Influence of preparation conditions on the properties of silver doped copper-zinc sulfide thin films prepared via sol-gel spin coating technique

•Sol-Gel spin coating method was applied to synthesize Ag-doped CZS thin films.•The annealed samples at 320˚C have more crystallinity and the sample S2, 5L has the biggest crystal size of about 86.4 nm.•The crystallinity of Ag-doped films is superior compared to the pristine film.•Formation of Nano-rods, shapes of ≈ 600 nm of the deposited pristine CZS thin film with 5 layers on n-type Si substrate and annealed at 320˚C.•The 1% Ag/CZS film with 5 layer thickness on glass gives the highest transmittance in 400 - 1100 nm region.