This work focuses on the preparation of pure nanocrystalline SnO2 and SnO2:Cu thin films on cleaned glass substrates utilizing a sol-gel spin coating and chemical bath deposition (CBD) procedures. The primary aim of this study is to investigate the possible use of these thin films in the context of gas sensor applications. The films underwent annealing in an air environment at a temperature of 500 ◦C for duration of 60 minutes. The thickness of the film that was deposited may be estimated to be around 300 nm. The investigation included an examination of the structural, optical, electrical, and sensing characteristics, which were explored across various preparation circumstances, specifically focusing on varied concentrations of Cu-doping (2, 4, and 6 wt.%). The deposited films were analyzed by several techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and optical absorption spectroscopy. The films generated by the spin coating method had a tetragonal rutile structure, while the films created via the chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique displayed both tetragonal rutile and orthorhombic structures. The spin coating technique was used to make films of several weight percentages (0, 2, 4, and 6 wt.%). The resulting crystallite sizes were examined and found to be 23 nm, 18 nm, 14 nm, and 10.5 nm, respectively. Similarly, films made using the chemical bath deposition (CBD) method exhibited crystallite sizes of 22, 13.9, 9.3, and 8.15 nm, respectively. The obtained findings from atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses indicate a consistent trend whereby, as the concentration of Cu-doped material rises, there is a decrease in the average grain size. The transmittance and absorbance spectra were examined within the wavelength range of 300 to 1000 nm. The films generated by both approaches exhibit a significant level of light transmission throughout the visible spectrum. The bandgap energy of spin coating and CBD films decreases with increasing Cu-doped concentrations; the values were (3.88, 3.8, 3.68, and 3.63) eV and (3.8, 3.78, 3.66, and 3.55) eV, respectively. The electrical characteristics of the films include direct current (DC) electrical conductivity, which indicates the presence of two activation energies, Ea1 and Ea2. These activation energies exhibit an upward trend when the concentration of Cu doping is increased. The films were examined for their ability to detect carbon monoxide (CO) gas at a concentration of about 50 ppm at normal room temperature conditions. The sensitivity of the films to carbon monoxide (CO) gas was assessed at various time intervals and temperatures. The results indicated that the film generated using spin coating exhibited a notably high sensitivity at a temperature of 200 °C, while the film prepared using the chemical bath deposition (CBD) approach had heightened sensitivity at a temperature of 150 °C. Keywords: Spin coating, SnO2 thin films, CBD, AFM, XRD, gas sensor.
A nanocrystalline thin films of PbS with different thickness (400, 600)nm have been prepared successfully by chemical bath deposition technique on glass and Si substrates. The structure and morphology of these films were studied by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscope. It shows that the structure is polycrystalline and the average crystallite size has been measured. The electrical properties of these films have been studied, it was observed that D.C conductivity at room temperature increases with the increase of thickness, From Hall measurements the conductivity for all samples of PbS films is p-type. Carrier's concentration, mobility and drift velocity increases with increasing of thickness. Also p-PbS/n-Si heterojunction has been
... Show MoreSignificant advancements in nanoscale material efficiency optimization have made it feasible to substantially adjust the thermoelectric transport characteristics of materials. Motivated by the prediction and enhanced understanding of the behavior of two-dimensional (2D) bilayers (BL) of zirconium diselenide (ZrSe2), hafnium diselenide (HfSe2), molybdenum diselenide (MoSe2), and tungsten diselenide (WSe2), we investigated the thermoelectric transport properties using information generated from experimental measurements to provide inputs to work with the functions of these materials and to determine the
A nanocrystalline CdS thin film with 100 nm thickness has been prepared by thermal evaporation technique on glass substrate with substrate temperature of about 423 K. The films annealed under vacuum at different annealing temperature 473, 523 and 573 K. The X-ray diffraction studies show that CdS thin films have a hexagonal polycrystalline structure with preferred orientation at (002) direction. Our investigation showed the grain size of thin films increased from 9.1 to 18.9 nm with increasing the annealing temperature. The optical measurements showed that CdS thin films have direct energy band gap, which decreases with increasing the annealing temperature within the range 3.2- 2.85 eV. The absorbance edge is blue shifted. The absorption
