We report the formation and characterization of the flower-like CuIn1-xGaxS2 (x = 0.3) microspheres using CuCl2 center dot 2H(2)O, GaCl3, InCl3 and L-cystine in the mixed solvent of ethylene glycol and distilled water (1:2, v/v) at 200 degrees C for 24 h. XRD results indicated that the CuIn0.7Ga0.3S2 nanostructures have a (1 1 2) preferred orientation. The EDS and XPS analyses of the sample revealed that Cu, In, Ga and S were present in an atomic ratio of approximately 1:0.7:0.3:2. FESEM and TEM images showed that the product was microspheres, consisting of nanoplates with the thickness of about 20 nm. The optical properties were investigated by ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. UV-vis absorption spectrum indicated that the band gap of as-synthesized flower-like CuIn0.7Ga0.3S2 microspheres was about 2.427 eV. Raman spectrum of the obtained CuIn0.7Ga0.3S2 exhibited a high-intensity peak at 302 cm(-1) could be assigned as Al-mode. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.