A Novel Approach to Synthesizing Porous ZnO Films: Inorganic Chelating Sol-Gel Method

Porous ZnO films are synthesized by inorganic chelating sol-gel method,which is a novel sol-gel technique using zinc nitrate as starting materials and citric acid as the chelating reagent.The crystal structure,surface morphology,porous and optical properties of the deposited films are investigated.X-ray diffraction pattern analysis shows that crystal structure of the ZnO films is hexagonal wurtzite.Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows that the ZnO film is porous.The curve of pore size distribution has two peak values at about 2.02nm and 4.97nm and BET surface area of the ZnO film is 27.57m2/g.In addition,the transmittance spectrum gives a high transmittance of 85% in the visible region and optical bandgap of the ZnO film (fired at 500℃) is 3.25eV.

Grain Size and Photocatalytic Activity of Nanometer TiO_2 Thin Films Prepared by the Sol-gel Method

Transparent anatase TiO2 nanometer thin films with photocatalytic activity were prepared via the sol-gel method on soda-lime glass. The thickness , crystalline phase, grain size, surface hydroxyl amount and so on were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) , X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy ( TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-visible spectrophotometer ( UV-VIS). The photocatalytic activity of TiO2 thin films was evaluated for the photocatalytic decolorization of aqueous methyl orange . The effects of film thickness on the crystalline phase, grain size, transmittance and photocatalytic activity of nanometer Ti02 thin films were discussed.

Preparation and optical characteristics of ZnO films by chelating sol-gel method

The effect of different annealing temperatures on the structure, morphology,and optical properties of ZnO thin films prepared by the chelating sol-gel method was investigated.Zinc-oxide thin films were coated on quartz glass substrates by dip coating. Zinc nitrate, absoluteethanol, and citric acid were used as precursor, solvent, and chelating agent, respectively. Theresults show that ZnO films derived from zinc-citrate have lower crystallization temperature (below400℃), and that the crystal structure is wurtzite. The films, treated over 500℃, consist ofnano-particles and show to be porous at 600℃. The particle size of the film increases with theincrease of the annealing temperature. The largest particle size is 60 nm at 600℃. The opticaltransmittances related to the annealing temperatures become 90% higher in the visible range. Thefilm shows a starting absorption at 380 nm, and the optical band-gap of the thin film (fired at500℃) is 3.25 eV and close to the intrinsic band-gap of ZnO (3.2 eV).

Preparation of Nanometer-structured TiO_2 Thin Films by Sol-Gel Method

The transparent anatase TiO 2 nanometer thin films were prepared by the sol-gel method on soda-lime glass.X-ray diffraction,thermal analysis and UV-visible spectrophotometer were used to analyze the formation of the phases.Only increasing the heat-treatment time,the average grain size has no obvious change.The mechanism of grain growth in TiO 2 thin film is probably as follows:the grain of coating will become grain core later;TiO 2 sol constantly deposited on the surface of TiO 2 grain and formed membrane with increasing of coating cycle times;TiO 2 grain in the film grow steadily.

Effect of Annealing on Ferroelectric Properties of Bi_ (3.25)La_(0.75)Ti_3O_ (12) Thin Films Prepared by the Sol-gel Method

Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12（BLT）thin films were prepared on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate by the sol-gel method.The effect of annealing on their structures and ferroelectric properties was investigated.The XRD patterns indicate that the BLT films annealed at different temperatures are randomly orientated and the single perovskite phase is obtained at 550℃.The remmant polarization increnses and the coercive field decreases with the annealing temperature increasing.The leakage current density of the BLT films annealed at 700℃ is about 5.8×10^-8A/cm^2 at the electrie field of 250kv/cm.

Structural, Optical and Luminescence Properties of ZnO Thin Films Prepared by Sol-Gel Spin-Coating Method： Effect of Precursor Concentration

Transparent zinc oxide（ZnO） thin films are fabricated by a simple sol-gel spin-coating technique on glass substrates with different solution concentrations（0.3-1.2 M） using zinc acetate dehydrate [Zn（CH_3COO）_2·2H_2O] as precursor and isopropanol and monoethanolamine（MEA） as solvent and stabilizer, respectively. The molar ratio of zinc acetate dehydrate to MEA is 1.0. X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy are employed to investigate the effect of solution concentration on the structural and optical properties of the ZnO thin films. The obtained results of all thin films are discussed in detail and are compared with other experimental data.

