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Sample records for nanocrystalline sno2 films

  1. Characteristics of RuO2-SnO2 nanocrystalline-embedded amorphous electrode for thin film microsupercapacitors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Han-Ki; Choi, Sun-Hee; Yoon, Young Soo; Chang, Sung-Yong; Ok, Young-Woo; Seong, Tae-Yeon

    2005-01-01

    The characteristics of RuO 2 -SnO 2 nanocrystalline-embedded amorphous electrode, grown by DC reactive sputtering, was investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and transmission electron diffraction (TED) examination results showed that Sn and Ru metal cosputtered electrode in O 2 /Ar ambient have RuO 2 -SnO 2 nanocrystallines in an amorphous oxide matrix. It is shown that the cyclic voltammorgram (CV) result of the RuO 2 -SnO 2 nanocrystalline-embedded amorphous film in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 liquid electrolyte is similar to a bulk-type supercapacitor behavior with a specific capacitance of 62.2 mF/cm 2 μm. This suggests that the RuO 2 -SnO 2 nanocrystalline-embedded amorphous film can be employed in hybrid all-solid state energy storage devises as an electrode of supercapacitor

  2. Nanocrystalline SnO2 thin films: Structural, morphological, electrical transport and optical studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sakhare, R.D.; Khuspe, G.D.; Navale, S.T.; Mulik, R.N.; Chougule, M.A.; Pawar, R.C.; Lee, C.S.; Sen, Shashwati; Patil, V.B.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Novel chemical route of synthesis of SnO 2 films. ► Physical properties SnO 2 are influenced by process temperature. ► The room temperature electrical conductivity of SnO 2 is of 10 −7 –10 −5 (Ω cm) −1 . ► SnO 2 exhibit high absorption coefficient (10 4 cm −1 ). -- Abstract: Sol–gel spin coating method has been successfully employed for preparation of nanocrystalline tin oxide (SnO 2 ) thin films. The effect of processing temperature on the structure, morphology, electrical conductivity, thermoelectric power and band gap was studied using X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction pattern, atomic force microscopy, two probe technique and UV–visible spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that SnO 2 films are crystallized in the tetragonal phase and present a random orientation. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) analysis revealed that surface morphology of the tin oxide film consists nanocrystalline grains with uniform coverage of the substrate surface. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of SnO 2 film showed nanocrystals having diameter ranging from 5 to 10 nm. Selected area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern confirms tetragonal phase evolution of SnO 2 . Atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis showed surface morphology of SnO 2 film is smooth. The dc electrical conductivity showed the semiconducting nature with room temperature electrical conductivity increased from 10 −7 to 10 −5 (Ω cm) −1 as processing temperature increased from 400 to 700 °C. Thermo power measurement confirms n-type conduction. The band gap energy of SnO 2 film decreased from 3.88 to 3.60 eV as processing temperature increased from 400 to 700 °C

  3. Nanocrystalline SnO2:F Thin Films for Liquid Petroleum Gas Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sutichai Chaisitsak

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports the improvement in the sensing performance of nanocrystalline SnO2-based liquid petroleum gas (LPG sensors by doping with fluorine (F. Un-doped and F-doped tin oxide films were prepared on glass substrates by the dip-coating technique using a layer-by-layer deposition cycle (alternating between dip-coating a thin layer followed by a drying in air after each new layer. The results showed that this technique is superior to the conventional technique for both improving the film thickness uniformity and film transparency. The effect of F concentration on the structural, surface morphological and LPG sensing properties of the SnO2 films was investigated. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM and X-ray diffraction pattern measurements showed that the obtained thin films are nanocrystalline SnO2 with nanoscale-textured surfaces. Gas sensing characteristics (sensor response and response/recovery time of the SnO2:F sensors based on a planar interdigital structure were investigated at different operating temperatures and at different LPG concentrations. The addition of fluorine to SnO2 was found to be advantageous for efficient detection of LPG gases, e.g., F-doped sensors are more stable at a low operating temperature (300 °C with higher sensor response and faster response/recovery time, compared to un-doped sensor materials. The sensors based on SnO2:F films could detect LPG even at a low level of 25% LEL, showing the possibility of using this transparent material for LPG leak detection.

  4. Nanocrystalline SnO2 formation by oxygen ion implantation in tin thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kondkar, Vidya; Rukade, Deepti; Kanjilal, Dinakar; Bhattacharyya, Varsha

    2018-03-01

    Metallic tin thin films of thickness 100 nm are deposited on fused silica substrates by thermal evaporation technique. These films are implanted with 45 keV oxygen ions at fluences ranging from 5 × 1015 to 5 × 1016 ions cm-2. The energy of the oxygen ions is calculated using SRIM in order to form embedded phases at the film-substrate interface. Post-implantation, films are annealed using a tube furnace for nanocrystalline tin oxide formation. These films are characterized using x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. XRD and Raman spectroscopy studies reveal the formation of single rutile phase of SnO2. The size of the nanocrystallites formed decreases with an increase in the ion fluence. The nanocrystalline SnO2 formation is also confirmed by UV-vis and photoluminescence spectroscopy.

  5. Studying Structural, Optical, Electrical, and Sensing Properties of Nanocrystalline SnO2:Cu Films Prepared by Sol-Gel Method for CO Gas Sensor Application at Low Temperature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Jawad, Selma M. H.; Elttayf, Abdulhussain K.; Saber, Amel S.

    Nanocrystalline SnO2 and SnO2:Cu thin films derived from SnCl22H2O precursors have been prepared on glass substrates using sol-gel dip-coating technique. The deposited film was 300±20nm thick and the films were annealed in air at 500∘C for 1h. Structural, optical and sensing properties of the films were studied under different preparation conditions, such as Cu-doping concentration of 2%, 4% and 6wt.%. X-ray diffraction studies show the polycrystalline nature with tetragonal rutile structure of SnO2 and Cu:SnO2 thin films. The films have highly preferred orientation along (110). The crystallite size of the prepared samples reduced with increasing Cu-doping concentrations and the addition of Cu as dopants changed the structural properties of the thin films. Surface morphology was determined through scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Results show that the particle size decreased as doping concentration increased. The films have moderate optical transmission (up to 82.4% at 800nm), and the transmittance, absorption coefficient and energy gap at different Cu-doping concentration were measured and calculated. Results show that Cu-doping decreased the transmittance and energy gap whereas it increased the absorption coefficient. Two peaks were noted with Cu-doping concentration of 0-6wt.%; the first peak was positioned exactly at 320nm ultraviolet emission and the second was positioned at 430-480nm. Moreover, emission bands were noticed in the photoluminescence spectra of Cu:SnO2. The electrical properties of SnO2 films include DC electrical conductivity, showing that the films have two activation energies, namely, Ea1 and Ea2, which increase as Cu-doping concentration increases. Cudoped nanocrystalline SnO2 gas-sensing material has better sensitivity to CO gas compared with pure SnO2.

  6. Nanocrystalline SnO2-TiO2 thin film deposited on base of equilateral prism as an opto-electronic humidity sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yadav, B. C.; Verma, Nidhi; Singh, Satyendra

    2012-09-01

    Present paper reports the synthesis of SnO2-TiO2 nanocomposite, its characterization and performance as opto-electronic humidity sensor. Nanocrystalline SnO2-TiO2 film was deposited on the base of an equilateral prism using a photo resist spinner and the as prepared film was annealed at 200 °C for 2 h. The crystal structure of the prepared film was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD). Minimum crystallite size of the material was found 7 nm. Surface morphology of the film was investigated by Scanning electron microscope (SEM LEO-0430, Cambridge). SEM image shows that the film is porous. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) of as synthesized material shows two exothermic peaks at about 40 and 110 °C, respectively which are due to the evaporation of chemical impurities and water. Further the prepared film was investigated through the exposure of humidity and relative humidity (%RH) was measured directly in terms of modulation in the intensity of light recorded on a digital power meter. The maximum sensitivity of sensor was found 4.14 μW/%RH, which is quite significant for sensor fabrication purposes.

  7. Structural and optical characterization of p-type highly Fe-doped SnO2 thin films and tunneling transport on SnO2:Fe/p-Si heterojunction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ben Haj Othmen, Walid; Ben Hamed, Zied; Sieber, Brigitte; Addad, Ahmed; Elhouichet, Habib; Boukherroub, Rabah

    2018-03-01

    Nanocrystalline highly Fe-doped SnO2 thin films were prepared using a new simple sol-gel method with iron amounts of 5, 10, 15 and 20%. The obtained gel offers a long durability and high quality allowing to reach a sub-5 nm nanocrystalline size with a good crystallinity. The films were structurally characterized through X-ray diffraction (XRD) that confirms the formation of rutile SnO2. High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) images reveals the good crystallinity of the nanoparticles. Raman spectroscopy shows that the SnO2 rutile structure is maintained even for high iron concentration. The variation of the PL intensity with Fe concentration reveals that iron influences the distribution of oxygen vacancies in tin oxide. The optical transmittance results indicate a redshift of the SnO2 band gap when iron concentration increases. The above optical results lead us to assume the presence of a compensation phenomenon between oxygen vacancies and introduced holes following Fe doping. From current-voltage measurements, an inversion of the conduction type from n to p is strongly predicted to follow the iron addition. Electrical characterizations of SnO2:Fe/p-Si and SnO2:Fe/n-Si heterojunctions seem to be in accordance with this deduction. The quantum tunneling mechanism is expected to be important at high Fe doping level, which was confirmed by current-voltage measurements at different temperatures. Both optical and electrical properties of the elaborated films present a particularity for the same iron concentration and adopt similar tendencies with Fe amount, which strongly correlate the experimental observations. In order to evaluate the applicability of the elaborated films, we proceed to the fabrication of the SnO2:Fe/SnO2 homojunction for which we note a good rectifying behavior.

  8. Photocatalytic removal of NO and HCHO over nanocrystalline Zn2SnO4 microcubes for indoor air purification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ai Zhihui; Lee Shuncheng; Huang Yu; Ho Wingkei; Zhang Lizhi

    2010-01-01

    Nanocrystalline Zn 2 SnO 4 microcubes were hydrothermally synthesized and systematically characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS, N 2 adsorption-desorption, and UV-vis DRS analysis. The resulting Zn 2 SnO 4 microcubes with the edge size ranging from 0.8 to 1.2 μm were composed of numerous nanoparticles with size of 10-20 nm, and their optical band gap energy was estimated to be 3.25 eV from the UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra. On degradation of nitrogen monoxide (NO) and formaldehyde (HCHO) at typical concentrations for indoor air quality, these nanocrystalline Zn 2 SnO 4 microcubes exhibited superior photocatalytic activity to the hydrothermally synthesized ZnO, SnO 2 , and Degussa TiO 2 P25, as well as C doped TiO 2 under UV-vis light irradiation. This enhanced photocatalytic activity of the nanocrystalline Zn 2 SnO 4 microcubes was attributed to their bigger surface areas, smaller particle size, special porous structures, and special electronic configuration. The nanocrystalline Zn 2 SnO 4 microcubes were chemically stable as there was no obvious deactivation during the multiple photocatalytic reactions. This work presents a promising approach for scaling-up industrial production of Zn 2 SnO 4 nanostructures and suggests that the synthesized nanocrystalline Zn 2 SnO 4 microcubes are promising photocatalysts for indoor air purification.

  9. Grain size dependent electrical studies on nanocrystalline SnO2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bose, A. Chandra; Thangadurai, P.; Ramasamy, S.

    2006-01-01

    Nanocrystalline tin oxide (n-SnO 2 ) with different grain sizes were synthesized by chemical precipitation method. Size variation was achieved by changing the hydrolysis processing time. Structural phases of the nanocrystalline SnO 2 were identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The grain sizes of the prepared n-SnO 2 were found to be in the range 5-20 nm which were estimated using the Scherrer formula and they were confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements. The electrical properties of nanocrystalline SnO 2 were studied using impedance spectroscopy. The impedance spectroscopy results showed that, in the temperature range between 25 and 650 deg. C, the conductivity has contributions from two different mechanisms, which are attributed to different conduction mechanisms in the grain and the grain boundary regions. This is because of the different relaxation times available for the conduction species in those regions. However, for the temperatures above 300 deg. C, there is no much difference between these two different relaxation times. The Arrhenius plots gave the activation energies for the conduction process in all the samples

  10. Effect of Various Catalysts on the Stability of Characteristics of Acetone Sensors Based on Thin Nanocrystalline SnO2 Films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sevastyanov, E. Yu.; Maksimova, N. K.; Potekaev, A. I.; Khludkova, L. S.; Chernikov, E. V.; Davydova, T. A.

    2018-02-01

    The results of studies of electrical and gas sensitive characteristics of acetone sensors based on thin nanocrystalline SnO2 films with various catalysts deposited on the surface (Pt/Pd, Au) and introduced into the volume (Au, Ni, Co) are presented. Films containing impurities of gold and 3d-metals were obtained by the method of magnetron sputtering of mosaic targets. Particular attention was paid to the influence of the longterm tests and humidity level on the properties of sensors. It is shown that the sensors with the deposited dispersed gold layers with Au+Ni and, especially, Au+Co additives introduced into the volume are characterized by the increased stability in the process of testing under prolonged exposure to acetone and also under conditions of varying humidity.

  11. Nanocrystalline SnO2 by liquid pyrolysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Morante, J. R.

    2000-08-01

    Full Text Available Liquid pyrolysis is presented as a new production method of SnO2 nanocrystalline powders suitable for gas sensor devices. The method is based on a pyrolytic reaction of high tensioned stressed drops of an organic solution of SnCl4•5(H2O. The main advantages of the method are its capability to produce SnO2 nanopowders with high stability, its accurate control over the grain size and other structural characteristics, its high level of repeatability and its low industrialization implementation cost. The characterization of samples of SnO2 nanoparticles obtained by liquid pyrolysis in the range between 200ºC and 900ºC processing temperature is carried out by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Results are analyzed and discussed so as to validate the advantages of the liquid pyrolysis method.La pirólisis líquida se presenta como un nuevo método para producir SnO2 nanocristalino en polvo ideal para sensores de gas. El método se basa en una reacción pirolítica de gotas altamente tensionadas procedentes de una solución orgánica de SnCl4•5(H2O. Las principales ventajas del método son la capacidad para producir nanopartículas de SnO2 con una gran estabilidad, el preciso control sobre el tamaño de grano y sobre otras características estructurales, el alto nivel de repetibilidad y el bajo coste en su implementación industrial.La caracterización de las muestras de las nanopartículas de SnO2 obtenidas por pirólisis líquida en un rango de temperatura de procesado que va de 200ºC a 900ºC se ha realizado mediante difracción de rayos X, microscopía electrónica de transmisión, espectroscopía Raman y espectroscopía fotoelectrónica de rayos X. Los resultados se han analizado y discutido. Éstos validan las ventajas del método de la pirólisis líquida.

  12. Synthesis, characterization and photoluminescence properties of Dy3+ -doped nano-crystalline SnO2.

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Pillai, SK

    2010-04-15

    Full Text Available the crystallite size. The experimental result on photoluminescence characteristics originating from Dy3+-doping in nanocrystalline SnO2 reveals the dependence of the luminescent intensity on dopant concentration....

  13. Properties of Resistive Hydrogen Sensors as a Function of Additives of 3 D-Metals Introduced in the Volume of Thin Nanocrystalline SnO2 Films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sevast'yanov, E. Yu.; Maksimova, N. K.; Potekaev, A. I.; Sergeichenko, N. V.; Chernikov, E. V.; Almaev, A. V.; Kushnarev, B. O.

    2017-11-01

    Analysis of the results of studying electrical and gas sensitive characteristics of the molecular hydrogen sensors based on thin nanocrystalline SnO2 films coated with dispersed Au layers and containing Au+Ni and Au+Co impurities in the bulk showed that the characteristics of these sensors are more stable under the prolonged exposure to hydrogen in comparison with Au/SnO2:Sb, Au films modified only with gold. It has been found that introduction of the nickel and cobalt additives increases the band bending at the grain boundaries of tin dioxide already in freshly prepared samples, which indicates an increase in the density Ni of the chemisorbed oxygen. It is important that during testing, the band bending eφs at the grain boundaries of tin dioxide additionally slightly increases. It can be assumed that during crystallization of films under thermal annealing, the 3d-metal atoms in the SnO2 volume partially segregate on the surface of microcrystals and form bonds with lattice oxygen, the superstoichiometric tin atoms are formed, and the density Ni increases. If the bonds of oxygen with nickel and cobalt are stronger than those with tin, then, under the prolonged tests, atomic hydrogen will be oxidized not by lattice oxygen, but mainly by the chemisorbed one. In this case, stability of the sensors' characteristics increases.

  14. Nanocrystalline Cobalt-doped SnO2 Thin Film: A Sensitive Cigarette Smoke Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patil Shriram B.

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available This article discusses a sensitive cigarette smoke sensor based on Cobalt doped Tin oxide (Co-SnO2 thin films deposited on glass substrate by a conventional Spray Pyrolysis technique. The Co-SnO2 thin films have been characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDAX. The XRD spectrum shows polycrystalline nature of the film with a mixed phase comprising of SnO2 and Co3O4. The SEM image depicts uniform granular morphology covering total substrate surface. The compositional analysis derived using EDAX confirmed presence of Co in addition to Sn and O in the film. Cigarette smoke sensing characteristics of the Co-SnO2 thin film have been studied under atmospheric condition at different temperatures and smoke concentration levels. The sensing parameters such as sensitivity, response time and recovery time are observed to be temperature dependent, exhibiting better results at 330 oC.

  15. Synthesis of Nanocrystalline SnO2 Modified TiO2:a Material for Carbon Monoxide Gas Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. B. BODADE

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available Nanocrystalline SnO2 doped TiO2 having average crystallite size of 45-50 nm were synthesized by the sol-gel method and studied for gas sensing behavior to reducing gases like CO, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG, NH3 and H2. The material characterization was done by using X-ray diffraction (XRD, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR and scanning electron microscope (SEM. The sensitivity measurements were carried out as a function of different operating temperature in SnO2 doped TiO2. The 15 wt.% SnO2 doped TiO2 based CO sensor shows better sensitivity at an operating temperature 240°C Incorporation of 0.5 wt% Pd improved the sensitivity, selectivity, response time and reduced the operating temperature from 240°C to 200°C for CO sensor.

  16. Structural, optical and gas sensing properties of screen-printed nanostructured Sr-doped SnO2 thick film sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shaikh, F.I.; Chikhale, L.P.; Patil, J.Y.; Rajgure, A.V.; Suryavanshi, S.S.; Mulla, I.S.

    2013-01-01

    The nanocrystalline materials of strontium doped tin oxide powders were synthesized by conventional co-precipitation method. Synthesized nanophase SnO 2 powders were used to fabricate thick films of pure and Sr-doped SnO 2 using screen-printing technology and investigated for their gas sensing properties towards LPG, ethanol, ammonia and acetone vapor. The crystal structure and phase of the sintered powders were characterized by X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and microstructure by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). All the doped and undoped SnO 2 compositions revealed single phase and solid solution formation. X-ray diffractometer (XRD) results indicated that well crystallized Sr-doped SnO 2 particles of size about 10 nm were obtained at sintering temperature 700℃. The optical properties viz. UV-Vis, FTIR and Raman were used to characterize various physico-chemical properties of samples. The reduction of grain size in metal oxide is a key factor to enhance the gas sensing properties. The doping of Sr in SnO 2 has reduced the grain size and improved the gas response. The results of gas sensing measurements showed that the thick films deposited on alumina substrates using screen-printing technique exhibited high gas response, quick response time and fast recovery time to acetone gas at a working temperature of 250℃. Further, the selectivity of sensor towards acetone with respect to other reducing gases (LPG, ethanol, ammonia) was studied. (author)

  17. Microstructural investigation and SnO nanodefects in spray-pyrolyzed SnO2 thin films

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thanachayanont, Chanchana; Yordsri, Visittapong; Boothroyd, Chris

    2011-01-01

    Spray pyrolysis is one of the most cost-effective methods to prepare SnO2 films due to its ability to deposit large uniform area, low fabrication cost, simplicity and low deposition temperature. Conventionally, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) are routinely used...... diffraction (CBED). It was found that large grain-size vertically-aligned columnar SnO2 grains were formed after a few layers of small grain-size randomly oriented SnO2 grains. Moreover, CBED showed the presence of SnO nanodefects that had not been reported before and could not be detected by SEM or XRD....

  18. Triboelectric charge generation by semiconducting SnO2 film grown by atomic layer deposition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, No Ho; Yoon, Seong Yu; Kim, Dong Ha; Kim, Seong Keun; Choi, Byung Joon

    2017-07-01

    Improving the energy harvesting efficiency of triboelectric generators (TEGs) requires exploring new types of materials that can be used, and understanding their properties. In this study, we have investigated semiconducting SnO2 thin films as friction layers in TEGs, which has not been explored thus far. Thin films of SnO2 with various thicknesses were grown by atomic layer deposition on Si substrates. Either polymer or glass was used as counter friction layers. Vertical contact/separation mode was utilized to evaluate the TEG efficiency. The results indicate that an increase in the SnO2 film thickness from 5 to 25 nm enhances the triboelectric output voltage of the TEG. Insertion of a 400-nm-thick Pt sub-layer between the SnO2 film and Si substrate further increased the output voltage up to 120 V in a 2 cm × 2 cm contact area, while the enhancement was cancelled out by inserting a 10-nm-thick insulating Al2O3 film between SnO2 and Pt films. These results indicate that n-type semiconducting SnO2 films can provide triboelectric charge to counter-friction layers in TEGs.[Figure not available: see fulltext.

  19. Swift heavy ion irradiated SnO_2 thin film sensor for efficient detection of SO_2 gas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tyagi, Punit; Sharma, Savita; Tomar, Monika; Singh, Fouran; Gupta, Vinay

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Response of Ni"7"+ ion irradiated (100 MeV) SnO_2 film have been performed. • Effect of irradiation on the structural and optical properties of SnO_2 film is studied. • A decrease in operating temperature and increased response is seen after irradiation. - Abstract: Gas sensing response studies of the Ni"7"+ ion irradiated (100 MeV) and non-irradiated SnO_2 thin film sensor prepared under same conditions have been performed towards SO_2 gas (500 ppm). The effect of irradiation on the structural, surface morphological, optical and gas sensing properties of SnO_2 thin film based sensor have been studied. A significant decrease in operating temperature (from 220 °C to 60 °C) and increased sensing response (from 1.3 to 5.0) is observed for the sample after irradiation. The enhanced sensing response obtained for the irradiated SnO_2 thin film based sensor is attributed to the desired modification in the surface morphology and material properties of SnO_2 thin film by Ni"7"+ ions.

  20. SnO2 thin film synthesis for organic vapors sensing at ambient temperature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N.H. Touidjen

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The present work is a study of tin dioxide (SnO2 based thin sensitive layer dedicated to organic vapors detection at ambient temperature. SnO2 thin film was deposited by chemical spray pyrolysis technique. The glass substrate temperature was kept to 400 °C, using a starting solution of 0.1 M tin (II dichloride dihydrate (SnCl2, 2H2O. Films structural and morphological properties were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD, scanning electron microscopy (SEM and atomic force microscope (AFM respectively. Films optical characteristics were studied using UV-VIS spectrophotometer. XRD revealed the presence of pure SnO2 polycrystalline thin film with a tetragonal rutile structure. The SEM and AFM observations confirmed the granular morphology with presence of pores in the film surface. The prepared film was tested in various organic vapors (ethanol, methanol and acetone at ambient operating temperature (25 °C ± 2 °C. The obtained results suggested that SnO2 is more sensitive to ethanol vapor with a maximum sensitivity of 35% higher than to methanol and acetone vapors (1% and 3%. The realized SnO2 based sensor demonstrated fast response and recovery times as revealed by the values of 2 s to 3 s towards 47 ppm of ethanol vapor. Keywords: SnO2 thin film, Sensitivity, XRD, SEM, AFM, UV–visible

  1. Annealing of SnO2 thin films by ultra-short laser pulses

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Scorticati, D.; Illiberi, A.; Bor, T.; Eijt, S.W.H.; Schut, H.; Römer, G.R.B.E.; Lange, D.F. de; Huis In't Veld, A.J.

    2014-01-01

    Post-deposition annealing by ultra-short laser pulses can modify the optical properties of SnO2 thin films by means of thermal processing. Industrial grade SnO2 films exhibited improved optical properties after picosecond laser irradiation, at the expense of a slightly increased sheet resistance

  2. Structural, Optical and Ethanol Sensing Properties of Dy-Doped SnO2 Nanoparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaikh, F. I.; Chikhale, L. P.; Nadargi, D. Y.; Mulla, I. S.; Suryavanshi, S. S.

    2018-04-01

    We report a facile co-precipitation synthesis of dysprosium (Dy3+) doped tin oxide (SnO2) thick films and their use as gas sensors. The doping percentage (Dy3+) was varied from 1 mol.% to 4 mol.% with the step of 1 mol.%. As-produced material with varying doping levels were sintered in air; and by using a screen printing technique, their thick films were developed. Prior to sensing performance investigations, the films were examined for structural, morphological and compositional properties using x-ray diffraction, a field emission scanning electron microscope, a transmission electron microscope, selected area electron diffraction, energy dispersive analysis by x-rays, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopic techniques. The structural analyses revealed formation of single phase nanocrystalline material with tetragonal rutile structure of SnO2. The morphological analyses confirmed the nanocrystalline porous morphology of as-developed material. Elemental analysis defined the composition of material in accordance with the doping concentration. The produced sensor material exhibited good response towards different reducing gases (acetone, ethanol, LPG, and ammonia) at different operating temperatures. The present study confirms that the Dy3+ doping in SnO2 enhances the response towards ethanol with reduction in operating temperature. Particularly, 3 mol.% Dy3+ doped sensor exhibited the highest response (˜ 92%) at an operating temperature of 300°C with better selectivity, fast response (˜ 13 s) and recovery (˜ 22 s) towards ethanol.

  3. An economic CVD technique for pure SnO2 thin films deposition ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    An economic CVD technique for pure SnO2 thin films deposition: Temperature effects ..... C are depicted in figure 7. It is observed that the cut-off wave- ... cating that the energy gap of the SnO2 films varies among. 3·54, 3·35 and 1·8 eV.

  4. Fabrication of textured SnO2 transparent conductive films using self-assembled Sn nanospheres

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fukumoto, Michitaka; Nakao, Shoichiro; Hirose, Yasushi; Hasegawa, Tetsuya

    2018-06-01

    We present a novel method to fabricate textured surfaces on transparent conductive SnO2 films by processing substrates through a bottom-up technique with potential for industrially scalable production. The substrate processing consists of three steps: deposition of precursor Sn films on glass substrates, formation of a self-assembled Sn nanosphere layer with reductive annealing, and conversion of Sn to SnO2 by oxidative annealing. Ta-doped SnO2 films conformally deposited on the self-assembled nanospherical SnO2 templates exhibited attractive optical and electrical properties, namely, enhanced haze values and low sheet resistances, for applications as transparent electrodes in photovoltaics.

  5. Sensors of the gas CO in thin film of SnO2:Cu

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tirado G, S.; Sanchez Z, F. E.

    2011-10-01

    Thin films of SnO 2 :Cu with different thickness, were deposited on soda-lime glass substrates and prepared by the Sol-gel process and repeated immersion. The sensor properties of these films to the gas CO for the range of 0-200 ppm in the gas concentration and operating to temperatures of 23, 100, 200, and 300 C were studied. Prepared films of pure SnO 2 were modified superficially with 1, 3, 5 and 10 layers of the catalyst Cu (SnO 2 :Cu) with the purpose of studying the effect on the sensor capacity of the gas CO by part of the films SnO 2 :Cu. Using the changes in the electric properties of the films with the incorporation of the different copper layers and experimental conditions, the sensor modifications of the gas CO were evaluated. To complete this study, was realized a characterization of the superficial morphology of the films by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, equally was studied their structure and their electric and optical properties. (Author)

  6. Optoelectronic properties of SnO2 thin films sprayed at different deposition times

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allag, Abdelkrim; Saâd, Rahmane; Ouahab, Abdelouahab; Attouche, Hafida; Kouidri, Nabila

    2016-04-01

    This article presents the elaboration of tin oxide (SnO2) thin films on glass substrates by using a home-made spray pyrolysis system. Effects of film thickness on the structural, optical, and electrical film properties are investigated. The films are characterized by several techniques such as x-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) transmission, and four-probe point measurements, and the results suggest that the prepared films are uniform and well adherent to the substrates. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns show that SnO2 film is of polycrystal with cassiterite tetragonal crystal structure and a preferential orientation along the (110) plane. The calculated grain sizes are in a range from 32.93 nm to 56.88 nm. Optical transmittance spectra of the films show that their high transparency average transmittances are greater than 65% in the visible region. The optical gaps of SnO2 thin films are found to be in a range of 3.64 eV-3.94 eV. Figures of merit for SnO2 thin films reveal that their maximum value is about 1.15 × 10-4 Ω-1 at λ = 550 nm. Moreover, the measured electrical resistivity at room temperature is on the order of 10-2 Ω·cm.

  7. MAPLE deposition and characterization of SnO2 colloidal nanoparticle thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caricato, A P; Martino, M; Romano, F; Tunno, T; Valerini, D; Epifani, M; Rella, R; Taurino, A

    2009-01-01

    In this paper we report on the deposition and characterization of tin oxide (SnO 2 ) nanoparticle thin films. The films were deposited by the matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) technique. SnO 2 colloidal nanoparticles with a trioctylphosphine capping layer were diluted in toluene with a concentration of 0.2 wt% and frozen at liquid nitrogen temperature. The frozen target was irradiated with a KrF (248 nm, τ = 20 ns) excimer laser (6000 pulses at 10 Hz). The nanoparticles were deposited on silica (SiO 2 ) and (1 0 0) Si substrates and submitted to morphological (high resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM)), structural Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and optical (UV-Vis transmission) characterizations. SEM and FTIR analyses showed that trioctylphosphine was the main component in the as-deposited films. The trioctylphosphine was removed after an annealing in vacuum at 400 0 C, thus allowing to get uniform SnO 2 nanoparticle films in which the starting nanoparticle dimensions were preserved. The energy gap value, determined by optical characterizations, was 4.2 eV, higher than the bulk SnO 2 energy gap (3.6 eV), due to quantum confinement effects.

  8. Influence of texture coefficient on surface morphology and sensing properties of W-doped nanocrystalline tin oxide thin films.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Manjeet; Kumar, Akshay; Abhyankar, A C

    2015-02-18

    For the first time, a new facile approach based on simple and inexpensive chemical spray pyrolysis (CSP) technique is used to deposit Tungsten (W) doped nanocrystalline SnO2 thin films. The textural, optical, structural and sensing properties are investigated by GAXRD, UV spectroscopy, FESEM, AFM, and home-built sensing setup. The gas sensing results indicate that, as compared to pure SnO2, 1 wt % W-doping improves sensitivity along with better response (roughness values of 3.82 eV and 3.01 nm, respectively. Reduction in texture coefficient along highly dense (110) planes with concomitant increase along loosely packed (200) planes is found to have prominent effect on gas sensing properties of W-doped films.

  9. Optoelectronic properties of SnO2 thin films sprayed at different deposition times

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abdelkrim, Allag; Rahmane, Saâd; Abdelouahab, Ouahab; Hafida, Attouche; Nabila, Kouidri

    2016-01-01

    This article presents the elaboration of tin oxide (SnO 2 ) thin films on glass substrates by using a home-made spray pyrolysis system. Effects of film thickness on the structural, optical, and electrical film properties are investigated. The films are characterized by several techniques such as x-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), ultraviolet-visible (UV–Vis) transmission, and four-probe point measurements, and the results suggest that the prepared films are uniform and well adherent to the substrates. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns show that SnO 2 film is of polycrystal with cassiterite tetragonal crystal structure and a preferential orientation along the (110) plane. The calculated grain sizes are in a range from 32.93 nm to 56.88 nm. Optical transmittance spectra of the films show that their high transparency average transmittances are greater than 65% in the visible region. The optical gaps of SnO 2 thin films are found to be in a range of 3.64 eV–3.94 eV. Figures of merit for SnO 2 thin films reveal that their maximum value is about 1.15 × 10 −4 Ω −1 at λ = 550 nm. Moreover, the measured electrical resistivity at room temperature is on the order of 10 −2 Ω·cm. (paper)

  10. Effect of Firing Temperature on Humidity Sensing Properties of SnO2 Thick Film Resistor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Y. Borse

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Thick films of SnO2 were prepared using standard screen printing technique. The films were dried and fired at different temperatures. Tin-oxide is an n-type wide band gap semiconductor, whose resistance is described as a function of relative humidity. An increasing firing temperature on SnO2 film increases the sensitivity to humidity. The parameters such as sensitivity, response times and hysteresis of the SnO2 film sensors have been evaluated. The thick films were characterized by XRD, SEM and EDAX and grain size, composition of elements, relative phases are obtained.

  11. H2S Sensing by Hybrids Based on Nanocrystalline SnO2 Functionalized with Cu(II Organometallic Complexes: The Role of the Ligand Platform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marina Rumyantseva

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper deals with the functionalization of nanocrystalline SnO2 with Cu(II complexes with organic ligands, aimed at the improvement of sensor selectivity towards gas molecules. For the synthesis of metalorganic/SnO2 hybrid material complexes of Cu(II with phthalocyanine, porphyrinines, bipyridine and azadithiacrown etherwere used. The analysis of gas sensor properties showed the possibility of increasing the sensitivity and selectivity of hybrid materials in H2S detection due to the electron transfer from SnO2 to an adsorbed organic molecule, which changes during the interaction between H2S and Cu(II ions.

  12. Silver film on nanocrystalline TiO{sub 2} support: Photocatalytic and antimicrobial ability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vukoje, Ivana D., E-mail: ivanav@vinca.rs [Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, University of Belgrade, P.O. Box 522, 11000 Belgrade (Serbia); Tomašević-Ilić, Tijana D., E-mail: tommashev@gmail.com [Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, University of Belgrade, P.O. Box 522, 11000 Belgrade (Serbia); Zarubica, Aleksandra R., E-mail: zarubica2000@yahoo.com [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, University of Niš, Višegradska 33, 18000 Niš (Serbia); Dimitrijević, Suzana, E-mail: suzana@tmf.bg.ac.rs [Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, Karnegijeva 4, 11000 Belgrade (Serbia); Budimir, Milica D., E-mail: mickbudimir@gmail.com [Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, University of Belgrade, P.O. Box 522, 11000 Belgrade (Serbia); Vranješ, Mila R., E-mail: mila@vinca.rs [Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, University of Belgrade, P.O. Box 522, 11000 Belgrade (Serbia); Šaponjić, Zoran V., E-mail: saponjic@vinca.rs [Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, University of Belgrade, P.O. Box 522, 11000 Belgrade (Serbia); Nedeljković, Jovan M., E-mail: jovned@vinca.rs [Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, University of Belgrade, P.O. Box 522, 11000 Belgrade (Serbia)

    2014-12-15

    Highlights: • Simple photocatalytic rout for deposition of Ag on nanocrystalline TiO{sub 2} films. • High antibactericidal efficiency of deposited Ag on TiO{sub 2} support. • Improved photocatalytic performance of TiO{sub 2} films in the presence of deposited Ag. - Abstract: Nanocrystalline TiO{sub 2} films were prepared on glass slides by the dip coating technique using colloidal solutions consisting of 4.5 nm particles as a precursor. Photoirradiation of nanocrystalline TiO{sub 2} film modified with alanine that covalently binds to the surface of TiO{sub 2} and at the same time chelate silver ions induced formation of metallic silver film. Optical and morphological properties of thin silver films on nanocrystalline TiO{sub 2} support were studied by absorption spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. Improvement of photocatalytic performance of nanocrystalline TiO{sub 2} films after deposition of silver was observed in degradation reaction of crystal violet. Antimicrobial ability of deposited silver films on nanocrystalline TiO{sub 2} support was tested in dark as a function of time against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans. The silver films ensured maximum cells reduction of both bacteria, while the fungi reduction reached satisfactory 98.45% after 24 h of contact.

  13. The influence of annealing atmosphere on the material properties of sol-gel derived SnO2:Sb films before and after annealing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jeng, Jiann-Shing

    2012-01-01

    SnO 2 films with and without Sb doping were prepared by the sol-gel spin-coating method. Material properties of the SnO 2 films with different Sb contents were investigated before and after annealing under O 2 or N 2 . When SnO 2 films are annealed under N 2 or O 2 , the resistivity decreases with increasing annealing temperature, which may be related to the increased crystallinity and reduced film defects. The intensity of SnO 2 peaks for both O 2 - and N 2 -annealed films increases as the annealing temperature increases. Small nodules are revealed on the surface of SnO 2 films after annealing in N 2 or O 2 atmospheres, and some voids are present on the surface of N 2 -annealed SnO 2 films. After doping with Sb, the resistivity of SnO 2 films after annealing in O 2 is greater than that of N 2 -annealed SnO 2 films. The surface morphology of SnO 2 films incorporating different molar ratios of Sb after annealing are similar to that of as-spun SnO 2 films with adding Sb. There were no voids found on the surfaces of N 2 -annealed SnO 2 :Sb films. In addition, the peak intensity of SnO 2 :Sb films after O 2 -annealing is higher than those films after N 2 -annealing. The chemical binding states and Hall mobility of the high-temperature annealed SnO 2 films without and with adding Sb are also related to the annealing atmospheres. This study discusses the connection among the material properties of the SnO 2 films with different Sb contents and how these properties are influenced by the Sb-doping concentration and the annealing atmospheres of SnO 2 films.

  14. TiO2 coated SnO2 nanosheet films for dye-sensitized solar cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cai Fengshi; Yuan Zhihao; Duan Yueqing; Bie Lijian

    2011-01-01

    TiO 2 -coated SnO 2 nanosheet (TiO 2 -SnO 2 NS) films about 300 nm in thickness were fabricated on fluorine-doped tin oxide glass by a two-step process with facile solution-grown approach and subsequent hydrolysis of TiCl 4 aqueous solution. The as-prepared TiO 2 -SnO 2 NSs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The performances of the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) with TiO 2 -SnO 2 NSs were analyzed by current-voltage measurements and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Experimental results show that the introduction of TiO 2 -SnO 2 NSs can provide an efficient electron transition channel along the SnO 2 nanosheets, increase the short current density, and finally improve the conversion efficiency for the DSCs from 4.52 to 5.71%.

  15. Nanocrystalline SnO2-Pt Thick Film Gas Sensor for Air Pollution Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. H. Shahrokh Abadi

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available A series of xSnO2(1-xPt nanopowder (x = 1, 0.995, 0.99, 0.985, 0.98 was calcinated at 950 °C, mixed with an organic vehicle, printed on premade silver electrodes, and fired at 650 °C. Microstructural, morphological, and elemental properties of the mixed powders and films were determined by using XRD, TEM, SEM, and EDX. Samples were exposed to ethyl alcohol, xylene, methanol, isopropanol, acetone, isobutane, and truck exhaust fumes, at wide range of operating temperature, and sensitivity as well as response time of the samples were measured and compared with Taguchi Gas Sensors of TGS2602 (air contaminants, TGS3870 (CO, and TGS4160 (CO2. It was discovered that crystallite sizes of SnO2 powder and response times of samples are decreased with increasing Pt contents, whilst sensitivity is increased. Measurements are shown that 1 wt.% Pt loaded sensor, operating at 300 °C, can detect exhaust gas with high differentiating between the applied gases.

  16. Structural anisotropy in amorphous SnO2 film probed by X-ray absorption spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Q.; Ma, Q.; Buchholz, D. B.; Chang, R. P. H.; Bedzyk, M. J.; Mason, T. O.

    2013-07-01

    Polarization-dependent X-ray absorption measurements reveal the existence of structural anisotropy in amorphous (a-) SnO2 film. The anisotropy is readily seen for the second neighbor interaction whose magnitude differs along three measured directions. The differences can be well accounted for by 10%-20% variation in the Debye-Waller factor. Instead of a single Gaussian distribution found in crystalline SnO2, the Sn-O bond distribution is bimodal in a-SnO2 whose separation shows a weak angular dependence. The oxygen vacancies, existing in the a-SnO2 film in the order of 1021 cm-3, distribute preferentially along the film surface direction.

  17. Electrochemical and optical properties of CeO2-SnO2 and CeO2-SnO2:X (X = Li, C, Si films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Berton Marcos A.C.

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available Thin solid films of CeO2-SnO2 (17 mol% Sn and CeO2-SnO2:X (X = Li, C and Si were prepared by the sol-gel route, using an aqueous-based process. The addition of Li, C and Si to the precursor solution leads to films with different electrochemical performances. The films were deposited by the dip-coating technique on ITO coated glass (Donnelly Glass at a speed of 10 cm/min and submitted to a final thermal treatment at 450 °C during 10 min in air. The electrochemical and optical properties of the films were determined from the cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry measurements using 0.1 M LiOH as supporting electrolyte. The ion storage capacity of the films was investigated using in situ spectroelectrochemical method and during the insertion/extraction process the films remained transparent. The powders were characterized by thermal analysis (DSC/TGA and X-ray diffraction.

  18. MOCVD growth of transparent conducting Cd2SnO4 thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Metz, A.W.; Poeppelmeier, K.R.; Marks, T.J.; Lane, M.A.; Kannewurt, C.R.

    2004-01-01

    The first preparation of transparent conducting Cd 2 SnO 4 thin films by a simple MOCVD process is described. As-deposited films using Cd(hfa) 2 (TMEDA) (Figure), at 365 C are found to be highly crystalline with a relatively wide range of grain size of 100-300 nm. XRD indicates a cubic spinel Cd 2 SnO 4 crystal structure and the possible presence of a small amount of CdO. The films exhibit conductivities of 2170 S/cm and a bandgap of 3.3 eV, rivaling those of commercial tin-doped indium oxide. (Abstract Copyright [2004], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

  19. Electrical and optical properties of nitrogen doped SnO2 thin films deposited on flexible substrates by magnetron sputtering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fang, Feng; Zhang, Yeyu; Wu, Xiaoqin; Shao, Qiyue; Xie, Zonghan

    2015-01-01

    Graphical abstract: The best SnO 2 :N TCO film: about 80% transmittance and 9.1 × 10 −4 Ω cm. - Highlights: • Nitrogen-doped tin oxide film was deposited on PET by RF-magnetron sputtering. • Effects of oxygen partial pressure on the properties of thin films were investigated. • For SnO 2 :N film, visible light transmittance was 80% and electrical resistivity was 9.1 × 10 −4 Ω cm. - Abstract: Nitrogen-doped tin oxide (SnO 2 :N) thin films were deposited on flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates at room temperature by RF-magnetron sputtering. Effects of oxygen partial pressure (0–4%) on electrical and optical properties of thin films were investigated. Experimental results showed that SnO 2 :N films were amorphous state, and O/Sn ratios of SnO 2 :N films were deviated from the standard stoichiometry 2:1. Optical band gap of SnO 2 :N films increased from approximately 3.10 eV to 3.42 eV as oxygen partial pressure increased from 0% to 4%. For SnO 2 :N thin films deposited on PET, transmittance was about 80% in the visible light region. The best transparent conductive oxide (TCO) deposited on flexible PET substrates was SnO 2 :N thin films preparing at 2% oxygen partial pressure, the transmittance was about 80% and electrical conductivity was about 9.1 × 10 −4 Ω cm

  20. OPTIMISATION OF SPRAY DEPOSITED Sno2 THIN FILM FOR ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Dr Obe

    1987-09-01

    Sep 1, 1987 ... The use of conducting tin-oxide (SnO2 ) films for fabrication of solar cell is becoming ... Attempts have also been made to fabricate Sn2/Si solar cell with the present set up, and .... Photovoltaic Specialists' Conf. Washington ...

  1. Electrical and Gas Sensing Properties of SnO2 Thick Film Resistors Prepared by Screen-printing Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Y. BORSE

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available Thick films of tin-oxide (SnO2 were deposited on alumina substrates employing screen-printing technique. The films were dried and fired at 680 0C for 30 minutes. The variation of D.C. resistance of thick films was measured in air as well as in H2S gas atmosphere as a function of temperature. The SnO2 films exhibit semiconducting behaviour. The SnO2 thick films studied were also showing decrease in resistance with increase of concentration of H2S gas. The film resistors showed the highest sensitivity to H2S gas at 350 0C. The XRD studies of the thick film indicate the presence of different phases of SnO2. The elemental analysis was confirmed by EDX spectra. The surface morphological study of the films was analyzed by SEM. The microstructure of the films was porous resulting from loosely interconnected small crystallites. The parameters such as grain size, activation energy, sensitivity and response time were described.

  2. Bilirubin adsorption on nanocrystalline titania films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Zhengpeng; Si Shihui; Fung Yingsing

    2007-01-01

    Bilirubin produced from hemoglobin metabolism and normally conjugated with albumin is a kind of lipophilic endotoxin, and can cause various diseases when its concentration is high. Bilirubin adsorption on the nanocrystalline TiO 2 films was investigated using quartz crystal microbalance, UV-vis and IR techniques, and factors affecting its adsorption such as pH, bilirubin concentration, solution ionic strength, temperature and thickness of TiO 2 films were discussed. The amount of adsorption and parameters for the adsorption kinetics were estimated from the frequency measurements of quartz crystal microbalance. A fresh surface of the nanocrystalline TiO 2 films could be photochemically regenerated because holes and hydroxyl radicals were generated by irradiating the nanocrystalline TiO 2 films with UV light, which could oxidize and decompose organic materials, and the nanocrystalline TiO 2 films can be easily regenerated when it is used as adsorbent for the removal of bilirubin

  3. Preparation of n-type semiconductor SnO2 thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rahal, Achour; Benramache, Said; Benhaoua, Boubaker

    2013-01-01

    We studied fluorine-doped tin oxide on a glass substrate at 350°C using an ultrasonic spray technique. Tin (II) chloride dehydrate, ammonium fluoride dehydrate, ethanol and NaOH were used as the starting material, dopant source, solvent and stabilizer, respectively. The SnO 2 : F thin films were deposited at 350°C and a pending time of 60 and 90 s. The as-grown films exhibit a hexagonal wurtzite structure and have (101) orientation. The G = 31.82 nm value of the grain size is attained from SnO 2 : F film grown at 90 s, and the transmittance is greater than 80% in the visible region. The optical gap energy is found to measure 4.05 eV for the film prepared at 90 s, and the increase in the electrical conductivity of the film with the temperature of the sample is up to a maximum value of 265.58 (Ω·cm) −1 , with the maximum activation energy value of the films being found to measure 22.85 meV, indicating that the films exhibit an n-type semiconducting nature. (semiconductor materials)

  4. Molybdenum Doped SnO2 Thin Films as a Methanol Vapor Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patil Shriram B.

