Kesterite tech news
On October 13, 2026, researchers from the Solar Energy Research Institute at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and partner institutions published a study in the Journal of Sol--Gel Science and Technology detailing a solvent--engineering and chemical coordination strategy for low--cost kesterite (${\text{Cu}}_2{\text{ZnSn(S,Se)}}_4$ or CZTSSe) thin--film solar cells. Solution--processed kesterites offer an earth--abundant, non--toxic alternative to silicon and cadmium telluride photovoltaics, but scalable non--vacuum synthesis has faced hurdles with precursor agglomeration, irregular crystallization, and high charge recombination. By introducing 3--mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) as a coordinating ligand within a tailored binary solvent system of 2--methoxyethanol (MOE) and dimethylformamide (DMF), the team regulated metal--ion complexation and thermal decomposition kinetics during sol--gel coating. The synergistic mechanism yielded compact, void--free absorber layers with strong preferential (112) crystallographic orientation and suppressed defect--assisted recombination, unlocking improved charge carrier transport for commercial, solution--processed thin--film photovoltaic manufacturing.