Fabrication and Thermally Sensitive Properties of VO_x Thin Films by Sol-Gel Method

For the high temperature coefficient of resistivity (TCR) of VO_x thin films,the preparation process including the heat-treating and the application of seed layer,has been investigated.When the films were prepared without a seed layer, heated in air for 2 h,and then in N_2 for 2 h at 470℃,the TCR of about 1.07% K^(-1) (3.75% K^(-1) at 45℃～65℃) was gained.The R_(20℃)/R_(100℃) was about 28.75,while the R_(20℃)/R_(100℃) of the thin films prepared on a seed layer was 5.5.The X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that better heating conditions led to less phase compositions and higher V_2O_5 diffraction peak,which led to higher TCR.The experiment results showed that the optimum heating condition was at 470℃for 4 h.

Bismuth Substituted Yttrium Iron Garnet Single Crystal Films Prepared by Sol-gel Method

Magneto-optic Faraday rotation effect and the amount of bismuth substituted in yttrium iron garnet single crystal films prepared by gel-coating on modified gadolinium-gallium garnet substrates are investigated, where the gel is synthesized by a sol-gel reaction of nitrates and ethylene glycol. The coated gel is annealed in air at temperatures up to 660 ℃ for 4 h, which is about 300 ℃ lower than that of liquid-phase epitaxy. The maximum amount of Bi substitution is x =2.7 and the crystallization temperature of garnet phase decreases with the increase of x down to 520 ℃ for x =2.7. In this film, a huge Faraday rotation of -8.1×10 4 (°)/cm at λ =0.633 μm is obtained.

Bactericidal and Photoeatalytie Activity of Fe^(3+)-TiO_2 Thin Films Prepared by the Sol-gel Method

Pure TiO2 thin films and iron doped TiO2 thin films on glass substrate were prepared by sol-gel method, and characterized by X-ray diffractometer （XRD）, thermo-gravimetric analysis （TG-DSC）, high resolution transmission electron microscope （HRTEM）, scanning electron microscope （SEM） and UV-Vis spectroscopy, respectively. The experimental results show that the pure TiO2 thin films and iron doped TiO2 thin films can destroy most of the escherichia coli and bacillus subtillis under the irradiation of 365 nm UV-light. However, the iron doped TiO2 thin film is a better photocatalyst than pure TiO2 thin film. The ultrastructural studies provide direct evidences for understanding the bactericidal mechanism of the TiO2 photocatalyst.

Preparation Nano-Diamond Film by Sol-Gelled Coating Method for Field Emission Display

The mixture of Nano-graphite and organic vehicles doped to Nano-diamond paste. The suitable paste proportion was found. Nano-diamond film (NDF) was prepared by sol-gel coating method on ITO glass at 3000/min. The field emission characteristics of luminance-current, luminance-voltage and luminance-power of Nano-diamond film were analyzed and tested. Comparing these tested curves, the luminance was well proportional to current was got. Theoretic, the inner resistance of NDF field emission display (FED) consumes electric energy and real voltage change between the cathode and the anode of NDF-FED was very small after electrons emit. So the characteristic of NDF-FED was preferable to describe by luminance-current linear relationship, which was advantageous to device tested and designed.

Low-Temperature Formation of a WO₃Thin Film by the Sol-Gel Method Using Photo-Irradiation and Fabrication of a Flexible Hydrogen Sensor