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available The molybdenum doped SnO2 thin films were synthesized by conventional spray pyrolysis route and has been investigated for the methanol vapor sensing. The structural and elemental composition analysis of thin films was carried out by X- ray diffraction and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM and Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX.The XRD spectrum revealed that the thin films have the polycrystalline nature with a mixed phase comprising of SnO2 and MoO3. The scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM clears that the surface morphology observed to be granular, uniformly covering the entire surface area of the thin film. The methanol vapor sensing studies were performed in dry air at the different temperatures. The influence of the concentration of Molybdenum and operating temperature on the sensor performance has been investigated.

  5. Zr-doped SnO2 thin films synthesized by spray pyrolysis technique for barrier layers in solar cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reddy, N. Nanda Kumar; Akkera, Harish Sharma; Sekhar, M. Chandra; Park, Si-Hyun

    2017-12-01

    In the present work, we investigated the effect of Zr doping (0-6 at%) on the structural, electrical, and optical properties of tin oxide (SnO2) thin films deposited onto glass substrates using a spray pyrolysis technique. The room-temperature X-ray diffraction pattern shows that all deposited films exhibit polycrystalline tetragonal structure. The pure SnO2 film is grown along a preferred (200) direction, whereas Zr-doped SnO2 (Zr:SnO2) films started growing along the (220) orientation along with a high intensity peak of (200). Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM) images showed that the grains of the films are spherical in structure, and the grain size decreased with increasing of Zr concentration. The optical transmission spectra of deposited films as a function of wavelength confirm that the average optical transmittance is > 85% for Zr:SnO2 films. The value of the optical bandgap is significantly decreased from 3.94 to 3.68 eV with increasing Zr concentration. Furthermore, the electrical measurements found that the sheet resistance ( R sh) and resistivity ( ρ) values are decreased with increasing of Zr doping. The lowest values of R sh = 6.82 Ω and ρ = 0.4 × 10- 3 Ω cm are found in 6-at% Zr-doped SnO2 film. In addition, a good efficiency value of the figure of merit ( ɸ = 3.35 × 10- 3 Ω-1) is observed in 6-at% Zr-doped SnO2 film. These outstanding properties of Zr-doped SnO2 films make them useful for several optoelectronic device applications.

  6. F-doped SnO2 thin films grown on flexible substrates at low temperatures by pulsed laser deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, H.; Auyeung, R.C.Y.; Pique, A.

    2011-01-01

    Fluorine-doped tin oxide (SnO 2 :F) films were deposited on polyethersulfone plastic substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The electrical and optical properties of the SnO 2 :F films were investigated as a function of deposition conditions such as substrate temperature and oxygen partial pressure during deposition. High quality SnO 2 :F films were achieved under an optimum oxygen pressure range (7.4-8 Pa) at relatively low growth temperatures (25-150 deg. C). As-deposited films exhibited low electrical resistivities of 1-7 mΩ-cm, high optical transmittance of 80-90% in the visible range, and optical band-gap energies of 3.87-3.96 eV. Atomic force microscopy measurements revealed a reduced root mean square surface roughness of the SnO 2 :F films compared to that of the bare substrates indicating planarization of the underlying substrate.

  7. Structural and physical properties of transparent conducting, amorphous Zn-doped SnO2 films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Q.; Ma, Q.; Buchholz, D. B.; Chang, R. P. H.; Bedzyk, M. J.; Mason, T. O.

    2014-01-01

    The structural and physical properties of conducting amorphous Zn-doped SnO2 (a-ZTO) films, prepared by pulsed laser deposition, were investigated as functions of oxygen deposition pressure (pO2), composition, and thermal annealing. X-ray scattering and X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements reveal that at higher pO2, the a-ZTO films are highly transparent and have a structural framework similar to that found in crystalline (c-), rutile SnO2 in which the Sn4+ ion is octahedrally coordinated by 6 O2- ions. The Sn4+ ion in these films however has a coordination number (CN) smaller by 2%-3% than that in c-SnO2, indicating the presence of oxygen vacancies, which are the likely source of charge carriers. At lower pO2, the a-ZTO films show a brownish tint and contain some 4-fold coordinated Sn2+ ions. Under no circumstances is the CN around the Zn2+ ion larger than 4, and the Zn-O bond is shorter than the Sn-O bond by 0.07 Å. The addition of Zn has no impact on the electroneutrality but improves significantly the thermal stability of the films. Structural changes due to pO2, composition, and thermal annealing account well for the changes in the physical properties of a-ZTO films.

  8. Electronic structure and magnetic properties of Ni-doped SnO2 thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Mayuri; Kumar, Shalendra; Alvi, P. A.

    2018-05-01

    This paper reports the electronic structure and magnetic properties of Ni-doped SnO2 thin film which were grown on Si (100) substrate by PLD (pulse laser deposition) technique under oxygen partial pressure (PO2). For getting electronic structure and magnetic behavior, the films were characterized using near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS) and DC magnetization measurements. The NEXAFS study at Ni L3,2 edge has been done to understand the local environment of Ni and Sn ions within SnO2 lattice. DC magnetization measurement shows that the saturation magnetization increases with the increase in substitution of Ni2+ ions in the system.

  9. Preparation and structural characterization of SnO2 and GeO2 methanol steam reforming thin film model catalysts by (HR)TEM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lorenz, Harald; Zhao Qian; Turner, Stuart; Lebedev, Oleg I.; Van Tendeloo, Gustaaf; Kloetzer, Bernhard; Rameshan, Christoph; Penner, Simon

    2010-01-01

    Structure, morphology and composition of different tin oxide and germanium oxide thin film catalysts for the methanol steam reforming (MSR) reaction have been studied by a combination of (high-resolution) transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction, dark-field imaging and electron energy-loss spectroscopy. Deposition of the thin films on NaCl(0 0 1) cleavage faces has been carried out by thermal evaporation of the respective SnO 2 and GeO 2 powders in varying oxygen partial pressures and at different substrate temperatures. Preparation of tin oxide films in high oxygen pressures (10 -1 Pa) exclusively resulted in SnO phases, at and above 473 K substrate temperature epitaxial growth of SnO on NaCl(0 0 1) leads to well-ordered films. For lower oxygen partial pressures (10 -3 to 10 -2 Pa), mixtures of SnO and β-Sn are obtained. Well-ordered SnO 2 films, as verified by electron diffraction patterns and energy-loss spectra, are only obtained after post-oxidation of SnO films at temperatures T ≥ 673 K in 10 5 Pa O 2 . Preparation of GeO x films inevitably results in amorphous films with a composition close to GeO 2 , which cannot be crystallized by annealing treatments in oxygen or hydrogen at temperatures comparable to SnO/SnO 2 . Similarities and differences to neighbouring oxides relevant for selective MSR in the third group of the periodic system (In 2 O 3 and Ga 2 O 3 ) are also discussed with the aim of cross-correlation in formation of nanomaterials, and ultimately, also catalytic properties.

  10. Fast response time alcohol gas sensor using nanocrystalline F

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Bulletin of Materials Science; Volume 36; Issue 4. Fast response time alcohol gas sensor using nanocrystalline F-doped SnO2 films derived via sol–gel method. Sarbani Basu Yeong-Her Wang C Ghanshyam Pawan Kapur. Volume 36 Issue 4 August 2013 pp 521-533 ...

  11. Electrolytically exfoliated graphene-loaded flame-made Ni-doped SnO2 composite film for acetone sensing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singkammo, Suparat; Wisitsoraat, Anurat; Sriprachuabwong, Chakrit; Tuantranont, Adisorn; Phanichphant, Sukon; Liewhiran, Chaikarn

    2015-02-11

    In this work, flame-spray-made SnO2 nanoparticles are systematically studied by doping with 0.1-2 wt % nickel (Ni) and loading with 0.1-5 wt % electrolytically exfoliated graphene for acetone-sensing applications. The sensing films (∼12-18 μm in thickness) were prepared by a spin-coating technique on Au/Al2O3 substrates and evaluated for acetone-sensing performances at operating temperatures ranging from 150 to 350 °C in dry air. Characterizations by X-ray diffraction, transmission/scanning electron microscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy demonstrated that Ni-doped SnO2 nanostructures had a spheriodal morphology with a polycrystalline tetragonal SnO2 phase, and Ni was confirmed to form a solid solution with SnO2 lattice while graphene in the sensing film after annealing and testing still retained its high-quality nonoxidized form. Gas-sensing results showed that SnO2 sensing film with 0.1 wt % Ni-doping concentration exhibited an optimal response of 54.2 and a short response time of ∼13 s toward 200 ppm acetone at an optimal operating temperature of 350 °C. The additional loading of graphene at 5 wt % into 0.1 wt % Ni-doped SnO2 led to a drastic response enhancement to 169.7 with a very short response time of ∼5.4 s at 200 ppm acetone and 350 °C. The superior gas sensing performances of Ni-doped SnO2 nanoparticles loaded with graphene may be attributed to the large specific surface area of the composite structure, specifically the high interaction rate between acetone vapor and graphene-Ni-doped SnO2 nanoparticles interfaces and high electronic conductivity of graphene. Therefore, the 5 wt % graphene loaded 0.1 wt % Ni-doped SnO2 sensor is a promising candidate for fast, sensitive and selective detection of acetone.

  12. Texture-Etched SnO2 Glasses Applied to Silicon Thin-Film Solar Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bing-Rui Wu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Transparent electrodes of tin dioxide (SnO2 on glasses were further wet-etched in the diluted HCl:Cr solution to obtain larger surface roughness and better light-scattering characteristic for thin-film solar cell applications. The process parameters in terms of HCl/Cr mixture ratio, etching temperature, and etching time have been investigated. After etching process, the surface roughness, transmission haze, and sheet resistance of SnO2 glasses were measured. It was found that the etching rate was increased with the additions in etchant concentration of Cr and etching temperature. The optimum texture-etching parameters were 0.15 wt.% Cr in 49% HCl, temperature of 90°C, and time of 30 sec. Moreover, silicon thin-film solar cells with the p-i-n structure were fabricated on the textured SnO2 glasses using hot-wire chemical vapor deposition. By optimizing the texture-etching process, the cell efficiency was increased from 4.04% to 4.39%, resulting from the increment of short-circuit current density from 14.14 to 15.58 mA/cm2. This improvement in cell performances can be ascribed to the light-scattering effect induced by surface texturization of SnO2.

  13. Ultrahigh broadband photoresponse of SnO2 nanoparticle thin film/SiO2/p-Si heterojunction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ling, Cuicui; Guo, Tianchao; Lu, Wenbo; Xiong, Ya; Zhu, Lei; Xue, Qingzhong

    2017-06-29

    The SnO 2 /Si heterojunction possesses a large band offset and it is easy to control the transportation of carriers in the SnO 2 /Si heterojunction to realize high-response broadband detection. Therefore, we investigated the potential of the SnO 2 nanoparticle thin film/SiO 2 /p-Si heterojunction for photodetectors. It is demonstrated that this heterojunction shows a stable, repeatable and broadband photoresponse from 365 nm to 980 nm. Meanwhile, the responsivity of the device approaches a high value in the range of 0.285-0.355 A W -1 with the outstanding detectivity of ∼2.66 × 10 12 cm H 1/2 W -1 and excellent sensitivity of ∼1.8 × 10 6 cm 2 W -1 , and its response and recovery times are extremely short (oxide or oxide/Si based photodetectors. In fact, the photosensitivity and detectivity of this heterojunction are an order of magnitude higher than that of 2D material based heterojunctions such as (Bi 2 Te 3 )/Si and MoS 2 /graphene (photosensitivity of 7.5 × 10 5 cm 2 W -1 and detectivity of ∼2.5 × 10 11 cm H 1/2 W -1 ). The excellent device performance is attributed to the large Fermi energy difference between the SnO 2 nanoparticle thin film and Si, SnO 2 nanostructure, oxygen vacancy defects and thin SiO 2 layer. Consequently, practical highly-responsive broadband PDs may be actualized in the future.

  14. Formation of high-conductivity regions in SnO2-AOx (A - Ti4+, Zr4+, Sb3+, Sb5+) films exposed to ultraviolet radiation of H2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Postovalova, G.G.; Roginskaya, Yu.E.; Zav'yalov, S.A.; Galyamov, B.Sh.; Klimasenko, N.L.

    2000-01-01

    Composition, structure and electron properties of SnO 2 films doped by Ti, Zr and Sb oxides were studied. The doped SnO 2 films were determined to contain nano-regions of SnO 2 base crystalline solid solutions and amorphous SnO 2 containing Sn 2+ or Sb 3+ ions and residing at the surface of crystallites or between them. These composition and structure peculiarities affect essentially both electron structure and electrical properties of films. Localized 5s-states of the conductivity range diffused boundary of amorphous SnO 2 partially filled with 5s-electrons of Sn 2+ or Sb 3+ ions serving as traps capture free electrons in the crystalline ranges and motivate high resistance of films [ru

  15. A chemical route to room-temperature synthesis of nanocrystalline TiO2 thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pathan, Habib M.; Kim, Woo Young; Jung, Kwang-Deog; Joo, Oh-Shim

    2005-01-01

    A lot of methods are developed for the deposition of TiO 2 thin films; however, in each of these methods as-deposited films are amorphous and need further heat treatment at high temperature. In the present article, a chemical bath deposition (CBD) method was used for the preparation of TiO 2 thin films. We investigated nanocrystalline TiO 2 thin films using CBD at room temperature onto glass and ITO coated glass substrate. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) techniques. The chemically synthesized films were nanocrystalline and composed of crystal grains of 2-3 nm

  16. The improvement of gas-sensing properties of SnO2/zeolite-assembled composite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Yanhui; Wang, Jing; Li, Xiaogan; Du, Haiying; Huang, Qingpan

    2018-05-01

    SnO2-impregnated zeolite composites were used as gas-sensing materials to improve the sensitivity and selectivity of the metal oxide-based resistive-type gas sensors. Nanocrystalline MFI type zeolite (ZSM-5) was prepared by hydrothermal synthesis. Highly dispersive SnO2 nanoparticles were then successfully assembled on the surface of the ZSM-5 nanoparticles by using the impregnation methods. The SnO2 nanoparticles are nearly spherical with the particle size of 10 nm. An enhanced formaldehyde sensing of as-synthesized SnO2-ZSM-5-based sensor was observed whereas a suppression on the sensor response to other volatile organic vapors (VOCs) such as acetone, ethanol, and methanol was noticed. The possible reasons for this contrary observation were proposed to be related to the amount of the produced water vapor during the sensing reactions assisted by the ZSM-5 nanoparticles. This provides a possible new strategy to improve the selectivity of the gas sensors. The effect of the humidity on the sensor response to formaldehyde was investigated and it was found the higher humidity would decrease the sensor response. A coating layer of the ZSM-5 nanoparticles on top of the SnO2-ZSM-5-sensing film was thus applied to further improve the sensitivity and selectivity of the sensor through the strong adsorption ability to polar gases and the "filtering effect" by the pores of ZSM-5.

  17. LPG and NH3 Sensing Properties of SnO2 Thick Film Resistors Prepared by Screen Printing Technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. S. GARDE

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available The gas sensing behavior of SnO2 thick film resistors deposited on alumina substrates has been investigated for LPG and NH3 gas. The standard screen printing technology was used to prepare the thick films. The films were fired at optimized temperature of 780 0C for 30 minutes. The material characterization was performed by XRD, SEM, FTIR, UV and EDAX for elemental analysis. IR spectroscopy analysis at 2949.26 cm-1 showed the peak assigned to the –Sn-H vibration due to the effect of hybridization i.e. sp3 and the sharp peak at 3734.31 cm-1 assigned to –Sn-OH stretching vibration due to hydrogen bonding. The variation of D.C electrical resistance of SnO2 film samples was measured in air as well as in LPG and NH3 gas atmosphere as a function of temperature. The SnO2 film samples show negative temperature coefficient of résistance. The SnO2 film samples showed the highest sensitivity to 600 ppm of LPG at 230 0C and NH3 at 370 0C. The effect of microstructure on sensitivity, response time and recovery time of the sensor in the presence of LPG and NH3 gases were studied and discussed.

  18. Preparation and characterization of nanocrystalline porous TiO2/WO3 composite thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hsu, C.-S.; Lin, C.-K.; Chan, C.-C.; Chang, C.-C.; Tsay, C.-Y.

    2006-01-01

    TiO 2 materials possessing not only photocatalytic but also electrochromic properties have attracted many research and development interests. Though WO 3 exhibits excellent electrochromic properties, the much higher cost and water-sensitivity of WO 3 as compared with the TiO 2 may restrict the practical application of WO 3 materials. In the present study, the feasibility of preparing nanocrystalline porous TiO 2 /WO 3 composite thin films was investigated. Precursors of sols TiO 2 and/or WO 3 and polystyrene microspheres were used to prepare nanocrystalline pure TiO 2 , WO 3 , and composite TiO 2 /WO 3 thin films by spin coating. The spin-coated thin films were amorphous and, after heat treating at a temperature of 500 o C, nanocrystalline TiO 2 , TiO 2 /WO 3 , and WO 3 thin films with or without pores were prepared successfully. The heat-treated thin films were colorless and coloration-bleaching phenomena can be observed during cyclic voltammetry tests. The heat-treated thin films exhibited good reversible electrochromic behavior while the porous TiO 2 /WO 3 composite film exhibited improved electrochromic properties

  19. Effect of Annealing and Operating Substrate Temperature on Methanol Gas Sensing Properties of SnO2 Thin Films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Priyanka Kakoty

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available SnO2 based sensing nano-material have been synthesized by simple chemical route using Stannic (IV chloride-pentahydrate (SnCl4.5H2O as precursor. The structural properties of the prepared SnO2 nano-particles annealed at different temperatures have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD analysis. The XRD patterns showed pure bulk SnO2 with a tetragonal rutile structure in the nano-powders. By increasing the annealing temperatures, the size of crystals were seen to increase, the diffraction peaks were found narrower and the intensity was higher. SnO2 films prepared by spin coating the prepared nano-material solution was tested at different temperatures for methanol vapour and it showed that the film prepared from SnO2 powder annealed at 500 0C shows the higher sensitivity to methanol vapour at 150 0C substrate temperature with significantly low response and recovery time.

  20. Effect of both deposition temperature and indium doping on the properties of sol-gel dip-coated SnO2 films.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caglar, Mujdat; Atar, Kadir Cemil

    2012-10-01

    Using indium chloride as an In source, In-doped SnO(2) films were fabricated by sol-gel method through dip-coating on borofloat glass substrates. The undoped SnO(2) films were deposited in air between 400 and 600 °C to get optimum deposition temperature in terms of crystal quality and hence In-doped SnO(2) films were deposited in air at 600 °C. The effect of both deposition temperature and In content on structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties was investigated. The crystalline structure and orientation of the films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and surface morphology was studied by a field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The compositional analysis of the films was confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS). The absorption band edge of the SnO(2) films shifted from 3.88 to 3.66 eV with In content. The van der Pauw method was used to measure the sheet resistance of the films. The sheet resistance was affected significantly by deposition temperature and In content. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. MeV ion irradiation induced evolution of morphological, structural and optical properties of nanostructured SnO2 thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohapatra, Satyabrata; Bhardwaj, Neha; Pandey, Akhilesh

    2015-01-01

    Nanostructured SnO 2 thin films were prepared by carbothermal evaporation method. Morphological, structural and optical properties of the SnO 2 thin films, before and after 8 MeV Si ion irradiation to fluences varying from 1 × 10 13 to 1 × 10 15 ions cm −2 , were well characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). XRD studies revealed the presence of SnO 2 and Sn nanoparticles in the as-deposited samples. AFM and FESEM studies on the irradiated samples revealed formation of nanoring-like structures, at a fluence of 1 × 10 15 ions cm −2 , with a central hole and circular rim consisting of nearly monodisperse SnO 2 nanoparticles. PL studies revealed strong enhancement in UV emissions upon 8 MeV Si ion irradiation. A growth mechanism underlying the formation of SnO 2 nanorings involving self-assembly of SnO 2 nanoparticles around nanoholes is tentatively proposed. (paper)

  2. The effect of the film thickness and doping content of SnO2:F thin films prepared by the ultrasonic spray method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rahal Achour; Benramache Said; Benhaoua Boubaker

    2013-01-01

    This paper reports on the effects of film thickness and doping content on the optical and electrical properties of fluorine-doped tin oxide. Tin (II) chloride dehydrate, ammonium fluoride dehydrate, ethanol and HCl were used as the starting materials, dopant source, solvent and stabilizer, respectively. The doped films were deposited on a glass substrate at different concentrations varying between 0 and 5 wt% using an ultrasonic spray technique. The SnO 2 :F thin films were deposited at a 350 °C pending time (5, 15, 60 and 90 s). The average transmission was about 80%, and the films were thus transparent in the visible region. The optical energy gap of the doped films with 2.5 wt% F was found to increase from 3.47 to 3.89 eV with increasing film thickness, and increased after doping at 5 wt%. The decrease in the Urbach energy of the SnO 2 :F thin films indicated a decrease in the defects. The increase in the electrical conductivity of the films reached maximum values of 278.9 and 281.9 (Ω·cm) −1 for 2.5 and 5 wt% F, respectively, indicating that the films exhibited an n-type semiconducting nature. A systematic study on the influence of film thickness and doping content on the properties of SnO 2 :F thin films deposited by ultrasonic spray was reported. (semiconductor materials)

  3. Photocatalytic properties of nanocrystalline TiO2 thin film with Ag additions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, C.-C.; Lin, C.-K.; Chan, C.-C.; Hsu, C.-S.; Chen, C.-Y.

    2006-01-01

    In the present study, nanocrystalline TiO 2 /Ag composite thin films were prepared by a sol-gel spin coating technique. While, by introducing polystyrene (PS) microspheres, porous TiO 2 /Ag films were obtained after calcining at a temperature of 500 o C. The as-prepared TiO 2 and TiO 2 /Ag thin films were characterized by X-ray diffractometry, and scanning electron microscopy to reveal the structural and morphological differences. In addition, the photocatalytic properties of these films were investigated by degrading methylene blue under UV irradiation. After 500 o C calcination, the microstructure of PS-TiO 2 film without Ag addition exhibited a sponge-like microstructure while significant sintering effect was noticed with Ag additions and the films exhibited a porous microstructure. Meanwhile, coalescence of nanocrystalline anatase-phase TiO 2 can be observed with respect to the sharpening of XRD diffraction peaks. The photodegradation of porous TiO 2 doped with 1 mol% Ag exhibited the best photocatalytic efficiency where 72% methylene blue can be decomposed after UV exposure for 12 h

  4. An Investigation of Structural and Electrical Properties of Nano Crystalline SnO2:Cu Thin Films Deposited by Spray Pyrolysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Podder

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Pure tin oxide (SnO2 and Cu doped SnO2 thin films have been deposited onto glass substrates by a simple spray pyrolysis technique under atmospheric pressure at temperature 350 °C. The doping concentration of Cu was varied from 1 to 8 wt. % while all other deposition parameters such as spray rate, carrier air gas pressure, deposition time, and distance between spray nozzle to substrate were kept constant. Surface morphology of the as-deposited thin films has been studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM. The SEM micrograph of the films shows uniform deposition. The structural properties of the as-deposited and annealed thin films have been studied by XRD and the electrical characterization was performed by Van-der Pauw method. The as-deposited films are found polycrystalline in nature with tetragonal crystal structure. Average grain sizes of pure and Cu doped SnO2 thin film have been obtained in the range of 7.2445 Å to 6.0699 Å, which indicates the nanometric size of SnO2 grains developed in the film. The resistivity of SnO2 films was found to decrease initially from 4.5095×10−4 Ωm to 1.1395× 10−4 Ωm for concentration of Cu up to 4 % but it was increased further with increasing of Cu concentrations. The experimental results depict the suitability of this material for using as transparent and conducting window materials in solar cells and gas sensors.

  5. Electrophoretic deposition of nanocrystalline TiO2 films on Ti substrates for use in flexible dye-sensitized solar cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tan Weiwei; Yin Xiong; Zhou Xiaowen; Zhang Jingbo; Xiao Xurui; Lin Yuan

    2009-01-01

    Nanocrystalline TiO 2 films were prepared on flexible Ti-metal sheets by electrophoretic deposition followed by chemical treatment with tetra-n-butyl titanate (TBT) and sintering at 450 deg. C. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicates that TBT treatment led to the formation of additional anatase TiO 2 , which plays an important role in improving the interconnection between TiO 2 particles, as well as the adherence of the film to the substrate, and in modifying the surface properties of the nanocrystalline particles. The effect of TBT treatment on the electron transport in the nanocrystalline films was studied by intensity-modulated photocurrent spectroscopy (IMPS). An increase in the conversion efficiency was obtained for the dye-sensitized solar cells with TBT-treated nanocrystalline TiO 2 films. The cell performance was further optimized by designing nanocrystalline TiO 2 films with a double-layer structure composed of a light-scattering layer and a transparent layer. The light-scattering effect of the double-layer nanocrystalline films was evaluated by diffuse reflectance spectra. Employing the double-layer nanocrystalline films as the photoelectrodes resulted in a significant improvement in the incident photo-to-current conversion efficiency of the corresponding cells due to enhanced solar absorption by light scattering. A high conversion efficiency of 6.33% was measured under illumination with 100 mW cm -2 (AM 1.5) simulated sunlight.

  6. Electrical transport properties of spray deposited transparent conducting ortho-Zn2SnO4 thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramarajan, R.; Thangaraju, K.; Babu, R. Ramesh; Joseph, D. Paul

    2018-04-01

    Ortho Zinc Stannate (Zn2SnO4) exhibits excellent electrical and optical properties to serve as alternate transparent electrode in optoelectronic devices. Here we have optimized ortho-Zn2SnO4 thin film by spray pyrolysis method. Deposition was done onto a pre-heated glass substrate at a temperature of 400 °C. The XRD pattern indicated films to be polycrystalline with cubic structure. The surface of films had globular and twisted metal sheet like morphologies. Films were transparent in the visible region with band gap around 3.6 eV. Transport properties were studied by Hall measurements at 300 K. Activation energies were calculated from Arrhenius's plot from temperature dependent electrical measurements and the conduction mechanism is discussed.

  7. Improvement of H2S Sensing Properties of SnO2-Based Thick Film Gas Sensors Promoted with MoO3 and NiO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    In Sung Son

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available The effects of the SnO2 pore size and metal oxide promoters on the sensing properties of SnO2-based thick film gas sensors were investigated to improve the detection of very low H2S concentrations (<1 ppm. SnO2 sensors and SnO2-based thick-film gas sensors promoted with NiO, ZnO, MoO3, CuO or Fe2O3 were prepared, and their sensing properties were examined in a flow system. The SnO2 materials were prepared by calcining SnO2 at 600, 800, 1,000 and 1,200 °C to give materials identified as SnO2(600, SnO2(800, SnO2(1000, and SnO2(1200, respectively. The Sn(12Mo5Ni3 sensor, which was prepared by physically mixing 5 wt% MoO3 (Mo5, 3 wt% NiO (Ni3 and SnO2(1200 with a large pore size of 312 nm, exhibited a high sensor response of approximately 75% for the detection of 1 ppm H2S at 350 °C with excellent recovery properties. Unlike the SnO2 sensors, its response was maintained during multiple cycles without deactivation. This was attributed to the promoter effect of MoO3. In particular, the Sn(12Mo5Ni3 sensor developed in this study showed twice the response of the Sn(6Mo5Ni3 sensor, which was prepared by SnO2(600 with the smaller pore size than SnO2(1200. The excellent sensor response and recovery properties of Sn(12Mo5Ni3 are believed to be due to the combined promoter effects of MoO3 and NiO and the diffusion effect of H2S as a result of the large pore size of SnO2.

  8. Optoelectronic properties of R-F magnetron sputtered Cadmium Tin Oxide (Cd2SnO4) thin films for CdS/CdTe thin film solar cell applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jeyadheepan, K.; Thamilselvan, M.; Kim, Kyunghae; Yi, Junsin; Sanjeeviraja, C.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Characterization of “as-prepared” Cd 2 SnO 4 thin films ideal for thin film solar cells. • Lowest value of resistivity with high mobility attained for the as-prepared Cd 2 SnO 4 films. • Maximum transmittance of 93% in the visible range for the as-prepared films. • Effect of substrate temperature on the scattering mechanism of TCO. - Abstract: The influence of substrate temperature on the microstructural behavior, optical, electrical properties and on the scattering mechanism of charge carriers were studied for the as-prepared radio-frequency (R-F) magnetron sputtered Cadmium Tin Oxide (Cd 2 SnO 4 ) thin films. Films prepared at the substrate temperature of 300 °C were found to be polycrystalline in nature with preferential orientation along (3 1 1) plane. Well pronounced Moss–Burstein shift, in the transmittance spectra with dispersions in the optical band gap from 3.07 to 3.30 eV, was observed at substrate temperatures between 25 and 300 °C. Optical property of high visible transmittance was retained by the films. Analysis of the electrical properties on the prepared crystalline Cd 2 SnO 4 films showed a calculated resistivity of 10 −3 –10 −4 Ω cm, with n-type carrier density in the range of 10 19 –10 20 cm −3 and the charge carrier mobility in the range of 63–30 cm 2 /V s. The effects of structural, compositional and optical properties on the scattering mechanism of charge carrier are elaborated and reported to be an experimental evidence for the theoretical predictions. The results revealed the essential DC electrical conduction behavior, which is ideal for the fabrication of Cd 2 SnO 4 -based CdS/CdTe thin film solar cells

  9. Nanocrystalline diamond films for biomedical applications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pennisi, Cristian Pablo; Alcaide, Maria

    2014-01-01

    Nanocrystalline diamond films, which comprise the so called nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) and ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD), represent a class of biomaterials possessing outstanding mechanical, tribological, and electrical properties, which include high surface smoothness, high corrosion...... performance of nanocrystalline diamond films is reviewed from an application-specific perspective, covering topics such as enhancement of cellular adhesion, anti-fouling coatings, non-thrombogenic surfaces, micropatterning of cells and proteins, and immobilization of biomolecules for bioassays. In order...

  10. Characteristics of RuO{sub 2}-SnO{sub 2} nanocrystalline-embedded amorphous electrode for thin film microsupercapacitors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Han-Ki [Core Technology Laboratory, Samsung SDI, 575 Shin-dong, Youngtong-Gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi-Do 442-391 (Korea, Republic of)]. E-mail: hanki1031.kim@samsung.com; Choi, Sun-Hee [Nano Materials Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), PO Box 131 Choengryang, Seoul 130-650 (Korea, Republic of); Yoon, Young Soo [Department of Advanced Fusion Technology (DAFT), Konkuk University, 1 Hwayang-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 143-701 (Korea, Republic of); Chang, Sung-Yong [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Kwangju 500-712 (Korea, Republic of); Ok, Young-Woo [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Kwangju 500-712 (Korea, Republic of); Seong, Tae-Yeon [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Kwangju 500-712 (Korea, Republic of)

    2005-03-22

    The characteristics of RuO{sub 2}-SnO{sub 2} nanocrystalline-embedded amorphous electrode, grown by DC reactive sputtering, was investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and transmission electron diffraction (TED) examination results showed that Sn and Ru metal cosputtered electrode in O{sub 2}/Ar ambient have RuO{sub 2}-SnO{sub 2} nanocrystallines in an amorphous oxide matrix. It is shown that the cyclic voltammorgram (CV) result of the RuO{sub 2}-SnO{sub 2} nanocrystalline-embedded amorphous film in 0.5 M H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} liquid electrolyte is similar to a bulk-type supercapacitor behavior with a specific capacitance of 62.2 mF/cm{sup 2} {mu}m. This suggests that the RuO{sub 2}-SnO{sub 2} nanocrystalline-embedded amorphous film can be employed in hybrid all-solid state energy storage devises as an electrode of supercapacitor.

  11. A study of structural, electrical, and optical properties of p-type Zn-doped SnO2 films versus deposition and annealing temperature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le, Tran; Phuc Dang, Huu; Luc, Quang Ho; Hieu Le, Van

    2017-04-01

    This study presents a detailed investigation of the structural, electrical, and optical properties of p-type Zn-doped SnO2 versus the deposition and annealing temperature. Using a direct-current (DC) magnetron sputtering method, p-type transparent conductive Zn-doped SnO2 (ZTO) films were deposited on quartz glass substrates. Zn dopants incorporated into the SnO2 host lattice formed the preferred dominant SnO2 (1 0 1) and (2 1 1) planes. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used for identifying the valence state of Zn in the ZTO film. The electrical property of ZTO films changed from n-type to p-type at the threshold temperature of 400 °C, and the films achieved extremely high conductivity at the optimum annealing temperature of 600 °C after annealing for 2 h. The best conductive property of the film was obtained on a 10 wt% ZnO-doped SnO2 target with a resistivity, hole concentration, and hole mobility of 0.22 Ω · cm, 7.19  ×  1018 cm-3, and 3.95 cm2 V-1 s-1, respectively. Besides, the average transmission of films was  >84%. The surface morphology of films was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Moreover, the acceptor level of Zn2+ was identified using photoluminescence spectra at room temperature. Current-voltage (I-V) characteristics revealed the behavior of a p-ZTO/n-Si heterojunction diode.

  12. Thin gold films on SnO2:In: Temperature-dependent effects on the optical properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lansåker, P.C.; Niklasson, G.A.; Granqvist, C.G.

    2012-01-01

    Gold films with thicknesses of 5 ± 0.5 nm were sputter deposited onto SnO 2 :In-coated glass kept at different temperatures up to 140 °C, and similar films, deposited onto substrates at 25 °C, were annealing post treated at the same temperatures. Nanostructures and optical properties were recorded by scanning electron microscopy and spectrophotometry in the 0.3 to 2.5 μm wavelength range, respectively. Annealing had a minor influence on the optical transmittance despite significant changes in the scale of the nanostructure, whereas deposition onto substrates heated to 140 °C yielded granular films with strong plasmon absorption of luminous radiation. These results are of considerable interest for optical devices with gold films prepared at elevated temperature or operating at such temperature. - Highlights: ► Thin gold films have been deposited onto base layers of SnO 2 :In. ► The gold depositions were made onto both non-heated and heated substrates. ► Gold depositions onto non-heated substrates were followed by heat treatment. ► Depending on heating procedure, the gold films show apparently different structure.

  13. LPG sensing characteristics of electrospray deposited SnO2 nanoparticles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gürbüz, Mevlüt; Günkaya, Göktuğ; Doğan, Aydın

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • SnO 2 nanopowder was deposited on conductive substrates using ESD technique. • Solution flow rate, coating time, substrate–nozzle distance and solid/alcohol ratio were studied to optimize SnO 2 film structure. • The gas sensing properties of tin oxide films were investigated using LPG. • The sensitivity of the films was increased with operating temperature. • The best sensitivity was observed for 20 LEL LPG at 450 °C operating temperature. - Abstract: In this study, SnO 2 films were fabricated on conductive substrate such as aluminum and platinum coated alumina using electro-spray deposition (ESD) method for gas sensor applications. Solution flow rate, coating time, substrate–nozzle distance and solid/alcohol ratio were studied to optimize SnO 2 film structure. The morphology of the deposited films was characterized by stereo and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The gas sensing properties of tin oxide films were investigated using liquid petroleum gas (LPG) for various lower explosive limit (LEL). The results obtained from microscopic analyses show that optimum SnO 2 films were evaluated at flow rate of 0.05 ml/min, at distance of 6 cm, for 10 min deposition time, for 20 gSnO 2 /L ethanol ratio and at 7 kV DC electric field. By the results obtained from the gas sensing behavior, the sensitivity of the films was increased with operating temperature. The films showed better sensitivity for 20 LEL LPG concentration at 450 °C operating temperature

  14. Shadowgraphic investigations into the laser-induced forward transfer of different SnO2 precursor films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mattle, Thomas; Shaw-Stewart, James; Hintennach, Andreas; Schneider, Christof W.; Lippert, Thomas; Wokaun, Alexander

    2013-01-01

    Laser-induced forward transfer of different SnO 2 precursor films for sensor applications were investigated using time resolved imaging, from 0 to 2 μs after the onset of the ablation process. Transfers of SnCl 2 (acac) 2 and SnO 2 nano-particles, both with and without a triazene polymer dynamic release layer (DRL), were investigated and compared to transfers of aluminum films with a triazene polymer DRL. Shockwave speed and flyer speeds at high laser fluences of Φ = 650 mJ/cm 2 and at the lower fluences, suitable for the transfer of functional and well defined pixels were analyzed. No influence of the use of a triazene polymer DRL on shockwave and flyer speed was observed. Material ejected under transfer condition showed a velocity of around 200 m/s with a weak shockwave.

  15. Shadowgraphic investigations into the laser-induced forward transfer of different SnO2 precursor films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mattle, Thomas; Shaw-Stewart, James; Hintennach, Andreas; Schneider, Christof W.; Lippert, Thomas; Wokaun, Alexander

    2013-08-01

    Laser-induced forward transfer of different SnO2 precursor films for sensor applications were investigated using time resolved imaging, from 0 to 2 μs after the onset of the ablation process. Transfers of SnCl2(acac)2 and SnO2 nano-particles, both with and without a triazene polymer dynamic release layer (DRL), were investigated and compared to transfers of aluminum films with a triazene polymer DRL. Shockwave speed and flyer speeds at high laser fluences of Φ = 650 mJ/cm2 and at the lower fluences, suitable for the transfer of functional and well defined pixels were analyzed. No influence of the use of a triazene polymer DRL on shockwave and flyer speed was observed. Material ejected under transfer condition showed a velocity of around 200 m/s with a weak shockwave.

  16. Fully transparent thin-film transistor devices based on SnO2 nanowires.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dattoli, Eric N; Wan, Qing; Guo, Wei; Chen, Yanbin; Pan, Xiaoqing; Lu, Wei

    2007-08-01

    We report on studies of field-effect transistor (FET) and transparent thin-film transistor (TFT) devices based on lightly Ta-doped SnO2 nano-wires. The nanowire-based devices exhibit uniform characteristics with average field-effect mobilities exceeding 100 cm2/V x s. Prototype nano-wire-based TFT (NW-TFT) devices on glass substrates showed excellent optical transparency and transistor performance in terms of transconductance, bias voltage range, and on/off ratio. High on-currents and field-effect mobilities were obtained from the NW-TFT devices even at low nanowire coverage. The SnO2 nanowire-based TFT approach offers a number of desirable properties such as low growth cost, high electron mobility, and optical transparency and low operation voltage, and may lead to large-scale applications of transparent electronics on diverse substrates.

  17. Electrophoretic Deposition of SnO2 Nanoparticles and Its LPG Sensing Characteristics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Göktuğ Günkaya

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Homogenized SnO2 nanoparticles (60 nm in acetylacetone mediums, both with and without iodine, were deposited onto platinum coated alumina substrate and interdigital electrodes using the electrophoretic deposition (EPD method for gas sensor applications. Homogeneous and porous film layers were processed and analyzed at various coating times and voltages. The structure of the deposited films was characterized by a scanning electron microscopy (SEM. The gas sensing properties of the SnO2 films were investigated using liquid petroleum gas (LPG for various lower explosive limits (LEL. The results showed that porous, crack-free, and homogeneous SnO2 films were achieved for 5 and 15 sec at 100 and 150 V EPD parameters using an iodine-free acetylacetone based SnO2 suspension. The optimum sintering for the deposited SnO2 nanoparticles was observed at 500°C for 5 min. The results showed that the sensitivity of the films was increased with the operating temperature. The coated films with EPD demonstrated a better sensitivity for the 20 LEL LPG concentrations at a 450°C operating temperature. The maximum sensitivity of the SnO2 sensors at 450°C to 20 LEL LPG was 30.

  18. Preparation of p-type GaN-doped SnO2 thin films by e-beam evaporation and their applications in p-n junction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lv, Shuliang; Zhou, Yawei; Xu, Wenwu; Mao, Wenfeng; Wang, Lingtao; Liu, Yong; He, Chunqing

    2018-01-01

    Various transparent GaN-doped SnO2 thin films were deposited on glass substrates by e-beam evaporation using GaN:SnO2 targets of different GaN weight ratios. It is interesting to find that carrier polarity of the thin films was converted from n-type to p-type with increasing GaN ratio higher than 15 wt.%. The n-p transition in GaN-doped SnO2 thin films was explained for the formation of GaSn and NO with increasing GaN doping level in the films, which was identified by Hall measurement and XPS analysis. A transparent thin film p-n junction was successfully fabricated by depositing p-type GaN:SnO2 thin film on SnO2 thin film, and a low leakage current (6.2 × 10-5 A at -4 V) and a low turn-on voltage of 1.69 V were obtained for the p-n junction.

  19. Field emission from patterned SnO2 nanostructures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Yongsheng; Yu Ke; Li Guodong; Peng Deyan; Zhang Qiuxiang; Hu Hongmei; Xu Feng; Bai Wei; Ouyang Shixi; Zhu Ziqiang

    2006-01-01

    A simple and reliable method has been developed for synthesizing finely patterned tin dioxide (SnO 2 ) nanostructure arrays on silicon substrates. A patterned Au catalyst film was prepared on the silicon wafer by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering and photolithographic patterning processes. The patterned SnO 2 nanostructures arrays, a unit area is of ∼500 μm x 200 μm, were synthesized via vapor phase transport method. The surface morphology and composition of the as-synthesized SnO 2 nanostructures were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The mechanism of formation of SnO 2 nanostructures was also discussed. The measurement of field emission (FE) revealed that the as-synthesized SnO 2 nanorods, nanowires and nanoparticles arrays have a lower turn-on field of 2.6, 3.2 and 3.9 V/μm, respectively, at the current density of 0.1 μA/cm 2 . This approach must have a wide variety of applications such as fabrications of micro-optical components and micropatterned oxide thin films used in FE-based flat panel displays, sensor arrays and so on

  20. Multifractal spectra of scanning electron microscope images of SnO2 thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Z.W.; Lai, J.K.L.; Shek, C.H.

    2005-01-01

    The concept of fractal geometry has proved useful in describing structures and processes in experimental systems. In this Letter, the surface topographies of SnO 2 thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition for various substrate temperatures were measured by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Multifractal spectra f(α) show that the higher the substrate temperature, the wider the spectrum, and the larger the Δf(Δf=f(α min )-f(α max )). It is apparent that the nonuniformity of the height distribution increases with the increasing substrate temperature, and the liquid droplets of SnO 2 thin films are formed on previous thin films. These results show that the SEM images can be characterized by the multifractal spectra

  1. The electrical, optical, structural and thermoelectrical characterization of n- and p-type cobalt-doped SnO2 transparent semiconducting films prepared by spray pyrolysis technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bagheri-Mohagheghi, Mohammad-Mehdi; Shokooh-Saremi, Mehrdad

    2010-01-01

    The electrical, optical and structural properties of Cobalt (Co) doped SnO 2 transparent semiconducting thin films, deposited by the spray pyrolysis technique, have been studied. The SnO 2 :Co films, with different Co-content, were deposited on glass substrates using an aqueous-ethanol solution consisting of tin and cobalt chlorides. X-ray diffraction studies showed that the SnO 2 :Co films were polycrystalline only with tin oxide phases and preferential orientations along (1 1 0) and (2 1 1) planes and grain sizes in the range 19-82 nm. Optical transmittance spectra of the films showed high transparency ∼75-90% in the visible region, decreasing with increase in Co-doping. The optical absorption edge for undoped SnO 2 films was found to be 3.76 eV, while for higher Co-doped films shifted toward higher energies (shorter wavelengths) in the range 3.76-4.04 eV and then slowly decreased again to 4.03 eV. A change in sign of the Hall voltage and Seebeck coefficient was observed for a specific acceptor dopant level ∼11.4 at% in film and interpreted as a conversion from n-type to p-type conductivity. The thermoelectric electro-motive force (e.m.f.) of the films was measured in the temperature range 300-500 K and Seebeck coefficients were found in the range from -62 to +499 μVK -1 for various Co-doped SnO 2 films.

  2. The electrical, optical, structural and thermoelectrical characterization of n- and p-type cobalt-doped SnO 2 transparent semiconducting films prepared by spray pyrolysis technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bagheri-Mohagheghi, Mohammad-Mehdi; Shokooh-Saremi, Mehrdad

    2010-10-01

    The electrical, optical and structural properties of Cobalt (Co) doped SnO 2 transparent semiconducting thin films, deposited by the spray pyrolysis technique, have been studied. The SnO 2:Co films, with different Co-content, were deposited on glass substrates using an aqueous-ethanol solution consisting of tin and cobalt chlorides. X-ray diffraction studies showed that the SnO 2:Co films were polycrystalline only with tin oxide phases and preferential orientations along (1 1 0) and (2 1 1) planes and grain sizes in the range 19-82 nm. Optical transmittance spectra of the films showed high transparency ∼75-90% in the visible region, decreasing with increase in Co-doping. The optical absorption edge for undoped SnO 2 films was found to be 3.76 eV, while for higher Co-doped films shifted toward higher energies (shorter wavelengths) in the range 3.76-4.04 eV and then slowly decreased again to 4.03 eV. A change in sign of the Hall voltage and Seebeck coefficient was observed for a specific acceptor dopant level ∼11.4 at% in film and interpreted as a conversion from n-type to p-type conductivity. The thermoelectric electro-motive force (e.m.f.) of the films was measured in the temperature range 300-500 K and Seebeck coefficients were found in the range from -62 to +499 μVK -1 for various Co-doped SnO 2 films.

  3. Fabrication of SnO2-Reduced Graphite Oxide Monolayer-Ordered Porous Film Gas Sensor with Tunable Sensitivity through Ultra-Violet Light Irradiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Shipu; Sun, Fengqiang; Yang, Shumin; Pan, Zizhao; Long, Jinfeng; Gu, Fenglong

    2015-01-01

    A new graphene-based composite structure, monolayer-ordered macroporous film composed of a layer of orderly arranged macropores, was reported. As an example, SnO2-reduced graphite oxide monolayer-ordered macroporous film was fabricated on a ceramic tube substrate under the irradiation of ultra-violet light (UV), by taking the latex microsphere two-dimensional colloid crystal as a template. Graphite oxide sheets dispersed in SnSO4 aqueous solution exhibited excellent affinity with template microspheres and were in situ incorporated into the pore walls during UV-induced growth of SnO2. The growing and the as-formed SnO2, just like other photocatalytic semiconductor, could be excited to produce electrons and holes under UV irradiation. Electrons reduced GO and holes adsorbed corresponding negative ions, which changed the properties of the composite film. This film was directly used as gas-sensor and was able to display high sensitivity in detecting ethanol gas. More interestingly, on the basis of SnO2-induced photochemical behaviours, this sensor demonstrated tunable sensitivity when UV irradiation time was controlled during the fabrication process and post in water, respectively. This study provides efficient ways of conducting the in situ fabrication of a semiconductor-reduced graphite oxide film device with uniform surface structure and controllable properties. PMID:25758292

  4. Photoelectrochemical Characterization of Sprayed α-Fe2O3 Thin Films: Influence of Si Doping and SnO2 Interfacial Layer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yongqi Liang

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available α-Fe2O3 thin film photoanodes for solar water splitting were prepared by spray pyrolysis of Fe(AcAc3. The donor density in the Fe2O3 films could be tuned between 1017–1020 cm-3 by doping with silicon. By depositing a 5 nm SnO2 interfacial layer between the Fe2O3 films and the transparent conducting substrates, both the reproducibility and the photocurrent can be enhanced. The effects of Si doping and the presence of the SnO2 interfacial layer were systematically studied. The highest photoresponse is obtained for Fe2O3 doped with 0.2% Si, resulting in a photocurrent of 0.37 mA/cm2 at 1.23 VRHE in a 1.0 M KOH solution under 80 mW/cm2 AM1.5 illumination.

