to be random. For controlling the crystal growth, two types of definite and regular structures were obtained. The first ones were ZnO urchin-like structures synthesized from located ZnO particles as the nuclei. These structures were found to work as gas sensors utilizing a wide surface area. The second one was a vertically aligned TiO2 nanorod array synthesized on a fluorine-doped tin oxide substrate that has a similar lattice constant to rutile TiO2. Super-hydrophobicity after ultraviolet irradiation was then examined. Finally, the synthesized TiO2 array was peeled off and transferred onto a resin sheet. We determined that the substrate could be subjected to repeated hydrothermal synthesis, thereby demonstrating the reusability of the substrate. These results demonstrate the applicability of these processes for industrial applications.

Structural Morphology and Optical Properties of Nanocomposites based Conducting Polymer

A simple, inexpensive, pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique excimer source Nd:YAG laser was used for the preparation of the all films irradiation targets and deposite of nickel oxide NiO, polypyrrole PPy, carboxylic functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (f-MWCNT), [PPy:(f-MWCNT)] nanocomposite, [NiO/PPy:(f-MWCNT)] and [PPy:(f-MWCNT)/NiO] films on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates. Surface morphology of all films and nanocomposite was investigated by Scanning Electron microscopy (SEM) display various morphology on the surface of the all films and nanocomposites, but the predominant structure is granular morphology, x-ray diffraction (XRD) indicates that the peaks of all films are broadening expect for PPy are sharp peaks, the optical absorbance spectra for the studied all films showed the maximum values around (425, 333, 347, and 397) nm refer to type transitions (π*-π) and (polaron-π*) and the maximum value of NiO around 346 nm. The optical energy gap of all films was determined and values around (2.2, 2.6, 2.8, 3, 3.2) eV. It has been observed that the measurements for films [NiO/PPy:(f- MWCNT)] and [PPy:(f-MWCNT)/NiO] may be identical and NiO nanoparticles are a good adhesion to nanocomposite films and interconnected in structure.

High Throughput Discovery of Effective Metal Doping in FeVO4 for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

FeVO4 is a potential photoanode candidate with favorable bandgap energy for absorbing visible light in the solar spectrum. However, the achieved photocurrents are still much lower than the theoretical photocurrent due to poor bulk carrier separation efficiency. Herein, the aim is to improve FeVO4 charge transport properties by searching for suitable metal doping using combinatorial methods. Thin‐film FeVO4 libraries with different doping ratios of Zn, Ni, Cr, Mo, and W are fabricated on fluorine doped tin oxide substrates using combinatorial inkjet printing and their photoelectrochemical properties screened using photoscanning droplet cell. Mo and W doping show higher current density compared with undoped FeVO4; whereas the photocurrent decreases for Ni‐ and Zn‐doped samples. The best photocurrent is achieved with 7% doping ratio of Cr. Cr is discovered as a promising dopant for the first time, which is more effective than reported Mo or W for FeVO4 photoanode. The replacement of Cr3+ to Fe3+ in FeVO4 crystal lattice helps to mainly improve the catalytic activity for charge transfer, which results in the enhancement of photoresponse of the FeVO4 photoanode.

Variations in photovoltaic parameters of CdTe/CdS thin film solar cells by changing the substrate for the deposition of CdS window layer

Herein, we report on the variation in photovoltaic (PV) parameters of CdTe/CdS thin-film solar cells fabricated by depositing Cadmium sulfide (CdS) window layers on soda lime, indium doped tin oxide (ITO), fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrates by chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns confirmed the cubic crystalline structure of the deposited CdS films and the highest diffraction intensity is observed in the film deposited on the FTO substrate. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images confirmed the homogenous, crack-free, and smooth nature of the films. The surface roughness values of the CdS films deposited on soda-lime, ITO, and FTO substrates were found to be 35.87, 27.49, and 14.32 nm, respectively. The band-gap values of the CdS films estimated from Tauc's plots are found to be in the range of 2.27–2.33 eV. The strong blue and green bands in PL spectra are found to peak at 560 nm. The peaks observed in the Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra are corresponding to C-S, Cd-S, and S-C-N vibrations. To fabricate a CdTe/CdS cell, the CdTe layer is deposited on the ITO-CdS and FTO-CdS layers separately. A back contact of silver is pasted on the top layer to complete the solar cell structure and the variations in photovoltaic (PV) parameters were recorded and analyzed. The efficiencies of CdTe/CdS cells fabricated with ITO-CdS and FTO-CdS window layers were found as 8.47% and 9.65%, respectively.