Hydrogen has been recently attracted much attention with respect to high energy-conversion efficiency and low environmental burden. However, hydrogen gas is dangerous due to an explosive gas and a fast combustion rate. Therefore, the development of hydrogen sensor with high accuracy and reliability that can detect hydrogen easily is required. Especially, a flexible hydrogen sensor is useful because it has a high degree of freedom with respect to the shape of location in which the sensor is to be located. A flexible hydrogen sensor—namely, a WO3 thin film formed on a PET film by the sol-gel method using photo irradiation—based on gasochromism of WO3 was developed. By irradiating a thin film, which was prepared by using WO3 precursor solution synthesized by the sol-gel method, with ultraviolet rays, a high-purity WO3 film could be prepared on PET at low temperature. The sensor was structured as a polystyrene (PS) film containing palladium (Pd) laminated on a WO3 film. The WO3 layer was porous, so the PS containing Pd atoms solution penetrated the WO3 layer. WO3 reacted with hydrogen gas and instantly turned blue as the transmittance of the WO3 layer changed. The sensor showed high reactivity even for hydrogen concentration below 4% (1%, 0.5%, 0.25%, and 0.1%), which was the lower limit of hydrogen ignition, and a linear relationship between hydrogen concentration and change in transmittance was found. Moreover, the resistance of the WO3 film significantly and instantaneously changed due to hydrogen-gas exposure, and the hydrogen concentration and resistance change showed a linear relationship. It is therefore possible to quantitatively detect low concentrations of hydrogen by using changes in transmittance and resistance as indices. Since these changes occur selectively under hydrogen at room temperature and normal pressure, they form the basis of a highly sensitive hydrogen sensor. Since the developed sensor is flexible, it has a high degree of freedom with respect to the shape of location in which the sensor is to be

STUDY ON PHOTOCATALYTIC MECHANISM OF SOL-GEL-DERIVED Pb-DOPED TiO_2 THIN FILMS

Pb-doped TiO2 photocatalytic thin films were prepared on a soda-lime glass substrate via sol-gel method using TiO2 sol solution containing lead and characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results showed that besides oxides of Ti(IV) there is a certain amount of oxides of To(?) and Ti(?) and Pb exists in the forms of PbTiO3 and PbO. The photocatalytic activity of the Pb-doped TiO2 films was evaluated by the photocatalytic decolorization of aqueous methyl orange and photocatalytic mechanism mas also analyzed.

Ferroelectric properties of sol-gel derived Nd-doped SrBi_4Ti_4O_(15) thin films

Neodymium-doped strontium bismuth titanate （SrBi4-xNdxTi4O15） ferroelectric thin films were fabricated using the sol-gel method on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates. The influence of Nd content on the microstructure and ferroelectric properties of SrBi4-xNdxTi4O15 thin films were systematically studied. The results indicated that the SrBi3.88Nd0.12Ti4O15 （SBNT0.12） thin films had better ferroelectric properties, with a remanent polarization of （2Pr） of 34.3 μC/cm^2 and a coercive field （2Ec） of 220 kV/cm. This could be attributed to the fact that SBNT0.12 ferroelectric thin films consisted of more and larger ball-like grains, approximately 150-200 nm, with structure distortion, which greatly contributed to the improvement of the ferroelectric properties of the films. Furthermore, the film exhibited a good fatigue resistant property. The value of 2Pr after 10^10 switching cycles did not change significantly. The SrBi3.88Nd0.12Ti4O15 films were promising candidates for the application of FeRAMs.

Fabrication of LaAlO3 film by sol-gel process with corresponding inorganic

Well-cubic perovskite lanthanum aluminate (LaAlO3) film on (110) silicon substrate was fabricated by sol-gel method with corresponding inorganic salts. Lanthanum acetate and aluminum acetate glacial acetic acid solutions were prepared via ligand exchange starting from lanthanum nitrate hexahydrate and aluminum nitrate hexahydrate after being refluxed. (CH3CO)2O removed nitrates and the crystallized H2O completely, acetylacetone (AcAc) was partially bidentated with metallic ion of the metallic acetates and formed La(OAc)3 (AcAc)x, which were hydrolyzed into La(AcAc)3 (OH)x by ?x ?x adding 10 ml 0.4% methyl cellulose (MCL) solution. The La(AcAc)3 (OH)x, polymerizing and combining with MCL, ?x formed the LaAlO3 sol precursor with heteropolymeric structure and formed film easily. The epitaxial LaAlO3 film on Si(110) substrate was crystallized after being annealed in thermal annealing furnace for 650?750 °C/30 min. The mor- phologies and microstructures were characterized. The refractive index of the LAO film was 1.942 to 2.007; the dielectric constant and the dissipation factors were estimated to be 23?26 and 2.1×10?4 ? 2.4×10?4 respectively.