  5. Screen printed In2O3-SnO2 nanocomposite: Structural and morphological properties and application for NO2 detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bessaïs B.

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available In this work, we report on the sensing properties of screen-printed In2O3 (Indium Oxide while adding a moderate quantity of SnO2. It was found that the addition of SnO2 improves the response and decreases the operating temperature of the sensitive element for NO2 detection. However, a non-controlled amount of SnO2 leads to opposite result; for this reason in the present investigation we test films with different composition in order to optimize the quantity of SnO2 to be added. The crystallinity, roughness and morphology of the obtained In2O3-SnO2 anocomposite were analyzed using X-ray Diffraction (XRD, Transmission Electronic Microscopy (TEM and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM. The atomic composition of the In2O3-SnO2 films was determined with the energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX analysis during TEM observations. The effect of the composition on the cristallinity and morphological properties of the films was analyzed. Finally, the In2O3-SnO2 films were tested like sensitive elements for NO2 detection, wherein the effect of the composition was correlated with the sensor response in NO2 ambient. It was found that the addition of a moderate quantity of SnO2 to In2O3 exhibited high sensitivity at rather lower operating temperatures.

  6. Visible emission from Er-doped SnO2 thin films deposited by sol-gel Emissão no visível de filmes finos, depositados via sol-gel, de SnO2 dopados com Er

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. P. Ravaro

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available Emission from Er-doped SnO2 thin film deposited via sol-gel by the dip coating technique is obtained in the range 500-700 nm with peak at 530 nm (green. Electron-hole generation in the tin dioxide matrix is used to promote the rare-earth ion excitation. Evaluation of crystallite dimensions through X-ray diffraction results leads to nanoscopic size, what could play a relevant role in the emission spectra. The electron-hole mechanism is also responsible for the excitation of the transition in the 1540 nm range in powders obtained from the same precursor solution of films. The thin film matrix presents a very useful shape for technological application, since it allows integration in optical devices and the application of electric fields to operate electroluminescent devices.Foi obtida emissão de filmes finos de SnO2 dopados com Er no intervalo 500-700 nm, com pico em 530 nm (verde. Esses filmes foram depositados pela técnica de molhamento via sol-gel. A geração de pares elétron-buraco na matriz de SnO2 é usada para promover a excitação do íon terra-rara. A avaliação do tamanho dos cristalitos por meio de resultados de difração de raios X indica dimensões nanoscópicas, o que pode ser relevante para a interpretação do espectro de emissão. O mecanismo de excitação elétron-buraco é também responsável pela excitação da transição no intervalo que inclui 1540 nm em pós obtidos da mesma solução precursora dos filmes. Filmes finos constituem um formato muito útil para aplicações tecnológicas, desde que permite integração em dispositivos ópticos e a aplicação de campos elétricos para operar dispositivos eletroluminescentes.

  7. Effect of various SnO2 pH on ZnO/SnO2-composite film via immersion technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malek, M. F.; Mohamed, R.; Mamat, M. H.; Ismail, A. S.; Yusoff, M. M.; Rusop, M.

    2018-05-01

    ZnO/SnO2-composite film has been synthesized via immersion technique with various pH of SnO2. The pH of SnO2 were varied between 4.5 and 6.5. The optical measurements of the samples were carried out using Varian Cary 5000 UV-Vis spectrophotometer within the range from 350 nm to 800 nm at room temperature in air with a data interval of 1 nm. On the other hand, the optical photoluminescence properties were measured by a photoluminescence spectrometer (PL, model: Horiba Jobin Yvon - 79 DU420A-OE-325) using a He-Cd laser as the excitation source at 325 nm. These highly oriented ZnO/SnO2-composite film are potential for the creation of functional materials, such as the sensors, solar cells and etc.

  8. Photoelectrochemical Characterization of Sprayed alpha-Fe2O3 Thin Films : Influence of Si Doping and SnO2 Interfacial Layer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Liang, Y.; Enache, C.S.; Van De Krol, R.

    2008-01-01

    a-Fe2O3 thin film photoanodes for solar water splitting were prepared by spray pyrolysis of Fe(AcAc)3. The donor density in the Fe2O3 films could be tuned between 10171020cm-3 by doping with silicon. By depositing a 5 nm SnO2 interfacial layer between the Fe2O3 films and the transparent conducting

  9. Optical band-edge absorption of oxide compound SnO2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roman, L.S.; Valaski, R.; Canestraro, C.D.; Magalhaes, E.C.S.; Persson, C.; Ahuja, R.; Silva, E.F. da; Pepe, I.; Silva, A. Ferreira da

    2006-01-01

    Tin oxide (SnO 2 ) is an important oxide for efficient dielectrics, catalysis, sensor devices, electrodes and transparent conducting coating oxide technologies. SnO 2 thin film is widely used in glass applications due to its low infra-red heat emissivity. In this work, the SnO 2 electronic band-edge structure and optical properties are studied employing a first-principle and fully relativistic full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FPLAPW) method within the local density approximation (LDA). The optical band-edge absorption α(ω) of intrinsic SnO 2 is investigated experimentally by transmission spectroscopy measurements and their roughness in the light of the atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements. The sample films were prepared by spray pyrolysis deposition method onto glass substrate considering different thickness layers. We found for SnO 2 qualitatively good agreement of the calculated optical band-gap energy as well as the optical absorption with the experimental results

  10. Nanocrystalline Sr2CeO4 thin films grown on silicon by laser ablation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perea, Nestor; Hirata, G.A.

    2006-01-01

    Blue-white luminescent Sr 2 CeO 4 thin films were deposited by using pulsed laser ablation (λ = 248 nm wavelength) on 500 deg. C silicon (111) substrates under an oxygen pressure of 55 mTorr. High-resolution electron transmission microscopy, electron diffraction and X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the films were composed of nanocrystalline Sr 2 CeO 4 grains of the order of 20-30 nm with a preferential orientation in the (130) crystallographic direction. The excitation and photoluminescence spectra measured on the films maintained the characteristic emission of bulk Sr 2 CeO 4 however, the emission peak appeared narrower and blue-shifted as compared to the luminescence spectrum of the target. The blue-shift and a preferential crystallographic orientation during the growth formation of the film is related to the nanocrystalline nature of the grains due to the quantum confinement behavior and surface energy minimization in nanostructured systems

  11. Fabrication of highly conductive Ta-doped SnO2 polycrystalline films on glass using seed-layer technique by pulse laser deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakao, Shoichiro; Yamada, Naoomi; Hitosugi, Taro; Hirose, Yasushi; Shimada, Toshihiro; Hasegawa, Tetsuya

    2010-01-01

    We discuss the fabrication of highly conductive Ta-doped SnO 2 (Sn 1-x Ta x O 2 ; TTO) thin films on glass by pulse laser deposition. On the basis of the comparison of X-ray diffraction patterns and resistivity (ρ) values between epitaxial films and polycrystalline films deposited on bare glass, we proposed the use of seed-layers for improving the conductivity of the TTO polycrystalline films. We investigated the use of rutile TiO 2 and NbO 2 as seed-layers; these are isostructural materials of SnO 2, which are expected to promote epitaxial-like growth of the TTO films. The films prepared on the 10-nm-thick seed-layers exhibited preferential growth of the TTO (110) plane. The TTO film with x = 0.05 on rutile TiO 2 exhibited ρ = 3.5 x 10 -4 Ω cm, which is similar to those of the epitaxial films grown on Al 2 O 3 (0001).

  12. Fabrication of hydrogen peroxide biosensor based on Ni doped SnO2 nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavanya, N; Radhakrishnan, S; Sekar, C

    2012-01-01

    Ni doped SnO(2) nanoparticles (0-5 wt%) have been prepared by a simple microwave irradiation (2.45 GHz) method. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies confirmed the formation of rutile structure with space group (P(42)/mnm) and nanocrystalline nature of the products with spherical morphology. Direct electrochemistry of horseradish peroxidase (HRP)/nano-SnO(2) composite has been studied. The immobilized enzyme retained its bioactivity, exhibited a surface confined, reversible one-proton and one-electron transfer reaction, and had good stability, activity and a fast heterogeneous electron transfer rate. A significant enzyme loading (3.374×10(-10) mol cm(-2)) has been obtained on nano-Ni doped SnO(2) as compared to the bare glassy carbon (GC) and nano-SnO(2) modified surfaces. This HRP/nano-Ni-SnO(2) film has been used for sensitive detection of H(2)O(2) by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), which exhibited a wider linearity range from 1.0×10(-7) to 3.0×10(-4)M (R=0.9897) with a detection limit of 43 nM. The apparent Michaelis-Menten constant (K(M)(app)) of HRP on the nano-Ni-SnO(2) was estimated as 0.221 mM. This excellent performance of the fabricated biosensor is attributed to large surface-to-volume ratio and Ni doping into SnO(2) which facilitate the direct electron transfer between the redox enzyme and the surface of electrode. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Influence of nanocrystalline structure and surface properties of TiO2 thin films on the viability of L929 cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Osękowska Małgorzata

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available In this work the physicochemical and biological properties of nanocrystalline TiO2 thin films were investigated. Thin films were prepared by magnetron sputtering method. Their properties were examined by X-ray diffraction, photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, optical transmission method and optical profiler. Moreover, surface wettability and scratch resistance were determined. It was found that as-deposited coatings were nanocrystalline and had TiO2-anatase structure, built from crystallites in size of 24 nm. The surface of the films was homogenous, composed of closely packed grains and hydrophilic. Due to nanocrystalline structure thin films exhibited good scratch resistance. The results were correlated to the biological activity (in vitro of thin films. Morphological changes of mouse fibroblasts (L929 cell line after contact with the surface of TiO2 films were evaluated with the use of a contrast-phase microscope, while their viability was tested by MTT colorimetric assay. The viability of cell line upon contact with the surface of nanocrystalline TiO2 film was comparable to the control sample. L929 cells had homogenous cytoplasm and were forming a confluent monofilm, while lysis and inhibition of cell growth was not observed. Moreover, the viability in contact with surface of examined films was high. This confirms non-cytotoxic effect of TiO2 film surface on mouse fibroblasts.

  14. Characteristics of W Doped Nanocrystalline Carbon Films Prepared by Unbalanced Magnetron Sputtering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Yong Seob; Park, Chul Min; Kim, Nam-Hoon; Kim, Jae-Moon

    2016-05-01

    Nanocrystalline tungsten doped carbon (WC) films were prepared by unbalanced magnetron sputtering. Tungsten was used as the doping material in carbon thin films with the aim of application as a contact strip in an electric railway. The structural, physical, and electrical properties of the fabricated WC films with various DC bias voltages were investigated. The films had a uniform and smooth surface. Hardness and frication characteristics of the films were improved, and the resistivity and sheet resistance decreased with increasing negative DC bias voltage. These results are associated with the nanocrystalline WC phase and sp(2) clusters in carbon networks increased by ion bombardment enhanced with increasing DC bias voltage. Consequently, the increase of sp(2) clusters containing WC nanocrystalline in the carbon films is attributed to the improvement in the physical and electrical properties.

  15. P-type SnO thin films and SnO/ZnO heterostructures for all-oxide electronic and optoelectronic device applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Saji, Kachirayil J. [Nanostructured Materials Research Laboratory, Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 (United States); Department of Physics, Govt. Victoria College, University of Calicut, Palakkad 678 001 (India); Venkata Subbaiah, Y.P. [Nanostructured Materials Research Laboratory, Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 (United States); Department of Physics, Yogi Vemana University, Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh 516003 (India); Tian, Kun [Nanostructured Materials Research Laboratory, Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 (United States); Tiwari, Ashutosh, E-mail: tiwari@eng.utah.edu [Nanostructured Materials Research Laboratory, Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 (United States)

    2016-04-30

    Tin monoxide (SnO) is considered as one of the most important p-type oxides available to date. Thin films of SnO have been reported to possess both an indirect bandgap (~ 0.7 eV) and a direct bandgap (~ 2.8 eV) with quite high hole mobility (~ 7 cm{sup 2}/Vs) values. Moreover, the hole density in these films can be tuned from 10{sup 15}–10{sup 19} cm{sup −3} just by controlling the thin film deposition parameters. Because of the above attributes, SnO thin films offer great potential for fabricating modern electronic and optoelectronic devices. In this article, we are reviewing the most recent developments in this field and also presenting some of our own results on SnO thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition technique. We have also proposed a p–n heterostructure comprising of p-type SnO and n-type ZnO which can pave way for realizing next-generation, all-oxide transparent electronic devices. - Highlights: • We reviewed recent developments on p-type SnO thin film research. • Discussed the optical and electrical properties of SnO thin films • Bipolar conduction in SnO is discussed. • Optoelectronic properties of SnO–ZnO composite system are discussed. • Proposed SnO–ZnO heterojunction band structure.

  16. SnO2 thin-films prepared by a spray-gel pyrolysis: Influence of sol properties on film morphologies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luyo, Clemente; Fabregas, Ismael; Reyes, L.; Solis, Jose L.; Rodriguez, Juan; Estrada, Walter; Candal, Roberto J.

    2007-01-01

    Nanostructured tin oxide films were prepared by depositing different sols using the so-called spray-gel pyrolysis process. SnO 2 suspensions (sols) were obtained from tin (IV) tert-amyloxide (Sn(t-OAm) 4 ) or tin (IV) chloride pentahydrate (SnCl 4 .5H 2 O) precursors, and stabilized with ammonia or tetraethylammonium hydroxide (TEA-OH). Xerogels from the different sols were obtained by solvent evaporation under controlled humidity. The Relative Gelling Volumes (RGV) of these sols strongly depended on the type of precursor. Xerogels obtained from inorganic salts gelled faster, while, as determined by thermal gravimetric analysis, occluding a significant amount of volatile compounds. Infrared spectroscopic analysis was performed on raw and annealed xerogels (300, 500 deg. C, 1 h). Annealing removed water and ammonium or alkyl ammonium chloride, increasing the number of Sn-O-Sn bonds. SnO 2 films were prepared by spraying the sols for 60 min onto glass and alumina substrates at 130 deg. C. The films obtained from all the sols were amorphous or displayed a very small grain size, and crystallized after annealing at 400 deg. C or 500 deg. C in air for 2 h. X-ray diffraction analysis showed the presence of the cassiterite structure and line broadening indicated a polycrystalline material with a grain size in the nanometer range. Results obtained from Scanning Electron Microscopy analysis demonstrated a strong dependence of the film morphology on the RGV of the sols. Films obtained from Sn(t-OAm) 4 showed a highly textured morphology based on fiber-shape bridges, whereas the films obtained from SnCl 4 .5H 2 O had a smoother surface formed by 'O-ring' shaped domains. Lastly, the performance of these films as gas sensor devices was tested. The conductance (sensor) response for ethanol as a target analyte was of the same order of magnitude for the three kinds of films. However, the response of the highly textured films was more stable with shorter response times

  17. Nanocrystalline LiMn2O4 thin film cathode material prepared by polymer spray pyrolysis method for Li-ion battery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karthick, S.N.; Richard Prabhu Gnanakan, S.; Subramania, A.; Kim, Hee-Je

    2010-01-01

    Nanocrystalline cubic spinel lithium manganese oxide thin film was prepared by a polymer spray pyrolysis method using lithium acetate and manganese acetate precursor solution and polyethylene glycol-4000 as a polymeric binder. The substrate temperature was selected from the thermogravimetric analysis by finding the complete crystallization temperature of LiMn 2 O 4 precursor sample. The deposited LiMn 2 O 4 thin films were annealed at 450, 500 and 600 o C for 30 min. The thin film annealed at 600 o C was found to be the sufficient temperature to form high phase pure nanocrystalline LiMn 2 O 4 thin film. The formation of cubic spinel thin film was confirmed by X-ray diffraction study. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy analysis revealed that the thin film annealed at 600 o C was found to be nanocrystalline in nature and the surface of the films were uniform without any crack. The electrochemical charge/discharge studies of the prepared LiMn 2 O 4 film was found to be better compared to the conventional spray pyrolysed thin film material.

  18. Gas Sensing Properties of Ordered Mesoporous SnO2

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Tiemann

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available We report on the synthesis and CO gas-sensing properties of mesoporoustin(IV oxides (SnO2. For the synthesis cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTABr wasused as a structure-directing agent; the resulting SnO2 powders were applied as films tocommercially available sensor substrates by drop coating. Nitrogen physisorption showsspecific surface areas up to 160 m2·g-1 and mean pore diameters of about 4 nm, as verifiedby TEM. The film conductance was measured in dependence on the CO concentration inhumid synthetic air at a constant temperature of 300 °C. The sensors show a high sensitivityat low CO concentrations and turn out to be largely insensitive towards changes in therelative humidity. We compare the materials with commercially available SnO2-basedsensors.

  19. Effects of ZnO addition on electrical and structural properties of amorphous SnO2 thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ko, J.H.; Kim, I.H.; Kim, D.; Lee, K.S.; Lee, T.S.; Jeong, J.-H.; Cheong, B.; Baik, Y.J.; Kim, W.M.

    2006-01-01

    Amorphous Zn-Sn-O (ZTO) thin films with relative Zn contents (= [at.% Zn]/([at.% Zn] + [at.% Sn])) of 0, 0.08 and 0.27 were fabricated by co-sputtering of SnO 2 and ZnO targets at room temperature. Changes in structural, electrical and optical properties together with electron transport properties were examined upon post-annealing treatment in the temperature range from 200 to 600 deg. C in vacuum and in air. Characterization by XRD showed that an amorphous ZTO thin film crystallized at higher temperatures with increasing Zn content. Crystallized ZTO films with a relative Zn content of 0.27 might not contain a single SnO 2 phase which is observed in the films of the other compositions. Amorphous ZTO films showed decreasing electrical resistivities with increasing annealing temperature, having a minimum value of 1 x 10 - 3 Ω cm. Upon crystallization, the resistivities increased drastically, which was attributed to poor crystallinity of the crystallized films. All the ZTO films were found to be degenerate semiconductors with non-parabolic conduction bands having effective masses varying from 0.15 to 0.3 in the carrier concentration range of 6 x 10 18 to 2 x 10 2 cm - 3 . As for a ZTO film with a relative Zn content of 0.27, the degree of non-parabolicity was much lower compared with films of the other compositions, leading to a relatively stable mobility over a wide range of carrier concentration

  20. Investigation of nanocrystalline Gd films loaded with hydrogen

    KAUST Repository

    Hruška, Petr; Čí žek, Jakub; Dobroň, Patrik; Anwand, Wolfgang; Mü cklich, Arndt; Gemma, Ryota; Wagner, Stefan; Uchida, Helmut; Pundt, Astrid

    2015-01-01

    The present work reports on microstructure studies of hydrogen-loaded nanocrystalline Gd films prepared by cold cathode beam sputtering on sapphire (112¯0) substrates. The Gd films were electrochemically step-by-step charged with hydrogen and the structural development with increasing concentration of absorbed hydrogen was studied by transmission electron microscopy and in-situ   X-ray diffraction using synchrotron radiation. The relaxation of hydrogen-induced stresses was examined by acoustic emission measurements. In the low concentration range absorbed hydrogen occupies preferentially vacancy-like defects at GBs typical for nanocrystalline films. With increasing hydrogen concentration hydrogen starts to occupy interstitial sites. At the solid solution limit the grains gradually transform into the ββ-phase (GdH2). Finally at high hydrogen concentrations xH>2.0xH>2.0 H/Gd, the film structure becomes almost completely amorphous. Contrary to bulk Gd specimens, the formation of the γγ-phase (GdH3) was not observed in this work.

  1. Comparative analysis of physico-chemical and gas sensing characteristics of two different forms of SnO_2 films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kwoka, M.; Ottaviano, L.; Szuber, J.

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Two different forms of SnO_2 deposited on Si substrate. • Crystallinity and surface/subsurface morphology controlled by XRD, SEM and AFM. • Surface/subsurface chemistry including stoichiometry and contaminations derived from XPS. • Comparative analysis of gas sensor characteristics of SnO_2 in NO_2 atmosphere. • Correlations between physico-chemical properties and gas sensor characteristics. - Abstract: In this paper the results of studies of comparative studies on the crystallinity, morphology and chemistry combined with the gas sensor response of two different forms of tin dioxide (SnO_2) films prepared by the Rheotaxial Growth and Thermal Oxidation (RGTO) and by the Laser-enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (L-CVD) methods, respectively, are presented. For this purpose the X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and X-ray Photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) have been used. XRD studies for both samples show the contribution from the crystalline SnO_2 in the cassiterite rutile phase without any evident contribution from the tin oxide (SnO) phase. SEM and AFM studies show that the surface morphology of RGTO and L-CVD SnO_2 samples are characterized by grains/nanograins of different size and surface roughness. In turn XPS studies confirm that for both SnO_2 samples a slight nonstoichiometry with a relative [O]/[Sn] concentration of 1.8, and slightly different amount of C contamination at the surface of internal grains with relative [C]/[Sn] concentration of 3.5 and 3.2, respectively. This undesired C contamination cannot be ignored because it creates an uncontrolled barrier for the potential gas adsorption at the internal surface of sensor material. This is confirmed by the gas sensor response in NO_2 atmosphere of both SnO_2 samples because the sensitivity is evidently smaller for RGTO SnO_2 with respect to the L-CVD SnO_2 samples, whereas the response time showed a completely opposite tendency

  2. The radiation response of mesoporous nanocrystalline zirconia thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Manzini, Ayelén M.; Alurralde, Martin A. [Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Centro Atómico Constituyentes, Av. General Paz 1499, 1650 San Martin, Provincia de Buenos Aires (Argentina); Giménez, Gustavo [Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial - CMNB, Av. General Paz 5445, 1650 San Martín, Provincia de Buenos Aires (Argentina); Luca, Vittorio, E-mail: vluca@cnea.gov.ar [Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Centro Atómico Constituyentes, Av. General Paz 1499, 1650 San Martin, Provincia de Buenos Aires (Argentina)

    2016-12-15

    The next generation of nuclear systems will require materials capable of withstanding hostile chemical, physical and radiation environments over long time-frames. Aside from its chemical and physical stability, crystalline zirconia is one of the most radiation tolerant materials known. Here we report the first ever study of the radiation response of nanocrystalline and mesoporous zirconia and Ce{sup 3+}-stabilized nanocrystalline zirconia (Ce{sub 0.1}Zr{sub 0.9}O{sub 2}) thin films supported on silicon wafers. Zirconia films prepared using the block copolymer Brij-58 as the template had a thickness of around 60–80 nm. In the absence of a stabilizing trivalent cation they consisted of monoclinic and tetragonal zirconia nanocrystals with diameters in the range 8–10 nm. Films stabilized with Ce{sup 3+} contained only the tetragonal phase. The thin films were irradiated with iodine ions of energies of 70 MeV and 132 keV at low fluences (10{sup 13} - 10{sup 14} cm{sup −2}) corresponding to doses of 0.002 and 1.73 dpa respectively, and at 180 keV and high fluences (2 × 10{sup 16} cm{sup −2}) corresponding to 82.4 dpa. The influence of heavy ion irradiation on the nanocrystalline structure was monitored through Rietveld analysis of grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) patterns recorded at angles close to the critical angle to ensure minimum contribution to the diffraction pattern from the substrate. Irradiation of the mesoporous nanocrystalline zirconia thin films with 70 MeV iodine ions, for which electronic energy loss is dominant, resulted in slight changes in phase composition and virtually no change in crystallographic parameters as determined by Rietveld analysis. Iodine ion bombardment in the nuclear energy loss regime (132–180 keV) at low fluences did not provoke significant changes in phase composition or crystallographic parameters. However, at 180 keV and high fluences the monoclinic phase was totally eliminated from the GIXRD

  3. Nanocrystalline magnetite thin films grown by dual ion-beam sputtering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prieto, Pilar; Ruiz, Patricia; Ferrer, Isabel J.; Figuera, Juan de la; Marco, José F.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • We have grown tensile and compressive strained nanocrystalline magnetite thin films by dual ion beam sputtering. • The magnetic and thermoelectric properties can be controlled by the deposition conditions. • The magnetic anisotropy depends on the crystalline grain size. • The thermoelectric properties depend on the type of strain induced in the films. • In plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy develops in magnetite thin films with grain sizes ⩽20 nm. - Abstract: We have explored the influence of an ion-assisted beam in the thermoelectric and magnetic properties of nanocrystalline magnetite thin films grown by ion-beam sputtering. The microstructure has been investigated by XRD. Tensile and compressive strained thin films have been obtained as a function of the parameters of the ion-assisted beam. The evolution of the in-plane magnetic anisotropy was attributed to crystalline grain size. In some films, magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements reveal the existence of uniaxial magnetic anisotropy induced by the deposition process related with a small grain size (⩽20 nm). Isotropic magnetic properties have observed in nanocrystalline magnetite thin film having larger grain sizes. The largest power factor of all the films prepared (0.47 μW/K 2 cm), obtained from a Seebeck coefficient of −80 μV/K and an electrical resistivity of 13 mΩ cm, is obtained in a nanocrystalline magnetite thin film with an expanded out-of-plane lattice and with a grain size ≈30 nm

  4. Highly Sensitive Nanostructured SnO2 Thin Films For Hydrogen Sensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patil, L. A.; Shinde, M. D.; Bari, A. R.; Deo, V. V.

    2010-10-01

    Nanostructured SnO2 thin films were prepared by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis technique. Aqueous solution (0.05 M) of SnCl4ṡ5H2O in double distilled water was chosen as the starting solution for the preparation of the films. The stock solution was delivered to nozzle with constant and uniform flow rate of 70 ml/h by Syringe pump SK5001. Sono-tek spray nozzle, driven by ultrasonic frequency of 120 kHz, converts the solution into fine spray. The aerosol produced by nozzle was sprayed on glass substrate heated at 150 °C. The sensing performance of the films was tested for various gases such as LPG, hydrogen, ethanol, carbon dioxide and ammonia. The sensor (30 min) showed high gas response (S = 3040 at 350 °C) on exposure of 1000 ppm of hydrogen and high selectivity against other gases. Its response time was short (2 s) and recovery was also fast (12 s). To understand reasons behind this uncommon gas sensing performance of the films, their structural, microstructural, and optical properties were studied using X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) respectively. The results are interpreted

  5. Implantation of cobalt in SnO2 thin films studied by TDPAC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juliana Schell

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Here we report time differential perturbed angular correlation (TDPAC results of Co-doped SnO2 thin films. Making use of stable Co and radioactive 111In implanted at the Bonn Radioisotope Separator with energies of 80 keV and 160 keV, respectively, it was possible to study the dopant incorporation and its lattice location during annealing. The hyperfine parameters have been probed as a function of temperature in vacuum. Two quadrupole interactions were observed. At high temperatures the dominant fraction for the probe nuclei can be assigned to the Cd-incorporation at the cation substitutional site in a highly disordered structure, obtained after implantation, to high crystallinity for the measurements at 873 K and 923 K. The similarity in TDPAC spectra obtained in undoped SnO gives indirect evidence that In and Co diffuse to different depths during the annealing process. Other interpretations will be discussed.

  6. Optical characteristic and gap states distribution of amorphous SnO2:(Zn, In) film

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Zhi-Guo

    2010-01-01

    In this paper the fabrication technique of amorphous SnO 2 :(Zn, In) film is presented. The transmittance and gap-states distribution of the film are given. The experimental results of gap-states distribution are compared with the calculated results by using the facts of short range order and lattice vacancy defect of the gap states theory. The distribution of gap state has been proved to be discontinuous due to the short-range order of amorphous structure. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

  7. Cation vacancies and electrical compensation in Sb-doped thin-film SnO2 and ZnO

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Korhonen, E; Prozheeva, V; Tuomisto, F; Bierwagen, O; Speck, J S; White, M E; Galazka, Z; Liu, H; Izyumskaya, N; Avrutin, V; Özgür, Ü; Morkoç, H

    2015-01-01

    We present positron annihilation results on Sb-doped SnO 2 and ZnO thin films. The vacancy types and the effect of vacancies on the electrical properties of these intrinsically n-type transparent semiconducting oxides are studied. We find that in both materials low and moderate Sb-doping leads to formation of vacancy clusters of variable sizes. However, at high doping levels cation vacancy defects dominate the positron annihilation signal. These defects, when at sufficient concentrations, can efficiently compensate the n-type doping produced by Sb. This is the case in ZnO, but in SnO 2 the concentrations appear too low to cause significant compensation. (invited article)

  8. Cation vacancies and electrical compensation in Sb-doped thin-film SnO2 and ZnO

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korhonen, E.; Prozheeva, V.; Tuomisto, F.; Bierwagen, O.; Speck, J. S.; White, M. E.; Galazka, Z.; Liu, H.; Izyumskaya, N.; Avrutin, V.; Özgür, Ü.; Morkoç, H.

    2015-02-01

    We present positron annihilation results on Sb-doped SnO2 and ZnO thin films. The vacancy types and the effect of vacancies on the electrical properties of these intrinsically n-type transparent semiconducting oxides are studied. We find that in both materials low and moderate Sb-doping leads to formation of vacancy clusters of variable sizes. However, at high doping levels cation vacancy defects dominate the positron annihilation signal. These defects, when at sufficient concentrations, can efficiently compensate the n-type doping produced by Sb. This is the case in ZnO, but in SnO2 the concentrations appear too low to cause significant compensation.

  9. The role of Tin Oxide Concentration on The X-ray Diffraction, Morphology and Optical Properties of In2O3:SnO2 Thin Films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasan, Bushra A.; Abdallah, Rusul M.

    2018-05-01

    Alloys were performed from In2O3 doped SnO2 with different doping ratio by quenching from the melt technique. Pulsed Laser Deposition PLD was used to deposit thin films of different doping ratio In2O3 : SnO2 (0, 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 % wt.) on glass substrate at ambient temperature under vacuum of 10-3 bar thickness of ∼100nm. The structural type,grain size and morphology of the prepared alloys compounds and thin films were examined using X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. The results showed that all alloys have polycrystalline structures and the peaks belonged to the preferred plane for crystal growth were identical with the ITO (Indium – Tin –Oxide) standard cards also another peaks were observed belonged to SnO2 phase. The structures of thin films was also polycrystalline, and the predominate peaks are identical with standard cards ITO. On the other side the prepared thin films declared decrease a reduction of degree of crystallinity with the increase of doping ratio. Atomic Force Microscopy AFM measurements showed the average grain size and average surface roughness exhibit to change in systematic manner with the increase of doping ratio with tin oxide. The optical measurements show that the In2O3:SnO2 thin films have a direct energy gap Eg opt in the first stage decreases with the increase of doping ratio and then get to increase with further increase of doping ration, whereas reverse to that the optical constants such as refractive index (n), extinction coefficient (k) and dielectric constant (εr, εi) have a regular increase with the doping ratio by tin oxide and then decreases.

  10. New route to the fabrication of nanocrystalline diamond films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Varshney, Deepak; Morell, Gerardo; Palomino, Javier; Resto, Oscar; Gil, Jennifer; Weiner, Brad R.

    2014-01-01

    Nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) thin films offer applications in various fields, but the existing synthetic approaches are cumbersome and destructive. A major breakthrough has been achieved by our group in the direction of a non-destructive, scalable, and economic process of NCD thin-film fabrication. Here, we report a cheap precursor for the growth of nanocrystalline diamond in the form of paraffin wax. We show that NCD thin films can be fabricated on a copper support by using simple, commonplace paraffin wax under reaction conditions of Hot Filament Chemical Vapor Deposition (HFCVD). Surprisingly, even the presence of any catalyst or seeding that has been conventionally used in the state-of-the-art is not required. The structure of the obtained films was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Raman spectroscopy and electron energy-loss spectroscopy recorded at the carbon K-edge region confirm the presence of nanocrystalline diamond. The process is a significant step towards cost-effective and non-cumbersome fabrication of nanocrystalline diamond thin films for commercial production

  11. Nanocrystalline Sr{sub 2}CeO{sub 4} thin films grown on silicon by laser ablation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Perea, Nestor [Posgrado en Fisica de Materiales, CICESE-UNAM, Km. 107 Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada, Ensenada, B.C., 22860 (Mexico); Hirata, G.A. [Centro de Ciencias de la Materia Condensada-UNAM, Km. 107 Carretera Tijuana Ensenada, Ensenada, B.C. 22860 (Mexico)]. E-mail: hirata@ccmc.unam.mx

    2006-02-21

    Blue-white luminescent Sr{sub 2}CeO{sub 4} thin films were deposited by using pulsed laser ablation ({lambda} = 248 nm wavelength) on 500 deg. C silicon (111) substrates under an oxygen pressure of 55 mTorr. High-resolution electron transmission microscopy, electron diffraction and X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the films were composed of nanocrystalline Sr{sub 2}CeO{sub 4} grains of the order of 20-30 nm with a preferential orientation in the (130) crystallographic direction. The excitation and photoluminescence spectra measured on the films maintained the characteristic emission of bulk Sr{sub 2}CeO{sub 4} however, the emission peak appeared narrower and blue-shifted as compared to the luminescence spectrum of the target. The blue-shift and a preferential crystallographic orientation during the growth formation of the film is related to the nanocrystalline nature of the grains due to the quantum confinement behavior and surface energy minimization in nanostructured systems.

  12. Effect of Growth Parameters on SnO2 Nanowires Growth by Electron Beam Evaporation Method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rakesh Kumar, R.; Manjula, Y.; Narasimha Rao, K.

    2018-02-01

    Tin oxide (SnO2) nanowires were synthesized via catalyst assisted VLS growth mechanism by the electron beam evaporation method at a growth temperature of 450 °C. The effects of growth parameters such as evaporation rate of Tin, catalyst film thickness, and different types of substrates on the growth of SnO2 nanowires were studied. Nanowires (NWs) growth was completely seized at higher tin evaporation rates due to the inability of the catalyst particle to initiate the NWs growth. Nanowires diameters were able to tune with catalyst film thickness. Nanowires growth was completely absent at higher catalyst film thickness due to agglomeration of the catalyst film. Optimum growth parameters for SnO2 NWs were presented. Nanocomposites such as Zinc oxide - SnO2, Graphene oxide sheets- SnO2 and Graphene nanosheets-SnO2 were able to synthesize at a lower substrate temperature of 450 °C. These nanocompsoites will be useful in enhancing the capacity of Li-ion batteries, the gas sensing response and also useful in increasing the photo catalytic activity.

  13. Effects of metal doping on photoinduced hydrophilicity of SnO2 thin ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Debarun Dhar Purkayastha et al the metal layer is approximately 20 nm. The bilayer films are annealed at 200. ◦. C for 110 h to obtain crystalline phases. On annealing, metal (Al3+/Mn2+/ Cu2+) diffuses into the SnO2 layer and exists as a dopant in SnO2 host matrix. The thick- ness of the films is approximately 150 nm in all ...

  14. Characterisation of nanocrystalline CdS thin films deposited by CBD

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Devi, R.; Sarma, B.K.

    2006-01-01

    Nanocrystalline thin films of CdS are deposited on glass substrates by chemical bath deposition using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix solution. Crystallite sizes of the films are determined from X-ray diffraction and are found to vary from 5.4 nm to 7 nm. The band gaps of the nanocrystalline material is determined from the U-V spectrograph and are found to be within the range from 2.6 eV to 2.8 eV as grain size decreases. The band gaps are also determined from the dependence of electrical conductivity of the films with temperature. An increase of molarity decreases the grain size which in turn increases the band gap. (author)

  15. Sol–gel glass-ceramics comprising rare-earth doped SnO2 and LaF3 nanocrystals: an efficient simultaneous UV and IR to visible converter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yanes, A. C.; Castillo, J. del; Méndez-Ramos, J.; Rodríguez, V. D.

    2011-01-01

    We report a novel class of nanostructured glass-ceramics comprising two co-existing rare-earth doped nanocrystalline phases, SnO 2 semiconductor nanocrystal (quantum dot), and LaF 3 , presenting sizes at around 4.6 and 9.8 nm, respectively, embedded into a silica glass matrix for an efficient simultaneous UV and IR to visible photon conversion. On one hand, the wide and strong UV absorption by SnO 2 quantum dot and subsequent efficient energy transfer to Eu 3+ and, on the other hand, the also very efficient IR to visible up-conversion with the pair Yb 3+ –Er 3+ partitioned into low phonon LaF 3 nanocrystalline environment, yield to visible emissions with application in improving the spectral response of photovoltaic solar cells.Graphical AbstractWe report a novel class of nanostructured glass-ceramics comprising two co-existing rare-earth doped nanocrystalline phases, SnO 2 semiconductor nanocrystal (quantum dot) and LaF 3 , presenting sizes at around 4.6 and 9.8 nm, respectively, embedded into a silica glass matrix for an efficient simultaneous UV and IR to visible photon conversion. On one hand, the wide and strong UV absorption by SnO 2 quantum dot and subsequent efficient energy transfer to Eu 3+ and, on the other hand, the also very efficient IR to visible up-conversion with the pair Yb 3+ –Er 3+ partitioned into low phonon LaF 3 nanocrystalline environment, yield to visible emissions with application in improving the spectral response of photovoltaic solar cells.

  16. Facile Fabrication of MoS2-Modified SnO2 Hybrid Nanocomposite for Ultrasensitive Humidity Sensing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Dongzhi; Sun, Yan'e; Li, Peng; Zhang, Yong

    2016-06-08

    An ultrasensitive humidity sensor based on molybdenum-disulfide- (MoS2)-modified tin oxide (SnO2) nanocomposite has been demonstrated in this work. The nanostructural, morphological, and compositional properties of an as-prepared MoS2/SnO2 nanocomposite were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), nitrogen sorption analysis, and Raman spectroscopy, which confirmed its successful preparation and rationality. The sensing characteristics of the MoS2/SnO2 hybrid film device against relative humidity (RH) were investigated at room temperature. The RH sensing results revealed an unprecedented response, ultrafast response/recovery behaviors, and outstanding repeatability. To our knowledge, the sensor response yielded in this work was tens of times higher than that of the existing humidity sensors. Moreover, the MoS2/SnO2 hybrid nanocomposite film sensor exhibited great enhancement in humidity sensing performances as compared to the pure MoS2, SnO2, and graphene counterparts. Furthermore, complex impedance spectroscopy and bode plots were employed to understand the underlying sensing mechanisms of the MoS2/SnO2 nanocomposite toward humidity. The synthesized MoS2/SnO2 hybrid composite was proved to be an excellent candidate for constructing ultrahigh-performance humidity sensor toward various applications.

  17. Characterization of amorphous and nanocrystalline carbon films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chu, Paul K.; Li Liuhe

    2006-01-01

    Amorphous and nanocrystalline carbon films possess special chemical and physical properties such as high chemical inertness, diamond-like properties, and favorable tribological proprieties. The materials usually consist of graphite and diamond microstructures and thus possess properties that lie between the two. Amorphous and nanocrystalline carbon films can exist in different kinds of matrices and are usually doped with a large amount of hydrogen. Thus, carbon films can be classified as polymer-like, diamond-like, or graphite-like based on the main binding framework. In order to characterize the structure, either direct bonding characterization methods or the indirect bonding characterization methods are employed. Examples of techniques utilized to identify the chemical bonds and microstructure of amorphous and nanocrystalline carbon films include optical characterization methods such as Raman spectroscopy, Ultra-violet (UV) Raman spectroscopy, and infrared spectroscopy, electron spectroscopic and microscopic methods such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Auger electron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and electron energy loss spectroscopy, surface morphology characterization techniques such as scanning probe microscopy (SPM) as well as other characterization methods such as X-ray reflectivity and nuclear magnetic resonance. In this review, the structures of various types of amorphous carbon films and common characterization techniques are described

  18. Texture-dependent twin formation in nanocrystalline thin Pd films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, B.; Idrissi, H.; Shi, H.; Colla, M.S.; Michotte, S.; Raskin, J.P.; Pardoen, T.; Schryvers, D.

    2012-01-01

    Nanocrystalline Pd films were produced by electron-beam evaporation and sputter deposition. The electron-beam-evaporated films reveal randomly oriented nanograins with a relatively high density of growth twins, unexpected in view of the high stacking fault energy of Pd. In contrast, sputter-deposited films show a clear 〈1 1 1〉 crystallographic textured nanostructure without twins. These results provide insightful information to guide the generation of microstructures with enhanced strength/ductility balance in high stacking fault energy nanocrystalline metallic thin films.

  19. Atomic-Layer-Deposited SnO2 as Gate Electrode for Indium-Free Transparent Electronics

    KAUST Repository

    Alshammari, Fwzah Hamud; Hota, Mrinal Kanti; Wang, Zhenwei; Aljawhari, Hala; Alshareef, Husam N.

    2017-01-01

    Atomic-layer-deposited SnO2 is used as a gate electrode to replace indium tin oxide (ITO) in thin-film transistors and circuits for the first time. The SnO2 films deposited at 200 °C show low electrical resistivity of ≈3.1 × 10−3 Ω cm with ≈93

  20. XPS-nanocharacterization of organic layers electrochemically grafted on the surface of SnO_2 thin films to produce a new hybrid material coating

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Drevet, R.; Dragoé, D.; Barthés-Labrousse, M.G.; Chaussé, A.; Andrieux, M.

    2016-01-01

    Graphical abstract: An innovative hybrid material layer is synthesized by combining two processes. SnO_2 thin films are deposited by MOCVD on Si substrates and an organic layer made of carboxyphenyl moieties is electrochemically grafted by the reduction of a diazonium salt. XPS characterizations are carried out to assess the efficiency of the electrochemical grafting. Display Omitted - Highlights: • An innovative hybrid material layer is synthesized by combining two processes. • SnO_2 thin films are deposited by MOCVD on Si substrates. • An organic layer is electrochemically grafted by the reduction of a diazonium salt. • The efficiency of the grafting is accurately assessed by XPS. • Three electrochemical grafting models are proposed. - Abstract: This work presents the synthesis and the characterization of hybrid material thin films obtained by the combination of two processes. The electrochemical grafting of organic layers made of carboxyphenyl moieties is carried out from the reduction of a diazonium salt on tin dioxide (SnO_2) thin films previously deposited on Si substrates by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Since the MOCVD experimental parameters impact the crystal growth of the SnO_2 layer (i.e. its morphology and its texturation), various electrochemical grafting models can occur, producing different hybrid materials. In order to evidence the efficiency of the electrochemical grafting of the carboxyphenyl moieties, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) is used to characterize the first nanometers in depth of the synthesized hybrid material layer. Then three electrochemical grafting models are proposed.

  1. Ferromagnetism appears in nitrogen implanted nanocrystalline diamond films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Remes, Zdenek [Institute of Physics ASCR v.v.i., Cukrovarnicka 10, 162 00 Prague 6 (Czech Republic); Sun, Shih-Jye, E-mail: sjs@nuk.edu.tw [Department of Applied Physics, National University of Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung 811, Taiwan (China); Varga, Marian [Department of Applied Physics, National University of Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung 811, Taiwan (China); Chou, Hsiung [Department of Physics, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan (China); Hsu, Hua-Shu [Department of Applied Physics, National Pingtung University of Education, Pingtung 900, Taiwan (China); Kromka, Alexander [Department of Applied Physics, National University of Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung 811, Taiwan (China); Horak, Pavel [Nuclear Physics Institute, 250 68 Rez (Czech Republic)

    2015-11-15

    The nanocrystalline diamond films turn to be ferromagnetic after implanting various nitrogen doses on them. Through this research, we confirm that the room-temperature ferromagnetism of the implanted samples is derived from the measurements of magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). Samples with larger crystalline grains as well as higher implanted doses present more robust ferromagnetic signals at room temperature. Raman spectra indicate that the small grain-sized samples are much more disordered than the large grain-sized ones. We propose that a slightly large saturated ferromagnetism could be observed at low temperature, because the increased localization effects have a significant impact on more disordered structure. - Highlights: • Nitrogen implanted nanocrystalline diamond films exhibit ferromagnetism at room temperature. • Nitrogen implants made a Raman deviation from the typical nanocrystalline diamond films. • The ferromagnetism induced from the structure distortion is dominant at low temperature.

  2. Laser induced forward transfer of SnO2 for sensing applications using different precursors systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mattle, Thomas; Hintennach, Andreas; Lippert, Thomas; Wokaun, Alexander

    2013-02-01

    This paper presents the transfer of SnO2 by laser induced forward transfer (LIFT) for gas sensor applications. Different donor substrates of SnO2 with and without triazene polymer (TP) as a dynamic release layer were prepared. Transferring these films under different conditions were evaluated by optical microscopy and functionality. Transfers of sputtered SnO2 films do not lead to satisfactory results and transfers of SnO2 nanoparticles are difficult. Transfers of SnO2 nanoparticles can only be achieved when applying a second laser pulse to the already transferred material, which improves the adhesion resulting in a complete pixel. A new approach of decomposing the transfer material during LIFT transfer was developed. Donor films based on UV absorbing metal complex precursors namely, SnCl2(acac)2 were prepared and transferred using the LIFT technique. Transfer conditions were optimized for the different systems, which were deposited onto sensor-like microstructures. The conductivity of the transferred material at temperatures of about 400 ∘C are in a range usable for SnO2 gas sensors. First sensing tests were carried out and the transferred material proved to change conductivity when exposed to ethanol, acetone, and methane.

  3. Amorphous Ultrathin SnO2 Films by Atomic Layer Deposition on Graphene Network as Highly Stable Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Ming; Sun, Xiang; George, Steven M; Zhou, Changgong; Lian, Jie; Zhou, Yun

    2015-12-23

    Amorphous SnO2 (a-SnO2) thin films were conformally coated onto the surface of reduced graphene oxide (G) using atomic layer deposition (ALD). The electrochemical characteristics of the a-SnO2/G nanocomposites were then determined using cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge curves. Because the SnO2 ALD films were ultrathin and amorphous, the impact of the large volume expansion of SnO2 upon cycling was greatly reduced. With as few as five formation cycles best reported in the literature, a-SnO2/G nanocomposites reached stable capacities of 800 mAh g(-1) at 100 mA g(-1) and 450 mAh g(-1) at 1000 mA g(-1). The capacity from a-SnO2 is higher than the bulk theoretical values. The extra capacity is attributed to additional interfacial charge storage resulting from the high surface area of the a-SnO2/G nanocomposites. These results demonstrate that metal oxide ALD on high surface area conducting carbon substrates can be used to fabricate high power and high capacity electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries.

