Electro-plating and characterisation of cadmium sulphide thin films using ammonium thiosulphate as the sulphur source

Cadmium sulphide (CdS) thin films have been successfully prepared from an aqueous electrolyte bath containing CdCl2 and ammonium thiosulphate ((NH4)2S2O3) using electrodeposition technique. The structural, compositional, optical, morphological and electrical properties of these thin films have been characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, UV–Vis spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), photoelectrochemical cell and D.C. current–voltage (I–V) measurements. The optimum deposition cathodic potential has been observed at 1,455 mV, in a 2-electrode system with respect to carbon anode. Structural analysis using XRD shows a mixture of hexagonal and cubic phases in the as-deposited CdS samples and a phase transformation to the hexagonal structure occurred after heat treatment at 400 °C for 20 min. Optical studies demonstrate an improvement in the band edge, producing 2.42 eV for the band gap of the films after heat treatment. The heat treated CdS thin films show better transmission for wavelengths longer than 500 nm. SEM and AFM show that the heat-treated samples are more uniform, smoother and have larger grain size. Electrical studies confirm that the CdS thin films have n-type electrical conductivity and heat treated CdS thin films have resistivities of the order of 105 Ω cm

The effect of adenosine triphosphate on sunitinib-induced cardiac injury in rats

In this study, we aimed to show the effect of adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP) on sunitinib-induced cardiac injury in rats. The rats ( n = 30) were divided equally into three groups as sunitinib group (SG), sunitinib plus ATP group (SAG), and healthy group (HG); 2 mg/kg ATP was injected intraperitoneally (ip) to the SAG group. Same volume normal saline as solvent was administered ip to the other two groups. After 1 h, 25 mg/kg sunitinib was applied orally via catheter to stomach in the SAG and SG groups. This procedure was repeated once daily for 5 weeks. At the end of this period, all animals were sacrificed and their cardiac tissue was removed. Malondialdehyde (MDA), total glutathione (tGSH), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF- α), and nuclear factor κB (NF- κB) levels in rats’ cardiac tissues and troponin I (Tp-I) levels in rats’ blood samples were evaluated. Histopathological analysis was also performed in cardiac tissues of the animals. MDA, TNF- α, NF- κB, and Tp-I levels were higher in the SG group compared to the SAG and HG groups ( p &lt; 0.001). tGSH levels of the SG group were lower than the SAG and HG groups ( p &lt; 0.001). The structure and morphology of cardiac muscle fibers and blood vessels were normal in the control group. In the SG group, obvious cardiac muscle tissue damage with dilated myofibers, locally atrophic myofibers, and congested blood vessels were observed. In the SAG group, marked amelioration in these findings was observed. We showed this for the first time that ATP administration exerts a protective effect against cardiac effects of sunitinib. </jats:p

Necessity and relevance of precipitate free clear electrolytes for electrodeposition of CdS semiconductor materials with enhanced photovoltaic properties

Cadmium sulfide (CdS) is a well-known window material used for fabrication of second generation thin film solar cells including CdS/CdTe and CdS/CuInGaSe2. Among the CdS fabrication techniques, electrodeposition is a simple, cost effective and scalable method that has been stepped towards large scale commercialization. However, the presence of precipitates in baths used for electrodeposition of CdS has been found to be a persistent problem which had produced CdS thin films with poor photovoltaic properties. Hence, an investigation was carried out to identify a set of optimum physiochemical conditions that can produce clear stable electrolyte for electrodeposition of CdS thin film semiconductors using CdCl2 and Na2S2O3 precursor salts. The study revealed that, electrolytes containing 0.10 mol/L CdCl2 and 0.01 mol/L Na2S2O3, within the pH range of 1.50–2.00 and the temperature range of 55–65 °C can provide clear and stable electrolytes for electrodeposition of CdS thin films. Further, the results showed that, the electrical, optical, morphological and structural properties of CdS layers electrodeposited from electrolytes within above physiochemical conditions were remarkably better to those electrodeposited from the turbid electrolytic baths formed beyond the ranges of predetermined optimum physiochemical conditions