Structure distortion, optical and electrical properties of ZnO thin films co-doped with Al and Sb by sol-gel spin coating

ZnO thin films co-doped with A1 and Sb with different concentrations and a fixed molar ratio of AlCl3 to SbCl3 at 1：2, are prepared by a sol-gel spin-coating method on glass annealed at 550 ℃ for 2 h in air. The x-ray diffraction results confirm that the ZnO thin films co-doped with Al distortion, and the biaxial stresses are 1.03× 10^8. 3.26× 10^8 and Sb are of wurtzite hexagonal ZnO with a very small 5.23 × 10^8, and 6.97× 10^8 Pa, corresponding to those of the ZnO thin films co-doped with Al and Sb in concentrations of 1.5, 3.0, 4.5, 6.0 at% respectively. The optical properties reveal that the ZnO thin films co-doped with Al and Sb have obviously enhanced transmittance in the visible region. The electrical properties show that ZnO thin film co-doped with Al and Sb in a concentration of 1.5 at% has a lowest resistivity of 2.5 Ω·cm.

Sol-gel Processing of a Transparent Upconversion Luminescent Film with β-Na YF_4:Yb^(3+), Er^(3+) Microrods as Activator

β-Na YF4:Yb3+,Er3+ microrods were synthesized through hydrothermal methods. Polyethylene glycol with molecular weight of 6000 was used as surfactant. A series of transparent silica gel films with upconversion luminescence property was prepared through sol-gel method; the prepared β-Na YF4:Yb3+,Er3+ microrods were used as activator. The silica gel films show strong upconversion emission under excitation of 980-nm laser beam.

Synthesis of RE-Ag,Al-RE-doped sol-gel glass and films for solar cells

The paper dealt with the study of fluorescence properties of sol-gel systems doped with rate-earth ions and co-doped with silver. The general problem for these types of inorganic phosphors was a very low absorbance in the visible range. Therefore, a sensitizer of luminescence of the rare-earth ions should be selected and used. The sensitizer should possess a good absorbance in the visible range and strong interaction with the rare-earth ions. In this study silver ions were selected as the sensitizer.

Effect of Annealing Temperature on the Ferroelectric Properties of BiFeO_3 Thin Films Prepared by Sol-gel Process

Sol-gel process was adopted to prepare BiFeO3 films.BiFeO3 films were deposited on LaNiO3 coated Si（100） substrates annealed at 500 and 550 ℃,respectively.The X-ray diffraction results reveal that BiFeO3 film has a rhombohedrally distorted perovskite structure with space group R3c.The film annealed at 500 ℃ has larger remnant polarization（Pr） of 35.3 μC/cm2.For the film annealed at 550 ℃,smaller remnant polarization of Pr=4.8 μC/cm^2 is observed for its low breakdown electric field.Lower leakage conduction is observed in the film annealed at 500 ℃ at low applied field.

New Preparation Method of Visible Light Responsive Titanium Dioxide Photocatalytic Films

We report a new and simple preparation method of the visible light responsive Titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalytic films using sol-gel method and ultraviolet light (UV) irradiation. Proposed films were prepared on fused silica plates using titanium tetra-isopropoxide, urea, 2-methoxyethanol, water and UV irradiation. The 650°C-annealed films were carbon-containing anatase type TiO2, not carbon-doped ones. The prepared films absorbed visible light with wavelengths longer than 400 nm. Also, organic dyes were effectively photodegradated by visible light irradiation in the presence of these films.

Target effects on electrical properties and laser induced voltages of La_(0.72)Ca_(0.28)MnO_3 thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

La0.72Ca0.28MnO3 thin films were deposited on untilted and 15° tilted LaAlO_3 （100） single crystalline substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The polycrystalline targets used in the deposition process were synthesized by sol-gel and coprecipitation methods, respectively. The structure, electrical transport properties and surface morphology of the targets and films were studied. It is found that, compared with coprecipitation method, the sol-gel target has more homogeneous components and larger density and grain size, thus the higher insulator-metal transition temperature and larger temperature coefficient of resistivity. The thin film prepared by sol-gel target has a uniform grain size and higher quality. The metal-insulator transition temperature is higher and the laser induced voltage signal is larger. Preparing the target by sol-gel method can largely improve the properties of corresponding thin films in pulsed laser deposition process.