  4. Effect of power on the growth of nanocrystalline silicon films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, Sushil; Dixit, P N; Rauthan, C M S; Parashar, A; Gope, Jhuma

    2008-01-01

    Nanocrystalline silicon thin films were grown using a gaseous mixture of silane, hydrogen and argon in a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition system. These films were deposited away from the conventional low power regime normally used for the deposition of device quality hydrogenated amorphous silicon films. It was observed that, with the increase of applied power, there is a change in nanocrystalline phases which were embedded in the amorphous matrix of silicon. Atomic force microscopy micrographs show that these films contain nanocrystallite of 20-100 nm size. Laser Raman and photoluminescence peaks have been observed at 514 cm -1 and 2.18 eV, respectively, and particle sizes were estimated using the same as 8.24 nm and 3.26 nm, respectively. It has also been observed that nanocrystallites in these films enhanced the optical bandgap and electrical conductivity

  5. Effect of power on the growth of nanocrystalline silicon films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kumar, Sushil; Dixit, P N; Rauthan, C M S; Parashar, A; Gope, Jhuma [Plasma Processed Materials Group, National Physical Laboratory, Dr K S Krishnan Road, New Delhi 110 012 (India)], E-mail: skumar@mail.nplindia.ernet.in

    2008-08-20

    Nanocrystalline silicon thin films were grown using a gaseous mixture of silane, hydrogen and argon in a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition system. These films were deposited away from the conventional low power regime normally used for the deposition of device quality hydrogenated amorphous silicon films. It was observed that, with the increase of applied power, there is a change in nanocrystalline phases which were embedded in the amorphous matrix of silicon. Atomic force microscopy micrographs show that these films contain nanocrystallite of 20-100 nm size. Laser Raman and photoluminescence peaks have been observed at 514 cm{sup -1} and 2.18 eV, respectively, and particle sizes were estimated using the same as 8.24 nm and 3.26 nm, respectively. It has also been observed that nanocrystallites in these films enhanced the optical bandgap and electrical conductivity.

  6. Atomic-Layer-Deposited SnO2 as Gate Electrode for Indium-Free Transparent Electronics

    KAUST Repository

    Alshammari, Fwzah Hamud

    2017-08-04

    Atomic-layer-deposited SnO2 is used as a gate electrode to replace indium tin oxide (ITO) in thin-film transistors and circuits for the first time. The SnO2 films deposited at 200 °C show low electrical resistivity of ≈3.1 × 10−3 Ω cm with ≈93% transparency in most of the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Thin-film transistors fabricated with SnO2 gates show excellent transistor properties including saturation mobility of 15.3 cm2 V−1 s−1, a low subthreshold swing of ≈130 mV dec−1, a high on/off ratio of ≈109, and an excellent electrical stability under constant-voltage stressing conditions to the gate terminal. Moreover, the SnO2-gated thin-film transistors show excellent electrical characteristics when used in electronic circuits such as negative channel metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS) inverters and ring oscillators. The NMOS inverters exhibit a low propagation stage delay of ≈150 ns with high DC voltage gain of ≈382. A high oscillation frequency of ≈303 kHz is obtained from the output sinusoidal signal of the 11-stage NMOS inverter-based ring oscillators. These results show that SnO2 can effectively replace ITO in transparent electronics and sensor applications.

  7. Ultraviolet photodetectors made from SnO2 nanowires

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Jyh-Ming; Kuo, Cheng-Hsiang

    2009-01-01

    SnO 2 nanowires can be synthesized on alumina substrates and formed into an ultraviolet (UV) photodetector. The photoelectric current of the SnO 2 nanowires exhibited a rapid photo-response as a UV lamp was switched on and off. The ratio of UV-exposed current to dark current has been investigated. The SnO 2 nanowires were synthesized by a vapor-liquid-solid process at a temperature of 900 o C. It was found that the nanowires were around 70-100 nm in diameter and several hundred microns in length. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) image indicated that the nanowires grew along the [200] axis as a single crystallinity. Cathodoluminescence (CL), thin-film X-ray diffractometry, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to characterize the as-synthesized nanowires.

  8. Tailoring the wettability of nanocrystalline TiO 2 films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Qiyu; Chen, Yan; Fan, Yuzun; Hu, Yong; Wu, Yuedong; Zhao, Ziqiang; Meng, Qingbo

    2012-01-01

    The water contact angle (WCA) of nanocrystalline TiO2 films was adjusted by fluoroalkylsilane (FAS) modification and photocatalytic lithography. FAS modification made the surface hydrophobic with the WCA up to ∼156°, while ultraviolet (UV) irradiation changed surface to hydrophilic with the WCA down to ∼0°. Both the hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity were enhanced by surface roughness. The wettability can be tailored by varying the concentration of FAS solution and soaking time, as well as the UV light intensity and irradiation time. Additionally, with the help of photomasks, hydrophobic-hydrophilic micropatterns can be fabricated and manifested via area-selective deposition of polystyrene particles.

  9. Infrared absorption study of hydrogen incorporation in thick nanocrystalline diamond films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang, C.J.; Neves, A.J.; Carmo, M.C.

    2005-01-01

    We present an infrared (IR) optical absorbance study of hydrogen incorporation in nanocrystalline diamond films. The thick nanocrystalline diamond films were synthesized by microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition and a high growth rate about 3.0 μm/h was achieved. The morphology, phase quality, and hydrogen incorporation were assessed by means of scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Large amount of hydrogen bonded to nanocrystalline diamond is clearly evidenced by the huge CH stretching band in the FTIR spectrum. The mechanism of hydrogen incorporation is discussed in light of the growth mechanism of nanocrystalline diamond. This suggests the potential of nanocrystalline diamond for IR electro-optical device applications

  10. Electrodeposition and characterization of nanocrystalline CoNiFe films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Y.; Wang, Q.P. [Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310027 (China); Cai, C. [School of Chemistry and chemical engineering, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021 (China); Yuan, Y.N. [Department of Materials and Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310027 (China); Cao, F.H. [Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310027 (China); Zhang, Z., E-mail: eaglezzy@zjuem.zju.edu.cn [Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310027 (China); Zhang, J.Q. [Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310027 (China); State Key Laboratory for Corrosion and Protection of Metals, Shenyang 110016 (China)

    2012-02-29

    Nanocrystalline Co{sub 45}Ni{sub 10}Fe{sub 24} films have been fabricated using cyclic voltammetry technique from the solutions containing sulfate, then characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and vibrating sample magnetometer. Meanwhile, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy technique has been employed to probe into the nucleation/growth behavior of Co{sub 45}Ni{sub 10}Fe{sub 24} films. The results show that, the obtained Co{sub 45}Ni{sub 10}Fe{sub 24} film possesses low coercivity of 973.3 A/m and high saturation magnetic flux density of 1.59 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 5} A/m. Under the experimental conditions, the nucleation/growth process of Co{sub 45}Ni{sub 10}Fe{sub 24} films is mainly under activation control. With the increase of the applied cathodic potential bias, the charge transfer resistance for CoNiFe deposition decreases exponentially. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Nanocrystalline Co{sub 45}Ni{sub 10}Fe{sub 24} film is obtained using cyclic voltammetry technique. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Nanocrystalline Co{sub 45}Ni{sub 10}Fe{sub 24} possesses low coercivity of 973.3 A/m. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Nanocrystalline Co{sub 45}Ni{sub 10}Fe{sub 24} possesses high saturation magnetic flux density. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The nucleation/growth process of CoNiFe films is mainly under activation control. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The charge transfer resistance for CoNiFe deposition decreases exponentially.

  11. Resistividade do filme depositado via sol-gel e estado de oxidação do dopante Ce na matriz SnO2 Resistivity of the film deposited via sol-gel and oxidation state of Ce doping in SnO2 matrix

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. V. A. Scalvi

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Incorporação de Ce3+ ou Ce4+ em filmes finos de SnO2 depositados via sol-gel-dip-coating aumenta drasticamente a resistividade elétrica. No primeiro caso, temos comportamento aceitador do dopante, levando a matriz à alta compensação de carga. Por outro lado, para Ce4+, verifica-se aumento na largura da região de depleção do contorno de grão, resultando em maior espalhamento de elétrons. Medidas de caracterização elétrica sob pressão ambiente levam à barreiras de potencial mais altas do que as medidas sob vácuo, devido a adsorção de oxigênio na superfície das partículas. A presença de Ce3+ aumenta a transmitância no infravermelho, o que significa menor quantidade de elétrons livres. Dados de XANES confirmam que o tratamento térmico a 550 ºC dos filmes, ainda que promova oxidação parcial para Ce4+, preserva uma quantidade significativa (em torno de 60% no estado Ce3+. Espectroscopia Raman mostra a evolução dos modos de vibração intra-grãos de SnO2 com o aumento da temperatura de tratamento térmico.Incorporation of Ce3+ or Ce4+ in sol-gel dip-coating SnO2 thin films increases drastically its electrical resistivity. In the first case, it is due the acceptor-like nature of the doping ion, leading the matrix to high charge compensation. On the other hand, for Ce+4 doped samples, it is verified a broadening of the grain boundary depletion layer. Measurements under room pressure leads to higher intergrain potential barriers when compared to measurements carried out under vacuum conditions, due to oxygen adsorption at particles surface. The presence of Ce3+ increases the infrared transmittance, which means a lower free electron concentration. XANES data confirms that the thermal annealing at 550 ºC of thin films, although promotes oxidation to Ce4+, still keeps a significantly amount (about 60% of ions in the oxidation state Ce3+. Raman spectroscopy data show the evolution of the SnO2 bulk vibration modes with

  12. Synthesis of Nanocrystalline RuO2(60%)-SnO2(40%)Powders by Amorphous Citrate Route

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2007-01-01

    Nanometer RuO2-SnO2was synthesized by the citrate-gel method using RuCl3, SnCl4 as cation sources, citric acid as complexing agent and anhydrous ethanol as solvent. The structures of the derived powders were characterized by thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area measurement. The pure, fine and amorphous powders was obtained at 160℃. The materials calcined at above 400 ℃ were composed of rutile-type oxide phases having particle sizes of fairly narrow distribution and good thermal resistant properties. By adding SnO2 to RUO2, the Ru metallic phase can be effectively controlled under a traditional temperature of preparation for dimensional stable anode.

  13. Aggregate formation of eosin-Y adsorbed on nanocrystalline TiO2 films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yaguchi, Kaori; Furube, Akihiro; Katoh, Ryuzi

    2012-11-01

    We have studied the adsorption of eosin-Y on nanocrystalline TiO2 films with two different solvents namely acetonitrile (ACN) and ethanol (EtOH). A Langmuir-type adsorption isotherm was observed with ACN. In contrast, a Freundlich-type adsorption isotherm was observed with EtOH, suggesting that EtOH molecules co-adsorbed on TiO2 surface. Absorption spectra of the dye adsorbed films clearly show aggregate formation at high concentrations of dye in the solutions. From the analysis of the spectra, we conclude that head-to-tail type aggregates are observed with ACN, whereas various types of aggregates, including H-type and head-to-tail type aggregates, are observed with EtOH.

  14. Effect of substrate temperature on structural and optical properties of nitrogen doped SnO2 thin film

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thakur, Anup; Kumar, Varinder; Kang, Se Jun; Lee, Ik-Jae; Gautam, Sanjeev; Chae, K. H.; Shin, Hyun Joon

    2014-01-01

    Nitrogen doped SnO 2 thin films (thickness ∼ 250 nm) were deposited at different substrate temperature by radio frequency (rf) sputtering method. Crystal structure, morphology and optical properties of these films were investigated by x-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and UV-VIS-NIR spectrophotometer, respectively. XRD measurement suggests that the film deposited at room temperature was amorphous in nature and films deposited at higher temperature were crystalline in nature. The film deposited at RT and 200 °C have transparency more than 90% in visible region but the film deposited at 400 °C has lesser transparency. Red shift was observed in the absorption edge may be due to decrease in ionicity due to the formation of the Sn-N bond

  15. Electrochromic devices based on wide band-gap nanocrystalline semiconductors functionalized with mononuclear charge transfer compounds

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Biancardo, M.; Argazzi, R.; Bignozzi, C.A.

    2006-01-01

    A series of ruthenium and iron mononuclear complexes were prepared and their spectroeletrochemical behavior characterized oil Optically Transparent Thin Layer Electrodes (OTTLE) and on Fluorine Doped SnO2 (FTO) conductive glasses coated with Sb-doped nanocrystalline SnO2. These systems display a ...

  16. Structural and nanomechanical properties of nanocrystalline carbon thin films for photodetection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rawal, Ishpal [Department of Physics, Kirorimal College, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007 (India); Panwar, Omvir Singh, E-mail: ospanwar@mail.nplindia.ernet.in; Tripathi, Ravi Kant; Chockalingam, Sreekumar [Polymorphic Carbon Thin Films Group, Physics of Energy Harvesting Division, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi 110012 (India); Srivastava, Avanish Kumar [Electron and Ion Microscopy, Sophisticated and Analytical Instruments, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi 110012 (India); Kumar, Mahesh [Ultrafast Optoelectronics and Tetrahertz Photonics Group, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi 110012 (India)

    2015-05-15

    This paper reports the effect of helium gas pressure upon the structural, nanomechanical, and photoconductive properties of nanocrystalline carbon thin (NCT) films deposited by the filtered cathodic jet carbon arc technique. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy images confirm the nanocrystalline nature of the deposited films with different crystallite sizes (3–7 nm). The chemical structure of the deposited films is further analyzed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy, which suggest that the deposited films change from graphitelike to diamondlike, increasing in sp{sup 3} content, with a minor change in the dilution of the inert gas (helium). The graphitic character is regained upon higher dilution of the helium gas, whereupon the films exhibit an increase in sp{sup 2} content. The nanomechanical measurements show that the film deposited at a helium partial pressure of 2.2 × 10{sup −4} has the highest value of hardness (37.39 GPa) and elastic modulus (320.50 GPa). At a light intensity of 100 mW/cm{sup 2}, the NCT films deposited at 2.2 × 10{sup −4} and 0.1 mbar partial pressures of helium gas exhibit good photoresponses of 2.2% and 3.6%, respectively.

  17. Response speed of SnO2-based H2S gas sensors with CuO nanoparticles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chowdhuri, Arijit; Gupta, Vinay; Sreenivas, K.; Kumar, Rajeev; Mozumdar, Subho; Patanjali, P. K.

    2004-01-01

    CuO nanoparticles on sputtered SnO 2 thin-film surface exhibit a fast response speed (14 s) and recovery time (61 s) for trace level (20 ppm) H 2 S gas detection. The sensitivity of the sensor (S∼2.06x10 3 ) is noted to be high at a low operating temperature of 130 deg. C. CuO nanoparticles on SnO 2 allow effective removal of excess adsorbed oxygen from the uncovered SnO 2 surface due to spillover of hydrogen dissociated from the H 2 S-CuO interaction

  18. Selectivity enhancement of indium-doped SnO2 gas sensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salehi, A.

    2002-01-01

    Indium doping was used to enhance the selectivity of SnO 2 gas sensor. Both indium-doped and undoped SnO 2 gas sensors fabricated with different deposition techniques were investigated. The changes in the sensitivity of the sensors caused by selective gases (hydrogen and wood smoke) ranging from 500 to 3000 ppm were measured at different temperatures from 50 to 300 deg. C. The sensitivity peaks of the samples exhibit different values for selective gases with a response time of approximately 0.5 s. Thermally evaporated indium-doped SnO 2 gas sensor shows a considerable increase in the sensitivity peak of 27% in response to wood smoke, whereas it shows a sensitivity peak of 7% to hydrogen. This is in contrast to the sputter deposited indium-doped SnO 2 gas sensor, which exhibits a much lower sensitivity peak of approximately 2% to hydrogen and wood smoke compared to undoped SnO 2 gas sensors fabricated by chemical vapor deposition and spray pyrolysis. Scanning electron microscopy shows that different deposition techniques result in different porosity of the films. It is observed that the thermally evaporated indium-doped SnO 2 gas sensor shows high porosity, while the sputtered sample exhibits almost no porosity

  19. Chemical vapor deposition of nanocrystalline diamond films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vyrovets, I.I.; Gritsyna, V.I.; Dudnik, S.F.; Opalev, O.A.; Reshetnyak, O.M.; Strel'nitskij, V.E.

    2008-01-01

    The brief review of the literature is devoted to synthesis of nanocrystalline diamond films. It is shown that the CVD method is an effective way for deposition of such nanostructures. The basic technological methods that allow limit the size of growing diamond crystallites in the film are studied.

  20. Protein-modified nanocrystalline diamond thin films for biosensor applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Härtl, Andreas; Schmich, Evelyn; Garrido, Jose A; Hernando, Jorge; Catharino, Silvia C R; Walter, Stefan; Feulner, Peter; Kromka, Alexander; Steinmüller, Doris; Stutzmann, Martin

    2004-10-01

    Diamond exhibits several special properties, for example good biocompatibility and a large electrochemical potential window, that make it particularly suitable for biofunctionalization and biosensing. Here we show that proteins can be attached covalently to nanocrystalline diamond thin films. Moreover, we show that, although the biomolecules are immobilized at the surface, they are still fully functional and active. Hydrogen-terminated nanocrystalline diamond films were modified by using a photochemical process to generate a surface layer of amino groups, to which proteins were covalently attached. We used green fluorescent protein to reveal the successful coupling directly. After functionalization of nanocrystalline diamond electrodes with the enzyme catalase, a direct electron transfer between the enzyme's redox centre and the diamond electrode was detected. Moreover, the modified electrode was found to be sensitive to hydrogen peroxide. Because of its dual role as a substrate for biofunctionalization and as an electrode, nanocrystalline diamond is a very promising candidate for future biosensor applications.

  1. Linear temperature behavior of thermopower and strong electron-electron scattering in thick F-doped SnO2 films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lang, Wen-Jing; Li, Zhi-Qing

    2014-07-01

    Both the semi-classical and quantum transport properties of F-doped SnO2 thick films (˜1 μm) were investigated experimentally. We found that the resistivity caused by the thermal phonons obeys Bloch-Grüneisen law from ˜90 to 300 K, while only the diffusive thermopower, which varies linearly with temperature from 300 down to 10 K, can be observed. The phonon-drag thermopower is completely suppressed due to the long electron-phonon relaxation time in the compound. These observations, together with the fact that the carrier concentration has negligible temperature dependence, indicate that the conduction electrons in F-doped SnO2 films possess free-electron-like characteristics. At low temperatures, the electron-electron scattering dominates over the electron-phonon scattering and governs the inelastic scattering process. The theoretical predications of scattering rates of large- and small-energy-transfer electron-electron scattering processes, which are negligibly weak in three-dimensional disordered conventional conductors, are quantitatively tested in this lower carrier concentration and free-electron-like highly degenerate semiconductor.

  2. Linear temperature behavior of thermopower and strong electron-electron scattering in thick F-doped SnO2 films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lang, Wen-Jing; Li, Zhi-Qing

    2014-01-01

    Both the semi-classical and quantum transport properties of F-doped SnO 2 thick films (∼1 μm) were investigated experimentally. We found that the resistivity caused by the thermal phonons obeys Bloch-Grüneisen law from ∼90 to 300 K, while only the diffusive thermopower, which varies linearly with temperature from 300 down to 10 K, can be observed. The phonon-drag thermopower is completely suppressed due to the long electron-phonon relaxation time in the compound. These observations, together with the fact that the carrier concentration has negligible temperature dependence, indicate that the conduction electrons in F-doped SnO 2 films possess free-electron-like characteristics. At low temperatures, the electron-electron scattering dominates over the electron-phonon scattering and governs the inelastic scattering process. The theoretical predications of scattering rates of large- and small-energy-transfer electron-electron scattering processes, which are negligibly weak in three-dimensional disordered conventional conductors, are quantitatively tested in this lower carrier concentration and free-electron-like highly degenerate semiconductor.

  3. An investigation of the Nb doping effect on structural, morphological, electrical and optical properties of spray deposited F doped SnO2 films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turgut, G.; Keskenler, E. F.; Aydın, S.; Yılmaz, M.; Doǧan, S.; Düzgün, B.

    2013-03-01

    F and Nb + F co-doped SnO2 thin films were deposited on glass substrates by the spray pyrolysis method. The microstructural, morphological, electrical and optical properties of the 10 wt% F doped SnO2 (FTO) thin films were investigated specifically for niobium (Nb) doping in the range of 0-4 at.% with 1 at.% steps. As shown by the x-ray diffraction patterns, the films exhibited a tetragonal cassiterite structure with (200) preferential orientation. It was observed that grain sizes of the films for (200) and (301) peaks depended on the Nb doping concentration and varied in the range of 25.11-32.19 and 100.6-183.7 nm, respectively. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) micrographs showed that the FTO films were made of small pyramidal grains, while doubly doped films were made of small pyramidal grains and big polyhedron grains. From electrical studies, although 1 at.% Nb doped FTO films have the lowest sheet resistance and resistivity values, the highest figure-of-merit and optical band gap values obtained for FTO films were 16.2 × 10-2 Ω-1 and 4.21 eV, respectively. Also, infrared reflectivity values of the films were in the range of 97.39-98.98%. These results strongly suggest that these films are an attractive candidate for various optoelectronic applications and for photothermal conversion of solar energy.

  4. Nanocrystalline SiC film thermistors for cryogenic applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitin, V. F.; Kholevchuk, V. V.; Semenov, A. V.; Kozlovskii, A. A.; Boltovets, N. S.; Krivutsa, V. A.; Slepova, A. S.; Novitskii, S. V.

    2018-02-01

    We developed a heat-sensitive material based on nanocrystalline SiC films obtained by direct deposition of carbon and silicon ions onto sapphire substrates. These SiC films can be used for resistance thermometers operating in the 2 K-300 K temperature range. Having high heat sensitivity, they are relatively low sensitive to the magnetic field. The designs of the sensors are presented together with a discussion of their thermometric characteristics and sensitivity to magnetic fields.

  5. Nanocrystalline zinc ferrite films studied by magneto-optical spectroscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lišková-Jakubisová, E., E-mail: liskova@karlov.mff.cuni.cz; Višňovský, Š. [Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Ke Karlovu 5, Prague (Czech Republic); Široký, P.; Hrabovský, D.; Pištora, J. [Nanotechnology Center, VŠB-Technical University of Ostrava, 17. listopadu 15, 708 33 Ostrava-Poruba (Czech Republic); Sahoo, Subasa C. [Department of Physics, Central University of Kerala, Kasaragod, Kerala 671314 (India); Prasad, Shiva [Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076 (India); Venkataramani, N. [Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076 (India); Bohra, Murtaza [Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), Okinawa (Japan); Krishnan, R. [Groupe d' Etude de la Matière Condensée (GEMaC), CNRS-UVSQ, 45 Avenue des Etats-Unis, 78935 Versailles (France)

    2015-05-07

    Ferrimagnetic Zn-ferrite (ZnFe{sub 2}O{sub 4}) films can be grown with the ferromagnetic resonance linewidth of 40 Oe at 9.5 GHz without going through a high temperature processing. This presents interest for applications. The work deals with laser ablated ZnFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} films deposited at O{sub 2} pressure of 0.16 mbar onto fused quartz substrates. The films about 120 nm thick are nanocrystalline and their spontaneous magnetization, 4πM{sub s}, depends on the nanograin size, which is controlled by the substrate temperature (T{sub s}). At T{sub s} ≈ 350 °C, where the grain distribution peaks around ∼20–30 nm, the room temperature 4πM{sub s} reaches a maximum of ∼2.3 kG. The films were studied by magnetooptical polar Kerr effect (MOKE) spectroscopy at photon energies between 1 and 5 eV. The complementary characteristics were provided by spectral ellipsometry (SE). Both the SE and MOKE spectra confirmed ferrimagnetic ordering. The structural details correspond to those observed in MgFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} and Li{sub 0.5}Fe{sub 2.5}O{sub 4} spinels. SE experiments confirm the insulator behavior. The films display MOKE amplitudes somewhat reduced with respect to those in Li{sub 0.5}Fe{sub 2.5}O{sub 4} and MgFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} due to a lower degree of spinel inversion and nanocrystalline structure. The results indicate that the films are free of oxygen vacancies and Fe{sup 3+}-Fe{sup 2+} exchange.

  6. Stacking fault-mediated ultrastrong nanocrystalline Ti thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, K.; Zhang, J. Y.; Li, G.; Wang, Y. Q.; Cui, J. C.; Liu, G.; Sun, J.

    2017-11-01

    In this work, we prepared nanocrystalline (NC) Ti thin films with abundant stacking faults (SFs), which were created via partial dislocations emitted from grain boundaries and which were insensitive to grain sizes. By employing the nanoindentation test, we investigated the effects of SFs and grain sizes on the strength of NC Ti films at room temperature. The high density of SFs significantly strengthens NC Ti films, via dislocation-SF interactions associated with the reported highest Hall-Petch slope of ˜20 GPa nm1/2, to an ultrahigh strength of ˜4.4 GPa, approaching ˜50% of its ideal strength.

  7. Enhancement of photovoltaic characteristics of nanocrystalline 2,3-naphthalocyanine thin film-based organic devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Farag, A.A.M.; Osiris, W.G.; Ammar, A.H.

    2012-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image of NPC films: (a) cross section view, (b) surface morphology of the film at 300 K, (c) surface morphology of the annealed film at 350 K, (d) surface morphology of the annealed film at 400 K, (e) surface morphology of the annealed film at 450 K, and (f) surface morphology of the annealed film at 500 K. Highlights: ► The absorption edge shifts to the lower energy for the annealed NPC film. ► The device of Au/NPC/ITO exhibit rectifying characteristics. ► The devices show improvement in photovoltaic parameters. ► The power conversion efficiency of the devices show enhancement under annealing. - Abstract: In this work, nanocrystalline thin films of 2,3-naphthalocyanine (NPC) were successfully deposited by a thermal evaporation technique at room temperature under high vacuum (∼10 −4 Pa). The crystal structure and surface morphology were measured using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. A preferred orientation along the (0 0 1) direction was observed in all the studied films and the average crystallite size was calculated. Scanning electron miscroscopy (SEM) images of NPC films at different thermal treatment indicated significant changes on surface level patterns and gave clear evidence of agglomeration of nanocrystalline structures. The molecular structural properties of the thin films were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), which revealed the stability of the chemical bonds of the compound under thermal treatment. The dark electrical conductivity of the films at various heat treatment stages showed that NPC films have a better conductivity than that of its earlier reported naphthalocyanine films and the activation energy was found to decrease with annealing temperature. The absorption edge shifted to the lower energy as a consequence of the thermal annealing of the film and the fundamental absorption edges correspond to a

  8. Hydrogen content and density in nanocrystalline carbon films of a predominant diamond character

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoffman, A.; Heiman, A.; Akhvlediani, R.; Lakin, E.; Zolotoyabko, E.; Cyterman, C.

    2003-01-01

    Nanocrystalline carbon films possessing a prevailing diamond or graphite character, depending on substrate temperature, can be deposited from a methane hydrogen mixture by the direct current glow discharge plasma chemical vapor deposition method. While at a temperature of ∼880 deg. C, following the formation of a thin precursor graphitic film, diamond nucleation occurs and a nanodiamond film grows, at higher and lower deposition temperatures the films maintain their graphitic character. In this study the hydrogen content, density and nanocrystalline phase composition of films deposited at various temperatures are investigated. We aim to elucidate the role of hydrogen in nanocrystalline films with a predominant diamond character. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy revealed a considerable increase of the hydrogen concentration in the films that accompanies the growth of nanodiamond. It correlates with near edge x-ray adsorption spectroscopy measurements, that showed an appearance of spectroscopic features associated with the diamond structure, and with a substantial increase of the film density detected by x-ray reflectivity. Electron energy loss spectroscopy showed that nanocrystalline diamond films can be deposited from a CH 4 /H 2 mixture with hydrogen concentration in the 80%-95% range. For a deposition temperature of 880 deg. C, the highest diamond character of the films was found for a hydrogen concentration of 91% of H 2 . The deposition temperature plays an important role in diamond formation, strongly influencing the content of adsorbed hydrogen with an optimum at 880 deg. C. It is suggested that diamond nucleation and growth of the nanodiamond phase is driven by densification of the deposited graphitic films which results in high local compressive stresses. Nanodiamond formation is accompanied by an increase of hydrogen concentration in the films. It is suggested that hydrogen retention is critical for stabilization of nanodiamond crystallites. At lower

  9. Characterization of nanocrystalline ZnO:Al films by sol-gel spin coating method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gareso, P. L., E-mail: pgareso@gmail.com; Rauf, N., E-mail: pgareso@gmail.com; Juarlin, E., E-mail: pgareso@gmail.com [Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Hasanuddin University, Makassar 90245 (Indonesia); Sugianto,; Maddu, A. [Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Bogor Institute of Culture, IPB Bogor (Indonesia)

    2014-09-25

    Nanocrystalline ZnO films doped with aluminium by sol-gel spin coating method have been investigated using optical transmittance UV-Vis and X-ray diffraction (X-RD) measurements. ZnO films were prepared using zinc acetate dehydrate (Zn(CH{sub 3}COO){sub 2}@@‡2H{sub 2}O), ethanol, and diethanolamine (DEA) as a starting material, solvent, and stabilizer, respectively. For doped films, AlCl{sub 3} was added to the mixture. The ZnO:Al films were deposited on a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) substrate using spin coating technique at room temperature with a rate of 3000 rpm in 30 sec. The deposited films were annealed at various temperatures from 400°C to 600°C during 60 minutes. The transmittance UV-Vis measurement results showed that after annealing at 400°C, the energy band gap profile of nanocrystalline ZnO:Al film was a blue shift. This indicated that the band gap of ZnO:Al increased after annealing due to the increase of crystalline size. As the annealing temperature increased the bandgap energy was a constant. In addition to this, there was a small oscillation occurring after annealing compared to the as–grown samples. In the case of X-RD measurements, the crystalinity of the films were amorphous before annealing, and after annealing the crystalinity became enhance. Also, X-RD results showed that structure of nanocrystalline ZnO:Al films were hexagonal polycrystalline with lattice parameters are a = 3.290 Å and c = 5.2531 Å.

  10. Influence of argon dilution on growth and properties of hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Parashar, A. [Plasma Processed Materials Group, National Physical Laboratory (CSIR), Dr. K.S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi 110012 (India); Department of Physics and Astro Physics, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007 (India); Kumar, Sushil; Gope, Jhuma; Rauthan, C.M.S.; Dixit, P.N. [Plasma Processed Materials Group, National Physical Laboratory (CSIR), Dr. K.S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi 110012 (India); Hashmi, S.A. [Department of Physics and Astro Physics, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007 (India)

    2010-05-15

    The effect of argon concentration (66-87%) in total gaseous mixture (SiH{sub 4}+H{sub 2}+Ar) on growth and properties of hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon films deposited by RF (13.56 MHz) PECVD technique was investigated. Raman and XRD measurements revealed increasing argon fraction favored enhancement of crystallinity, enlargement of crystallites and relaxation of strained bonds. Photoluminescence spectra of nc-Si:H films exhibited two radiative transitions in the photon energy ranges of 2.8-3.1 eV and 1.6-2.1 eV. The high energy PL peaks are attributed to surface effect of the films whereas peaks in the range of 1.6-2.1 eV are due to nanocrystallinity in the films. Argon dilution also helped enhancement of deposition rate and conductivity of the films. A film deposited at 81% of argon fraction possesses high crystallinity (75%), conductivity in the order of 10{sup -5} ({omega} cm){sup -1}, size of the crystallite (Raman=12 nm, XRD=18 nm), and low residual stress (125 MPa). (author)

  11. Effect of different sound atmospheres on SnO2:Sb thin films prepared by dip coating technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kocyigit, Adem; Ozturk, Erhan; Ejderha, Kadir; Turgut, Guven

    2017-11-01

    Different sound atmosphere effects were investigated on SnO2:Sb thin films, which were deposited with dip coating technique. Two sound atmospheres were used in this study; one of them was nay sound atmosphere for soft sound, another was metallic sound for hard sound. X-ray diffraction (XRD) graphs have indicated that the films have different orientations and structural parameters in quiet room, metallic and soft sound atmospheres. It could be seen from UV-Vis spectrometer measurements that films have different band gaps and optical transmittances with changing sound atmospheres. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and AFM images of the films have been pointed out that surfaces of films have been affected with changing sound atmospheres. The electrical measurements have shown that films have different I-V plots and different sheet resistances with changing sound atmospheres. These sound effects may be used to manage atoms in nano dimensions.

  12. Highly conducting p-type nanocrystalline silicon thin films preparation without additional hydrogen dilution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patra, Chandralina; Das, Debajyoti

    2018-04-01

    Boron doped nanocrystalline silicon thin film has been successfully prepared at a low substrate temperature (250 °C) in planar inductively coupled RF (13.56 MHz) plasma CVD, without any additional hydrogen dilution. The effect of B2H6 flow rate on structural and electrical properties of the films has been studied. The p-type nc-Si:H films prepared at 5 ≤ B2H6 (sccm) ≤ 20 retains considerable amount of nanocrystallites (˜80 %) with high conductivity ˜101 S cm-1 and dominant crystallographic orientation which has been correlated with the associated increased ultra- nanocrystalline component in the network. Such properties together make the material significantly effective for utilization as p-type emitter layer in heterojunction nc-Si solar cells.

  13. SnO2 Nanoparticle-Based Passive Capacitive Sensor for Ethylene Detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mangilal Agarwal

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available A passive capacitor-based ethylene sensor using SnO2 nanoparticles is presented for the detection of ethylene gas. The nanoscale particle size (10 nm to 15 nm and film thickness (1300 nm of the sensing dielectric layer in the capacitor model aid in sensing ethylene at room temperature and eliminate the need for microhotplates used in existing bulk SnO2-resistive sensors. The SnO2-sensing layer is deposited using room temperature dip coating process on flexible polyimide substrates with copper as the top and bottom plates of the capacitor. The capacitive sensor fabricated with SnO2 nanoparticles as the dielectric showed a total decrease in capacitance of 5 pF when ethylene gas concentration was increased from 0 to 100 ppm. A 7 pF decrease in capacitance was achieved by introducing a 10 nm layer of platinum (Pt and palladium (Pd alloy deposited on the SnO2 layer. This also improved the response time by 40%, recovery time by 28%, and selectivity of the sensor to ethylene mixed in a CO2 gas environment by 66%.

  14. High-pressure condition of SiH{sub 4}+Ar+H{sub 2} plasma for deposition of hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon film

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Parashar, A.; Kumar, Sushil; Dixit, P.N.; Gope, Jhuma; Rauthan, C.M.S. [Plasma Processed Materials Group, National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi 110012 (India); Hashmi, S.A. [Department of Physics and Astro Physics, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007 (India)

    2008-10-15

    The characteristics of 13.56-MHz discharged SiH{sub 4}+Ar+H{sub 2} plasma at high pressure (2-8 Torr), used for the deposition of hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) films in a capacitively coupled symmetric PECVD system, has been investigated. Plasma parameters such as average electron density, sheath field and bulk field are extracted from equivalent circuit model of the plasma using outputs (current, voltage and phase) of RF V-I probe under different pressure conditions. The conditions of growth in terms of plasma parameters are correlated with properties of the hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon films characterized by Raman, AFM and dc conductivity. The film deposited at 4 Torr of pressure, where relatively low sheath/bulk field ratio is observed, exhibits high crystallinity and conductivity. The crystalline volume fraction of the films estimated from the Raman spectra is found to vary from 23% to 79%, and the trend of variation is similar to the RF real plasma impedance data. (author)

  15. Incorporation of graphene into SnO2 photoanodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Batmunkh, Munkhbayar; Dadkhah, Mahnaz; Shearer, Cameron J.; Biggs, Mark J.; Shapter, Joseph G.

    2016-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Incorporation of a graphene structure into SnO 2 dye-sensitized solar cell photoanode films has been demonstrated for the first time. The use of graphene in the SnO 2 has been found to be a promising strategy to address many problems of photovoltaic cells based on SnO 2 photoanodes. - Highlights: • SnO 2 -reduced graphene oxide (RGO) hybrid is prepared using a microwave technique. • The first SnO 2 -RGO photoanode based DSSC is fabricated. • Use of RGO addresses the major shortcoming of SnO 2 when employed as a DSSC photoanode. • RGO significantly improved the electron transport rate within the DSSC devices. • Incorporation of RGO into the SnO 2 photoanode enhanced the DSSC efficiency by 91.5%. - Abstract: In dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) photoanodes, tin dioxide (SnO 2 ) structures present a promising alternative semiconducting oxide to the conventional titania (TiO 2 ), but they suffer from poor photovoltaic (PV) efficiency caused by insufficient dye adsorption and low energy value of the conduction band. A hybrid structure consisting of SnO 2 and reduced graphene oxide (SnO 2 -RGO) was synthesized via a microwave-assisted method and has been employed as a photoanode in DSSCs. Incorporation of RGO into the SnO 2 photoanode enhanced the power conversion efficiency of DSSC device by 91.5%, as compared to the device assembled without RGO. This efficiency improvement can be attributed to increased dye loading, enhanced electron transfer and addition of suitable energy levels in the photoanode. Finally, the use of RGO addresses the major shortcoming of SnO 2 when employed as a DSSC photoanode, namely poor dye adsorption and slow electron transfer rate.

  16. Effect of Annealing Temperature on Gas Sensing Performance of SnO2 Thin Films Prepared by Spray Pyrolysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. E. PATIL

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available The effect of variation of annealing temperature on the gas sensing characteristics of SnO2 thin films, which have been prepared by spray pyrolysis on alumina substrate at 350 oC, is investigated systematically for various gases at different operating temperature. The XRD, UV-visible spectroscopy and SEM techniques were employed to establish the structural, optical and morphological characteristics of the materials, resp. The X-ray diffraction results showed an increase in the crystallinity at higher annealing temperature. A high value of sensitivity is obtained for H2S gas at an optimum temperature of 100 oC is improved considerably. A SnO2 gas sensor annealed at 950 oC with sensitivity as high as 24 %, 4 times higher than that of sensor annealed at 550oC, are obtained for 80 ppm of H2S. The degree of crystallinity and grain size calculated from the XRD patterns has been found increasing with annealing temp

  17. Gas sensing properties and in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy study of trichloroethylene adsorption and reactions on SnO2 films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhenxin; Huang, Kaijin; Yuan, Fangli; Xie, Changsheng

    2014-05-01

    The detection of trichloroethylene has attracted much attention because it has an important effect on human health. The sensitivity of the SnO2 flat-type coplanar gas sensor arrays to 100 ppm trichloroethylene in air was investigated. The adsorption and surface reactions of trichloroethylene were investigated at 100-200 °C by in-situ diffuse reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (DIRFTS) on SnO2 films. Molecularly adsorbed trichloroethylene, dichloroacetyl chloride (DCAC), phosgene, HCl, CO, H2O, CHCl3, Cl2 and CO2 surface species are formed during trichloroethylene adsorption at 100-200 °C. A possible mechanism of the reaction process is discussed.

  18. Nanocrystalline diamond film as cathode for gas discharge sensors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jou, Shyankay, E-mail: sjou@mail.ntust.edu.t [Graduate Institute of Materials Science and Technology, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106, Taiwan (China); Huang, Bohr-Ran [Graduate Institute of Electro-Optical Engineering and Department of Electronic Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106, Taiwan (China); Wu, Meng-Chang [Department of Electronic Engineering, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Touliu 640, Taiwan (China)

    2010-05-31

    Nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) film was deposited on a silicon substrate utilizing microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition in a mixed flow of methane, hydrogen and argon. The deposited film had a cauliflower-like morphology, and was composed of NCD, carbon clusters and mixed sp{sup 2}- and sp{sup 3}-bonded carbon. Electron field emission (EFE) in vacuum and electrical discharges in Ar, N{sub 2} and O{sub 2} using the NCD film as the cathode were characterized. The turn-on field for EFE and the geometric enhancement factor for the NCD film were 8.5 V/{mu}m and 668, respectively. The breakdown voltages for Ar, N{sub 2} and O{sub 2} increased with pressures from 1.33 x 10{sup 4} Pa to 1.01 x 10{sup 5} Pa, following the right side of the normal Paschen curve.

  19. Influence of grain boundaries on elasticity and thermal conductivity of nanocrystalline diamond films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohr, Markus; Daccache, Layal; Horvat, Sebastian; Brühne, Kai; Jacob, Timo; Fecht, Hans-Jörg

    2017-01-01

    Diamond combines several outstanding material properties such as the highest thermal conductivity and highest elastic moduli of all materials. This makes diamond an interesting candidate for a multitude of applications. Nonetheless, nanocrystalline diamond films, layers and coatings, usually show properties different to those of single crystalline diamond. This is usually attributed to the larger volume fraction of the grain boundaries with atomic structure different from the single crystal. In this work we measured Young's modulus and thermal conductivity of nanocrystalline diamond films with average grain sizes ranging from 6 to 15 nm. The measured thermal conductivities are modeled considering the thermal boundary conductance between grains as well as a grain size effect on the phonon mean free path. We make a comparison between elastic modulus and thermal boundary conductance of the grain boundaries G_k for different nanocrystalline diamond films. We conclude that the grain boundaries thermal boundary conductance G_k is a measure of the cohesive energy of the grain boundaries and therefore also of the elastic modulus of the nanocrystalline diamond films.

  20. Electrochemically assisted photocatalysis using nanocrystalline semiconductor thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vinodgopal, K [Department of Chemistry, Indiana University Northwest, Gary, Indiana (United States); Kamat, Prashant V [Notre Dame Radiation Laboratory, Notre Dame, Indiana (United States)

    1995-08-01

    The principle and usefulness of electrochemically assisted photocatalysis has been illustrated with the examples of 4-chlorophenol and Acid Orange 7 degradation in aqueous solutions. Thin nanocrystalline semiconductor films coated on a conducting glass surface when employed as a photoelectrode in an electrochemical cell are effective for degradation of organic contaminants. The degradation rate can be greatly improved even in the absence of oxygen by applying an anodic bias to the TiO{sub 2} film electrodes. A ten-fold enhancement in the degradation rate was observed when TiO{sub 2} particles were coupled with SnO{sub 2} nanocrystallites at an applied bias potential of 0.83 V versus SCE

  1. Analysis of Methanol Sensitivity on SnO2-ZnO Nanocomposite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bassey, Enobong E.; Sallis, Philip; Prasad, Krishnamachar

    This research reports on the sensing behavior of a nanocomposite of tin dioxide (SnO2) and zinc oxide (ZnO). SnO2-ZnO nanocomposites were fabricated into sensor devices by the radio frequency sputtering method, and used for the characterization of the sensitivity behavior of methanol vapor. The sensor devices were subjected to methanol concentration of 200 ppm at operating temperatures of 150, 250 and 350 °C. A fractional difference model was used to normalize the sensor response, and determine the sensitivity of methanol on the sensor. Response analysis of the SnO2-ZnO sensors to the methanol was most sensitive at 350 °C, followed by 250 and 150 °C. Supported by the morphology (FE-SEM, AFM) analyses of the thin films, the sensitivity behavior confirmed that the nanoparticles of coupled SnO2 and ZnO nanocomposites can promote the charge transportation, and be used to fine-tune the sensitivity of methanol and sensor selectivity to a desired target gas.

  2. Characterization of core/shell structures based on CdTe and GaAs nanocrystalline layers deposited on SnO2 microwires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghimpu, L.; Ursaki, V. V.; Pantazi, A.; Mesterca, R.; Brâncoveanu, O.; Shree, Sindu; Adelung, R.; Tiginyanu, I. M.; Enachescu, M.

    2018-04-01

    We report the fabrication and characterization of SnO2/CdTe and SnO2/GaAs core/shell microstructures. CdTe or GaAs shell layers were deposited by radio-frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering on core SnO2 microwires synthesized by a flame-based thermal oxidation method. The produced structures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscope (HR-STEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman scattering and FTIR spectroscopy. It was found that the SnO2 core is of the rutile type, while the shells are composed of CdTe or GaAs nanocrystallites of zincblende structure with the dimensions of crystallites in the range of 10-20 nm. The Raman scattering investigations demonstrated that the quality of the porous nanostructured shell is improved by annealing at temperatures of 420-450 °C. The prospects of implementing these microstructures in intrinsic type fiber optic sensors are discussed.

  3. Morphology dependent dye-sensitized solar cell properties of nanocrystalline zinc oxide thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sharma, S.K., E-mail: sanjeevlrs732000@yahoo.co.in [Department of Information and Communication, Cheju Halla College, Jeju City 690 708 (Korea, Republic of); Inamdar, A.I.; Im, Hyunsik [Department of Semiconductor Science, Dongguk University, Seoul 100 715 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, B.G. [Department of Information and Communication, Cheju Halla College, Jeju City 690 708 (Korea, Republic of); Patil, P.S. [Thin Film Materials Laboratory, Department of Physics, Shivaji University, Kolhapur 416 004 (India)

    2011-02-03

    Research highlights: > Nano-crystalline zinc oxide thin films were electrosynthesized from an aqueous zinc acetate [Zn(CH{sub 3}COO){sub 2}.2H{sub 2}O] solution onto FTO coated conducting glass substrates using two different electrochemical routes, namely (i) without an organic surfactant and (ii) with an organic surfactant, viz. PVA (poly-vinyl alcohol) or SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate). > The reproducibility of the catalytic activity of the SDS and PVA surfactants in the modification of the morphologies was observed. > Vertically aligned nest-like and compact structures were observed from the SDS and PVA mediated films, respectively, while the grain size in the ZnO thin films without an organic surfactant was observed to be {approx}150 nm. > The dye sensitized ZnO electrodes displayed excellent properties in the conversion process from light to electricity. The efficiencies of the surfactant mediated nanocrystalline ZnO thin films, viz. ZnO:SDS and ZnO:PVA, sensitized with ruthenium-II (N3) dye were observed to be 0.49% and 0.27%, respectively. - Abstract: Nano-crystalline zinc oxide thin films were electrosynthesized with an aqueous zinc acetate [Zn(CH{sub 3}COO){sub 2}.2H{sub 2}O] solution on to FTO coated glass substrates. Two different electrochemical baths were used, namely (i) without an organic surfactant and (ii) with an organic surfactant, viz. PVA (poly-vinyl alcohol) and SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate). The organic surfactants played an important role in modifying the surface morphology, which influenced the size of the crystallites and dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) properties. The vertically aligned thin and compact hexagonal crystallites were observed with SDS mediated films, while the grain size in the films without an organic surfactant was observed to be {approx}150 nm. The conversion efficiencies of the ZnO:SDS:Dye and ZnO:PVA:Dye thin films were observed to be 0.49% and 0.27%, respectively.

  4. Voltammetric and impedance behaviours of surface-treated nano-crystalline diamond film electrodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, F. B.; Jing, B.; Cui, Y.; Di, J. J.; Qu, M.

