Exploration of Physical, Optical, and Electrical Properties of Mg-Doped CeO2 Nanoparticles for Photovoltaic Device Applications

In this study, we synthesized magnesium-doped cerium oxide (Ce1 - xMgxO2) Electron Transport layer material via a straightforward co-precipitation method, varying the Mg compositions. These variations yielded promising alterations in the physical, optical, and dielectric properties of Ce1 - xMgxO2 nanoparticles. The hexagonal structure of the Ce1 - xMgxO2 nanoparticles was confirmed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), while their morphology and surface characteristics (including topography and roughness) were examined via scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry was employed to investigate the optical and electrical properties. The optical analysis revealed an increase in transmittance within the visible spectrum, ranging from 89 to 98%, accompanied by decreases in reflectance and absorbance. Moreover, energy bandgap (E-g) was enhanced 3.578-3.864 eV, while the Urbach energy (E-U) diminished from 0.25-0.11 eV with varying Mg alignments. The augmentation in Mg substitution induced an growth in defect amount, consequently diminishing both DC and AC conductivity.