Production of HfO_2 thin films using different methods: chemical bath deposition, SILAR and sol–gel process

Hafnium oxide thin films （HOTFs） were successfully deposited onto amorphous glasses using chemical bath deposition, successive ionic layer absorption and reaction （SILAR）, and sol-gel methods. The same reactive precursors were used for all of the methods, and all of the films were annealed at 300℃ in an oven （ambient conditions）. After this step, the optical and structural properties of the films produced by using the three different methods were compared. The structures of the films were analyzed by X-ray diffTaction （XRD）. The optical properties are investigated using the ultraviolet-visible （UV-VIS） spectroscopic technique. The film thickness was measured via atomic force microscopy （AFM） in the tapping mode. The surface properties and elemental ratios of the films were investigated and measured by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy （EDX）. The lowest transmittance and the highest reflectance values were observed for the films produced using the SILAR method. In addition, the most intense characteristic XRD peak was observed in the diffraction pattern of the film produced using the SILAR method, and the greatest thickness and average grain size were calculated for the film produced using the SILAR method. The films produced using SILAR method contained fewer cracks than those produced using the other methods. In conclusion, the SILAR method was observed to be the best method for the production of HOTFs.

Heterostructure Solar Cells Based on Sol-Gel Deposited SnO₂and Electrochemically Deposited Cu₂O

To fabricate a heterostructure solar cell using environmentally friendly materials and low cost techniques, tin oxide (SnO2) and cuprous oxide (Cu2O) were deposited by the sol-gel method and the electrochemical deposition, respectively. The SnO2 films were deposited from a SnCl2 solution containing ethanol and acetic acid. The Cu2O films were deposited using a galvanostatic method from an aqueous bath containing CuSO4 and lactic acid at a temperature of 40°C. The Cu2O/SnO2 heterostructure solar cells showed rectification and photovoltaic properties, and the best cell showed a conversion efficiency of 6.6 × 10-2 % with an open-circuit voltage of 0.29 V, a short-circuit current of 0.58 mA/cm2, and a fill factor of 0.39.

Hot Corrosion Behavior of Sol-Gel Nano Structured Zirconia Coated 9Cr1Mo Ferritic Steel in Alkali Metal Chlorides and Sulphates Deposit Systems at High Temperatures

Fused salt accelerated hot corrosion is quite common in gas turbines, fossil fuelled devices, waste inclinators, pyrochemical systems, etc. Presence of fused salt on metal surface dissolves their existing oxide layer. This results in an increase in oxidation rate of the metal. Since, zirconia coating is well recognized for corrosion protection under high temperature oxidative environment, we have developed zirconia coating on 9Cr1Mo ferritic steel and their oxidation performance was evaluated in LiCl-NaCl and Na2SO4-K2SO4 salts deposit system in air atmosphere at 650?C and 850?C, respectively. Before coating development, zirconium based sol was synthesized using zirconium (IV) propoxide as a precursor. Oxidation test results indicated that the zirconia coated specimens shows more than two times higher corrosion resistance in LiCl-NaCl and three time higher corrosion resistance in Na2SO4-K2SO4 salt deposit, respectively.

Formation of High-quality Advanced High-k Oxide Layers at Low Temperature by Excimer UV Lamp-assisted Photo-CVD and Sol-gel Processing

We have successfully demonstrated that high quality and high dielectric constant layers can be fabricated by low temperature photo-induced or -assisted processing. Ta_2O_5 and ZrO_2 have been deposited at t<400 ℃ by means of a UV photo-CVD technique and HfO_2 by photo-assisted sol-gel processing with the aid of excimer lamps. The UV annealing of as-grown layers was found to significantly improve their electrical properties. Low leakage current densities on the order of 10 -8 A/cm 2 at 1 MV/cm for deposited ultrathin Ta_2O_5 films and ca.10 -6 A/cm 2 for the photo-CVD ZrO_2 layers and photo-irradiated sol-gel HfO_2 layers have been readily achieved. The improvement in the leakage properties of these layers is attributed to the UV-generated active oxygen species O( 1D) which strongly oxidize any suboxides to form more stoichiometric oxides on removing certain defects, oxygen vacancies and impurities present in the as-prepared layers. The photo-CVD Ta_2O_5 films deposited across 10.16-cm Si wafers exhibit a high thickness uniformity with a variation of less than \{±2.0%\} being obtained for ultrathin ca.10 nm thick films. The lamp technology can in principle be extended to larger area wafers, providing a promising low temperature route to the fabrication of a range of high quality thin films for future ULSI technology.

TiO_2 thin film photocatalyst

It is well known that the photocatalytic activity of TiO_2 thin filmsstrongly depends on the preparing methods and post-treatment conditions, since they have a decisiveinfluence on the chemical and physical properties of TiO_2 thin films. Therefore, it is necessary toelucidate the influence of the preparation process and post-treatment conditions on thephoto-catalytic activity and surface microstructures of the films. This review deals with thepreparation of TiO_2 thin film photo-catalysts by wet-chemical methods (such as sol-gel,-reversemicellar and liquid phase deposition) and the comparison of various preparation methods as well astheir advantage and disadvantage. Furthermore, it is discussed that the advancement ofphotocatalytic activity, super-hydrophilicity and bactericidal activity of TiO_2 thin filmphotocatalyst in recent years.

Fabrication of Porous Silica Microspheres Under the Assistance of Solid Template

Spherical porous silica microparticles were synthesized by a sol-gel process in the presence of porous CaCO3 particles, followed by removal of the carbonate templates. The resulting silica particles had very high porosity and wide pore size distribution, whose surface area and pore volume reached up to 367.3 m2/g and 0.72 mL/g, re- spectively. With a larger amount of the tetraethyl orthosilicate used, hollow silica microspheres were further obtained. Characterization was made to confirm the chemical and physical structures and purity of the silica microspheres. Spontaneous deposition of tetramethyl rhodamine isothiocyanate labeled dextran into the microspheres was also ob- served due to the charge attraction.

Tunable colors and conductivity by electroless growth of Cu/Cu2O particles on sol-gel modified cellulose

Development of colored surfaces by formation of nano-structured aggregates is a widely used strategy in nature to color lightweight structures (e.g. butterflies) without the use of dye pigments. The deposition of nanoscale particles mimics nature in it’s approach coloring surfaces. This work presents sol-gel modification of cellulose surfaces used to form a template for growth of Cu/Cu2O core–shell particles with defined size-distributions. Besides improving the adhesion of the deposited particulate material, the sol-gel matrix serves as a template for the control of particle sizes of the Cu/Cu2O structures, and as a consequence of particle size variation the surface color is tunable. As an example, red color was achieved with an average particle size of 35 nm, and shifts gradually to blue appearance when particles have grown to 80 nm on the sol-gel modified fabric. The copper concentration on representative fabrics is kept low to avoid modifying the textile characteristics and were all in the range of 150–170 mg per g of cellulose material. As a result of copper deposition on the surface of the material, the cellulose fabric also became electrically conductive. Remarkably, the electrical conductivity was found to be dependent on the average particle sizes of the deposits and thus related to the change in observed color. The generation of color by growth of nano-sized particles on sol-gel templates provides a highly promising approach to stain surfaces by physical effects without use of synthetic colorants, which opens a new strategy to improve environmental profile of coloration.

Palladium/ceramic composite membranes prepared by novel electroless plating procedure

THIN films have become more and more important in advanced technology,hence attracted theresearch interest in material science and technology.In chemistry,thin films are classified intoorganic and inorganic membranes.Compared with organic membranes,inorganic membranesexhibit high-temperature stability and surface modifications,and have potential