    2015-01-01

    The electrochemical performances of hydrogen- and oxygen-terminated nano-crystalline diamond film electrodes were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and AC impedance spectroscopy. In addition, the surface morphologies, phase structures, and chemical states of the two diamond films were analysed by scanning probe microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The results indicated that the potential window is narrower for the hydrogen-terminated nano-crystalline diamond film than for the oxygen-terminated one. The diamond film resistance and capacitance of oxygen-terminated diamond film are much larger than those of the hydrogen-terminated diamond film, and the polarization resistances and double-layer capacitance corresponding to oxygen-terminated diamond film are both one order of magnitude larger than those corresponding to the hydrogen-terminated diamond film. The electrochemical behaviours of the two diamond film electrodes are discussed

  5. Characterization of nanocrystalline silicon germanium film and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The nanocrystalline silicon-germanium films (Si/Ge) and Si/Ge nanotubes have low band gaps and high carrier mobility, thus offering appealing potential for absorbing gas molecules. Interaction between hydrogen molecules and bare as well as functionalized Si/Ge nanofilm and nanotube was investigated using Monte ...

  6. Releasing cation diffusion in self-limited nanocrystalline defective ceria thin films

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Esposito, Vincenzo; Ni, D. W.; Gualandris, Fabrizio

    2017-01-01

    Acceptor-doped nanocrystalline cerium oxide thin films are mechanically constrained nano-domains, with film/substrate interfacial strain and chemical doping deadlock mass diffusion. In contrast, in this paper we show that chemical elements result in highly unstable thin films under chemical...

  7. Synthesis, Characterization, and Photocatalytic Activity of Zn-Doped SnO2/Zn2SnO4 Coupled Nanocomposites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tiekun Jia

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Zn-doped SnO2/Zn2SnO4 nanocomposites were prepared via a two-step hydrothermal synthesis method. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM, transmission electron microscopy (TEM, UV-vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy, and adsorption-desorption isotherms. The results of FESEM and TEM showed that the as-prepared Zn-doped SnO2/Zn2SnO4 nanocomposites are composed of numerous nanoparticles with the size ranging from 20 nm to 50 nm. The specific surface area of the as-prepared Zn-doped SnO2/Zn2SnO4 nanocomposites is estimated to be 71.53 m2/g by the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET method. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB, and the resulting showed that Zn-doped SnO2/Zn2SnO4 nanocomposites exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity due to their higher specific surface area and surface charge carrier transfer.

  8. Nanocrystalline iron nitride films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gupta, Ajay; Dubey, Ranu; Leitenberger, W.; Pietsch, U.

    2008-01-01

    Nanocrystalline α-iron nitride films have been prepared using reactive ion-beam sputtering. Films develop significant perpendicualr magnetic anisotropy (PMA) with increasing thickness. A comparison of x-ray diffraction patterns taken with scattering vectors in the film plane and out of the film plane provides a clear evidence for development of compressive strain in the film plane with thickness. Thermal annealing results in relaxation of the strain, which correlates very well with the relaxation of PMA. This suggests that the observed PMA is a consequence of the breaking of the symmetry of the crystal structure due to the compressive strain

  9. Chemical Bath Deposition of PbS:Hg2+ Nanocrystalline Thin Films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Palomino-Merino

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Nanocrystalline PbS thin films were prepared by Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD at 40 ± 2°C onto glass substrates and their structural and optical properties modified by in-situ doping with Hg. The morphological changes of the layers were analyzed using SEM and the X-rays spectra showing growth on the zinc blende (ZB face. The grain size determined by using X-rays spectra for undoped samples was found to be ~36 nm, whereas with the doped sample was 32–20 nm. Optical absorption spectra were used to calculate the Eg, showing a shift in the range 1.4–2.4 eV. Raman spectroscopy exhibited an absorption band ~135 cm−1 displaying only a PbS ZB structure.

  10. Electrochemically active nanocomposites of Li4Ti5O12 2D nanosheets and SnO2 0D nanocrystals with improved electrode performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, Song Yi; Kim, In Young; Lee, Sang-Hyup; Hwang, Seong-Ju

    2012-01-01

    Electrochemically active nanocomposites consisting of Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 2D nanosheets and SnO 2 0D nanocrystals are synthesized by the crystal growth of tin dioxide on the surface of 2D nanostructured lithium titanate. According to powder X-ray diffraction and electron microscopic analyses, the rutile-structured SnO 2 nanocrystals are stabilized on the surface of spinel-structured Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 2D nanosheets. The homogeneous hybridization of tin dioxide with lithium titanate is confirmed by elemental mapping analysis. Ti K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure and Sn 3d X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicate the stabilization of tetravalent titanium ions in the spinel lattice of Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 and the formation of SnO 2 phase with tetravalent Sn oxidation state. The electrochemical measurements clearly demonstrate the promising functionality of the present nanocomposites as anode for lithium secondary batteries. The Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 –SnO 2 nanocomposites show larger discharge capacity and better cyclability than do the uncomposited Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 and SnO 2 phases, indicating the synergistic effect of nanocomposite formation on the electrode performance of Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 and SnO 2 . The present experimental findings underscore the validity of 2D nanostructured lithium titanate as a useful platform for the stabilization of nanocrystalline electrode materials and also for the improvement of their functionality.

  11. Magnetotransport in nanocrystalline SmB6 thin films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jie Yong

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available SmB6 has been predicted to be a prototype of topological Kondo insulator (TKI but its direct experimental evidence as a TKI is still lacking to date. Here we report on our search for the signature of a topological surface state and investigation of the effect of disorder on transport properties in nanocrystalline SmB6 thin films through longitudinal magnetoresistance and Hall coefficient measurements. The magnetoresistance (MR at 2 K is positive and linear (LPMR at low field and become negative and quadratic at higher field. While the negative part is understood from the reduction of the hybridization gap due to Zeeman splitting, the positive dependence is similar to what is observed in other topological insulators (TI. We conclude that the LPMR is a characteristic of TI and is related to the linear dispersion near the Dirac cone. The Hall resistance shows a sign change around 50K. It peaks and becomes nonlinear around 10 K then decreases below 10 K. This indicates that carriers with opposite signs emerge below 50 K. These properties indicate that the surface states are robust and probably topological in our nanocrystalline films.

  12. Honeycomb-inspired design of ultrafine SnO2@C nanospheres embedded in carbon film as anode materials for high performance lithium- and sodium-ion battery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ao, Xiang; Jiang, Jianjun; Ruan, Yunjun; Li, Zhishan; Zhang, Yi; Sun, Jianwu; Wang, Chundong

    2017-08-01

    Tin oxide (SnO2) has been considered as one of the most promising anodes for advanced rechargeable batteries due to its advantages such as high energy density, earth abundance and environmental friendly. However, its large volume change during the Li-Sn/Na-Sn alloying and de-alloying processes will result in a fast capacity degradation over a long term cycling. To solve this issue, in this work we design and synthesize a novel honeycomb-like composite composing of carbon encapsulated SnO2 nanospheres embedded in carbon film by using dual templates of SiO2 and NaCl. Using these composites as anodes both in lithium ion batteries and sodium-ion batteries, no discernable capacity degradation is observed over hundreds of long term cycles at both low current density (100 mA g-1) and high current density (500 mA g-1). Such a good cyclic stability and high delivered capacity have been attributed to the high conductivity of the supported carbon film and hollow encapsulated carbon shells, which not only provide enough space to accommodate the volume expansion but also prevent further aggregation of SnO2 nanoparticles upon cycling. By engineering electrodes of accommodating high volume expansion, we demonstrate a prototype to achieve high performance batteries, especially high-power batteries.

  13. Electrical and optical characteristics of ITO films by pulsed laser deposition using a 10 wt.% SnO2-doped In2O3 ceramic target

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Sang Hyeob; Park, Nae-Man; Kim, TaeYoub; Sung, GunYong

    2005-01-01

    We have investigated the effect of the oxygen pressure and the deposition temperature on the electrical and optical properties of the Sn-doped indium oxide (ITO) films on quartz glass substrate by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) using a 10 wt.% SnO 2 -doped In 2 O 3 target. The resistivity and the carrier concentration of the films were decreased due to the decrease of the oxygen vacancy while increasing the oxygen pressure. With increasing deposition temperature, the resistivity of the films was decreased and the carrier concentration was increased due to the grain growth and the enhancement of the Sn diffusion. We have optimized the PLD process to deposit a highly conductive and transparent ITO film, which shows the optical transmittance of 88% and the resistivity of 2.49x10 -4 Ω cm for the film thickness of 180 nm

  14. Microwave plasma chemical synthesis of nanocrystalline carbon film structures and study their properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bushuev, N.; Yafarov, R.; Timoshenkov, V.; Orlov, S.; Starykh, D.

    2015-08-01

    The self-organization effect of diamond nanocrystals in polymer-graphite and carbon films is detected. The carbon materials deposition was carried from ethanol vapors out at low pressure using a highly non-equilibrium microwave plasma. Deposition processes of carbon film structures (diamond, graphite, graphene) is defined. Deposition processes of nanocrystalline structures containing diamond and graphite phases in different volume ratios is identified. The solid film was obtained under different conditions of microwave plasma chemical synthesis. We investigated the electrical properties of the nanocrystalline carbon films and identified it's from various factors. Influence of diamond-graphite film deposition mode in non-equilibrium microwave plasma at low pressure on emission characteristics was established. This effect is justified using the cluster model of the structure of amorphous carbon. It was shown that the reduction of bound hydrogen in carbon structures leads to a decrease in the threshold electric field of emission from 20-30 V/m to 5 V/m. Reducing the operating voltage field emission can improve mechanical stability of the synthesized film diamond-graphite emitters. Current density emission at least 20 A/cm2 was obtained. Nanocrystalline carbon film materials can be used to create a variety of functional elements in micro- and nanoelectronics and photonics such as cold electron source for emission in vacuum devices, photonic devices, cathodoluminescent flat display, highly efficient white light sources. The obtained graphene carbon net structure (with a net size about 6 μm) may be used for the manufacture of large-area transparent electrode for solar cells and cathodoluminescent light sources

  15. Evaluation of Nd-Loaded SnO2:F Films Coated via Spray Pyrolysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turgut, G.

    2018-07-01

    Thin layers of single (F)- and double (F/Nd)-incorporated tin oxide have been coated on glass substrate via spray pyrolysis. The structural, morphological, electrical, and optical features of F-incorporated samples were evaluated depending on the Nd loading. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that samples had tetragonal tin oxide structure with (211) and (200) preferential directions. The crystallite size and strain values varied from 37.98 nm and 1.21 × 10-3 to 52.12 nm and 1.88 × 10-3. Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that the samples consisted of pyramidal, polyhedral, and needle-shaped granules. The lowest sheet resistance value of 1.22 Ω was found for 1.8 at.% Nd + 25 at.% F-coloaded SnO2. However, the widest optical bandgap of 4.01 eV was observed for the single 25 at.% F-loaded sample. The Urbach tail and figure of merit also changed in the ranges of 664 meV to 1296 meV and 6.4 × 10-2 Ω-1 to 2.3 × 10-3 Ω-1, respectively. The results presented herein indicate that the character of F-doped tin oxide films can be controlled by Nd loading and that these films could be useful for technological applications.

  16. Functionalization of nanocrystalline diamond films with phthalocyanines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Petkov, Christo [Institute of Nanostructure Technologies and Analytics (INA), Center for Interdisciplinary Nanostructure Science and Technology (CINSaT), University of Kassel (Germany); Reintanz, Philipp M. [Institute of Chemistry, Center for Interdisciplinary Nanostructure Science and Technology (CINSaT), University of Kassel (Germany); Kulisch, Wilhelm [Institute of Nanostructure Technologies and Analytics (INA), Center for Interdisciplinary Nanostructure Science and Technology (CINSaT), University of Kassel (Germany); Degenhardt, Anna Katharina [Institute of Chemistry, Center for Interdisciplinary Nanostructure Science and Technology (CINSaT), University of Kassel (Germany); Weidner, Tobias [Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz (Germany); Baio, Joe E. [School of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR (United States); Merz, Rolf; Kopnarski, Michael [Institut für Oberflächen- und Schichtanalytik (IFOS), Kaiserslautern (Germany); Siemeling, Ulrich [Institute of Chemistry, Center for Interdisciplinary Nanostructure Science and Technology (CINSaT), University of Kassel (Germany); Reithmaier, Johann Peter [Institute of Nanostructure Technologies and Analytics (INA), Center for Interdisciplinary Nanostructure Science and Technology (CINSaT), University of Kassel (Germany); Popov, Cyril, E-mail: popov@ina.uni-kassel.de [Institute of Nanostructure Technologies and Analytics (INA), Center for Interdisciplinary Nanostructure Science and Technology (CINSaT), University of Kassel (Germany)

    2016-08-30

    Highlights: • Grafting of phthalocyanines on nanocrystalline diamond films with different terminations. • Pc with different central atoms and side chains synthesized and characterized. • Attachment of Pc on H- and O-terminated NCD studied by XPS and NEXAFS spectroscopy. • Orientation order of phthalocyanine molecules on NCD surface. - Abstract: Phthalocyanine (Pc) derivatives containing different central metal atoms (Mn, Cu, Ti) and different peripheral chains were synthesized and comprehensively characterized. Their interaction with nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) films, as-grown by hot-filament chemical vapor deposition or after their modification with oxygen plasma to exchange the hydrogen termination with oxygen-containing groups, was studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy. The elemental composition as determined by XPS showed that the Pc were grafted on both as-grown and O-terminated NCD. Mn, Cu and Ti were detected together with N stemming from the Pc ring and S in case of the Ti-Pc from the peripheral ligands. The results for the elemental surface composition and the detailed study of the N 1s, S 2p and O 1s core spectra revealed that Ti-Pc grafted better on as-grown NCD but Cu-Pc and Mn-Pc on O-terminated films. Samples of Mn-Pc on as-grown and O-terminated NCD were further investigated by NEXAFS spectroscopy. The results showed ordering of the grafted molecules, laying flat on the H-terminated NCD surface while only the macrocycles were oriented parallel to the O-terminated surface with the peripheral chains perpendicular to it.

  17. Growth of Fe2O3/SnO2 nanobelt arrays on iron foil for efficient photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lei, Rui; Ni, Hongwei; Chen, Rongsheng; Zhang, Bowei; Zhan, Weiting; Li, Yang

    2017-04-01

    Tin(IV) oxide has been intensively employed in optoelectronic devices due to its excellent electrical and optical properties. But the high recombination rates of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs of SnO2 nanomaterials often results in low photocatalytic efficiency. Herein, we proposed a facile route to prepare a novel Fe2O3/SnO2 heterojunction structure. The nanobelt arrays grown on iron foil naturally form a Schottky-type contact and provide a direct pathway for the photogenerated excitons. Hence, the Fe2O3/SnO2 nanobelt arrays exhibit much improved photocatalytic performance with the degradation rate constant on the Fe2O3/SnO2 film of approximately 12 times to that of α-Fe2O3 nanobelt arrays.

  18. Nano-Crystalline Diamond Films with Pineapple-Like Morphology Grown by the DC Arcjet vapor Deposition Method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Bin; Zhang, Qin-Jian; Shi, Yan-Chao; Li, Jia-Jun; Li, Hong; Lu, Fan-Xiu; Chen, Guang-Chao

    2014-08-01

    A nano-crystlline diamond film is grown by the dc arcjet chemical vapor deposition method. The film is characterized by scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectra, respectively. The nanocrystalline grains are averagely with 80 nm in the size measured by XRD, and further proven by Raman and HRTEM. The observed novel morphology of the growth surface, pineapple-like morphology, is constructed by cubo-octahedral growth zones with a smooth faceted top surface and coarse side surfaces. The as-grown film possesses (100) dominant surface containing a little amorphous sp2 component, which is far different from the nano-crystalline film with the usual cauliflower-like morphology.

  19. Room temperature growth of nanocrystalline anatase TiO2 thin films by dc magnetron sputtering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, Preetam; Kaur, Davinder

    2010-01-01

    We report, the structural and optical properties of nanocrystalline anatase TiO 2 thin films grown on glass substrate by dc magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The influence of sputtering power and pressure over crystallinity and surface morphology of the films were investigated. It was observed that increase in sputtering power activates the TiO 2 film growth from relative lower surface free energy to higher surface free energy. XRD pattern revealed the change in preferred orientation from (1 0 1) to (0 0 4) with increase in sputtering power, which is accounted for different surface energy associated with different planes. Microstructure of the films also changes from cauliflower type to columnar type structures with increase in sputtering power. FESEM images of films grown at low pressure and low sputtering power showed typical cauliflower like structure. The optical measurement revealed the systematic variation of the optical constants with deposition parameters. The films are highly transparent with transmission higher than 90% with sharp ultraviolet cut off. The transmittance of these films was found to be influenced by the surface roughness and film thickness. The optical band gap was found to decrease with increase in the sputtering power and pressure. The refractive index of the films was found to vary in the range of 2.50-2.24 with increase in sputtering pressure or sputtering power, resulting in the possibility of producing TiO 2 films for device applications with different refractive index, by changing the deposition parameters.

  20. Wavelength-tuned light emission via modifying the band edge symmetry: Doped SnO2 as an example

    KAUST Repository

    Zhou, Hang

    2014-03-27

    We report the observation of ultraviolet photoluminescence and electroluminescence in indium-doped SnO2 thin films with modified "forbidden" bandgap. With increasing indium concentration in SnO 2, dominant visible light emission evolves into the ultraviolet regime in photoluminescence. Hybrid functional first-principles calculations demonstrate that the complex of indium dopant and oxygen vacancy breaks "forbidden" band gap to form allowed transition states. Furthermore, undoped and 10% indium-doped SnO2 layers are synthesized on p-type GaN substrates to obtain SnO2-based heterojunction light-emitting diodes. A dominant visible emission band is observed in the undoped SnO 2-based heterojunction, whereas strong near-ultraviolet emission peak at 398 nm is observed in the indium-doped SnO2-based heterojunction. Our results demonstrate an unprecedented doping-based approach toward tailoring the symmetry of band edge states and recovering ultraviolet light emission in wide-bandgap oxides. © 2014 American Chemical Society.

  1. Nanocrystalline CdTe thin films by electrochemical synthesis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramesh S. Kapadnis

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Cadmium telluride thin films were deposited onto different substrates as copper, Fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO, Indium tin oxide (ITO, Aluminum and zinc at room temperature via electrochemical route. The morphology of the film shows the nanostructures on the deposited surface of the films and their growth in vertical direction. Different nanostructures developed on different substrates. The X-ray diffraction study reveals that the deposited films are nanocrystalline in nature. UV-Visible absorption spectrum shows the wide range of absorption in the visible region. Energy-dispersive spectroscopy confirms the formation of cadmium telluride.

  2. Enhanced field emission from Si doped nanocrystalline AlN thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thapa, R.; Saha, B.; Chattopadhyay, K.K.

    2009-01-01

    Si doped and undoped nanocrystalline aluminum nitride thin films were deposited on various substrates by direct current sputtering technique. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the formation of phase pure hexagonal aluminum nitride with a single peak corresponding to (1 0 0) reflection of AlN with lattice constants, a = 0.3114 nm and c = 0.4986 nm. Energy dispersive analysis of X-rays confirmed the presence of Si in the doped AlN films. Atomic force microscopic studies showed that the average particle size of the film prepared at substrate temperature 200 deg. C was 9.5 nm, but when 5 at.% Si was incorporated the average particle size increased to ∼21 nm. Field emission study indicated that, with increasing Si doping concentration, the emission characteristics have been improved. The turn-on field (E to ) was 15.0 (±0.7) V/μm, 8.0 (±0.4) V/μm and 7.8 (±0.5) V/μm for undoped, 3 at.% and 5 at.% Si doped AlN films respectively and the maximum current density of 0.27 μA/cm 2 has been observed for 5 at.% Si doped nanocrystalline AlN film. It was also found that the dielectric properties were highly dependent on Si doping.

  3. Low-temperature synthesis of homogeneous nanocrystalline cubic silicon carbide films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheng Qijin; Xu, S.

    2007-01-01

    Silicon carbide films are fabricated by inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition from feedstock gases silane and methane heavily diluted with hydrogen at a low substrate temperature of 300 deg. C. Fourier transform infrared absorption spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy analyses show that homogeneous nanocrystalline cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC) films can be synthesized at an appropriate silane fraction X[100%xsilane flow(SCCM)/silane+methane flow(SCCM)] in the gas mixture. The achievement of homogeneous nanocrystalline 3C-SiC films at a low substrate temperature of 300 deg. C is a synergy of a low deposition pressure (22 mTorr), high inductive rf power (2000 W), heavy dilution of feedstock gases silane and methane with hydrogen, and appropriate silane fractions X (X≤33%) in the gas mixture employed in our experiments

  4. Photo-Induced conductivity of heterojunction GaAs/Rare-Earth doped SnO2

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristina de Freitas Bueno

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Rare-earth doped (Eu3+ or Ce3+ thin layers of tin dioxide (SnO2 are deposited by the sol-gel-dip-coating technique, along with gallium arsenide (GaAs films, deposited by the resistive evaporation technique. The as-built heterojunction has potential application in optoelectronic devices, because it may combine the emission from the rare-earth-doped transparent oxide, with a high mobility semiconductor. Trivalent rare-earth-doped SnO2 presents very efficient emission in a wide wavelength range, including red (in the case of Eu3+ or blue (Ce3+. The advantage of this structure is the possibility of separation of the rare-earth emission centers, from the electron scattering, leading to an indicated combination for electroluminescence. Electrical characterization of the heterojunction SnO2:Eu/GaAs shows a significant conductivity increase when compared to the conductivity of the individual films. Monochromatic light excitation shows up the role of the most external layer, which may act as a shield (top GaAs, or an ultraviolet light absorber sink (top RE-doped SnO2. The observed improvement on the electrical transport properties is probably related to the formation of short conduction channels in the semiconductors junction with two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG behavior, which are evaluated by excitation with distinct monochromatic light sources, where the samples are deposited by varying the order of layer deposition.

  5. Highly sensitive SnO2 sensor via reactive laser-induced transfer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palla Papavlu, Alexandra; Mattle, Thomas; Temmel, Sandra; Lehmann, Ulrike; Hintennach, Andreas; Grisel, Alain; Wokaun, Alexander; Lippert, Thomas

    2016-04-01

    Gas sensors based on tin oxide (SnO2) and palladium doped SnO2 (Pd:SnO2) active materials are fabricated by a laser printing method, i.e. reactive laser-induced forward transfer (rLIFT). Thin films from tin based metal-complex precursors are prepared by spin coating and then laser transferred with high resolution onto sensor structures. The devices fabricated by rLIFT exhibit low ppm sensitivity towards ethanol and methane as well as good stability with respect to air, moisture, and time. Promising results are obtained by applying rLIFT to transfer metal-complex precursors onto uncoated commercial gas sensors. We could show that rLIFT onto commercial sensors is possible if the sensor structures are reinforced prior to printing. The rLIFT fabricated sensors show up to 4 times higher sensitivities then the commercial sensors (with inkjet printed SnO2). In addition, the selectivity towards CH4 of the Pd:SnO2 sensors is significantly enhanced compared to the pure SnO2 sensors. Our results indicate that the reactive laser transfer technique applied here represents an important technical step for the realization of improved gas detection systems with wide-ranging applications in environmental and health monitoring control.

  6. Synthesis and characterization of binary ZnO-SnO2 (ZTO) thin films by e-beam evaporation technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bibi, Shagufta; Shah, A.; Mahmood, Arshad; Ali, Zahid; Raza, Qaisar; Aziz, Uzma; Haneef; Waheed, Abdul; Shah, Ziaullah

    2018-04-01

    The binary ZnO-SnO2 (ZTO) thin films with varying SnO2 concentrations (5, 10, 15, and 20 wt%) were grown on glass substrate by e-beam evaporation technique. The prepared ZTO films were annealed at 400 °C in air. These films were then characterized to investigate their structural, optical, and electrical properties as a function of SnO2 concentration. XRD analysis reveals that the crystallinity of the film decreases with the addition of SnO2 and it transforms to an amorphous structure at a composition of 40% SnO2 and 60% ZnO. Morphology of the films was examined by atomic force microscopy which points out that surface roughness of the films decreases with the increasing of SnO2 in the film. Optical properties such as optical transparency, band-gap energy, and optical constants of these films were examined by spectrophotometer and spectroscopic Ellipsometer. It was observed that the average optical transmission of mixed films improves with incorporation of SnO2. In addition, the band-gap energy of the films was determined to be in the range of 3.37-3.7 eV. Furthermore, it was found that the optical constants (n and k) decrease with the addition of SnO2. Similarly, it is observed that the electrical resistivity increases nonlinearly with the increase in SnO2 in ZnO-SnO2 thin films. However, it is noteworthy that the highest figure of merit (FOM) value, i.e., 55.87 × 10-5 Ω-1, is obtained for ZnO-SnO2 (ZTO) thin film with 40 wt% of SnO2 composition. Here, we suggest that ZnO-SnO2 (ZTO) thin film with composition of 60:40 wt% can be used as an efficient TCO film due to the improved transmission, and reduced RMS value and highest FOM value.

  7. Tribological properties of nanocrystalline diamond films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Erdemir, A.; Fenske, G.R.; Krauss, A.R.; Gruen, D.M.; McCauley, T.; Csencsits, R.T. [Argonne National Lab., IL (United States). Energy Technology Div.

    1999-11-01

    In this paper, we present the friction and wear properties of nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) films grown in Ar-fullerene (C{sub 60}) and Ar-CH{sub 4} microwave plasmas. Specifically, we will address the fundamental tribological issues posed by these films during sliding against Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} counterfaces in ambient air and inert gases. Grain sizes of the films grown by the new method are very small (10-30 nm) and are much smoother (20-40 nm, root mean square) than those of films grown by the conventional H{sub 2}-CH{sub 4} microwave-assisted chemical vapor deposition process. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that the grain boundaries of these films are very sharp and free of nondiamond phases. The microcrystalline diamond films grown by most conventional methods consist of large grains and a rough surface finish, which can cause severe abrasion during sliding against other materials. The friction coefficients of films grown by the new method (i.e. in Ar-C{sub 60} and Ar-CH{sub 4} plasmas) are comparable with those of natural diamond, and wear damage on counterface materials is minimal. Fundamental tribological studies indicate that these films may undergo phase transformation during long-duration, high-speed and/or high-load sliding tests and that the transformation products trapped at the sliding interfaces can intermittently dominate friction and wear performance. Using results from a combination of TEM, electron diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and electron energy loss spectroscopy, we describe the structural chemistry of the debris particles trapped at the sliding interfaces and elucidate their possible effects on friction and wear of NCD films in dry N{sub 2}. Finally, we suggest a few potential applications in which NCD films can improve performance and service lives. (orig.)

  8. Osteogenic cell differentiation on H-terminated and O-terminated nanocrystalline diamond films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liskova J

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Jana Liskova,1 Oleg Babchenko,2 Marian Varga,2 Alexander Kromka,2 Daniel Hadraba,1 Zdenek Svindrych,1 Zuzana Burdikova,1 Lucie Bacakova1 1Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic; 2Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic Abstract: Nanocrystalline diamond (NCD films are promising materials for bone implant coatings because of their biocompatibility, chemical resistance, and mechanical hardness. Moreover, NCD wettability can be tailored by grafting specific atoms. The NCD films used in this study were grown on silicon substrates by microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition and grafted by hydrogen atoms (H-termination or oxygen atoms (O-termination. Human osteoblast-like Saos-2 cells were used for biological studies on H-terminated and O-terminated NCD films. The adhesion, growth, and subsequent differentiation of the osteoblasts on NCD films were examined, and the extracellular matrix production and composition were quantified. The osteoblasts that had been cultivated on the O-terminated NCD films exhibited a higher growth rate than those grown on the H-terminated NCD films. The mature collagen fibers were detected in Saos-2 cells on both the H-terminated and O-terminated NCD films; however, the quantity of total collagen in the extracellular matrix was higher on the O-terminated NCD films, as were the amounts of calcium deposition and alkaline phosphatase activity. Nevertheless, the expression of genes for osteogenic markers – type I collagen, alkaline phosphatase, and osteocalcin – was either comparable on the H-terminated and O-terminated films or even lower on the O-terminated films. In conclusion, the higher wettability of the O-terminated NCD films is promising for adhesion and growth of osteoblasts. In addition, the O-terminated surface also seems to support the deposition of extracellular matrix proteins and extracellular matrix

  9. Cauliflower hillock formation through crystallite migration of SnO2 thin films prepared on alumina substrates by using MOCVD

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Gwangpyo; Ryu, Hyunwook; Lee, Woosun; Hong, Kwangjun; Shin, Dongcharn; Park, Jinseong; Seo, Yongjin; Akbar, Sheikh A.

    2003-01-01

    Tin-oxide thin films were deposited at 375 .deg. C on α-alumina substrates by using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process. A number of hillocks were formed on the film after annealing in air at 500 .deg. C for 30 min, but fewer hillocks were formed for annealing in N 2 . The hillocks on the film and the grains on the alumina substrate were composed of crystallites. The oxygen content and the binding energy after annealing in air came to close to values for the stoichiometric SnO 2 . There was no relationship between the film thickness and the binding energy shift, but the binding energy did change with the annealing atmosphere and the oxygen content. The cauliflower hillocks on the film seem to be formed by the continuous migration of crystallites from cauliflower grains on the substrate to release the stress due to the increased oxygen content and volume. A cauliflower hillock can be grown by continuous migration of crystallites from nearby grains to the hillock.

  10. High oxygen nanocomposite barrier films based on xylan and nanocrystalline cellulose

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amit Saxena; Thomas J. Elder; Jeffrey Kenvin; Arthur J. Ragauskas

    2010-01-01

    The goal of this work is to produce nanocomposite film with low oxygen permeability by casting an aqueous solution containing xylan, sorbitol and nanocrystalline cellulose. The morphology of the resulting nanocomposite films was examined by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy which showed that control films containing xylan and sorbitol had a more...

  11. Synthesis, characterization and gas sensing performance of SnO2 ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Synthesis, characterization and gas sensing performance of SnO2 thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis. GANESH E PATIL, D D KAJALE, D N CHAVAN†, N K PAWAR††, P T AHIRE, S D SHINDE#,. V B GAIKWAD# and G H JAIN. ∗. Materials Research Laboratory, Arts, Commerce and Science College, Nandgaon 423 106, ...

  12. Effects of laser-induced recovery process on conductive property of SnO2:F thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Ming-Fei; Lin, Keh-moh; Ho, Yu-Sen

    2011-01-01

    In this study, we developed a laser annealing process to enhance the electrical properties of SnO 2 :F (FTO) films. It is already known that in contrast to indium oxides or zinc oxides, the carrier mobility of FTO films is relatively lower. Thus, improving the mobility is a direct way to enhance the conductivity of FTO films. Furthermore, improving the crystal quality of the thin films is in turn a direct way to enhance the mobility effectively. Contrary to the high working temperatures of traditional annealing processes, the laser annealing process, with its focusing character, enables us to modify the crystal quality of oxide films on substrates with low-melting points. Using a self-built laser system, which consists of a Nd:YAG solid-state laser with a wavelength of 1064 nm and a beam shaper lens, we carried out a series of experiments to achieve the optimal laser annealing process. Hall, SEM, and XRD measurements were used to characterize the opto-electrical as well as the structural properties. As experimental results show, the tin oxide crystallites recovered well during the laser annealing process. By using a suitable beam profile and a proper laser intensity, the film resistivity was reduced from 7.19 ± 0.55 x 10 -3 Ω cm to 6.70 ± 0.20 x 10 -3 Ω cm while the carrier mobility was enhanced from 11.18 ± 0.29 cm 2 /V s to 11.71 ± 0.34 cm 2 /V s.

  13. Electronic transport in mixed-phase hydrogenated amorphous/nanocrystalline silicon thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wienkes, Lee Raymond

    Interest in mixed-phase silicon thin film materials, composed of an amorphous semiconductor matrix in which nanocrystalline inclusions are embedded, stems in part from potential technological applications, including photovoltaic and thin film transistor technologies. Conventional mixed-phase silicon films are produced in a single plasma reactor, where the conditions of the plasma must be precisely tuned, limiting the ability to adjust the film and nanoparticle parameters independently. The films presented in this thesis are deposited using a novel dual-plasma co-deposition approach in which the nanoparticles are produced separately in an upstream reactor and then injected into a secondary reactor where an amorphous silicon film is being grown. The degree of crystallinity and grain sizes of the films are evaluated using Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction respectively. I describe detailed electronic measurements which reveal three distinct conduction mechanisms in n-type doped mixed-phase amorphous/nanocrystalline silicon thin films over a range of nanocrystallite concentrations and temperatures, covering the transition from fully amorphous to ~30% nanocrystalline. As the temperature is varied from 470 to 10 K, we observe activated conduction, multiphonon hopping (MPH) and Mott variable range hopping (VRH) as the nanocrystal content is increased. The transition from MPH to Mott-VRH hopping around 100K is ascribed to the freeze out of the phonon modes. A conduction model involving the parallel contributions of these three distinct conduction mechanisms is shown to describe both the conductivity and the reduced activation energy data to a high accuracy. Additional support is provided by measurements of thermal equilibration effects and noise spectroscopy, both done above room temperature (>300 K). This thesis provides a clear link between measurement and theory in these complex materials.

  14. Grain boundaries and mechanical properties of nanocrystalline diamond films.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Busmann, H.-G.; Pageler, A.; Gruen, D. M.

    1999-08-06

    Phase-pure nanocrystalline diamond thin films grown from plasmas of a hydrogen-poor carbon argon gas mixture have been analyzed regarding their hardness and elastic moduli by means of a microindentor and a scanning acoustic microscope.The films are superhard and the moduli rival single crystal diamond. In addition, Raman spectroscopy with an excitation wavelength of 1064 nm shows a peak at 1438 l/cm and no peak above 1500 l/cm, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy a shake-up loss at 4.2 eV. This gives strong evidence for the existence of solitary double bonds in the films. The hardness and elasticity of the films then are explained by the assumption, that the solitary double bonds interconnect the nanocrystals in the films, leading to an intergrain boundary adhesion of similar strength as the intragrain diamond cohesion. The results are in good agreement with recent simulations of high-energy grain boundaries.

  15. Osteogenic cell differentiation on H-terminated and O-terminated nanocrystalline diamond films

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Lišková, Jana; Babchenko, Oleg; Varga, Marián; Kromka, Alexander; Hadraba, Daniel; Švindrych, Zdeněk; Burdíková, Zuzana; Bačáková, Lucie

    2015-01-01

    Roč. 10, č. 2015 (2015), s. 869-884 E-ISSN 1178-2013 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) EE2.3.30.0025; GA ČR(CZ) GBP108/12/G108 Institutional support: RVO:67985823 ; RVO:68378271 Keywords : nanocrystalline diamond film * osteoblast * Saos-2 Subject RIV: EI - Biotechnology ; Bionics Impact factor: 4.320, year: 2015

  16. Synthesis and characterization of electrochemically deposited nanocrystalline CdTe thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Singh, Ragini Raj, E-mail: raginirajsingh@gmail.com [Department of Physics, Bhopal University, Bhopal-462026 (India); Department of Physical Electronics, Iby and Aladar Fleishman Faculty of Engineering, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv-69978 (Israel); Painuly, Diksha [Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, University of Kerala, Thiruanantpuram, Kerala (India); Pandey, R.K. [Department of Physics, Bhopal University, Bhopal-462026 (India)

    2009-07-15

    Electrodeposition is emerging as a method for the synthesis of semiconductor thin films and nanostructures. In this work we prepared the nanocrystalline CdTe thin films on indium tin oxide coated glass substrate from aqueous acidic bath at the deposition temperature 50 {+-} 1 deg. C. The films were grown potentiostatically from -0.60 V to -0.82 V with respect to saturated calomel reference electrode. The structural, compositional, morphological and optical properties were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive analysis by X-rays (EDAX), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and UV-vis spectroscopy respectively and cyclic voltammetery. The structural and optical studies revealed that films are nanocrystalline in nature and possess cubic phase, also the films are preferentially oriented along the cubic (1 1 1) plane. The effect of cadmium composition on the deposited morphology was also investigated. The size dependent blue shift in the experimentally determined absorption edge has been compared with the theoretical predictions based on the effective mass approximation and tight binding approximation. It is shown that the experimentally determined absorption edges depart from the theoretically calculated values.

  17. Optical and mechanical properties of nanocrystalline ZrC thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Craciun, D., E-mail: doina.craciun@inflpr.ro [Laser Department, National Institute for Laser, Plasma, and Radiation Physics, Magurele (Romania); Socol, G. [Laser Department, National Institute for Laser, Plasma, and Radiation Physics, Magurele (Romania); Lambers, E. [Major Analytical Instrumentation Center, College of Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 (United States); McCumiskey, E.J.; Taylor, C.R. [Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 (United States); Martin, C. [Ramapo College of New Jersey (United States); Argibay, N. [Materials Science and Engineering Center, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87123 (United States); Tanner, D.B. [Physics Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 (United States); Craciun, V. [Laser Department, National Institute for Laser, Plasma, and Radiation Physics, Magurele (Romania)

    2015-10-15

    Highlights: • Nanocrystalline ZrC thin film were grown on Si by pulsed laser deposition technique. • Structural properties weakly depend on the CH{sub 4} pressure used during deposition. • The optimum deposition pressure for low resistivity is around 2 × 10{sup −5} mbar CH{sub 4}. • ZrC films exhibited friction coefficients around 0.4 and low wear rates. - Abstract: Thin ZrC films (<500 nm) were grown on (100) Si substrates at a substrate temperature of 500 °C by the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique using a KrF excimer laser under different CH{sub 4} pressures. Glancing incidence X-ray diffraction showed that films were nanocrystalline, while X-ray reflectivity studies found out films were very dense and exhibited a smooth surface morphology. Optical spectroscopy data shows that the films have high reflectivity (>90%) in the infrared region, characteristic of metallic behavior. Nanoindentation results indicated that films deposited under lower CH{sub 4} pressures exhibited slightly higher nanohardness and Young modulus values than films deposited under higher pressures. Tribological characterization revealed that these films exhibited relatively high wear resistance and steady-state friction coefficients on the order of μ = 0.4.

  18. Dually fixed SnO2 nanoparticles on graphene nanosheets by polyaniline coating for superior lithium storage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Yanfeng; Zhao, Zongbin; Wang, Zhiyu; Liu, Yang; Wang, Xuzhen; Qiu, Jieshan

    2015-02-04

    Dually fixed SnO2 nanoparticles (DF-SnO2 NPs) on graphene nanosheets by a polyaniline (Pani) coating was successfully fabricated via two facile wet chemistry processes, including anchoring SnO2 NPs onto graphene nanosheets via reducing graphene oxide by Sn(2+) ion, followed by in situ surface sealing with the Pani coating. Such a configuration is very appealing anode materials in LIBs due to several structural merits: (1) it prevents the aggregation of SnO2 NPs, (2) accommodates the structural expanding of SnO2 NPs during lithiation, (3) ensures the stable as-formed solid electrolyte interface films, and (4) effectively enhances the electronic conductivity of the overall electrode. Therefore, the final DF-SnO2 anode exhibits stable cycle performance, such as a high capacity retention of over 90% for 400 cycles at a current density of 200 mA g(-1) and a long cycle life up to 700 times at a higher current density of 1000 mA g(-1).

  19. Synthesis and Physical Properties of Nanocomposites (SnO2x(In2O31-x (x = 0 – 1 for Gas Sensors and Optoelectronics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stanislav REMBEZA

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Experimental results on synthesis of thin film (< 1 μm nanocomposites (SnO2x(In2O31-x in the whole range of x = (0 – 1 mass. % are presented. Film nanocomposites were prepared by high-frequency magnetron sputtering of metal oxide targets in the controlled ambient Ar+O2. Films were deposited on the hot substrate (400 0C and investigated by X-ray phase analysis, atomic-force microscopy, optical and electrical methods. Influence of synthesis regimes and film composition on the grain size of crystals, the band-gap width, the transparency in the visible range of light, concentration and mobility of free charge carriers were determined. It was shown that films with composition (SnO2x(In2O31-x x = 0.9 are perspective for using as gas sensors, films of the same composition but with x = 0.1 can be applied as transparent current conducting electrodes for solar cells.

  20. Effect of Indium Doping on the Sensitivity of SnO2 Gas Sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suharni; Sayono

    2009-01-01

    The dependence of sensitivity f SnO 2 gas sensors on indium concentration has been studied. Undoped and indium-doped SnO 2 gas sensors have been prepared by DC sputtering technique with following parameters i.e : electrode voltage of 3 kV, current 20 mA, vacuum pressure 1.8 × 10 -1 torr, deposition time 60 minutes and temperature of 200℃. The effect of weight variations of indium in order of 0.0370; 0.0485 and 0.0702 grams into SnO 2 thin film gas sensor for optimum result were investigated. The measurement of resistance, sensitivity and response time for various temperature for detecting of carbon monoxide (CO), Ammonia (NH 3 ) and acetone (CH 3 COCH 3 ) gas for indium doped has been done. From the analysis result shows that for indium doped 0.0702 g on the SnO 2 the resistance can be decreased from 832.0 kΩ to 3.9 kΩ and the operating temperature from 200℃ to 90℃ and improving the sensitivity from 15.92% to 40.09% and a response time from 30 seconds to 10 seconds for CO. (author)

  1. Physical properties of electrically conductive Sb-doped SnO2 transparent electrodes by thermal annealing dependent structural changes for photovoltaic applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leem, J.W.; Yu, J.S.

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: · The physical properties of sputtered Sb-doped SnO 2 after annealing were studied. · The figure of merit was estimated from the integral PFD and sheet resistance. · The characteristics of Sb-doped SnO 2 films were optimized by the figure of merit. · An optimized Sb-doped SnO 2 layer is promising for high efficiency photovoltaic cells. - Abstract: We have investigated the optical and electrical characteristics of antimony (Sb)-doped tin oxide (SnO 2 ) films with modified structures by thermal annealing as a transparent conductive electrode. The structural properties were analyzed from the relative void % by spectroscopic ellipsometry as well as the scanning electron microscopy images and X-ray diffraction patterns. As the annealing temperature was raised, Sb-doped SnO 2 films exhibited a slightly enhanced crystallinity with the increase of the grain size from 17.1 nm at 500 deg. C to 34.3 nm at 700 deg. C. Furthermore, the refractive index and extinction coefficient gradually decreased due to the increase in the relative void % within the film during the annealing. The resistivity decreased to 8.2 x 10 -3 Ω cm at 500 deg. C, but it increased rapidly at 700 deg. C. After thermal annealing, the optical transmittance was significantly increased. For photovoltaic applications, the photonic flux density and the figure of merit over the entire solar spectrum were obtained, indicating the highest values of 5.4 x 10 14 cm -2 s -1 nm -1 at 1.85 eV after annealing at 700 deg. C and 340.1 μA cm -2 Ω -1 at 500 deg. C, respectively.

  2. Effects of thickness on the nanocrystalline structure and semiconductor-metal transition characteristics of vanadium dioxide thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luo, Zhenfei; Zhou, Xun; Yan, Dawei; Wang, Du; Li, Zeyu; Yang, Cunbang; Jiang, Yadong

    2014-01-01

    Nanocrystalline vanadium dioxide (VO 2 ) thin films were grown on glass substrates by using reactive direct current magnetron sputtering and in situ thermal treatments at low preparation temperatures (≤ 350 °C). The VO 2 thin films were characterized by grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). The semiconductor-metal transition (SMT) characteristics of the films were investigated by four-point probe resistivity measurements and infrared spectrometer equipped with heating pads. The testing results showed that the crystal structure, morphology, grain size and semiconductor-metal transition temperature (T SMT ) significantly changed as the film thickness decreased. Multilayer structures were observed in the particles of thinner films whose average particle size is much larger than the film thickness and average VO 2 grain size. A competition mechanism between the suppression effect of decreased thickness and coalescence of nanograins was proposed to understand the film growth and the formation of multilayer structure. The value of T SMT was found to decrease as average VO 2 grain size became smaller, and SE results showed that small nanograin size significantly affected the electronic structure of VO 2 film. - Highlights: • Nanocrystalline vanadium dioxide thin films were prepared. • Multilayer structures were observed in the films with large particles. • The transition temperature of the film is correlated with its electronic structure

  3. Exploring and Controlling Intrinsic Defect Formation in SnO2 Thin Films

    KAUST Repository

    Porte, Yoann; Maller, Robert; Faber, Hendrik; Alshareef, Husam N.; Anthopoulos, Thomas D; McLachlan, Martyn

    2015-01-01

    By investigating the influence of key growth variables on the measured structural and electrical properties of SnO2 prepared by Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) we demonstrate fine control of intrinsic n-type defect formation. Variation of growth temperatures shows oxygen vacancies (VO) as the dominant defect which can be compensated for by thermal oxidation at temperatures > 500°C. As a consequence films with carrier concentrations in the range 1016-1019 cm-3 can be prepared by adjusting temperature alone. By altering the background oxygen pressure (PD) we observe a change in the dominant defect - from tin interstitials (Sni) at low PD (< 50 mTorr) to VO at higher oxygen pressures with similar ranges of carrier concentrations observed. Finally we demonstrate the importance of controlling the composition target surface used for PLD by exposing a target to > 100,000 laser pulses. Here carrier concentrations > 1x1020 cm-3 are observed that are attributed to high concentrations of Sni which cannot be completely compensated for by modifying the growth parameters.

  4. Exploring and Controlling Intrinsic Defect Formation in SnO2 Thin Films

    KAUST Repository

    Porte, Yoann

    2015-12-15

    By investigating the influence of key growth variables on the measured structural and electrical properties of SnO2 prepared by Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) we demonstrate fine control of intrinsic n-type defect formation. Variation of growth temperatures shows oxygen vacancies (VO) as the dominant defect which can be compensated for by thermal oxidation at temperatures > 500°C. As a consequence films with carrier concentrations in the range 1016-1019 cm-3 can be prepared by adjusting temperature alone. By altering the background oxygen pressure (PD) we observe a change in the dominant defect - from tin interstitials (Sni) at low PD (< 50 mTorr) to VO at higher oxygen pressures with similar ranges of carrier concentrations observed. Finally we demonstrate the importance of controlling the composition target surface used for PLD by exposing a target to > 100,000 laser pulses. Here carrier concentrations > 1x1020 cm-3 are observed that are attributed to high concentrations of Sni which cannot be completely compensated for by modifying the growth parameters.