... Show MoreSol-gel method was use to prepare Ag-SiO2 nanoparticles. Crystal structure of the nanocomposite was investigated by means of X-ray diffraction patterns while the color intensity was evaluated by spectrophotometry. The morphology analysis using atomic force microscopy showed that the average grain sizes were in range (68.96-75.81 nm) for all samples. The characterization of Ag-SiO2 nanoparticles were investigated by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Ag-SiO2 NPs are highly stable and have significant effect on both Gram positive and negative bacteria. Antibacterial properties of the nanocomposite were tested with the use of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria. The results have shown antibacteri
... Show MoreCopper oxide thin films were deposited on glass substrate using Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR) method at room temperature. The thickness of the thin films was around 0.43?m.Copper oxide thin films were annealed in air at (200, 300 and 400°C for 45min.The film structure properties were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD). XRD patterns indicated the presence of polycrystalline CuO. The average grain size is calculated from the X-rays pattern, it is found that the grain size increased with increasing annealing temperature. Optical transmitter microscope (OTM) and atomic force microscope (AFM) was also used. Direct band gap values of 2.2 eV for an annealed sample and (2, 1.5, 1.4) eV at 200, 300,400oC respect
... Show MoreThe influence of sintering and annealing temperatures on the structural, surface morphology, and optical properties of Ag2Cu2O4 thin films which deposited on glass substrates by pulsed laser deposition method have been studied. Ag2Cu2O4 powders have polycrystalline structure, and the Ag2Cu2O4 phase was appear as low intensity peak at 35.57o which correspond the reflection from (110) plane. Scan electron microscopy images of Ag2Cu2O4 powder has been showed agglomerate of oxide particles with platelets shape. The structure of thin films has been improved with annealing temperature. Atomic Force micrographs of Ag2Cu2O4 films showed uniform, homogenous films and the shape of grains was almost spherical and larger grain size of 97.85 nm has o
... Show MoreIn This paper, CuO thin films having different thickness (250, 300 , 350 and 400) nm were deposited on glass substrates by thermal vacuum evaporator. The thermal oxidation of this evaporated film was done in heated glass at temperature (300 in air at one hour. The study of X-ray diffraction investigated all the exhibit polycrystalline nature with monoclinic crystal structure include uniformly grains. Thin film’s internal structure topographical and optical properties. Furthermore, the crystallization directions of CuO (35.54 , 38.70 ) can be clearly observed through an X-ray diffraction analysis XRD, Atomic Force Microscope AFM (topographic image) showed that the surface Characteristics , thin films crystals grew with increases in either
... Show MoreThe work includes fabrication of undoped and silver-doped nanostructured nickel oxide in form thin films, which use for applications such as gas sensors. Pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) technique was used to fabricate the films on a glass substrate. The structure of films is studied by using techniques of x-ray diffraction, SEM, and EDX. Thermal annealing was performed on these films at 450°C to introduce its effect on the characteristics of these films. The films were doped with a silver element at different doping levels and both electrical and gas sensing characteristics were studied and compared to those of the undoped films. Reasonable enhancements in these characteristics were observed and attributed to the effects of thermal annealing
... Show MoreIn this report Silver doped Tin Sulfide (SnS) thin films with ratio of (0.03) were prepared using thermal evaporation with a vacuum of 4*10-6 mbar on glass with (400) nm thickness and the sample annealing with ( 573K ). The optical constants for the wavelengths in the range (300-900) nm and Hall effect for (SnS and SnS:3% Ag) films are investigated and calculated before and after annealing at 573 K. Transition metal doped SnS thin films the regular absorption 70% in the visible region, the doping level intensification the optical band gap values from 1.5- 2 eV. Silver doped tin sulfide (SnS) its direct optical band gap. Hall Effect results of (SnS and SnS:3% Ag) films show all films were (p-type) electrical conductivity with resistivity of
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