  5. Room temperature growth of nanocrystalline anatase TiO{sub 2} thin films by dc magnetron sputtering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Singh, Preetam, E-mail: preetamphy@gmail.co [Functional Nanomaterials Research Lab, Department of Physics and Centre of Nanotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee 247667 (India); Kaur, Davinder [Functional Nanomaterials Research Lab, Department of Physics and Centre of Nanotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee 247667 (India)

    2010-03-01

    We report, the structural and optical properties of nanocrystalline anatase TiO{sub 2} thin films grown on glass substrate by dc magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The influence of sputtering power and pressure over crystallinity and surface morphology of the films were investigated. It was observed that increase in sputtering power activates the TiO{sub 2} film growth from relative lower surface free energy to higher surface free energy. XRD pattern revealed the change in preferred orientation from (1 0 1) to (0 0 4) with increase in sputtering power, which is accounted for different surface energy associated with different planes. Microstructure of the films also changes from cauliflower type to columnar type structures with increase in sputtering power. FESEM images of films grown at low pressure and low sputtering power showed typical cauliflower like structure. The optical measurement revealed the systematic variation of the optical constants with deposition parameters. The films are highly transparent with transmission higher than 90% with sharp ultraviolet cut off. The transmittance of these films was found to be influenced by the surface roughness and film thickness. The optical band gap was found to decrease with increase in the sputtering power and pressure. The refractive index of the films was found to vary in the range of 2.50-2.24 with increase in sputtering pressure or sputtering power, resulting in the possibility of producing TiO{sub 2} films for device applications with different refractive index, by changing the deposition parameters.

  6. Structural, optical and photoluminescence study of nanocrystalline

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Bulletin of Materials Science; Volume 37; Issue 3. Structural, optical ... Orientation along plane (200) decreases continuously as molar concentration of SnO2 increases. Dislocation density along plane (110) also decreases as molar concentration increases except 0.4 M SnO2 thin film. Scanning electron ...

  7. Structural, nanomechanical and variable range hopping conduction behavior of nanocrystalline carbon thin films deposited by the ambient environment assisted filtered cathodic jet carbon arc technique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Panwar, O.S., E-mail: ospanwar@mail.nplindia.ernet.in [Polymorphic Carbon Thin Films Group, Physics of Energy Harvesting Division, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi - 110 012 (India); Rawal, Ishpal; Tripathi, R.K. [Polymorphic Carbon Thin Films Group, Physics of Energy Harvesting Division, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi - 110 012 (India); Srivastava, A.K. [Electron and Ion Microscopy, Sophisticated and Analytical Instruments, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi - 110 012 (India); Kumar, Mahesh [Ultrafast Opto-Electronics and Tetrahertz Photonics Group, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi - 110 012 (India)

    2015-04-15

    Highlights: • Nanocrystalline carbon thin films are grown by filtered cathodic jet carbon arc process. • Effect of gaseous environment on the properties of carbon films has been studied. • The structural and nanomechanical properties of carbon thin films have been studied. • The VRH conduction behavior in nanocrystalline carbon thin films has been studied. - Abstract: This paper reports the deposition and characterization of nanocrystalline carbon thin films by filtered cathodic jet carbon arc technique assisted with three different gaseous environments of helium, nitrogen and hydrogen. All the films are nanocrystalline in nature as observed from the high resolution transmission electron microscopic (HRTEM) measurements, which suggests that the nanocrystallites of size ∼10–50 nm are embedded though out the amorphous matrix. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic studies suggest that the film deposited under the nitrogen gaseous environment has the highest sp{sup 3}/sp{sup 2} ratio accompanied with the highest hardness of ∼18.34 GPa observed from the nanoindentation technique. The film deposited under the helium gaseous environment has the highest ratio of the area under the Raman D peak to G peak (A{sub D}/A{sub G}) and the highest conductivity (∼2.23 S/cm) at room temperature, whereas, the film deposited under the hydrogen environment has the lowest conductivity value (2.27 × 10{sup −7} S/cm). The temperature dependent dc conduction behavior of all the nanocrystalline carbon thin films has been analyzed in the light of Mott’s variable range hopping (VRH) conduction mechanism and observed that all the films obey three dimension VRH conduction mechanism for the charge transport.

  8. Enhanced Electronic Properties of SnO2 via Electron Transfer from Graphene Quantum Dots for Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Jiangsheng; Huang, Kun; Yu, Xuegong; Yang, Zhengrui; Xiao, Ke; Qiang, Yaping; Zhu, Xiaodong; Xu, Lingbo; Wang, Peng; Cui, Can; Yang, Deren

    2017-09-26

    Tin dioxide (SnO 2 ) has been demonstrated as an effective electron-transporting layer (ETL) for attaining high-performance perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, the numerous trap states in low-temperature solution processed SnO 2 will reduce the PSCs performance and result in serious hysteresis. Here, we report a strategy to improve the electronic properties in SnO 2 through a facile treatment of the films with adding a small amount of graphene quantum dots (GQDs). We demonstrate that the photogenerated electrons in GQDs can transfer to the conduction band of SnO 2 . The transferred electrons from the GQDs will effectively fill the electron traps as well as improve the conductivity of SnO 2 , which is beneficial for improving the electron extraction efficiency and reducing the recombination at the ETLs/perovskite interface. The device fabricated with SnO 2 :GQDs could reach an average power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.2 ± 1.0% and a highest steady-state PCE of 20.23% with very little hysteresis. Our study provides an effective way to enhance the performance of perovskite solar cells through improving the electronic properties of SnO 2 .

  9. Influence of geometrical thickness of SnO2 based photoanode on the performance of Eosin-Y dye sensitized solar cell

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arote, Sandeep; Rajendra Prasad, M. B.; Tabhane, Vilas; Pathan, Habib

    2015-11-01

    In the present study, efforts have been taken to tune the optical parameters of SnO2 photoelectrode film to enhance the performance SnO2 based Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC). Influence of geometrical thickness of SnO2 based photoelectrode on light scattering magnitude and light harvesting capability was investigated using optical diffused reflectance and electrochemical impedance measurements. The short circuit current density (JSC) of the DSSC assembled using these photoanodes was apparently the decisive photovoltaic parameter in finalizing its photovoltaic efficiency (η). The variation in the light harvesting efficiency and the electron transfer yield were studied as a function of thickness of the photoanode by virtue of the light scattering magnitude in the films. These two factors appeared to have profoundly influenced JSC and so the photovoltaic performance of DSSC.

  10. Sintering and electrical properties of titania- and zirconia-containing In2O3-SnO2 (ITO) ceramics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nadaud, N.; Nanot, M.; Bock, P.

    1994-01-01

    The deposition rate and film quality of In 2 O 3 -SnO 2 (ITO) transparent electrodes processed by sputtering are improved when using dense sputtering targets. Unfortunately, ITO ceramics do not sinter easily. It is shown that addition of TiO 2 ( 2 was also investigated

  11. Improvement of physical properties of SnO2 By Gamma Irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elttayef, A. K.

    2012-12-01

    In this work, the structural and optical of properties of (Sno 2 ) thin films prepared by chemical spray pyrolysis technique have been studied before and after irradiation by gamma ray. The films were prepared from mixture of Tin chloride hydrate SnCl 2 .2H 2 O with molar concentration of (0.1 M)at substrate temperature (400)o C and thickness (175,300 nm). X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that all the prepared films have polycrystalline structure. The optical properties of the films were determined by studying the visible and near IR spectrum, which include transmittance, absorbance, reflectance, absorption coefficient and energy gap before and after irradiation by gamma ray. It was found that the irradiance caused increasing the value of transmittance and optical energy gap. (Author)

  12. Effects of Textural Properties on the Response of a SnO2-Based Gas Sensor for the Detection of Chemical Warfare Agents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Duk Dong Lee

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available The sensing behavior of SnO2-based thick film gas sensors in a flow system in the presence of a very low concentration (ppb level of chemical agent simulants such as acetonitrile, dipropylene glycol methyl ether (DPGME, dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP, and dichloromethane (DCM was investigated. Commercial SnO2 [SnO2(C] and nano-SnO2 prepared by the precipitation method [SnO2(P] were used to prepare the SnO2 sensor in this study. In the case of DCM and acetonitrile, the SnO2(P sensor showed higher sensor response as compared with the SnO2(C sensors. In the case of DMMP and DPGME, however, the SnO2(C sensor showed higher responses than those of the SnO2(P sensors. In particular, the response of the SnO2(P sensor increased as the calcination temperature increased from 400 °C to 800 °C. These results can be explained by the fact that the response of the SnO2-based gas sensor depends on the textural properties of tin oxide and the molecular size of the chemical agent simulant in the detection of the simulant gases (0.1–0.5 ppm.

  13. Study of the structure and phase composition of nanocrystalline silicon oxynitride films synthesized by ICP-CVD

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fainer, N.I.; Kosinova, M.L.; Maximovsky, E.A.; Rumyantsev, Yu.M.; Kuznetsov, F.A.; Kesler, V.G.; Kirienko, V.V.

    2005-01-01

    Thin nanocrystalline silicon oxynitride films were synthesized for the first time at low temperatures (373-750 K) by inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition (ICP-CVD) using gas mixture of oxygen and hexamethyldisilazane Si 2 NH(CH 3 ) 6 (HMDS) as precursors. Single crystal Si (1 0 0) wafers 100 mm in diameter were used as substrates. Physicochemical properties of the thin films were examined using ellipsometry, IR spectroscopy, Auger electron and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and XRD using synchrotron radiation (SR). The studies of the phase composition of nanocrystalline films of silicon oxynitride showed that in the case of oxygen excess in the initial gas mixture, they contain a mixture of hexagonal phases: h-SiO 2 and α-Si 3 N 4 . These phases consist of oriented nanocrystals of 2-3 nm size. In case of decrease of oxygen concentration in the initial gas mixture, the fraction of the α-Si 3 N 4 phase increases

  14. Study of the structure and phase composition of nanocrystalline silicon oxynitride films synthesized by ICP-CVD

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fainer, N.I. [Nikolaev Institute of Inorganic Chemistry SB RAS, 3, Acad. Lavrentjev Pr., Novosibirsk 630090 (Russian Federation)]. E-mail: nadezhda@che.nsk.su; Kosinova, M.L. [Nikolaev Institute of Inorganic Chemistry SB RAS, 3, Acad. Lavrentjev Pr., Novosibirsk 630090 (Russian Federation); Maximovsky, E.A. [Nikolaev Institute of Inorganic Chemistry SB RAS, 3, Acad. Lavrentjev Pr., Novosibirsk 630090 (Russian Federation); Rumyantsev, Yu.M. [Nikolaev Institute of Inorganic Chemistry SB RAS, 3, Acad. Lavrentjev Pr., Novosibirsk 630090 (Russian Federation); Kuznetsov, F.A. [Nikolaev Institute of Inorganic Chemistry SB RAS, 3, Acad. Lavrentjev Pr., Novosibirsk 630090 (Russian Federation); Kesler, V.G. [Institute of Semiconductor Physics SB RAS, Acad. Lavrentjev pr., 13, Novosibirsk 630090 (Russian Federation); Kirienko, V.V. [Institute of Semiconductor Physics SB RAS, Acad. Lavrentjev pr., 13, Novosibirsk 630090 (Russian Federation)

    2005-05-01

    Thin nanocrystalline silicon oxynitride films were synthesized for the first time at low temperatures (373-750 K) by inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition (ICP-CVD) using gas mixture of oxygen and hexamethyldisilazane Si{sub 2}NH(CH{sub 3}){sub 6} (HMDS) as precursors. Single crystal Si (1 0 0) wafers 100 mm in diameter were used as substrates. Physicochemical properties of the thin films were examined using ellipsometry, IR spectroscopy, Auger electron and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and XRD using synchrotron radiation (SR). The studies of the phase composition of nanocrystalline films of silicon oxynitride showed that in the case of oxygen excess in the initial gas mixture, they contain a mixture of hexagonal phases: h-SiO{sub 2} and {alpha}-Si{sub 3}N{sub 4}. These phases consist of oriented nanocrystals of 2-3 nm size. In case of decrease of oxygen concentration in the initial gas mixture, the fraction of the {alpha}-Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} phase increases.

  15. Ultrahigh hardness and high electrical resistivity in nano-twinned, nanocrystalline high-entropy alloy films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huo, Wenyi; Liu, Xiaodong; Tan, Shuyong; Fang, Feng; Xie, Zonghan; Shang, Jianku; Jiang, Jianqing

    2018-05-01

    Nano-twinned, nanocrystalline CoCrFeNi high-entropy alloy films were produced by magnetron sputtering. The films exhibit a high hardness of 8.5 GPa, the elastic modulus of 161.9 GPa and the resistivity as high as 135.1 μΩ·cm. The outstanding mechanical properties were found to result from the resistance of deformation created by nanocrystalline grains and nano-twins, while the electrical resistivity was attributed to the strong blockage effect induced by grain boundaries and lattice distortions. The results lay a solid foundation for the development of advanced films with structural and functional properties combined in micro-/nano-electronic devices.

  16. One-Pot Hybrid SnO2 /Poly(methyl methacrylate) Nanocomposite Formation through Pulsed Laser Irradiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caputo, Gianvito; Scarpellini, Alice; Palazon, Francisco; Athanassiou, Athanassia; Fragouli, Despina

    2017-06-20

    The localized in situ formation of tin dioxide (SnO 2 ) nanoparticles embedded in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) films is presented. This is achieved by the photoinduced conversion of the tin acetate precursor included in polymeric films, through controlled UV or visible pulsed laser irradiation at λ=355 and 532 nm, respectively. The evolution of the formation of nanoparticles is followed by UV/Vis spectroscopy and shows that their growth is affected in different ways by the laser pulses at the two applied wavelengths. This, in combination with electron microscopy analysis, reveals that, depending on the irradiation wavelength, the size of the nanoparticles in the final nanocomposites differs. This difference is attributed to distinct mechanistic pathways that lead to the synthesis of small nanoparticles (from 1.5 to 4.5 nm) at λ=355 nm, whereas bigger ones (from 5 to 16 nm) are formed at λ=532 nm. At the same time, structural studies with both X-ray and electron diffraction measurements demonstrate the crystallinity of SnO 2 nanoparticles in both cases, whereas XPS analysis confirms the light-induced oxidation of tin acetate into SnO 2 . Taken all together, it is demonstrated that the pulsed laser irradiation at λ=355 and 532 nm leads to the formation of SnO 2 nanoparticles with defined features highly dispersed in PMMA solid matrices. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  17. Transformation from amorphous to nano-crystalline SiC thin films ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Administrator

    phous SiC to cubic nano-crystalline SiC films with the increase in the gas flow ratio. Raman scattering ... Auger electron spectroscopy showed that the carbon incorporation in the .... with a 514 nm Ar+ laser excitation source and the laser.

  18. Microarray of neuroblastoma cells on the selectively functionalized nanocrystalline diamond thin film surface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Young-Sang; Son, Hyeong-Guk; Kim, Dae-Hoon; Oh, Hong-Gi; Lee, Da-Som; Kim, Min-Hye; Lim, Ki-Moo; Song, Kwang-Soup

    2016-01-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • The nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) surface is functionalized with F or O. • The cell adhesion and growth are evaluated on the functionalized NCD surface. • The cell adhesion and growth depend on the wettability of the surface. • Cell patterning was achieved by using of hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces. • Neuroblastoma cells were arrayed on the micro-patterned NCD surface. - Abstract: Nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) film surfaces were modified with fluorine or oxygen by plasma treatment in an O_2 or C_3F_8 gas environment in order to induce wettability. The oxygenated-NCD (O-NCD) film surface was hydrophilic and the fluorinated-NCD (F-NCD) surface was hydrophobic. The efficiency of early cell adhesion, which is dependent on the wettability of the cell culture plate and necessary for the growth and proliferation of cells, was 89.62 ± 3.92% on the O-NCD film and 7.78 ± 0.77% on the F-NCD film surface after 3 h of cell culture. The wettability of the NCD film surface was artificially modified using a metal mask and plasma treatment to fabricate a micro-pattern. Four types of micro-patterns were fabricated (line, circle, mesh, and word) on the NCD film surface. We precisely arrayed the neuroblastoma cells on the micro-patterned NCD film surfaces by controlling the surface wettability and cell seeding density. The neuroblastoma cells adhered and proliferated along the O-NCD film surface.

  19. Microarray of neuroblastoma cells on the selectively functionalized nanocrystalline diamond thin film surface

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, Young-Sang; Son, Hyeong-Guk; Kim, Dae-Hoon; Oh, Hong-Gi; Lee, Da-Som; Kim, Min-Hye; Lim, Ki-Moo; Song, Kwang-Soup, E-mail: kssong10@kumoh.ac.kr

    2016-01-15

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • The nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) surface is functionalized with F or O. • The cell adhesion and growth are evaluated on the functionalized NCD surface. • The cell adhesion and growth depend on the wettability of the surface. • Cell patterning was achieved by using of hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces. • Neuroblastoma cells were arrayed on the micro-patterned NCD surface. - Abstract: Nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) film surfaces were modified with fluorine or oxygen by plasma treatment in an O{sub 2} or C{sub 3}F{sub 8} gas environment in order to induce wettability. The oxygenated-NCD (O-NCD) film surface was hydrophilic and the fluorinated-NCD (F-NCD) surface was hydrophobic. The efficiency of early cell adhesion, which is dependent on the wettability of the cell culture plate and necessary for the growth and proliferation of cells, was 89.62 ± 3.92% on the O-NCD film and 7.78 ± 0.77% on the F-NCD film surface after 3 h of cell culture. The wettability of the NCD film surface was artificially modified using a metal mask and plasma treatment to fabricate a micro-pattern. Four types of micro-patterns were fabricated (line, circle, mesh, and word) on the NCD film surface. We precisely arrayed the neuroblastoma cells on the micro-patterned NCD film surfaces by controlling the surface wettability and cell seeding density. The neuroblastoma cells adhered and proliferated along the O-NCD film surface.

  20. Transparent nanocrystalline ZnO films prepared by spin coating

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berber, M. [SusTech GmbH and Co. KG, Petersenstr. 20, 64287 Darmstadt, Hessen (Germany)]. E-mail: mete.berber@sustech.de; Bulto, V. [SusTech GmbH and Co. KG, Petersenstr. 20, 64287 Darmstadt, Hessen (Germany); Kliss, R. [SusTech GmbH and Co. KG, Petersenstr. 20, 64287 Darmstadt, Hessen (Germany); Hahn, H. [SusTech GmbH and Co. KG, Petersenstr. 20, 64287 Darmstadt, Hessen (Germany); Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Institute for Nanotechnology, Postfach 3640, 76021 Karlsruhe (Germany); Joint Research Laboratory Nanomaterials, TU Darmstadt, Institute of Materials Science, Petersenstr. 23, 64287 Darmstadt (Germany)

    2005-09-15

    Dispersions of zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesized by the electrochemical deposition under oxidizing conditions process with organic surfactants, were spin coated on glass substrates. After sintering, the microstructure, surface morphology, and electro-optical properties of the transparent nanocrystalline zinc oxide films have been investigated for different coating thicknesses and organic solvents.

  1. Transparent nanocrystalline ZnO films prepared by spin coating

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berber, M.; Bulto, V.; Kliss, R.; Hahn, H.

    2005-01-01

    Dispersions of zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesized by the electrochemical deposition under oxidizing conditions process with organic surfactants, were spin coated on glass substrates. After sintering, the microstructure, surface morphology, and electro-optical properties of the transparent nanocrystalline zinc oxide films have been investigated for different coating thicknesses and organic solvents

  2. High Efficiency Dye-sensitized Solar Cells Constructed with Composites of TiO2 and the Hot-bubbling Synthesized Ultra-Small SnO2 Nanocrystals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mao, Xiaoli; Zhou, Ru; Zhang, Shouwei; Ding, Liping; Wan, Lei; Qin, Shengxian; Chen, Zhesheng; Xu, Jinzhang; Miao, Shiding

    2016-01-13

    An efficient photo-anode for the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) should have features of high loading of dye molecules, favorable band alignments and good efficiency in electron transport. Herein, the 3.4 nm-sized SnO2 nanocrystals (NCs) of high crystallinity, synthesized via the hot-bubbling method, were incorporated with the commercial TiO2 (P25) particles to fabricate the photo-anodes. The optimal percentage of the doped SnO2 NCs was found at ~7.5% (SnO2/TiO2, w/w), and the fabricated DSSC delivers a power conversion efficiency up to 6.7%, which is 1.52 times of the P25 based DSSCs. The ultra-small SnO2 NCs offer three benefits, (1) the incorporation of SnO2 NCs enlarges surface areas of the photo-anode films, and higher dye-loading amounts were achieved; (2) the high charge mobility provided by SnO2 was confirmed to accelerate the electron transport, and the photo-electron recombination was suppressed by the highly-crystallized NCs; (3) the conduction band minimum (CBM) of the SnO2 NCs was uplifted due to the quantum size effects, and this was found to alleviate the decrement in the open-circuit voltage. This work highlights great contributions of the SnO2 NCs to the improvement of the photovoltaic performances in the DSSCs.

  3. X-ray absorption and emission study of amorphous and nanocrystalline GaN films containing buried N2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ruck, B.J.; Koo, A.; Budde, F.; Granville, S.; Trodahl, H.J.

    2004-01-01

    Full text: It has been predicted that amorphous gallium nitride (a-GaN) may possess a well-defined wide band gap, and is thus a potential substitute for the more expensive crystalline form used in short wavelength optoelectronic devices. Experimental investigations of disordered GaN have lent support to this prediction, but the picture is complicated because the properties of the amorphous state are not unique, and instead depend on the exact nature of the disordered structure. We have pioneered a novel ion-assisted growth technique that produces GaN films with a microstructure that ranges from nanocrystalline, with crystallite size of order 3 nm, to fully amorphous, depending on the exact growth conditions. This presentation will give an overview of our research into the properties of disordered GaN, including characterization of the physical structure of the films and their electronic energy levels, and also their photoconductive response. In particular I will focus on synchrotron radiation studies of samples with a range of different microstructures. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and x-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) provide particularly powerful tools for examining a sample's empty and filled electronic energy levels, respectively. The details of the absorption and emission processes make it possible to obtain atom-specific information and to investigate the symmetry of the electronic levels. An example of the information obtained is shown. The thin solid curve shows XAS data, which is a measure of the nitrogen /7-projected density of unfilled electronic states in this nanocrystalline GaN sample. The thick solid curve shows XES data from the same sample, which provides complementary information about the occupied valence band states. Although the spectral features are broader in fully amorphous films than in nanocrystalline samples, a well-defined band gap exists in both cases with magnitude similar to that of crystalline GaN. There are additional feature

  4. Effects of thickness on the nanocrystalline structure and semiconductor-metal transition characteristics of vanadium dioxide thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Luo, Zhenfei, E-mail: zhfluo8@yahoo.com [Terahertz Research Center, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang Sichuan 621900 (China); Research Center of Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang Sichuan 621900 (China); Zhou, Xun, E-mail: zx_zky@yahoo.com [Terahertz Research Center, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang Sichuan 621900 (China); Research Center of Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang Sichuan 621900 (China); Yan, Dawei [Research Center of Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang Sichuan 621900 (China); Wang, Du; Li, Zeyu [Terahertz Research Center, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang Sichuan 621900 (China); Research Center of Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang Sichuan 621900 (China); Yang, Cunbang [Research Center of Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang Sichuan 621900 (China); Jiang, Yadong [State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, School of Optoelectronic Information, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), Chengdu 610054 (China)

    2014-01-01

    Nanocrystalline vanadium dioxide (VO{sub 2}) thin films were grown on glass substrates by using reactive direct current magnetron sputtering and in situ thermal treatments at low preparation temperatures (≤ 350 °C). The VO{sub 2} thin films were characterized by grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). The semiconductor-metal transition (SMT) characteristics of the films were investigated by four-point probe resistivity measurements and infrared spectrometer equipped with heating pads. The testing results showed that the crystal structure, morphology, grain size and semiconductor-metal transition temperature (T{sub SMT}) significantly changed as the film thickness decreased. Multilayer structures were observed in the particles of thinner films whose average particle size is much larger than the film thickness and average VO{sub 2} grain size. A competition mechanism between the suppression effect of decreased thickness and coalescence of nanograins was proposed to understand the film growth and the formation of multilayer structure. The value of T{sub SMT} was found to decrease as average VO{sub 2} grain size became smaller, and SE results showed that small nanograin size significantly affected the electronic structure of VO{sub 2} film. - Highlights: • Nanocrystalline vanadium dioxide thin films were prepared. • Multilayer structures were observed in the films with large particles. • The transition temperature of the film is correlated with its electronic structure.

  5. Preparation and characterization of nanocrystalline composites Mo-C-N hard films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Q. [Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Institute of Solid State Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, POB 1129, 230031 Hefei (China); Liu, T. [Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Institute of Solid State Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, POB 1129, 230031 Hefei (China); Fang, Q.F. [Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Institute of Solid State Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, POB 1129, 230031 Hefei (China)]. E-mail: qffang@issp.ac.cn; Liang, F.J. [Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Institute of Solid State Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, POB 1129, 230031 Hefei (China); Wang, J.X. [Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Institute of Solid State Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, POB 1129, 230031 Hefei (China)

    2006-05-01

    Molybdenum carbonitride (MoCN) films were deposited on Si (001) and stainless steel substrates by reactive direct-current magnetron sputtering with a molybdenum and graphite composite target. By changing the substrate temperature and the N{sub 2} / Ar ratio in the sputtering gas, it is found that good quality MoCN films can be deposited at substrate temperature of 300-400 deg. C under N{sub 2} partial pressure of 0.25-0.5 Pa with a total working pressure of 1 Pa. The structures of the films deposited at such conditions were determined by X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis as nanocrystalline molybdenum carbonitride with a grain size of several ten nanometers was embedded in the amorphous matrix of C and CN {sub x}. The hardness of the MoCN films can reach 28 GPa, much higher than the value of MoC and MoN films alone.

  6. Incorporation of sol-gel SnO2:Sb into nanoporous SiO2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Canut, B.; Blanchin, M.G.; Ramos-Canut, S.; Teodorescu, V.; Toulemonde, M.

    2006-01-01

    Silicon oxide films thermally grown on Si(1 0 0) wafers were irradiated with 200 MeV 197 Au ions in the 10 9 -10 1 cm -2 fluence range. The targets were then etched at room temperature in aqueous HF solution (1 vol.%) for various durations. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) in the tapping mode was used to probe the processed surfaces. Conical holes with a low size dispersion were evidenced. Their surface diameter varies between 20 and 70 nm, depending on the etching time. Sol-gel dip coating technique, associated with a further annealing treatment performed at 500 o C for 15 min, was used to fill the nanopores created in SiO 2 with a transparent conductive oxide (SnO 2 doped with antimony). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) performed on cross-sectional specimen showed that SnO 2 :Sb crystallites of ∼5 nm mean size are trapped in the holes without degrading their geometry

  7. Strain-delocalizing effect of a metal substrate on nanocrystalline Ni film

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qi, Dexing [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province 210009 (China); Zhou, Jianqiu, E-mail: zhouj@njut.edu.cn [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province 210009 (China); Department of Mechanical Engineering, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430070 (China); Liu, Hongxi; Dong, Shuhong [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province 210009 (China); Wang, Ying [Department of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Suzhou Institute of Industrial Technology, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215104 (China)

    2015-07-29

    Uniaxial tensile test and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are introduced to study the tensile properties of electrodeposited nanocrystalline nickel/coarse-grained copper (N/C) composite in this paper. Compared to the stress strain response of pure nanocrystalline (NC) nickel (Ni), the tensile ductility of N/C composite is enhanced significantly. Based on the experimental results, a multi-phase composite model is proposed to investigate the micromechanical behaviors of the NC Ni film and N/C composite plate. The constitutive models are implemented into ABAQUS/Explicit in the form of VUMAT subroutine. A series of numerical simulations are carried out and the predications were in good agreement with experimental results. It can be concluded that the coarse-grained (CG) substrate work well in suppressing the strain localization in the NC Ni film.

  8. Investigation of nanocrystalline thin cobalt films thermally evaporated on Si(100) substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kozłowski, W., E-mail: wkozl@std2.phys.uni.lodz.pl [Department of Solid State Physics, Faculty of Physics and Applied Informatics, University of Łódź, Pomorska 149/153, 90-236 Łódź (Poland); Balcerski, J.; Szmaja, W. [Department of Solid State Physics, Faculty of Physics and Applied Informatics, University of Łódź, Pomorska 149/153, 90-236 Łódź (Poland); Piwoński, I. [Department of Materials Technology and Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Łódź, Pomorska 163, 90-236 Łódź (Poland); Batory, D. [Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Łódź University of Technology, Stefanowskiego 1/15, 90-924 Łódź (Poland); Miękoś, E. [Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Łódź, Tamka 12, 91-403 Łódź (Poland); and others

    2017-03-15

    We have made a quantitative study of the morphological and magnetic domain structures of 100 nm thick nanocrystalline cobalt films thermally evaporated on naturally oxidized Si(100) substrates. The morphological structure is composed of densely packed grains with the average grain size (35.6±0.8) nm. The grains exhibit no geometric alignment and no preferred elongation on the film surface. In the direction perpendicular to the film surface, the grains are aligned in columns. The films crystallize mainly in the hexagonal close-packed phase of cobalt and possess a crystallographic texture with the hexagonal axis perpendicular to the film surface. The magnetic domain structure consists of domains forming a maze stripe pattern with the average domain size (102±6) nm. The domains have their magnetizations oriented almost perpendicularly to the film surface. The domain wall energy, the domain wall thickness and the critical diameter for single-domain particle were determined. - Highlights: • 100 nm thick nanocrystalline cobalt films on Si(100) were studied quantitatively. • The grains are densely packed and possess the average size (35.6±0.8) nm. • The films have a texture with the hexagonal axis perpendicular to the film surface. • The magnetic domains form a maze stripe pattern with the average size (102±6) nm. • The domains are magnetized almost perpendicularly to the film surface.

  9. Ultrathin Nanocrystalline Diamond Films with Silicon Vacancy Color Centers via Seeding by 2 nm Detonation Nanodiamonds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stehlik, Stepan; Varga, Marian; Stenclova, Pavla; Ondic, Lukas; Ledinsky, Martin; Pangrac, Jiri; Vanek, Ondrej; Lipov, Jan; Kromka, Alexander; Rezek, Bohuslav

    2017-11-08

    Color centers in diamonds have shown excellent potential for applications in quantum information processing, photonics, and biology. Here we report chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth of nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) films as thin as 5-6 nm with photoluminescence (PL) from silicon-vacancy (SiV) centers at 739 nm. Instead of conventional 4-6 nm detonation nanodiamonds (DNDs), we prepared and employed hydrogenated 2 nm DNDs (zeta potential = +36 mV) to form extremely dense (∼1.3 × 10 13 cm -2 ), thin (2 ± 1 nm), and smooth (RMS roughness < 0.8 nm) nucleation layers on an Si/SiO x substrate, which enabled the CVD growth of such ultrathin NCD films in two different and complementary microwave (MW) CVD systems: (i) focused MW plasma with an ellipsoidal cavity resonator and (ii) pulsed MW plasma with a linear antenna arrangement. Analytical ultracentrifuge, infrared and Raman spectroscopies, atomic force microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy are used for detailed characterization of the 2 nm H-DNDs and the nucleation layer as well as the ultrathin NCD films. We also demonstrate on/off switching of the SiV center PL in the NCD films thinner than 10 nm, which is achieved by changing their surface chemistry.

  10. Transparent p-type SnO nanowires with unprecedented hole mobility among oxide semiconductors

    KAUST Repository

    Caraveo-Frescas, J. A.

    2013-11-25

    p-type tin monoxide (SnO) nanowire field-effect transistors with stable enhancement mode behavior and record performance are demonstrated at 160 °C. The nanowire transistors exhibit the highest field-effect hole mobility (10.83 cm2 V−1 s−1) of any p-type oxide semiconductor processed at similar temperature. Compared to thin film transistors, the SnO nanowire transistors exhibit five times higher mobility and one order of magnitude lower subthreshold swing. The SnO nanowire transistors show three times lower threshold voltages (−1 V) than the best reported SnO thin film transistors and fifteen times smaller than p-type Cu 2O nanowire transistors. Gate dielectric and process temperature are critical to achieving such performance.

  11. Gasochromic response of nanocrystalline vanadium pentoxide films deposited from ethanol dispersions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rizzo, G.; Arena, A.; Bonavita, A.; Donato, N.; Neri, G.; Saitta, G.

    2010-01-01

    Vanadium pentoxide (V 2 O 5 ) nanocrystals having few tens nanometers average size, are obtained from ammonium metavanadate (NH 4 VO 3 ) in the presence of oleic acid, and treating the reaction product at 400 o C. Nanocrystalline films, deposited from stable ethanol suspensions of the V 2 O 5 nanopowder, adhere strongly to different kinds of substrates, without the need of any thermal post processing. At room temperature, the films are found to bleach when exposed to ammonia. Bleaching originates from the formation of ammonium metavandate, and is reversible, as after annealing in air at 350 o C, ammonium metavanadate converts back to V 2 O 5 . Formation of ammonium metavanadate, clearly evidenced by remarkable changes in infrared spectrum of V 2 O 5 films exposed to ammonia, is a valuable detection mechanism, promising in view of developing highly selective ammonia sensors operating at room temperature.

  12. Influence of surfactant and annealing temperature on optical properties of sol-gel derived nano-crystalline TiO2 thin films.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vishwas, M; Sharma, Sudhir Kumar; Rao, K Narasimha; Mohan, S; Gowda, K V Arjuna; Chakradhar, R P S

    2010-03-01

    Titanium dioxide thin films have been synthesized by sol-gel spin coating technique on glass and silicon substrates with and without surfactant polyethylene glycol (PEG). XRD and SEM results confirm the presence of nano-crystalline (anatase) phase at an annealing temperature of 300 degrees C. The influence of surfactant and annealing temperature on optical properties of TiO(2) thin films has been studied. Optical constants and film thickness were estimated by Swanepoel's (envelope) method and by ellipsometric measurements in the visible spectral range. The optical transmittance and reflectance were found to decrease with an increase in PEG percentage. Refractive index of the films decreased and film thickness increased with the increase in percentage of surfactant. The refractive index of the un-doped TiO(2) films was estimated at different annealing temperatures and it has increased with the increasing annealing temperature. The optical band gap of pure TiO(2) films was estimated by Tauc's method at different annealing temperature. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Electrochromic properties of nanocrystalline MoO3 thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hsu, C.-S.; Chan, C.-C.; Huang, H.-T.; Peng, C.-H.; Hsu, W.-C.

    2008-01-01

    Electrochromic MoO 3 thin films were prepared by a sol-gel spin-coating technique. The spin-coated films were initially amorphous; they were calcined, producing nanocrystalline MoO 3 thin films. The effects of annealing temperatures ranging from 100 o C to 500 o C were investigated. The electrochemical and electrochromic properties of the films were measured by cyclic voltammetry and by in-situ optical transmittance techniques in 1 M LiClO 4 /propylene carbonate electrolyte. Experimental results showed that the transmittance of MoO 3 thin films heat-treated at 350 o C varied from 80% to 35% at λ = 550 nm (ΔT = ∼ 45%) and from 86% to 21% at λ ≥ 700 nm (ΔT = ∼ 65%) after coloration. Films heat-treated at 350 deg. C exhibited the best electrochromic properties in the present study

  14. Effect of Al-doped on physical properties of ZnO Thin films grown by spray pyrolysis on SnO2: F/glass

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Castagné M.

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Transparent conducting thin films of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al have been deposited on SnO2:F/glass by the chemical spray technique, starting from zinc acetate (CH3CO22Zn.2H2O and aluminum chloride AlCl3. The effect of changing the aluminum-to-zinc ratio y from 0 to 3 at.%, has been thoroughly investigated. It was found that the optical and electrical properties of Al doped ZnO films improved with the addition of aluminum in the spray solution until y=2%. At this Al doping percentage, the thin layers have a resistivity equal to 4.1 × 10−4 Ω.cm and a transmittance of about 90 % in the region [600-1000] nm. XRD patterns confirm that the films have polycristalline nature and a wurtzite (hexagonal structure which characterized with (100, (002 and (101 principal orientations. The undoped films have (002 as the preferred orientation but Al doped ones have (101 as the preferred orientation. Beyond y= 1%, peak intensities decrease considerably.

  15. Alloy-dependent deformation behavior of highly ductile nanocrystalline AuCu thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lohmiller, Jochen; Spolenak, Ralph; Gruber, Patric A.

    2014-01-01

    Nanocrystalline thin films on compliant substrates become increasingly important for the development of flexible electronic devices. In this study, nanocrystalline AuCu thin films on polyimide substrate were tested in tension while using a synchrotron-based in situ testing technique. Analysis of X-ray diffraction profiles allowed identifying the underlying deformation mechanisms. Initially, elastic and microplastic deformation is observed, followed by dislocation-mediated shear band formation, and eventually macroscopic crack formation. Particularly the influence of alloy composition, heat-treatment, and test temperature were investigated. Generally, a highly ductile behavior is observed. However, high Cu concentrations, annealing, and/or large plastic strains lead to localized deformation and hence reduced ductility. On the other hand, enhanced test temperature allows for a delocalized deformation and extended ductility

  16. Alloy-dependent deformation behavior of highly ductile nanocrystalline AuCu thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lohmiller, Jochen [Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Applied Materials, P.O. Box 3640, 76021 Karlsruhe (Germany); Laboratory for Nanometallurgy, Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Str. 10, 8093 Zurich (Switzerland); Spolenak, Ralph [Laboratory for Nanometallurgy, Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Str. 10, 8093 Zurich (Switzerland); Gruber, Patric A., E-mail: patric.gruber@kit.edu [Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Applied Materials, P.O. Box 3640, 76021 Karlsruhe (Germany)

    2014-02-10

    Nanocrystalline thin films on compliant substrates become increasingly important for the development of flexible electronic devices. In this study, nanocrystalline AuCu thin films on polyimide substrate were tested in tension while using a synchrotron-based in situ testing technique. Analysis of X-ray diffraction profiles allowed identifying the underlying deformation mechanisms. Initially, elastic and microplastic deformation is observed, followed by dislocation-mediated shear band formation, and eventually macroscopic crack formation. Particularly the influence of alloy composition, heat-treatment, and test temperature were investigated. Generally, a highly ductile behavior is observed. However, high Cu concentrations, annealing, and/or large plastic strains lead to localized deformation and hence reduced ductility. On the other hand, enhanced test temperature allows for a delocalized deformation and extended ductility.

  17. Thermoluminescent properties of nanocrystalline ZnTe thin films: Structural and morphological studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rajpal, Shashikant; Kumar, S. R.

    2018-04-01

    Zinc Telluride (ZnTe) is a binary II-VI direct band gap semiconducting material with cubic structure and having potential applications in different opto-electronic devices. Here we investigated the effects of annealing on the thermoluminescence (TL) of ZnTe thin films. A nanocrystalline ZnTe thin film was successfully electrodeposited on nickel substrate and the effect of annealing on structural, morphological, and optical properties were studied. The TL emission spectrum of as deposited sample is weakly emissive in UV region at ∼328 nm. The variation in the annealing temperature results into sharp increase in emission intensity at ∼328 nm along with appearance of a new peak at ∼437 nm in visible region. Thus, the deposited nanocrystalline ZnTe thin films exhibited excellent thermoluminescent properties upon annealing. Furthermore, the influence of annealing (annealed at 400 °C) on the solid state of ZnTe were also studied by XRD, SEM, EDS, AFM. It is observed that ZnTe thin film annealed at 400 °C after deposition provide a smooth and flat texture suited for optoelectronic applications.

  18. Evolution of structural and electrical properties of carbon films from amorphous carbon to nanocrystalline graphene on quartz glass by HFCVD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhai, Zihao; Shen, Honglie; Chen, Jieyi; Li, Xuemei; Jiang, Ye

    2018-04-25

    Direct growth of graphene films on glass is of great importance but has so far met with limited success. The non-catalytic property of glass results in the low decomposition ability of hydrocarbon precursors, especially at reduced temperatures (structural and electrical properties of carbon films deposited on quartz glass at 850 °C by hot-filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD). The results revealed that the obtained a-C films were all graphite-like carbon films. Structural transition of the deposited films from a-C to nanocrystalline graphene was achieved by raising the hydrogen dilution ratios from 10 % to over 80 %. Based on systematically structural and chemical characterizations, a schematic process with three steps including sp2 chains aggregation, aromatic rings formation and sp3 bonds etch was proposed to interpret the structural evolution. The nanocrystalline graphene films grown on glass by HFCVD exhibited good electrical performance with a carrier mobility of 36.76 cm2/(V·s) and a resistivity of 5.24×10-3 Ω·cm over an area of 1 cm2. Temperature-dependent electrical characterizations revealed that the electronic transport in carbon films was dominated by defect, localised and extended states respectively when increasing the temperature from 75 K to 292 K. The nanocrystalline graphene films presented higher carrier mobility and lower carrier concentration than a-C films, which was mainly attributed to their smaller conductive activation energy. The present investigation provides an effective way for direct growth of graphene films on glass at reduced temperatures and also offers useful insights into the understanding of structural and electrical relationship between a-C and graphene.

  19. High-rate deposition of Ta-doped SnO2 films by reactive magnetron sputtering using a Sn–Ta metal-sintered target

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muto, Y.; Nakatomi, S.; Oka, N.; Iwabuchi, Y.; Kotsubo, H.; Shigesato, Y.

    2012-01-01

    Ta-doped SnO 2 films were deposited on glass substrate (either unheated or heated at 200 °C) by reactive magnetron sputtering with a Sn–Ta metal-sintered target using a plasma control unit (PCU) and mid-frequency (mf, 50 kHz) unipolar pulsing. The PCU feedback system precisely controlled the flow of the reactive and sputtering gases (O 2 and Ar, respectively) by monitoring either discharge impedance or the plasma emission of the atomic O* line at 777 nm. The planar target was connected to the switching unit, which was operated in unipolar pulse mode. Power density on the target was maintained at 4.4 W cm −2 during deposition. The lowest obtained resistivity for the films deposited on heated substrate was 6.4 × 10 −3 Ωcm, where the deposition rate was 250 nm min −1 .

  20. Parts per billion-level detection of benzene using SnO2/graphene nanocomposite composed of sub-6 nm SnO2 nanoparticles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meng Fanli; Li Huihua; Kong Lingtao; Liu Jinyun; Jin Zhen; Li Wei; Jia Yong; Liu Jinhuai; Huang Xingjiu

    2012-01-01

    Graphical abstract: SnO 2 /graphene nanocomposite composed of 4–5 nm SnO 2 nanoparticles was synthesized by one-step wet chemical method and the form mechanism of the nanocomposite is clearly interpreted. The detection limit of the nanocomposite was as low as 5 ppb to toxic benzene. Highlights: ► We synthesized SnO 2 /graphene nanocomposite using a simple one-step wet chemical method. ► The nanocomposite composed of 4–5 nm SnO 2 nanoparticles. ► Toxic benzene was detected by such kind of nanocomposite. ► The detection limit to toxic benzene was as low as 5 ppb. - Abstract: In the present work, the SnO 2 /graphene nanocomposite composed of 4–5 nm SnO 2 nanoparticles was synthesized using a simple wet chemical method for ppb-level detection of benzene. The formation mechanism of the nanocomposite was investigated systematically by means of simultaneous thermogravimetry analysis, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy cooperated with transmission electron microscopy observations. The SnO 2 /graphene nanocomposite showed a very attractive improved sensitivity to toxic volatile organic compounds, especially to benzene, compared to a traditional SnO 2 . The responses of the nanocomposite to benzene were a little higher than those to ethanol and the detection limit reached 5 ppb to benzene which is, to our best knowledge, far lower than those reported previously.

  1. Guided assembly of nanoparticles on electrostatically charged nanocrystalline diamond thin films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Verveniotis Elisseos

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract We apply atomic force microscope for local electrostatic charging of oxygen-terminated nanocrystalline diamond (NCD thin films deposited on silicon, to induce electrostatically driven self-assembly of colloidal alumina nanoparticles into micro-patterns. Considering possible capacitive, sp2 phase and spatial uniformity factors to charging, we employ films with sub-100 nm thickness and about 60% relative sp2 phase content, probe the spatial material uniformity by Raman and electron microscopy, and repeat experiments at various positions. We demonstrate that electrostatic potential contrast on the NCD films varies between 0.1 and 1.2 V and that the contrast of more than ±1 V (as detected by Kelvin force microscopy is able to induce self-assembly of the nanoparticles via coulombic and polarization forces. This opens prospects for applications of diamond and its unique set of properties in self-assembly of nano-devices and nano-systems.

  2. Electrophoretic Nanocrystalline Graphene Film Electrode for Lithium Ion Battery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaprans, Kaspars; Bajars, Gunars; Kucinskis, Gints; Dorondo, Anna; Mateuss, Janis; Gabrusenoks, Jevgenijs; Kleperis, Janis; Lusis, Andrejs

    2015-01-01

    Graphene sheets were fabricated by electrophoretic deposition method from water suspension of graphene oxide followed by thermal reduction. The formation of nanocrystalline graphene sheets has been confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The electrochemical performance of graphene sheets as anode material for lithium ion batteries was evaluated by cycling voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge cycling, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Fabricated graphene sheets exhibited high discharge capacity of about 1120 mAh·g −1 and demonstrated good reversibility of lithium intercalation and deintercalation in graphene sheet film with capacity retention over 85 % after 50 cycles. Results show that nanocrystalline graphene sheets prepared by EPD demonstrated a high potential for application as anode material in lithium ion batteries

  3. SnO2/PPy Screen-Printed Multilayer CO2 Gas Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S.A. WAGHULEY

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available Tin dioxide (SnO2 plays a dominant role in solid state gas sensors and exhibit sensitivity towards oxidizing and reducing gases by a variation of its electrical properties. The electrical conducting polymer-polypyrrole (PPy has high anisotropy of electrical conduction and used as a gas sensor. SnO2/PPy multilayer, pure SnO2, pure PPy sensors were prepared by screen-printing method on Al2O3 layer followed by glass substrate. The sensors were used for different concentration (ppm of CO2 gas investigation at room temperature (303 K. The sensitivity of SnO2/PPy multilayer sensor was found to be higher, compared with pure SnO2 and pure PPy sensors. The multilayer sensor exhibited improved stability. The response and recovery time of multilayer sensor were found to be ~2 min and ~10 min respectively.

  4. Piper Ornatum and Piper Betle as Organic Dyes for TiO2 and SnO2 Dye Sensitized Solar Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayat, Azwar; Putra, A. Erwin E.; Amaliyah, Novriany; Hayase, Shuzi; Pandey, Shyam. S.

    2018-03-01

    Dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) mimics the principle of natural photosynthesis are now currently investigated due to low manufacturing cost as compared to silicon based solar cells. In this report, we utilized Piper ornatum (PO) and Piper betle (PB) as sensitizer to fabricate low cost DSSCs. We compared the photovoltaic performance of both sensitizers with Titanium dioxide (TiO2) and Tin dioxide (SnO2) semiconductors. The results show that PO and PB dyes have higher Short circuit current (Jsc) when applied in SnO2 compared to standard TiO2 photo-anode film even though the Open circuit voltage (Voc) was hampered on SnO2 device. In conclusion, from the result, higher electron injections can be achieved by choosing appropriate semiconductors with band gap that match with dyes energy level as one of strategy for further low cost solar cell.

  5. In vitro behaviour of nanocrystalline silver-sputtered thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Piedade, A P; Vieira, M T; Martins, A; Silva, F

    2007-01-01

    Silver thin films were deposited with different preferential orientations and special attention was paid to the bioreactivity of the surfaces. The study was essentially focused on the evaluation of the films by x-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and contact angle measurements. The deposited thin films were characterized before and after immersion in S-enriched simulated human plasma in order to estimate the influence of the preferential crystallographic orientation on the in vitro behaviour. Silver thin films with and without (111) preferential crystallographic orientation were deposited by r.f. magnetron sputtering to yield nanocrystalline coatings, high compact structures, very hydrophobic surfaces and low roughness. These properties reduce the chemisorption of reactive species onto the film surface. The in vitro tests indicate that silver thin films can be used as coatings for biomaterials applications

  6. Evaluation of bulk and surfaces absorption edge energy of sol-gel-dip-coating SnO2 thin films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emerson Aparecido Floriano

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available The absorption edge and the bandgap transition of sol-gel-dip-coating SnO2 thin films, deposited on quartz substrates, are evaluated from optical absorption data and temperature dependent photoconductivity spectra. Structural properties of these films help the interpretation of bandgap transition nature, since the obtained nanosized dimensions of crystallites are determinant on dominant growth direction and, thus, absorption energy. Electronic properties of the bulk and (110 and (101 surfaces are also presented, calculated by means of density functional theory applied to periodic calculations at B3LYP hybrid functional level. Experimentally obtained absorption edge is compared to the calculated energy band diagrams of bulk and (110 and (101 surfaces. The overall calculated electronic properties in conjunction with structural and electro-optical experimental data suggest that the nature of the bandgap transition is related to a combined effect of bulk and (101 surface, which presents direct bandgap transition.

  7. SnO2Nanowire Arrays and Electrical Properties Synthesized by Fast Heating a Mixture of SnO2and CNTs Waste Soot

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhou Zhi-Hua

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract SnO2nanowire arrays were synthesized by fast heating a mixture of SnO2and the carbon nanotubes waste soot by high-frequency induction heating. The resultant SnO2nanowires possess diameters from 50 to 100 nm and lengths up to tens of mircrometers. The field-effect transistors based on single SnO2nanowire exhibit that as-synthesized nanowires have better transistor performance in terms of transconductance and on/off ratio. This work demonstrates a simple technique to the growth of nanomaterials for application in future nanoelectronic devices.

  8. Structure and photoluminescence of Mn-passivated nanocrystalline ZnO:S thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tong, Y.H.; Tang, Q.X.; Liu, Y.C.; Shao, C.L.; Xu, C.S.; Liu, Y.X.

    2005-01-01

    Mn-passivated nanocrystalline ZnO:S thin films were fabricated by thermally oxidizing Mn-doped ZnS (ZnS:Mn) films prepared by electron beam evaporation. Mn was introduced to passivate the surface defects of ZnO and to improve the optical properties. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra at 81.9 K indicated the S content in ZnO thin film gradually decreased with increasing annealing temperature. The fitted result of the temperature-dependent PL spectra in the range from 81.9 to 302.2 K showed that S dopant could broaden the optical band gap energy of ZnO. Room temperature PL spectra confirmed that the ultraviolet peak shifted to lower energy with the decrease of S content in the thin film because of the Burstein-Moss effect

  9. Electrochemical preparation of hematite nanostructured films for solar hydrogen production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ebadzadeh T.

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Photoelectrochemical water splitting is a clean and promising technique for using a renewable source of energy, i.e., solar energy, to produce hydrogen. In this work electrochemical formation of iron oxyhydroxide and its conversion to hematite (α- Fe2O3 through thermal treatment have been studied. Oxyhydroxide iron compounds have been prepared onto SnO2/F covered glass substrate by potential cycling with two different potential sweep rate values; then calcined at 520 °C in air to obtain α-Fe2O3 nanostrutured films for their implementation as photoanode in a photoelectrochemical cell. X-ray diffraction analysis allowed finding that iron oxides films have nanocrystalline character. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that films have nanostructured morphology. The obtained results are discussed considering the influence of potential sweep rate employed during the preparation of iron oxyhydroxide film on optical, structural and morphological properties of hematite nanostructured films. Results show that films have acceptable characteristics as photoanode in a photoelectrochemical cell for hydrogen generation from water.

  10. Effects of neutral particle beam on nano-crystalline silicon thin films, with application to thin film transistor backplane for flexible active matrix organic light emitting diodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jang, Jin Nyoung; Song, Byoung Chul; Lee, Dong Hyeok; Yoo, Suk Jae; Lee, Bonju; Hong, MunPyo

    2011-01-01

    A novel deposition process for nano-crystalline silicon (nc-Si) thin films was developed using neutral beam assisted chemical vapor deposition (NBaCVD) technology for the application of the thin film transistor (TFT) backplane of flexible active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED). During the formation of a nc-Si thin film, the energetic particles enhance nano-sized crystalline rather microcrystalline Si in thin films. Neutral Particle Beam (NPB) affects the crystallinity in two ways: (1) NPB energy enhances nano-crystallinity through kinetic energy transfer and chemical annealing, and (2) heavier NPB (such as Ar) induces damage and amorphization through energetic particle impinging. Nc-Si thin film properties effectively can be changed by the reflector bias. As increase of NPB energy limits growing the crystalline, the performance of TFT supports this NPB behavior. The results of nc-Si TFT by NBaCVD demonstrate the technical potentials of neutral beam based processes for achieving high stability and reduced leakage in TFT backplanes for AMOLEDs.

  11. Ferromagnetism in reactive sputtered Cu0.96Fe 0.04O1-δ nanocrystalline films evidenced by anomalous Hall effect

    KAUST Repository

    Mi, Wenbo; Bai, Haili; Zhang, Qiang; Zhang, Bei; Zhang, Xixiang

    2011-01-01

    Cu0.96Fe0.04O1-δ nanocrystalline films were fabricated using reactive sputtering at different oxygen partial pressures (PO2). The electrical transport properties of the films were measured in a broad temperature range (10-300 K) under magnetic

  12. CVD of alternated microcrystalline (MCD) and nanocrystalline (NCD) diamond films on WC-TIC-CO substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Campos, Raonei Alves; Contin, Andre; Trava-Airoldi, Vladimir J.; Corat, Evaldo Jose; Barquete, Danilo Maciel

    2010-01-01

    CVD Diamond coating of WC-TiC-Co cutting tools has been an alternative to increase tool lifetime. Experiments have shown that residual stresses produced during films growth on WC-TiC-Co substrates significantly increases with increasing film thickness up to 20 μm and usually leads to film delamination. In this work alternated micro- and nanocrystalline CVD diamond films have been used to relax interface stresses and to increase diamond coatings performance. WC-TiC-Co substrates have been submitted to a boronizing thermal diffusion treatment prior to CVD diamond films growth. After reactive heat treatment samples were submitted to chemical etching in acid and alkaline solution. The diamond films deposition was performed using HFCVD reactor with different gas concentrations for microcrystalline (MCD) and nano-crystalline (NCD) films growth. As a result, we present the improvement of diamond films adherence on WC-TiC-Co, evaluated by indentation and machining tests. Samples were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) for qualitative analysis of diamond films. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) was used for phases identification after boronizing process. Diamond film compressive residual stresses were analyzed by Raman Scattering Spectroscopy (RSS). (author)

  13. Study of sensing properties of SnO2 prepared by spray-pyrolysis deposition towards ethanol gas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saadaldin, Nasser M.; Hussain, Nabiha; AlZouabi, Abla

    2018-05-01

    Ethanol is widely used in all kinds of products with direct exposure to the human skin (e.g. medicinal products like hand disinfectants in occupational settings, cosmetics like hairsprays or mouthwashes, in this study, thin films of (SnO2) were deposited by using the thermal spray method (SPD) on quartz at 450°C substrate temperature using tin chloride SnCl2.2H2O, (1.0M). A gas sensor was constructed with the prepared SnO2, used to detect ethanol gas and some other gases. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The grain size was calculated the results showed nanostructure polycrystalline and crystallize in a tetragonal, S.G:P42/m nm, reaching grain Size approximately 27nm. The sensing properties of the films were studied towards ethanol at different concentrations ranging within (1-200 ppm,) the results showed that the sensitivity of the film increases with the concentration of ethanol, the best operating temperature reached about 300 °C, We studied the sensing properties of the films towards Ethanol alcohol gas, The first and foremost concerns of topical ethanol applications for public health are its carcinogenic effects, high selectivity and sensitivity of the film towards ethanol gas was found compared to other tested toxic gases such as methanol gas, acetone and methylbenzene. Yet an upto-date risk assessment of ethanol application on the skin and inside the oral cavity is currently lacking.

  14. Mueller matrix spectroscopic ellipsometry study of chiral nanocrystalline cellulose films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendoza-Galván, Arturo; Muñoz-Pineda, Eloy; Ribeiro, Sidney J. L.; Santos, Moliria V.; Järrendahl, Kenneth; Arwin, Hans

    2018-02-01

    Chiral nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) free-standing films were prepared through slow evaporation of aqueous suspensions of cellulose nanocrystals in a nematic chiral liquid crystal phase. Mueller matrix (MM) spectroscopic ellipsometry is used to study the polarization and depolarization properties of the chiral films. In the reflection mode, the MM is similar to the matrices reported for the cuticle of some beetles reflecting near circular left-handed polarized light in the visible range. The polarization properties of light transmitted at normal incidence for different polarization states of incident light are discussed. By using a differential decomposition of the MM, the structural circular birefringence and dichroism of a NCC chiral film are evaluated.

  15. Sn powder as reducing agents and SnO2 precursors for the synthesis of SnO2-reduced graphene oxide hybrid nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Mingxi; Zhang, Congcong; Li, Lingzhi; Liu, Yu; Li, Xichuan; Xu, Xiaoyang; Xia, Fengling; Wang, Wei; Gao, Jianping

    2013-12-26

    A facile approach to prepare SnO2/rGO (reduced graphene oxide) hybrid nanoparticles by a direct redox reaction between graphene oxide (GO) and tin powder was developed. Since no acid was used, it is an environmentally friendly green method. The SnO2/rGO hybrid nanoparticles were characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The microstructure of the SnO2/rGO was observed with scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The tin powder efficiently reduced GO to rGO, and the Sn was transformed to SnO2 nanoparticles (∼45 nm) that were evenly distributed on the rGO sheets. The SnO2/rGO hybrid nanoparticles were then coated on an interdigital electrode to fabricate a humidity sensor, which have an especially good linear impedance response from 11% to 85% relative humidity.

  16. Fully patterned p-channel SnO TFTs using transparent Al2O3 gate insulator and ITO as source and drain contacts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guzmán-Caballero, D. E.; Quevedo-López, M. A.; De la Cruz, W.; Ramírez-Bon, R.

    2018-03-01

    SnO p-type was used as active layer to fabricate thin film transistors (TFTs) through photolithography and dry etching processes. The SnO p-type thin films (25 nm) were deposited by DC reactive sputtering with variable oxygen (O2) flow rate to then be annealed in air at 250 ◦C. Al2O3 gate dielectric (15 nm) was deposited by atomic layer deposition. Hall measurements showed p-type carrier concentration (N h ) of around 1 × 1018 cm-3 and Hall mobilities (μ Hall) between 0.35 and 2.64 cm2 V-1 s-1, depending on the O2 flow rate during deposition. The hole transport was dominated by variable-range hopping conduction. A change in the preferred crystalline orientation in the SnO films from (101) to (110) was associated with the increase in μ Hall. In addition, Raman vibrational modes at 110 and 209 cm-1 of polycrystalline SnO films showed certain dependence with the grain orientation. The SnO-based TFTs showed p-type behavior with low threshold voltages (V T ) and low sub threshold swing (SS) in the range from 1.76 to 3.50 V and 1.63 to 3.24 V/dec., respectively. The TFTs mobilities in the saturation regime (μ sat) were in the range of 0.12 and 1.32 cm2 V-1 s-1. The current on/off ratio (I ON/I OFF) was in the order of 102, approximately. The large values of the interface trap density (D IT) contributed to the high I OFF and the low I ON/I OFF of the TFTs.

  17. Determination of fundamental optical constants of Zn2SnO4 films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.O. Salohub

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Examined in this paper have been optical properties of polycrystalline films Zn2SnO4 deposited using the spray pyrolysis method within the range of substrate temperatures 250 °C to 450 °C in increments of 50 °C. The spectral dependences have been found for the following physical quantities: k(, n(, ε1(, ε2( and defined as they change under the influence of substrate temperature Тs. Moreover, using the model by Wemple–DiDomenico it was calculated the dispersion energy Ео and Ed for this oxide. Two independent methods defined band gaps Zn2SnO4, which decreases from 4.21…4.22 eV down to 4.04…4.05 eV with increasing Тs from 250 °C up to 450 °C.

  18. Effect of helium gas pressure on dc conduction mechanism and EMI shielding properties of nanocrystalline carbon thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rawal, Ishpal, E-mail: rawalishpal@gmail.com [Department of Physics, Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007 (India); Panwar, O.S., E-mail: ospanwar@mail.nplindia.ernet.in [Polymorphic Carbon Thin Films Group, Physics of Energy Harvesting Division, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi 110012 (India); Tripathi, R.K. [Polymorphic Carbon Thin Films Group, Physics of Energy Harvesting Division, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi 110012 (India); Singh, Avanish Pratap; Dhawan, S.K. [Polymeric and Soft Materials Group, Physics Engineering of Carbon, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi 110012 (India); Srivastava, A.K. [Electron and Ion Microscopy, Sophisticated and Analytical Instruments, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi 110012 (India)

    2015-05-05

    This paper reports the effect of helium partial pressures ∼1.2 × 10{sup −5} (base pressure), 1.4 × 10{sup −4}, 8.6 × 10{sup −3} and 0.1 mbar on the variable range hopping conduction in nanocrystalline carbon thin films deposited by filtered cathodic jet carbon arc technique. High resolution transmission electron microscopy studies suggest the random distribution of nanocrystallites (∼3–7 nm) in the amorphous matrix. The DC conduction behavior of the deposited nanocrystalline films has been studied in the light of Mott's variable range hopping (VRH) model and found to obey three dimensional VRH conduction. The randomly distributed nanocrystallites in amorphous matrix may lead to change in the distribution of density of states near Fermi level and hence, the conduction behavior. The enhanced electrical conductivity of the deposited films due to the helium environment makes them suitable for electromagnetic interference shielding applications. The sample deposited at a helium partial pressure of 0.1 mbar has a value of shielding effectiveness ∼7.84 dB at 18 GHz frequency. - Highlights: • Nanocrystalline carbon thin films (NCTF) has been deposited by FCJCA technique. • Effect of helium gas pressure has been studied on the properties of NCTF. • Investigation of EMI shielding properties of NCTF has been carried out.

  19. Structure and magnetic properties of highly textured nanocrystalline Mn–Zn ferrite thin film

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Joseph, Jaison, E-mail: jaisonjosephp@gmail.com [Department of Physics, Goverment College, Khandola, Goa 403107 India (India); Tangsali, R.B. [Department of Physics, Goa University, Taleigao Plateau, Goa 403206 India (India); Pillai, V.P. Mahadevan [Department of Optoelectronics, University of Kerala,Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695581 India (India); Choudhary, R.J.; Phase, D.M.; Ganeshan, V. [UGC-DAE-CSR Indore, Madhya Pradesh 452017 India. (India)

    2015-01-01

    Nanoparticles of Mn{sub 0.2}Zn{sub 0.8}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4} were chemically synthesized by co-precipitating the metal ions in aqueous solutions in a suitable alkaline medium. The identified XRD peaks confirm single phase spinal formation. The nanoparticle size authentication is carried out from XRD data using Debye Scherrer equation. Thin film fabricated from this nanomaterial by pulse laser deposition technique on quartz substrate was characterized using XRD and Raman spectroscopic techniques. XRD results revealed the formation of high degree of texture in the film. AFM analysis confirms nanogranular morphology and preferred directional growth. A high deposition pressure and the use of a laser plume confined to a small area for transportation of the target species created certain level of porosity in the deposited thin film. Magnetic property measurement of this highly textured nanocrystalline Mn–Zn ferrite thin film revealed enhancement in properties, which are explained on the basis of texture and surface features originated from film growth mechanism.

  20. Electrodeposition of nanocrystalline CdSe thin films from dimethyl sulfoxide solution: Nucleation and growth mechanism, structural and optical studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henriquez, R.; Badan, A.; Grez, P.; Munoz, E.; Vera, J.; Dalchiele, E.A.; Marotti, R.E.; Gomez, H.

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → Electrodeposition of CdSe nanocrystalline semiconductor thin films. → Polycrystalline wurtzite structure with a slight (1010) preferred orientation. → Absorption edge shifts in the optical properties due to quantum confinement effects. - Abstract: Cadmium selenide (CdSe) nanocrystalline semiconductor thin films have been synthesized by electrodeposition at controlled potential based in the electrochemical reduction process of molecular selenium in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solution. The nucleation and growth mechanism of this process has been studied. The XRD pattern shows a characteristic polycrystalline hexagonal wurtzite structure with a slight (1 0 1 0) crystallographic preferred orientation. The crystallite size of nanocrystalline CdSe thin films can be simply controlled by the electrodeposition potential. A quantum size effect is deduced from the correlation between the band gap energy and the crystallite size.

  1. Structural and optical studies of 100 MeV Au irradiated thin films of tin oxide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaiswal, Manoj Kumar; Kanjilal, D.; Kumar, Rajesh

    2013-11-01

    Thin films of tin(IV) oxide (SnO2) of 100 nm thickness were grown on silicon (1 0 0) matrices by electron beam evaporation deposition technique under high vacuum. The thicknesses of these films were monitored by piezo-sensor attached to the deposition chamber. Nanocrystallinity is achieved in these thin films by 100 MeV Au8+ using 1 pnA current at normal incidence with ion fluences varying from 1 × 1011 ions/cm2 to 5 × 1013 ions/cm2. Swift Heavy Ion beam irradiation was carried out by using 15 UD Pelletron Accelerator at IUAC, New Delhi, India. Optical studies of pristine and ion irradiated thin films were characterized by UV-Visible spectroscopy and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Prominent peak at 610 cm-1 in FTIR spectrum confirmed the O-Sn-O bonding of tin(IV) oxide. For Surface topographical studies and grain size calculations, these films were characterized by Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) using Nanoscope III-A. Crystallinity and phase transformation due to irradiation of pristine and irradiated films were characterized by Glancing Angle X-ray Diffraction (GAXRD) using Brucker-D8 advance model. GAXRD results show improvement in crystallinity and phase transformation due to swift heavy ion irradiation. Grain size distribution was verified by AFM and GAXRD results. Swift heavy ion induced modifications in thin films of SnO2 were confirmed by the presence of prominent peaks at 2θ values of 30.65°, 32.045°, 43.94°, 44.96° and 52.36° in GAXRD spectrum.

  2. Tree-like SnO2 nanowires and optical properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tao Tao; Chen Qiyuan; Hu Huiping; Chen Ying

    2011-01-01

    Research highlights: → Tree-like SnO 2 nanowires can be grown as low as 1100 deg. C by a vapour-solid process using a milled SnO 2 powder as the evaporation source. → FT-IR and PL measurements have shown that the tree-like nanostructures lead to superb physical properties. → The PL spectrum of such tree-like nanowires exhibits a strong PL peak at 548 nm. - Abstract: Tree-like SnO 2 nanowires have been grown by a vapor-solid process using a milled SnO 2 powder as the evaporation source. Phase, structural evolution and chemical composition were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray spectrometry (EDS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The process yields a large proportion of ultra-long rutile nanowires of 50-150 nm diameter and lengths up to several tens of micrometers. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) shows that the SnO 2 nanowires are single crystals in the (1 0 1) growth direction with scattered smaller crystals or nanowires as the tree branches. The SnO 2 nanostructures were also examined using Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. A strong emission band centered at 548 nm dominated the PL spectrum of the tree-like nanowires.

  3. Effect of solvent on the synthesis of SnO_2 nanoparticles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, Virender; Singh, Karamjit; Singh, Kulwinder; Kumar, Akshay; Kumari, Sudesh; Thakur, Anup

    2016-01-01

    Tin oxide (SnO_2) nanoparticles have been synthesized by co-precipitation method. The synthesized nanoparticles have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Ultraviolet-Visible spectroscopy (UV-VIS). XRD analysis confirmed the formation of single phase of SnO_2 nanoparticles. It has been found that solvents played important role in controlling the crystallite size of SnO_2 nanoparticles. The XRD analysis showed well crystallized tetragonal SnO_2 nanoparticles. The crystallite size of SnO_2 nanoparticles varies with the solvent. Tauc plot showed that optical band gap was also tailored by controlling the solvent during synthesis.

  4. Microemulsion mediated synthesis of triangular shape SnO2 nanoparticles: Luminescence application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luwang, Meitram Niraj

    2014-01-01

    The triangular prism shapes of SnO 2 ·xH 2 O nanoparticles are prepared using microemulsion route. The effect of variation of water pool value on the formation of SnO 2 nanoparticles was studied. There is the quantum size effect in absorption study of SnO 2 nanoparticles. With the increase of the water pool value, there is a decrease in the band edge absorption energy suggesting the weak quantum confinement effect (QCE) in SnO 2 nanoparticles. Quenching effect increases with increase of water to surfactant ratio in luminescence. There is no significant effect in lifetime values for SnO 2 nanoparticles in both microemulsion and powder form. SnO 2 nanoparticles show green emission due to oxygen vacancy. SnO 2 nanoparticles when doped with Eu 3+ ions give the enhanced luminescence of Eu 3+ due to the surface mediated energy transfer from SnO 2 to Eu 3+ ion.

  5. Parts per billion-level detection of benzene using SnO2/graphene nanocomposite composed of sub-6 nm SnO2 nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Fan-Li; Li, Hui-Hua; Kong, Ling-Tao; Liu, Jin-Yun; Jin, Zhen; Li, Wei; Jia, Yong; Liu, Jin-Huai; Huang, Xing-Jiu

    2012-07-29

    In the present work, the SnO(2)/graphene nanocomposite composed of 4-5 nm SnO(2) nanoparticles was synthesized using a simple wet chemical method for ppb-level detection of benzene. The formation mechanism of the nanocomposite was investigated systematically by means of simultaneous thermogravimetry analysis, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy cooperated with transmission electron microscopy observations. The SnO(2)/graphene nanocomposite showed a very attractive improved sensitivity to toxic volatile organic compounds, especially to benzene, compared to a traditional SnO(2). The responses of the nanocomposite to benzene were a little higher than those to ethanol and the detection limit reached 5 ppb to benzene which is, to our best knowledge, far lower than those reported previously. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Microstructure and optical studies of electron beam evaporated ZnSe1−xTex nanocrystalline thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Emam-Ismail, M.; El-Hagary, M.; Shaaban, E.R.; Al-Hedeib, A.M.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► The structural and optical properties of ZnSeTe thin films were studied. ► The micro structural parameters of the films have been determined. ► The room temperature reflectance and transmittance data are analyzed. ► The refractive index and energy gap are determined. ► The single oscillator parameters were calculated. - Abstract: Nanocrystalline thin films of ZnSe 1−x Te x (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 1.0) were deposited on glass substrate using electron beam deposition technique. The structure of the prepared films was examined using X-ray diffraction technique and revealed that the deposited films have polycrystalline zinc blend structure with lattice constant, a, increasing linearly from 0.55816 to 0.59989 nm as x varies from 0 to 1. The optical studies of the nanocrystalline ZnSe 1−x Te x films showed that the refractive index increases and fundamental band gap E g decreases from 2.58 to 2.21 eV as the tellurium concentration increases from 0 to 1. Furthermore, it was also found that the variation of E g with composition shows quadratic behavior with bowing parameter equal to 0.105. In addition, the thickness and annealing effects on the structure and optical properties of the deposited films were also investigated. The refractive index dispersion and its dependence on composition were discussed in terms of single oscillator model proposed by Wemple–DiDomenico.

  7. Enhanced superconductivity and superconductor to insulator transition in nano-crystalline molybdenum thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sharma, Shilpam; Amaladass, E.P. [Condensed Matter Physics Division, Materials Science Group, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam 603102 (India); Sharma, Neha [Surface & Nanoscience Division, Materials Science Group, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam 603102 (India); Harimohan, V. [Condensed Matter Physics Division, Materials Science Group, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam 603102 (India); Amirthapandian, S. [Materials Physics Division, Materials Science Group, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam 603102 (India); Mani, Awadhesh, E-mail: mani@igcar.gov.in [Condensed Matter Physics Division, Materials Science Group, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam 603102 (India)

    2017-06-01

    Disorder driven superconductor to insulator transition via intermediate metallic regime is reported in nano-crystalline thin films of molybdenum. The nano-structured thin films have been deposited at room temperature using DC magnetron sputtering at different argon pressures. The grain size has been tuned using deposition pressure as the sole control parameter. A variation of particle sizes, room temperature resistivity and superconducting transition has been studied as a function of deposition pressure. The nano-crystalline molybdenum thin films are found to have large carrier concentration but very low mobility and electronic mean free path. Hall and conductivity measurements have been used to understand the effect of disorder on the carrier density and mobilities. Ioffe-Regel parameter is shown to correlate with the continuous metal-insulator transition in our samples. - Highlights: • Thin films of molybdenum using DC sputtering have been deposited on glass. • Argon background pressure during sputtering was used to tune the crystallite sizes of films. • Correlation in deposition pressure, disorder and particle sizes has been observed. • Disorder tuned superconductor to insulator transition along with an intermediate metallic phase has been observed. • Enhancement of superconducting transition temperature and a dome shaped T{sub C} vs. deposition pressure phase diagram has been observed.

  8. Nanocomposites Based on Polyethylene and Nanocrystalline Silicon Films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olkhov Anatoliy Aleksandrovich

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available High-strength polyethylene films containing 0.5-1.0 wt. % of nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si were synthesized. Samples of nc-Si with an average core diameter of 7-10 nm were produced by plasmochemical method and by laser-induced decomposition of monosilane. Spectral studies revealed almost complete (up to ~95 % absorption of UV radiation in 200- 400 nm spectral region by 85 micron thick film if the nc-Si content approaches to 1.0 wt. %. The density function of particle size in the starting powders and polymer films containing immobilized silicon nanocrystallites were obtained using the modeling a complete profile of X-ray diffraction patterns, assuming spherical grains and the lognormal distribution. The results of X-ray analysis shown that the crystallite size distribution function remains almost unchanged and the crystallinity of the original polymer increases to about 10 % with the implantation of the initial nc-Si samples in the polymer matrix.

  9. Dislocation/hydrogen interaction mechanisms in hydrided nanocrystalline palladium films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amin-Ahmadi, Behnam; Connétable, Damien; Fivel, Marc; Tanguy, Döme; Delmelle, Renaud; Turner, Stuart; Malet, Loic; Godet, Stephane; Pardoen, Thomas; Proost, Joris; Schryvers, Dominique

    2016-01-01

    The nanoscale plasticity mechanisms activated during hydriding cycles in sputtered nanocrystalline Pd films have been investigated ex-situ using advanced transmission electron microscopy techniques. The internal stress developing within the films during hydriding has been monitored in-situ. Results showed that in Pd films hydrided to β-phase, local plasticity was mainly controlled by dislocation activity in spite of the small grain size. Changes of the grain size distribution and the crystallographic texture have not been observed. In contrast, significant microstructural changes were not observed in Pd films hydrided to α-phase. Moreover, the effect of hydrogen loading on the nature and density of dislocations has been investigated using aberration-corrected TEM. Surprisingly, a high density of shear type stacking faults has been observed after dehydriding, indicating a significant effect of hydrogen on the nucleation energy barriers of Shockley partial dislocations. Ab-initio calculations of the effect of hydrogen on the intrinsic stable and unstable stacking fault energies of palladium confirm the experimental observations.

  10. Microarray of neuroblastoma cells on the selectively functionalized nanocrystalline diamond thin film surface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Young-Sang; Son, Hyeong-Guk; Kim, Dae-Hoon; Oh, Hong-Gi; Lee, Da-Som; Kim, Min-Hye; Lim, Ki-Moo; Song, Kwang-Soup

    2016-01-01

    Nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) film surfaces were modified with fluorine or oxygen by plasma treatment in an O2 or C3F8 gas environment in order to induce wettability. The oxygenated-NCD (O-NCD) film surface was hydrophilic and the fluorinated-NCD (F-NCD) surface was hydrophobic. The efficiency of early cell adhesion, which is dependent on the wettability of the cell culture plate and necessary for the growth and proliferation of cells, was 89.62 ± 3.92% on the O-NCD film and 7.78 ± 0.77% on the F-NCD film surface after 3 h of cell culture. The wettability of the NCD film surface was artificially modified using a metal mask and plasma treatment to fabricate a micro-pattern. Four types of micro-patterns were fabricated (line, circle, mesh, and word) on the NCD film surface. We precisely arrayed the neuroblastoma cells on the micro-patterned NCD film surfaces by controlling the surface wettability and cell seeding density. The neuroblastoma cells adhered and proliferated along the O-NCD film surface.

  11. Ferroelectric Polarization in Nanocrystalline Hydroxyapatite Thin Films on Silicon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lang, S. B.; Tofail, S. A. M.; Kholkin, A. L.; Wojtaś, M.; Gregor, M.; Gandhi, A. A.; Wang, Y.; Bauer, S.; Krause, M.; Plecenik, A.

    2013-01-01

    Hydroxyapatite nanocrystals in natural form are a major component of bone- a known piezoelectric material. Synthetic hydroxyapatite is widely used in bone grafts and prosthetic pyroelectric coatings as it binds strongly with natural bone. Nanocrystalline synthetic hydroxyapatite films have recently been found to exhibit strong piezoelectricity and pyroelectricity. While a spontaneous polarization in hydroxyapatite has been predicted since 2005, the reversibility of this polarization (i.e. ferroelectricity) requires experimental evidence. Here we use piezoresponse force microscopy to demonstrate that nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite indeed exhibits ferroelectricity: a reversal of polarization under an electrical field. This finding will strengthen investigations on the role of electrical polarization in biomineralization and bone-density related diseases. As hydroxyapatite is one of the most common biocompatible materials, our findings will also stimulate systematic exploration of lead and rare-metal free ferroelectric devices for potential applications in areas as diverse as in vivo and ex vivo energy harvesting, biosensing and electronics. PMID:23884324

  12. Distinction between SnO2 nanoparticles synthesized using co ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Administrator

    pared with that of a co-precipitation-modified SnO2 nanoparticles. Keywords. SnO2 nanoparticle ... Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), which convert light to electricity by means of ... nature, additives and aging time. Nanosized particles pre-.

  13. On the GHz frequency response in nanocrystalline FeXN ultra-soft magnetic films

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chechenin, NG; Craus, CB; Chezan, AR; Vystavel, T; Boerma, DO; De Hosson, JTM; Niesen, L; Tidrow, SC; Horwitz, JS; Xi, XX; Levy, J

    2002-01-01

    The periodicity and angular spread of the in-plane magnetization for ultrasoft nanocrystalline FeZrN films were estimated from an analysis of the ripple structure, observed in Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (LTEM) images. The influence of the micromagnetic ripple on the ferromagnetic

  14. Porous SnO2-CuO nanotubes for highly reversible lithium storage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheong, Jun Young; Kim, Chanhoon; Jung, Ji-Won; Yoon, Ki Ro; Kim, Il-Doo

    2018-01-01

    Facile synthesis of rationally designed structures is critical to realize a high performance electrode for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Among different candidates, tin(IV) oxide (SnO2) is one of the most actively researched electrode materials due to its high theoretical capacity (1493 mAh g-1), abundance, inexpensive costs, and environmental friendliness. However, severe capacity decay from the volume expansion and low conductivity of SnO2 have hampered its use as a feasible electrode for LIBs. Rationally designed SnO2-based nanostructures with conductive materials can be an ideal solution to resolve such limitations. In this work, we have successfully fabricated porous SnO2-CuO composite nanotubes (SnO2-CuO p-NTs) by electrospinning and subsequent calcination step. The porous nanotubular structure is expected to mitigate the volume expansion of SnO2, while the as-formed Cu from CuO upon lithiation allows faster electron transport by improving the low conductivity of SnO2. With a synergistic effect of both Sn and Cu-based oxides, SnO2-CuO p-NTs deliver stable cycling performance (91.3% of capacity retention, ∼538 mAh g-1) even after 350 cycles at a current density of 500 mA g-1, along with enhanced rate capabilities compared with SnO2.

  15. Low-temperature fabrication of TiO2 nanocrystalline film electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shan, G.; Lee, K.E.; Charboneau, C.; Demopoulos, G.P.; Gauvin, R. [McGill Univ., Montreal, PQ (Canada). Dept. of Materials Engineering; Savadogo, O. [Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, PQ (Canada). Dept. de Genie Chimique

    2008-07-01

    Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have the potential to render solar energy widely accessible. The deposition of titania nano-crystalline powders on a substrate is an important step in the manufacture of the DSSC. The deposition forms a mesoporous thin film that is followed by thermal treatment and sensitization. Usually titania films are deposited on glass by screen printing and then annealed at temperatures as high as 530 degrees C to provide a good electrical contact between the semiconductor particles and crystallization of the anatase phase. Several research and development efforts have focused on the deposition of titania film on flexible plastic substrates that will simplify the whole manufacturing process in terms of flexibility, weight, application and cost. Lower temperature processing is needed for the preparation of plastic-based titania film electrodes, but this has proven to be counterproductive when it comes to the cell's conversion efficiency. This paper presented a comprehensive evaluation of the different coating and annealing techniques at low temperature as well as important processing factors for improvement. To date, these techniques include pressing, hydrothermal process, electrodeposition, electrophoretic deposition, microwave or UV irradiation, and lift-off technique.

  16. Oxidant effect of La(NO{sub 3}){sub 3}·6H{sub 2}O solution on the crystalline characteristics of nanocrystalline ZrO{sub 2} films grown by atomic layer deposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oh, Nam Khen [Graduate School of Energy Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, 99 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34134 (Korea, Republic of); Vacuum Center, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS), 267 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34113 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Jin-Tae [Vacuum Center, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS), 267 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34113 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Nanomaterials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology, 217 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34113 (Korea, Republic of); Kang, Goru; An, Jong-Ki; Nam, Minwoo [Vacuum Center, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS), 267 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34113 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, So Yeon [Graduate School of Energy Science and Technology, Chungnam National University, 99 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34134 (Korea, Republic of); Park, In-Sung, E-mail: parkis77@hanyang.ac.kr [Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763 (Korea, Republic of); Yun, Ju-Young, E-mail: jyun@kriss.re.kr [Vacuum Center, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS), 267 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34113 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Nanomaterials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology, 217 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34113 (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-02-01

    Highlights: • The La(NO{sub 3}){sub 3}·6H{sub 2}O aqua solution is introduced as an oxidant in ALD process. • The H{sub 2}O and La(NO{sub 3}){sub 3}·6H{sub 2}O lead different crystalline properties of ZrO{sub 2} films. • Concentration of La(NO{sub 3}){sub 3}·6H{sub 2}O solution minimally influences crystalline status. - Abstract: Nanocrystalline ZrO{sub 2} films were synthesized by atomic layer deposition method using CpZr[N(CH{sub 3}){sub 2}]{sub 3} (Cp = C{sub 5}H{sub 5}) as the metal precursor and La(NO{sub 3}){sub 3}·6H{sub 2}O solution as the oxygen source. La element in the deposited ZrO{sub 2} films could not be detected as its content was below the resolution limit of the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The alternative introduction of La(NO{sub 3}){sub 3}·6H{sub 2}O solution to conventionally used H{sub 2}O as the oxidant effectively altered the crystalline structure, grain size, and surface roughness of the grown ZrO{sub 2} films. Specifically, the crystalline structure of the ZrO{sub 2} film changed from a mixture of tetragonal and monoclinic phases to monoclinic phase. The average grain size also increased, and the resulting film surface became rougher. The average grain sizes of the ZrO{sub 2} films prepared from La(NO{sub 3}){sub 3}·6H{sub 2}O solution at concentrations of 10, 20, 30, and 40% were 280, 256, 208, and 200 nm, respectively, whereas that prepared using H{sub 2}O oxidant was 142 nm. However, the concentration of La(NO{sub 3}){sub 3}·6H{sub 2}O solution minimally influenced the crystalline characteristics of the nanocrystalline ZrO{sub 2} films i.e., the crystalline structure, grain size, and surface roughness except for crystallite size.

  17. Morphological and humidity sensing characteristics of SnO 2 –CuO ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    This paper reports the synthesis of SnO2–CuO, SnO2–Fe2O3 and SnO2–SbO2 composites of nano oxides and comparative study of humidity sensing on their electrical resistances. CuO, Fe2O3 and SbO2 were added within base material SnO2 in the ratio 1 : 0.25, 1 : 0.50 and 1 : 1. Characterizations of materials were done ...

  18. An Investigation of Nanocrystalline and Electrochemically Grown Cu2ZnSnS4 Thin Film Using Redox Couples of Different Band Offset

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prashant K. Sarswat

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Alternative electrolytes were examined to evaluate photoelectrochemical response of Cu2ZnSnS4 films at different biasing potential. Selections of the electrolytes were made on the basis of relative Fermi level position and standard reduction potential. Our search was focused on some cost-effective electrolytes, which can produce good photocurrent during illumination. Thin films were grown on FTO substrate using ink of nanocrystalline Cu2ZnSnS4 particles as well as electrodeposition-elevated temperature sulfurization approach. Our investigations suggest that photoelectrochemical response is mostly due to conduction band-mediated process. Surface topography and phase purity were investigated after each electrochemical test, in order to evaluate film quality and reactivity of electrolytes. Raman examination of film and nanocrystals was conducted for comparison. The difference in photocurrent response was explained due to various parameters such as change in charge transfer rate constant, presence of dangling bond, difference in concentration of adsorbed species in electrode.

  19. A simple method to deposit palladium doped SnO2 thin films using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Young Soon; Wahab, Rizwan; Shin, Hyung-Shik; Ansari, S. G.; Ansari, Z. A.

    2010-01-01

    This work presents a simple method to deposit palladium doped tin oxide (SnO 2 ) thin films using modified plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition as a function of deposition temperature at a radio frequency plasma power of 150 W. Stannic chloride (SnCl 4 ) was used as precursor and oxygen (O 2 , 100 SCCM) (SCCM denotes cubic centimeter per minute at STP) as reactant gas. Palladium hexafluroacetyleacetonate (Pd(C 5 HF 6 O 2 ) 2 ) was used as a precursor for palladium. Fine granular morphology was observed with tetragonal rutile structure. A peak related to Pd 2 Sn is observed, whose intensity increases slightly with deposition temperature. Electrical resistivity value decreased from 8.6 to 0.9 mΩ cm as a function of deposition temperature from 400 to 600 deg. C. Photoelectron peaks related to Sn 3d, Sn 3p3, Sn 4d, O 1s, and C 1s were detected with varying intensities as a function of deposition temperature.

  20. Phase Competition Induced Bio-Electrochemical Resistance and Bio-Compatibility Effect in Nanocrystalline Zr x -Cu100-x Thin Films.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Badhirappan, Geetha Priyadarshini; Nallasivam, Vignesh; Varadarajan, Madhuri; Leobeemrao, Vasantha Priya; Bose, Sivakumar; Venugopal, Elakkiya; Rajendran, Selvakumar; Angleo, Peter Chrysologue

    2018-07-01

    Nano-crystalline Zrx-Cu100-x (x = 20-100 at.%) thin films with thickness ranging from 50 to 185 nm were deposited by magnetron co-sputtering with individual Zr and Cu targets. The as-sputtered thin films were characterized by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Glancing Incidence X-ray Diffraction (GIXRD) for structural and morphological properties. The crystallite size was found to decrease from 57 nm to 37 nm upon increasing the Zr content from 20 to 30 at.% with slight increase in the lattice strain from 0.17 to 0.33%. Further, increase in Zr content to 40 at.% leads to increase in the crystallite size to 57 nm due to stabilization of C10Zr7 phase along with the presence of nanocrystalline Cu-Zr phase. A bimodal distribution of grain size was observed from FE-SEM micrograph was attributed to the highest surface roughness in Zr30Cu70 thin films comprised of Cu10Zr7, Cu9Zr2, Cu-Zr intermetallic phases. In-vitro electrochemical behaviors of nano-crystalline Zrx-Cu100-x thin films in simulated body fluid (SBF) were investigated using potentiodynamic polarization studies. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) data fitting by equivalent electrical circuit fit model suggests that inner bulk layer contributes to high bio-corrosion resistance in Zrx-Cu100-x thin films with increase in Zr content. The results of cyto-compatibility assay suggested that Zr-Cu thin film did not introduce cytotoxicity to osteoblast cells, indicating its suitability as a bio-coating for minimally invasive medical devices.

  1. Electrochemical Behavior of TiO2 Nanoparticle Doped WO3 Thin Films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suvarna R. Bathe

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Nanoparticle TiO2 doped WO3 thin films by pulsed spray pyrolysis technique have been studied on fluorine tin doped (FTO and glass substrate. XRD shows amorphous nature for undoped and anatase phase of TiO2 having (101 plane for nanoparticle TiO2 doped WO3 thin film. SEM shows microfibrous reticulated porous network for WO3 with 600 nm fiber diameter and nanocrystalline having size 40 nm for TiO2 nanoparticle doped WO3 thin film. TiO2 nanoparticle doped WO3 thin film shows ~95% reversibility due to may be attributed to nanocrystalline nature of the film, which helpful for charge insertion and deinsertion process. The diffusion coefficient for TiO2 nanoparticle doped WO3 film is less than undoped WO3.

  2. Nanocrystalline diamond/amorphous carbon films for applications in tribology, optics and biomedicine

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Popov, C.; Kulisch, W.; Jelínek, Miroslav; Bock, A.; Strnad, J.

    2006-01-01

    Roč. 494, - (2006), s. 92-97 ISSN 0040-6090 Grant - others:NATO(XE) CBP.EAP.CLG 981519; Marie-Curie EIF(XE) MEIF-CT-2004-500038 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100502 Keywords : nanocrystalline diamond films * application properties Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 1.666, year: 2006

  3. The Research of Micro-structure and Gas Sensitivity of SnO2

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mingxin Song

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper adopts Sol-gel method and solid state reaction to make SnO2 matrix material and Sb2O3 is used as zuji to make SnO2 gas sensor under different sintering temperature. XRD analysis, SEM analysis and response time restoration test of working voltage sensitivity are choose to research SnO2 gas sensor constituents and influence factor on sensing properties by processing. Experiment results show that when the SnO2 make by sol-get method and Sb2O3 take up 2 %, Polyvinyl alcohol as an organic binder, platinum as catalyst, SnO2 gas sensor can get optimal integral sensing properties.

  4. Detection of DNA hybridization based on SnO2 nanomaterial enhanced fluorescence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gu Cuiping; Huang Jiarui; Ni Ning; Li Minqiang; Liu Jinhuai

    2008-01-01

    In this paper, enhanced fluorescence emissions were firstly investigated based on SnO 2 nanomaterial, and its application in the detection of DNA hybridization was also demonstrated. The microarray of SnO 2 nanomaterial was fabricated by the vapour phase transport method catalyzed by patterned Au nanoparticles on a silicon substrate. A probe DNA was immobilized on the substrate with patterned SnO 2 nanomaterial, respectively, by covalent and non-covalent linking schemes. When a fluorophore labelled target DNA was hybridized with a probe DNA on the substrate, fluorescence emissions were only observed on the surface of SnO 2 nanomaterial, which indicated the property of enhancing fluorescence signals from the SnO 2 nanomaterial. By comparing the different fluorescence images from covalent and non-covalent linking schemes, the covalent method was confirmed to be more effective for immobilizing a probe DNA. With the combined use of SnO 2 nanomaterial and the covalent linking scheme, the target DNA could be detected at a very low concentration of 10 fM. And the stability of SnO 2 nanomaterial under the experimental conditions was also compared with silicon nanowires. The findings strongly suggested that SnO 2 nanomaterial could be extensively applied in detections of biological samples with enhancing fluorescence property and high stability

  5. Grain Growth in Nanocrystalline Mg-Al Thin Films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kruska, Karen; Rohatgi, Aashish; Vemuri, Venkata Rama Ses; Kovarik, Libor; Moser, Trevor H.; Evans, James E.; Browning, Nigel D.

    2017-10-05

    An improved understanding of grain growth kinetics in nanocrystalline materials, and in metals and alloys in general, is of continuing interest to the scientific community. In this study, Mg - Al thin films containing ~10 wt.% Al and with 14.5 nm average grain size were produced by magnetron-sputtering and subjected to heat-treatments. The grain growth evolution in the early stages of heat treatment at 423 K (150 °C), 473 K (200 °C) and 573K (300 °C) was observed with transmission electron microscopy and analyzed based upon the classical equation developed by Burke and Turnbull. The grain growth exponent was found to be 7±2 and the activation energy for grain growth was 31.1±13.4 kJ/mol, the latter being significantly lower than in bulk Mg-Al alloys. The observed grain growth kinetics are explained by the Al supersaturation in the matrix and the pinning effects of the rapidly forming beta precipitates and possibly shallow grain boundary grooves. The low activation energy is attributed to the rapid surface diffusion which is dominant in thin film systems.

  6. Preparation of SnO2 Nanoparticles by Two Different Wet Chemistry Methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ridha, N.J.; Akrajas Ali Umar; Muhammad Yahya; Muhammad Mat Salleh; Mohamad Hafizuddin Jumali

    2011-01-01

    The objective of this project is to prepare SnO 2 nanoparticles by two different wet chemistry methods namely sol gel and direct growth methods. The XRD results indicated that both samples are single phase SnO 2 . The FE-SEM micrographs displayed that SnO 2 nanoparticles prepared in first method exhibited a round shape with particle size around 15 nm while the second method produced SnO 2 nano rod with length and width of 570 nm and 55 nm respectively. Energy gap values for SnO 2 nanospheres and nano rods were 4.38 and 4.34 eV respectively. (author)

  7. Characterization of amorphous multilayered ZnO-SnO2 heterostructure thin films and their field effect electronic properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Su-Jae; Hwang, Chi-Sun; Pi, Jae-Eun; Yang, Jong-Heon; Oh, Himchan; Cho, Sung Haeng; Cho, Kyoung-Ik; Chu, Hye Yong

    2014-01-01

    Multilayered ZnO-SnO 2 heterostructure thin films were produced using pulsed laser ablation of pie-shaped ZnO-SnO 2 oxides target, and their structural and field effect electronic transport properties were investigated as a function of the thickness of the ZnO and SnO 2 layers. The films have an amorphous multilayered heterostructure composed of the periodic stacking of the ZnO and SnO 2 layers. The field effect electronic properties of amorphous multilayered ZnO-SnO 2 heterostructure thin film transistors (TFTs) are highly dependent on the thickness of the ZnO and SnO 2 layers. The highest electron mobility of 37 cm 2 /V s, a low subthreshold swing of a 0.19 V/decade, a threshold voltage of 0.13 V, and a high drain current on-to-off ratio of ∼10 10 obtained for the amorphous multilayered ZnO(1.5 nm)-SnO 2 (1.5 nm) heterostructure TFTs. These results are presumed to be due to the unique electronic structure of an amorphous multilayered ZnO-SnO 2 heterostructure film consisting of ZnO, SnO 2 , and ZnO-SnO 2 interface layers

  8. Photochemical solar cells based on dye-sensitization of nanocrystalline TiO{sub 2}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Deb, S.K.; Ellingson, R.; Ferrere, S.; Frank, A.J.; Gregg, B.A.; Nozik, A.J.; Park, N.; Schlichthoerl, G. [National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)

    1998-09-01

    A photoelectrochemical solar cell that is based on the dye-sensitization of thin nanocrystalline films of TiO{sub 2} (anatase) nanoparticles in contact with a non-aqueous liquid electrolyte is described. The cell, fabricated at NREL, shows a conversion efficiency of {approximately} 9.2% at AM1.5, which approaches the best reported value of 10--11% by Graetzel at EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland. The femtosecond (fs) pump-probe spectroscopy has been used to time resolve the injection of electrons into the conduction band of nanocrystalline TiO{sub 2} films under ambient conditions following photoexcitation of the adsorbed Ru(II)-complex dye. The measurement indicates an instrument-limited {minus}50 fs upper limit on the electron injection time. The authors also report the sensitization of nanocrystalline TiO{sub 2} by a novel iron-based dye, CIS-[Fe{sup II}(2,2{prime}-bipyridine-4,4,{prime}-dicarboxylic acid){sub 2}(CN){sub 2}], a chromophore with an extremely short-lived, nonemissive excited state. The dye also exhibits a unique band selective sensitization through one of its two absorption bands. The operational principle of the device has been studied through the measurement of electric field distribution within the device structure and studies on the pH dependence of dye-redox potential. The incorporation of WO{sub 3}-based electrochromic layer into this device has led to a novel photoelectrochromic device structure for smart window application.

  9. V-groove SnO2 nanowire sensors: fabrication and Pt-nanoparticle decoration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun, Gun-Joo; Choi, Sun-Woo; Jung, Sung-Hyun; Katoch, Akash; Kim, Sang Sub

    2013-01-01

    Networked SnO 2 nanowire sensors were achieved using the selective growth of SnO 2 nanowires and their tangling ability, particularly on on-chip V-groove structures, in an effort to overcome the disadvantages imposed on the conventional trench-structured SnO 2 nanowire sensors. The sensing performance of the V-groove-structured SnO 2 nanowire sensors was highly dependent on the geometrical dimension of the groove, being superior to those of their conventional trench-structured counterparts. Pt nanoparticles were decorated on the surface of the networked SnO 2 nanowires via γ-ray radiolysis to enhance the sensing performances of the V-groove sensors whose V-groove widths had been optimized. The V-groove-structured Pt-nanoparticle-decorated SnO 2 nanowire sensors exhibited outstanding and reliable sensing capabilities towards toluene and nitrogen dioxide gases, indicating their potential for use as a platform for chemical gas sensors. (paper)

  10. Nonohmic behavior of SnO2.MnO2-based ceramics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcelo O. Orlandi

    2003-06-01

    Full Text Available The present paper describes the nonohmic behavior of the SnO2.MnO-based system and analyzes the influence of the sintering time and the Nb2O5 concentration on this system's electrical properties. A nonlinear coefficient of ~7 was obtained for a 0.2 mol%-doped Nb2O5 composition, which is comparable to other values reported in the literature for the ternary SnO2-based systems. A recent barrier formation model proposed in the literature to explain the nonlinear electrical behavior of SnO2-based systems is used to clarify the role of the MnO constituent in the formation of the barrier, taking into account the influence of segregated atoms, precipitated phase and oxygen species in the grain boundary region.

  11. Hysteretic current-voltage characteristics in RF-sputtered nanocrystalline TiO2 thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Villafuerte, Manuel; Juarez, Gabriel; Heluani, Silvia P. de; Comedi, David

    2007-01-01

    We have measured the current-voltage characteristics at room temperature of a nanocrystalline TiO 2 thin film fabricated by reactive RF-sputtering deposition and sandwiched between ITO (indium-tin-oxide)-buffered glass substrate and an indium top electrode. The I-V characteristics are ohmic for low voltages and become non-linear, hysteretic and asymmetric as the voltage is increased. The system is shown to be well represented by two distinct resistance states in the non-ohmic region. Current transient evolutions were also measured for constant voltage excitations. The resistance is stable in time for voltages in the ohmic regime. In contrast, for voltages in the non-ohmic regime, the resistance has a small variation for a short period of time (order of tens seconds) and then increases with time. For those transients, long characteristic times (on the order of tens of minutes up to hours) were found. The behavior of the system is discussed on the basis of experimental results reported in the literature for similar systems and existing models for electric-field induced resistive switching

  12. Enhancement of photo sensor properties of nanocrystalline ZnO thin film by swift heavy ion irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mahajan, S. V.; Upadhye, D. S.; Bagul, S. B. [Department of Nanotechnology, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad-431004 (India); Shaikh, S. U.; Birajadar, R. B.; Siddiqui, F. Y.; Huse, N. P. [Thin film and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Physics, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad-431004 (India); Sharma, R. B., E-mail: ramphalsharma@yahoo.com, E-mail: rps.phy@gmail.com [Thin film and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Physics, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad-431004 (India); Department of Nanotechnology, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad-431004 (India)

    2015-06-24

    Nanocrystalline Zinc Oxide (ZnO) thin film prepared by Low cost Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR) method. This film was irradiated by 120 MeV Ni{sup 7+} ions with the fluence of 5x10{sup 12}ions/cm{sup 2}. The X-ray diffraction study was shows polycrystalline nature with wurtzite structure. The optical properties as absorbance were determined using UV-Spectrophotometer and band gap was also calculated. The Photo Sensor nature was calculated by I-V characteristics with different sources of light 40W, 60W and 100W.

  13. Superparamagnetic behavior of Fe-doped SnO2 nanoparticles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hachisu, M.; Onuma, K.; Kondo, T.; Miike, K.; Miyasaka, T.; Mori, K.; Ichiyanagi, Y.

    2014-01-01

    SnO 2 is an n-type semiconductor with a wide band gap of 3.62 eV, and SnO 2 nanoparticles doped with magnetic ions are expected to realized new diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMSs). Realizing ferromagnetism at room temperature is important for spintronics device applications, and it is interesting that the magnetic properties of these DMS systems can be varied significantly by modifying the preparation methods or conditions. In this study, the magnetic properties of Fe-doped (3% and 5%) SnO 2 nanoparticles, prepared using our novel chemical preparation method and encapsulated in amorphous SiO 2 , were investigated. The particle size (1.8–16.9 nm) and crystal phase were controlled by the annealing temperature. X-ray diffraction confirmed a rutile SnO 2 single-phase structure for samples annealed at 1073–1373 K, and the composition was confirmed using X-ray fluorescence analysis. SQUID magnetometer measurements revealed superparamagnetic behavior of the 5%-Fe-doped sample at room temperature, although SnO 2 is known to be diamagnetic. Magnetization curves at 5 K indicated that the 3%-Fe-doped has a larger magnetization than that of the 5%-Fe-doped sample. We conclude that the magnetization of the 5%-Fe-doped sample decreased at 5 K due to the superexchange interaction between the antiferromagnetic coupling in the nanoparticle system

  14. Superparamagnetic behavior of Fe-doped SnO2 nanoparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hachisu, M.; Onuma, K.; Kondo, T.; Miike, K.; Miyasaka, T.; Mori, K.; Ichiyanagi, Y.

    2014-02-01

    SnO2 is an n-type semiconductor with a wide band gap of 3.62 eV, and SnO2 nanoparticles doped with magnetic ions are expected to realized new diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMSs). Realizing ferromagnetism at room temperature is important for spintronics device applications, and it is interesting that the magnetic properties of these DMS systems can be varied significantly by modifying the preparation methods or conditions. In this study, the magnetic properties of Fe-doped (3% and 5%) SnO2 nanoparticles, prepared using our novel chemical preparation method and encapsulated in amorphous SiO2, were investigated. The particle size (1.8-16.9 nm) and crystal phase were controlled by the annealing temperature. X-ray diffraction confirmed a rutile SnO2 single-phase structure for samples annealed at 1073-1373 K, and the composition was confirmed using X-ray fluorescence analysis. SQUID magnetometer measurements revealed superparamagnetic behavior of the 5%-Fe-doped sample at room temperature, although SnO2 is known to be diamagnetic. Magnetization curves at 5 K indicated that the 3%-Fe-doped has a larger magnetization than that of the 5%-Fe-doped sample. We conclude that the magnetization of the 5%-Fe-doped sample decreased at 5 K due to the superexchange interaction between the antiferromagnetic coupling in the nanoparticle system.

  15. Hydrogen Production from Ethanol Steam Reforming over SnO2-K2O/Zeolite Y Catalyst

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Jun Sung; Kim, Ji Eun; Kang, Mi Sook

    2011-01-01

    The SnO 2 with a particle size of about 300 nm instead of Ni is used in this study to overcome rapid catalytic deactivation by the formation of a NiAl 2 O 4 spinal structure on the conventional Ni/γ-Al 2 O 3 catalyst and simultaneously impregnated the catalyst with potassium (K). The SnO 2 -K 2 O impregnated Zeolite Y catalyst (SnO 2 -K 2 O/ZY) exhibited significantly higher ethanol reforming reactivity that that achieved with SnO 2 100 and SnO 2 30 wt %/ZY catalysts. The main products from ethanol steam reforming (ESR) over the SnO 2 -K 2 O/ ZY catalyst were H 2 , CO 2 , and CH 4 , with no evidence of any CO molecule formation. The H 2 production and ethanol conversion were maximized at 89% and 100%, respectively, over SnO 2 30 wt %-K 2 O 3.0 wt %/ZY at 600 .deg. C for 1 h at a CH 3 CH 2 OH:H 2 O ratio of 1:1 and a gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) of 12,700 h -1 . No catalytic deactivation occurred for up to 73 h. This result is attributable to the easier and weaker of reduction of Sn components and acidities over SnO 2 -K 2 O/ZY catalyst, respectively, than those of Ni/γ-Al 2 O 3 catalysts

  16. Spectroscopy and structural properties of amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon carbide thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Halindintwali, Sylvain; Knoesen, D.; Julies, B.A.; Arendse, C.J.; Muller, T. [University of the Western Cape, Private Bag X17, Bellville 7535 (South Africa); Gengler, Regis Y.N.; Rudolf, P.; Loosdrecht, P.H.M. van [Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen (Netherlands)

    2011-09-15

    Amorphous SiC:H thin films were grown by hot wire chemical vapour deposition from a SiH{sub 4}/CH{sub 4}/H{sub 2} mixture at a substrate temperature below 400 C. Thermal annealing in an argon environment up to 900 C shows that the films crystallize as {mu}c-Si:H and SiC with a porous microstructure that favours an oxidation process. By a combination of spectroscopic tools comprising Fourier transform infrared, Raman scattering and X-rays photoelectron spectroscopy we show that the films evolve from the amorphous SiH{sub x}/SiCH{sub 2} structure to nanocrystalline Si and SiC upon annealing at a temperature of 900 C. A strong RT photoluminescence peak of similar shape has been observed at around 420 nm in both as-deposited and annealed samples. Time-resolved luminescence measurements reveal that this peak is fast decaying with lifetimes ranging from 0.5 to {proportional_to}1.1 ns. (copyright 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

  17. Ultrafast Terahertz Conductivity of Photoexcited Nanocrystalline Silicon

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cooke, David; MacDonald, A. Nicole; Hryciw, Aaron

    2007-01-01

    The ultrafast transient ac conductivity of nanocrystalline silicon films is investigated using time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy. While epitaxial silicon on sapphire exhibits a free carrier Drude response, silicon nanocrystals embedded in glass show a response that is best described by a class...... in the silicon nanocrystal films is dominated by trapping at the Si/SiO2 interface states, occurring on a 1–100 ps time scale depending on particle size and hydrogen passivation......The ultrafast transient ac conductivity of nanocrystalline silicon films is investigated using time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy. While epitaxial silicon on sapphire exhibits a free carrier Drude response, silicon nanocrystals embedded in glass show a response that is best described...

  18. One-pot formation of SnO2 hollow nanospheres and α-Fe2O3@SnO2 nanorattles with large void space and their lithium storage properties

    KAUST Repository

    Chen, Jun Song

    2009-01-01

    In this work, uniform SnO2 hollow nanospheres with large void space have been synthesized by a modified facile method. The void space can be easily controlled by varying the reaction time. The formation of interior void space is based on an inside-out Ostwald ripening mechanism. More importantly, this facile one-pot process can be extended to fabricate rattle-type hollow structures using α-Fe2O3@SnO2 as an example. Furthermore, the electrochemical lithium storage properties have been investigated. It is found that α-Fe2O3@SnO 2 nanorattles manifest a much lower initial irreversible loss and higher reversible capacity compared to SnO2 hollow spheres. This interesting finding supports a general hypothesis that a synergistic effect between functional core and shell materials can lead to improved lithium storage capabilities. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2009.

  19. Synthesis of nanocrystalline ceria thin films by low-temperature thermal decomposition of Ce-propionate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roura, P.; Farjas, J.; Ricart, S.; Aklalouch, M.; Guzman, R.; Arbiol, J.; Puig, T.; Calleja, A.; Peña-Rodríguez, O.; Garriga, M.; Obradors, X.

    2012-01-01

    Thin films of Ce-propionate (thickness below 20 nm) have been deposited by spin coating and pyrolysed into ceria at temperatures below 200 °C. After 1 h of thermal treatment, no signature of the vibrational modes of Ce-propionate is detected by infrared spectroscopy, indicating that decomposition has been completed. The resulting ceria films are nanocrystalline as revealed by X-ray diffraction (average grain size of 22.5 nm) and confirmed by microscopy. They are transparent in the visible region and show the characteristic band gap absorption below 400 nm. A direct band gap energy of 3.50 ± 0.05 eV has been deduced irrespective of the pyrolysis temperature (160, 180 and 200 °C).

  20. Preparation and characterization of nanocrystalline ITO thin films on glass and clay substrates by ion-beam sputter deposition method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Venkatachalam, S.; Nanjo, H.; Kawasaki, K.; Wakui, Y.; Hayashi, H.; Ebina, T.

    2011-01-01

    Nanocrystalline indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films were prepared on clay-1 (Clay-TPP-LP-SA), clay-2 (Clay-TPP-SA) and glass substrates using ion-beam sputter deposition method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns showed that the as-deposited ITO films on both clay-1 and clay-2 substrates were a mixture of amorphous and polycrystalline. But the as-deposited ITO films on glass substrates were polycrystalline. The surface morphologies of as-deposited ITO/glass has smooth surface; in contrast, ITO/clay-1 has rough surface. The surface roughnesses of ITO thin films on glass and clay-1 substrate were calculated as 4.3 and 83 nm, respectively. From the AFM and SEM analyses, the particle sizes of nanocrystalline ITO for a film thickness of 712 nm were calculated as 19.5 and 20 nm, respectively. Optical study showed that the optical transmittance of ITO/clay-2 was higher than that of ITO/clay-1. The sheet resistances of as-deposited ITO/clay-1 and ITO/clay-2 were calculated as 76.0 and 63.0 Ω/□, respectively. The figure of merit value for as-deposited ITO/clay-2 (12.70 x 10 -3 /Ω) was also higher than that of ITO/clay-1 (9.6 x 10 -3 /Ω), respectively. The flexibilities of ITO/clay-1 and ITO/clay-2 were evaluated as 13 and 12 mm, respectively. However, the ITO-coated clay-2 substrate showed much better optical and electrical properties as well as flexibility as compared to clay-1.

  1. An alternative fluorine precursor for the synthesis of SnO2:F by spray pyrolysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arca, E.; Fleischer, K.; Shvets, I.V.

    2012-01-01

    An alternative, non-toxic precursor was employed for the synthesis of SnO 2 :F transparent conducting oxide. The performance of benzenesulfonyl fluoride (BSF) as F source for spray pyrolysis was investigated. Its decomposition and the actual incorporation of fluorine in the tin oxide matrix were confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy while its effect on the electrical properties was investigated by resistance and Hall measurements. Results were compared with respect to samples grown using a common fluorine source (NH 4 F), a commercial available sample and a sample grown by spray pyrolysis at an independent laboratory. We show that BSF leads to actively doped conductive SnO 2 with good carrier mobility, though the fluorine incorporation rate and hence overall conductivity of the films is lower than for fluorine precursors commonly used in spray pyrolysis.

  2. Nanocrystalline-diamond thin films with high pH and penicillin sensitivity prepared on a capacitive Si-SiO2 structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poghossian, A.; Abouzar, M.H.; Razavi, A.; Baecker, M.; Bijnens, N.; Williams, O.A.; Haenen, K.; Moritz, W.; Wagner, P.; Schoening, M.J.

    2009-01-01

    A capacitive field-effect EDIS (electrolyte-diamond-insulator-semiconductor) sensor with improved pH and penicillin sensitivity has been realised using a nanocrystalline-diamond (NCD) film as sensitive gate material. The NCD growth process on SiO 2 as well as an additional surface treatment in oxidising medium have been optimised to provide high pH-sensitive, non-porous O-terminated films without damage of the underlying SiO 2 layer. The surface morphology of O-terminated NCD thin films and the layer structure of EDIS sensors have been studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) methods. To establish the relative coverage of the surface functional groups generated by the oxidation of NCD surfaces, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis was carried out. The hydrophilicity of NCD thin films has been studied by water contact-angle measurements. A nearly Nernstian pH sensitivity of 54-57 mV/pH has been observed for O-terminated NCD films treated in an oxidising boiling mixture for 80 min and in oxygen plasma. The high pH-sensitive properties of O-terminated NCD have been used to develop an EDIS-based penicillin biosensor. A freshly prepared penicillin biosensor possesses a high sensitivity of 85 mV/decade in the concentration range of 0.1-2.5 mM penicillin G. The lower detection limit is 5 μM.

  3. Morphologically controlled synthesis, structural and optical properties of CeO2/SnO2 nanocomposites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Usharani

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available CeO2/SnO2 nanocomposites with different dimensional nanostructures were synthesized by a wet chemical method, using various surfactants such as SDS, CTAB and Triton X-100. The prepared CeO2/SnO2 samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR, Transmission electron microscopy (TEM, UV-Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (UV-DRS, and Photoluminescence (PL spectroscopy. The XRD patterns reveal the presence of a mixed phase of SnO2 and CeO2; The TEM analysis showed the mixed morphology of uniformly dispersed spherical with ellipsoidal shape in the SDS assisted CeO2/SnO2 nanocomposites; whereas the nanostructure with spherical with hexagonal shapes was observed for the Triton X-100 assisted CeO2/SnO2 nanocomposites. The one dimensional (1D nanorod like structure observed for the CTAB assisted CeO2/SnO2 nanocomposites shows CTAB acting as a face-specific capping agent to form rod-shaped micelles. The room temperature photoluminescence emission studies of the CeO2/SnO2 nanocomposites showed strong peaks in the UV region, and several peaks in the visible region, which are likely to have originated from the oxygen vacancies and are potential materials for optoelectronic device applications. The UV results showed the absorption edges shifted to a high energy region and the blue shifts that occurred in all the samples.

  4. SnO2 Nanoparticles Decorated 2D Wavy Hierarchical Carbon Nanowalls with Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noor Hamizah Khanis

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Two-dimensional carbon nanowall (2D-CNW structures were prepared by hot wire assisted plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (hw-PECVD system on silicon substrates. Controlled variations in the film structure were observed with increase in applied rf power during deposition which has been established to increase the rate of dissociation of precursor gases. The structural changes resulted in the formation of wavy-like features on the 2D-CNW, thus further enhancing the surface area of the nanostructures. The FESEM results confirmed the morphology transformation and conclusively showed the evolution of the 2D-CNW novel structures while Raman results revealed increase in ID/IG ratio indicating increase in the presence of disordered domains due to the presence of open edges on the 2D-CNW structures. Subsequently, the best 2D-CNW based on the morphology and structural properties was functionalized with tin oxide (SnO2 nanoparticles and used as a working electrode in a photoelectrochemical (PEC measurement system. Intriguingly, the SnO2 functionalized 2D-CNW showed enhancement in both Mott-Schottky profiles and LSV properties which suggested that these hierarchical networks showed promising potential application as effective charge-trapping medium in PEC systems.

  5. Sub-2 nm SnO2 nanocrystals: A reduction/oxidation chemical reaction synthesis and optical properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Hui; Du Ning; Chen Bindi; Cui Tianfeng; Yang Deren

    2008-01-01

    A simple reduction/oxidation chemical solution approach at room temperature has been developed to synthesize ultrafine SnO 2 nanocrystals, in which NaBH 4 is used as a reducing agent instead of mineralizers such as sodium hydroxide, ammonia, and alcohol. The morphology, structure, and optical property of the ultrafine SnO 2 nanocrystals have been characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis (DSC-TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. It is indicated that the uniform tetragonal ultrafine SnO 2 nanocrystals with the size below 2 nm have been fabricated at room temperature. The band gap of the ultrafine SnO 2 nanocrystals is about 4.1 eV, exhibiting 0.5 eV blue shift from that of the bulk SnO 2 (3.6 eV). Furthermore, the mechanism for the reduction/oxidation chemical reaction synthesis of the ultrafine SnO 2 nanocrystals has been preliminary presented

  6. Facile fabrication of robust TiO2@SnO2@C hollow nanobelts for outstanding lithium storage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Qinghua; Li, Lingxiangyu; Chen, Jizhang; Yang, Li; Hirano, Shin-ichi

    2018-02-01

    Elaborate fabrication of state-of-the-art nanostructure SnO2@C-based composites greatly contributes to alleviate the huge volume expansion issue of the SnO2 anodes. But the preparation processes of most of them are complicated and tedious, which is generally adverse to the development of SnO2@C-based composite anodes. Herein, a unique nanostructure of TiO2@SnO2@C hollow nanobelts (TiO2@SnO2@C HNBs), including the characteristics of one-dimensional architecture, sandwich protection, hollow structure, carbon coating, and a mechanically robust TiO2 support, has been fabricated by a facile approach for the first time. As anodes for lithium-ion batteries, the as-fabricated TiO2@SnO2@C HNBs exhibit an outstanding lithium storage performance, delivering capacity of 804.6 and 384. 5 mAh g-1 at 200 and even 1000 mA g-1 after 500 cycles, respectively. It is demonstrated that thus outstanding performance is mainly attributed to the unique nanostructure of TiO2@SnO2@C HNBs.

  7. Role of chlorine in the nanocrystalline silicon film formation by rf plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition of chlorinated materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shirai, Hajime

    2004-01-01

    We demonstrate the disorder-induced low-temperature crystallization in the nanocrystalline silicon film growth by rf plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition of H 2 -diluted SiH 2 Cl 2 and SiCl 4 . The combination of the chemical reactivity of SiCld (d: dangling bond) and SiHCl complexes and the release of the disorder-induced stress near the growing surface tightly correlate with the phase transitionity of SiCld and SiHCl complexes near the growing surface with the aid of atomic hydrogen, which induce higher degree of disorder in the a-Si network. These features are most prominent in the SiCl 4 compared with those of SiH 2 Cl 2 and SiH 4 , which preferentially enhance the nanocrystalline Si formation

  8. Optically transparent boron-doped nanocrystalline diamond films for spectroelectrochemical measurements on different substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sobaszek, M.; Bogdanowicz, R.; Pluciński, J.; Siuzdak, K.; Skowroński, Ł.

    2016-01-01

    Fabrication process of optically transparent boron nanocrystalline diamond (B- NCD) electrode on silicon and quartz substrate was shown. The B-NCD films were deposited on the substrates using Microwave Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition (MWPACVD) at glass substrate temperature of 475 °C. A homogenous, continuous and polycrystalline surface morphology with high sp 3 content in B-NCD films and film thickness depending from substrate in the range of 60-300 nm was obtained. The high refraction index and transparency in visible (VIS) wavelength range was achieved. Moreover, cyclic voltammograms (CV) were recorded to determine reaction reversibility at the B-NCD electrode. CV measurements in aqueous media consisting of 1 mM K 3 [Fe(CN) 6 ] in 0.5 M Na 2 SO 4 demonstrated relatively fast kinetics expressed by a redox peak splitting below 503 mV for B-NCD/silicon and 110 mv for B-NCD/quartz

  9. Nanocrystalline transparent SnO{sub 2}-ZnO films fabricated at lower substrate temperature using a low-cost and simplified spray technique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ravichandran, K.; Sakthivel, B.; Philominathan, P. [P. G. and Research Department of Physics, AVVM. Sri Pushpam College, Poondi, Thanjavur, Tamilnadu 613503 (India)

    2010-03-15

    Nanocrystalline and transparent conducting SnO{sub 2}- ZnO films were fabricated by employing an inexpensive, simplified spray technique using a perfume atomizer at relatively low substrate temperature (360{+-}5 C) compared with conventional spray method. The structural studies reveal that the SnO{sub 2}-ZnO films are polycrystalline in nature with preferential orientation along the (101) plane. The dislocation density is very low (1.48 x 10{sup 15}lines/m{sup 2}), indicating the good crystallinity of the films. The crystallite size of the films was found to be in the range of 26-34 nm. The optical transmittance in the visible range and the optical band gap are 85% and 3.6 eV respectively. The sheet resistance increases from 8.74 k{omega}/{open_square} to 32.4 k{omega}/{open_square} as the zinc concentration increases from 0 to 40 at.%. The films were found to have desirable figure of merit (1.63 x 10{sup -2} ({omega}/{open_square}){sup -1}), low temperature coefficient of resistance (-1.191/K) and good thermal stability. This simplified spray technique may be considered as a promising alternative to conventional spray for the massive production of economic SnO{sub 2} - ZnO films for solar cells, sensors and opto-electronic applications. (copyright 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

  10. Long afterglow property of Er"3"+ doped Ca_2SnO_4 phosphor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Dongyun; Shi, Mingming; Sun, Yiwen; Guo, Yunyun; Chang, Chengkang

    2016-01-01

    A novel green emitting long afterglow phosphor, Er"3"+ -doped Ca_2SnO_4 (Ca_2SnO_4:Er"3"+), was prepared successfully via a traditional high temperature solid–state reaction method. Its properties have been characterized and analyzed by utilizing x-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence spectroscope (PLS), afterglow decay curve (ADC) and thermal luminescence spectroscope (TLS). Three main emission peaks of PLS locate at 524, 550 and 668 nm, corresponding to CIE chromaticity coordinates of x = 0.326, y = 0.6592. An optimal doping concentration of Er"3"+ of 2% was determined. The Ca_2SnO_4:Er"3"+ phosphors showed a typical triple-exponential afterglow decay behavior when the UV source was switched off. Thermal simulated luminescence study indicated that the persistent afterglow of Ca_2SnO_4:2 mol% Er"3"+ phosphors was generated by the suitable electron or hole traps which were resulted from the doping the Ca_2SnO_4 host with rare-earth ions (Er"3"+). - Highlights: • A novel green emitting long afterglow phosphor, Ca_2SnO_4:Er"3"+, was prepared. • An optimal doping concentration of Er"3"+ of 2% was determined. • After the UV source was turned off, the Ca_2SnO_4:Er"3"+ showed a typical triple-exponential afterglow decay behavior. • CIE chromaticity coordinates results confirmed a green light emitting of the Ca_2SnO_4:Er"3"+. • The persistent afterglow of the Ca_2SnO_4:Er"3"+ was attributed to suitable electron or hole traps.

  11. Flower-like SnO2/graphene composite for high-capacity lithium storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Hongdong; Huang Jiamu; Li Xinlu; Liu Jia; Zhang Yuxin; Du Kun

    2012-01-01

    Flower-like SnO 2 /graphene composite is synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method for high-capacity lithium storage. The as-prepared products are characterized by XRD, FTIR, FESEM, TGA and Nitrogen adsorption/desorption. The electrochemical performance of the flower-like SnO 2 /graphene composite is measured by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge cycling. The results show that the flower-like SnO 2 nanorod clusters are 800 nm in size and homogeneously adhere on graphene sheets. The flower-like SnO 2 /graphene composite displays superior Li-battery performance with large reversible capacity, excellent cyclic performance and good rate capability.

  12. Nanostructured tin oxide films: Physical synthesis, characterization, and gas sensing properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ingole, S M; Navale, S T; Navale, Y H; Bandgar, D K; Stadler, F J; Mane, R S; Ramgir, N S; Gupta, S K; Aswal, D K; Patil, V B

    2017-05-01

    Nanostructured tin oxide (SnO 2 ) films are synthesized using physical method i.e. thermal evaporation and are further characterized with X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy measurement techniques for confirming its structure and morphology. The chemiresistive properties of SnO 2 films are studied towards different oxidizing and reducing gases where these films have demonstrated considerable selectivity towards oxidizing nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) gas with a maximum response of 403% to 100ppm @200°C, and fast response and recovery times of 4s and 210s, respectively, than other test gases. In addition, SnO 2 films are enabling to detect as low as 1ppm NO 2 gas concentration @200°C with 23% response enhancement. Chemiresistive performances of SnO 2 films are carried out in the range of 1-100ppm and reported. Finally, plausible adsorption and desorption reaction mechanism of NO 2 gas molecules with SnO 2 film surface has been thoroughly discussed by means of an impedance spectroscopy analysis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Direct growth of nanocrystalline hexagonal boron nitride films on dielectric substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tay, Roland Yingjie [School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Temasek Laboratories@NTU, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Tsang, Siu Hon [Temasek Laboratories@NTU, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Loeblein, Manuela; Chow, Wai Leong [School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); CNRS-International NTU Thales Research Alliance CINTRA UMI 3288, Research Techno Plaza, 50 Nanyang Drive, Singapore, Singapore 637553 (Singapore); Loh, Guan Chee [Institue of High Performance Computing, 1 Fusionopolis Way, #16-16 Connexis, Singapore 138632 (Singapore); Department of Physics, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan 49931 (United States); Toh, Joo Wah; Ang, Soon Loong [School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Teo, Edwin Hang Tong, E-mail: htteo@ntu.edu.sg [School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, Singapore 639798 (Singapore)

    2015-03-09

    Atomically thin hexagonal-boron nitride (h-BN) films are primarily synthesized through chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on various catalytic transition metal substrates. In this work, a single-step metal-catalyst-free approach to obtain few- to multi-layer nanocrystalline h-BN (NCBN) directly on amorphous SiO{sub 2}/Si and quartz substrates is demonstrated. The as-grown thin films are continuous and smooth with no observable pinholes or wrinkles across the entire deposited substrate as inspected using optical and atomic force microscopy. The starting layers of NCBN orient itself parallel to the substrate, initiating the growth of the textured thin film. Formation of NCBN is due to the random and uncontrolled nucleation of h-BN on the dielectric substrate surface with no epitaxial relation, unlike on metal surfaces. The crystallite size is ∼25 nm as determined by Raman spectroscopy. Transmission electron microscopy shows that the NCBN formed sheets of multi-stacked layers with controllable thickness from ∼2 to 25 nm. The absence of transfer process in this technique avoids any additional degradation, such as wrinkles, tears or folding and residues on the film which are detrimental to device performance. This work provides a wider perspective of CVD-grown h-BN and presents a viable route towards large-scale manufacturing of h-BN substrates and for coating applications.

  14. Synthesis of tin oxide nanoparticle film by cathodic electrodeposition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Seok; Lee, Hochun; Park, Chang Min; Jung, Yongju

    2012-02-01

    Three-dimensional SnO2 nanoparticle films were deposited onto a copper substrate by cathodic electrodeposition in a nitric acid solution. A new formation mechanism for SnO2 films is proposed based on the oxidation of Sn2+ ion to Sn4+ ion by NO+ ion and the hydrolysis of Sn4+. The particle size of SnO2 was controlled by deposition potential. The SnO2 showed excellent charge capacity (729 mAh/g) at a 0.2 C rate and high rate capability (460 mAh/g) at a 5 C rate.

  15. Synthesis of photosensitive nanograined TiO2 thin films by SILAR method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patil, U.M.; Gurav, K.V.; Joo, Oh-Shim; Lokhande, C.D.

    2009-01-01

    Nanocrystalline TiO 2 thin films are deposited by simple successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method on glass and fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO)-coated glass substrate from aqueous solution. The as-deposited films are heat treated at 673 K for 2 h in air. The change in structural, morphological and optical properties are studied by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV-vis-NIR spectrophotometer. The results show that the SILAR method allows the formation of anatase, nanocrystalline, and porous TiO 2 thin films. The heat-treated film showed conversion efficiency of 0.047% in photoelectrochemical cell with 1 M NaOH electrolyte.

  16. Novel development of nanocrystalline kesterite Cu2ZnSnS4 thin film with high photocatalytic activity under visible light illumination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Apostolopoulou, Andigoni; Mahajan, Sandip; Sharma, Ramphal; Stathatos, Elias

    2018-01-01

    Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) represents a promising p-type direct band gap semiconductor with large absorption coefficient in the visible region of solar light. In the present study, a kesterite CZTS nanocrystalline film, with high purity, was successfully synthesized via the combination of successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) and chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique. The morphology and structural properties of the CZTS films were characterized by FE-SEM microscopy, porosimetry in terms of Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) technique, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The as-prepared films under mild heat treatment at 250 °C in the presence of sulfur atmosphere exhibited fine nanostructure with 35 nm average particle size, high specific surface area of 53 m2/g and 9 nm pore diameter. The photocatalytic activity of the films was examined to the degradation of Basic Blue 41 (BB-41) and Acid Orange 8 (AO-8) organic azo dyes under visible light irradiation, demonstrating 97.5% and 70% discoloration for BB-41 and AO-8 respectively. Reusability of the CZTS films was also tested proving good stability over several repetitions. The reduction of photocatalyst's efficiency after three successive repetitions didn't exceed 5.6% and 8.5% for BB-41 and AO-8 respectively.

  17. Self-assembled SnO2 micro- and nanosphere-based gas sensor thick films from an alkoxide-derived high purity aqueous colloid precursor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelp, G.; Tätte, T.; Pikker, S.; Mändar, H.; Rozhin, A. G.; Rauwel, P.; Vanetsev, A. S.; Gerst, A.; Merisalu, M.; Mäeorg, U.; Natali, M.; Persson, I.; Kessler, V. G.

    2016-03-01

    Tin oxide is considered to be one of the most promising semiconductor oxide materials for use as a gas sensor. However, a simple route for the controllable build-up of nanostructured, sufficiently pure and hierarchical SnO2 structures for gas sensor applications is still a challenge. In the current work, an aqueous SnO2 nanoparticulate precursor sol, which is free of organic contaminants and sorbed ions and is fully stable over time, was prepared in a highly reproducible manner from an alkoxide Sn(OR)4 just by mixing it with a large excess of pure neutral water. The precursor is formed as a separate liquid phase. The structure and purity of the precursor is revealed using XRD, SAXS, EXAFS, HRTEM imaging, FTIR, and XRF analysis. An unconventional approach for the estimation of the particle size based on the quantification of the Sn-Sn contacts in the structure was developed using EXAFS spectroscopy and verified using HRTEM. To construct sensors with a hierarchical 3D structure, we employed an unusual emulsification technique not involving any additives or surfactants, using simply the extraction of the liquid phase, water, with the help of dry butanol under ambient conditions. The originally generated crystalline but yet highly reactive nanoparticles form relatively uniform spheres through self-assembly and solidify instantly. The spheres floating in butanol were left to deposit on the surface of quartz plates bearing sputtered gold electrodes, producing ready-for-use gas sensors in the form of ca. 50 μm thick sphere-based-films. The films were dried for 24 h and calcined at 300 °C in air before use. The gas sensitivity of the structures was tested in the temperature range of 150-400 °C. The materials showed a very quickly emerging and reversible (20-30 times) increase in electrical conductivity as a response to exposure to air containing 100 ppm of H2 or CO and short (10 s) recovery times when the gas flow was stopped.Tin oxide is considered to be one of the

  18. TDPAC study of Cd-doped SnO

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Munoz, E. L., E-mail: munoz@fisica.unlp.edu.ar [Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Departamento de Fisica-IFLP (CCT-La Plata, CONICET-UNLP), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas (Argentina); Carbonari, A. W. [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas y Nucleares-IPEN-CNEN/SP (Brazil); Errico, L. A. [Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Departamento de Fisica-IFLP (CCT-La Plata, CONICET-UNLP), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas (Argentina); Bibiloni, A. G. [Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas (Argentina); Petrilli, H. M. [Universidade de Sao Paulo, Instituto de Fisica (Brazil); Renteria, M. [Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Departamento de Fisica-IFLP (CCT-La Plata, CONICET-UNLP), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas (Argentina)

    2007-07-15

    The combination of hyperfine techniques and ab initio calculations has been shown to be a powerful tool to unravel structural and electronic characterizations of impurities in solids. A recent example has been the study of Cd-doped SnO, where ab initio calculations questioned previous TDPAC assignments of the electric-field gradient (EFG) in {sup 111}In-implanted Sn-O thin films. Here we present new TDPAC experiments at {sup 111}In-diffused polycrystalline SnO. A reversible temperature dependence of the EFG was observed in the range 295-900 K. The TDPAC results were compared with theoretical calculations performed with the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method, in the framework of the density functional theory. Through the comparison with the theoretical results, we infer that different electronic surroundings around Cd impurities can coexist in the SnO sample.

  19. TDPAC study of Cd-doped SnO

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Munoz, E. L.; Carbonari, A. W.; Errico, L. A.; Bibiloni, A. G.; Petrilli, H. M.; Renteria, M.

    2007-01-01

    The combination of hyperfine techniques and ab initio calculations has been shown to be a powerful tool to unravel structural and electronic characterizations of impurities in solids. A recent example has been the study of Cd-doped SnO, where ab initio calculations questioned previous TDPAC assignments of the electric-field gradient (EFG) in 111 In-implanted Sn-O thin films. Here we present new TDPAC experiments at 111 In-diffused polycrystalline SnO. A reversible temperature dependence of the EFG was observed in the range 295-900 K. The TDPAC results were compared with theoretical calculations performed with the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method, in the framework of the density functional theory. Through the comparison with the theoretical results, we infer that different electronic surroundings around Cd impurities can coexist in the SnO sample.

  20. Atomic Layer Deposition of SnO2 on MXene for Li-Ion Battery Anodes

    KAUST Repository

    Ahmed, Bilal

    2017-02-24

    In this report, we show that oxide battery anodes can be grown on two-dimensional titanium carbide sheets (MXenes) by atomic layer deposition. Using this approach, we have fabricated a composite SnO2/MXene anode for Li-ion battery applications. The SnO2/MXene anode exploits the high Li-ion capacity offered by SnO2, while maintaining the structural and mechanical integrity by the conductive MXene platform. The atomic layer deposition (ALD) conditions used to deposit SnO2 on MXene terminated with oxygen, fluorine, and hydroxyl-groups were found to be critical for preventing MXene degradation during ALD. We demonstrate that SnO2/MXene electrodes exhibit excellent electrochemical performance as Li-ion battery anodes, where conductive MXene sheets act to buffer the volume changes associated with lithiation and delithiation of SnO2. The cyclic performance of the anodes is further improved by depositing a very thin passivation layer of HfO2, in the same ALD reactor, on the SnO2/MXene anode. This is shown by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy to also improve the structural integrity of SnO2 anode during cycling. The HfO2 coated SnO2/MXene electrodes demonstrate a stable specific capacity of 843 mAh/g when used as Li-ion battery anodes.

  1. Shape Engineering Driven by Selective Growth of SnO2 on Doped Ga2O3 Nanowires.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alonso-Orts, Manuel; Sánchez, Ana M; Hindmarsh, Steven A; López, Iñaki; Nogales, Emilio; Piqueras, Javier; Méndez, Bianchi

    2017-01-11

    Tailoring the shape of complex nanostructures requires control of the growth process. In this work, we report on the selective growth of nanostructured tin oxide on gallium oxide nanowires leading to the formation of SnO 2 /Ga 2 O 3 complex nanostructures. Ga 2 O 3 nanowires decorated with either crossing SnO 2 nanowires or SnO 2 particles have been obtained in a single step treatment by thermal evaporation. The reason for this dual behavior is related to the growth direction of trunk Ga 2 O 3 nanowires. Ga 2 O 3 nanowires grown along the [001] direction favor the formation of crossing SnO 2 nanowires. Alternatively, SnO 2 forms rhombohedral particles on [110] Ga 2 O 3 nanowires leading to skewer-like structures. These complex oxide structures were grown by a catalyst-free vapor-solid process. When pure Ga and tin oxide were used as source materials and compacted powders of Ga 2 O 3 acted as substrates, [110] Ga 2 O 3 nanowires grow preferentially. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis reveals epitaxial relationship lattice matching between the Ga 2 O 3 axis and SnO 2 particles, forming skewer-like structures. The addition of chromium oxide to the source materials modifies the growth direction of the trunk Ga 2 O 3 nanowires, growing along the [001], with crossing SnO 2 wires. The SnO 2 /Ga 2 O 3 junctions does not meet the lattice matching condition, forming a grain boundary. The electronic and optical properties have been studied by XPS and CL with high spatial resolution, enabling us to get both local chemical and electronic information on the surface in both type of structures. The results will allow tuning optical and electronic properties of oxide complex nanostructures locally as a function of the orientation. In particular, we report a dependence of the visible CL emission of SnO 2 on its particular shape. Orange emission dominates in SnO 2 /Ga 2 O 3 crossing wires while green-blue emission is observed in SnO 2 particles attached to Ga 2

  2. ZnO doped SnO2 nanoparticles heterojunction photo-catalyst for environmental remediation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lamba, Randeep; Umar, Ahmad; Mehta, S.K.; Kansal, Sushil Kumar

    2015-01-01

    ZnO doped SnO 2 nanoparticles were synthesized by facile and simple hydrothermal technique and used as an effective photocatalyst for the photocatalytic degradation of harmful and toxic organic dye. The prepared nanoparticles were characterized in detail using different techniques for morphological, structural and optical properties. The characterization results revealed that the synthesized nanoparticles possess both crystal phases of tetragonal rutile phase of pure SnO 2 and wurtzite hexagonal phase of ZnO. In addition, the nanoparticles were synthesized in very high quantity with good crystallinity. The photocatalytic activity of prepared nanoparticles was evaluated by the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye. Detailed photocatalytic experiments based on the effects of irradiation time, catalyst dose and pH were performed and presented in this paper. The detailed photocatalytic experiments revealed that the synthesized ZnO doped SnO 2 nanoparticles heterojunction photocatalyst exhibit best photocatalytic performance when the catalyst dose was 0.25 g/L and pH = 10. ZnO doped SnO 2 nanoparticles heterojunction photocatalyst was also compared with commercially available TiO 2 (PC-50), TiO 2 (PC-500) and SnO 2 and interestingly ZnO doped SnO 2 nanoparticles exhibited superior photocatalytic performance. The presented work demonstrates that the prepared ZnO doped SnO 2 nanoparticles are promising material for the photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes and toxic chemicals. - Highlights: • Synthesis of well-crystalline ZnO-doped SnO 2 nanoparticles. • Excellent morphological, crystalline and photoluminescent properties. • Efficient environmental remediation using ZnO-doped SnO 2 nanoparticles.

  3. Microwave-Hydrothermal Synthesis of SnO2-CNTs Hybrid Nanocomposites with Visible Light Photocatalytic Activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Shuisheng; Dai, Weili

    2017-03-03

    SnO2 nanoparticles coated on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were prepared via a simple microwave-hydrothermal route. The as-obtained SnO2-CNTs composites were characterized using X-ray powder diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The photocatalytic activity of as-prepared SnO2-CNTs for degradation of Rhodamine B under visible light irradiation was investigated. The results show that SnO2-CNTs nanocomposites have a higher photocatalytic activity than pure SnO2 due to the rapid transferring of electrons and the effective separation of holes and electrons on SnO2-CNTs.

  4. Ab initio study of thermoelectric properties of doped SnO_2 superlattices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borges, P.D.; Silva, D.E.S.; Castro, N.S.; Ferreira, C.R.; Pinto, F.G.; Tronto, J.; Scolfaro, L.

    2015-01-01

    Transparent conductive oxides, such as tin dioxide (SnO_2), have recently shown to be promising materials for thermoelectric applications. In this work we studied the thermoelectric properties of Fe-, Sb- and Zn-uniformly doping and co-doping SnO_2, as well as of Sb and Zn planar (or delta)-doped layers in SnO_2 forming oxide superlattices (SLs). Based on the semiclassical Boltzmann transport equations (BTE) in conjunction with ab initio electronic structure calculations, the Seebeck coefficient (S) and figure of merit (ZT) are obtained for these systems, and are compared with available experimental data. The delta doping approach introduces a remarkable modification in the electronic structure of tin dioxide, when compared with the uniform doping, and colossal values for ZT are predicted for the delta-doped oxide SLs. This result is a consequence of the two-dimensional electronic confinement and the strong anisotropy introduced by the doped planes. In comparison with the uniformly doped systems, our predictions reveal a promising use of delta-doped SnO_2 SLs for enhanced S and ZT, which emerge as potential candidates for thermoelectric applications. - Graphical abstract: Band structure and Figure of merit for SnO2:Sb superlattice along Z direction, P. D. Borges, D. E. S. Silva, N. S. Castro, C. R. Ferreira, F. G. Pinto, J. Tronto and L. Scolfaro, Ab initio study of thermoelectric properties of doped SnO2 superlattices. - Highlights: • Thermoelectric properties of SnO_2-based alloys and superlattices. • High figure of merit is predicted for planar-doped SnO_2 superlattices. • Nanotechnology has an important role for the development of thermoelectric devices.

  5. Dielectric and magnetic properties of (Zn, Co) co-doped SnO2 nanoparticles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rajwali, Khan; Fang Ming-Hu

    2015-01-01

    Polycrystalline samples of (Zn, Co) co-doped SnO 2 nanoparticles were prepared using a co-precipitation method. The influence of (Zn, Co) co-doping on electrical, dielectric, and magnetic properties was studied. All of the (Zn, Co) co-doped SnO 2 powder samples have the same tetragonal structure of SnO 2 . A decrease in the dielectric constant was observed with the increase of Co doping concentration. It was found that the dielectric constant and dielectric loss values decrease, while AC electrical conductivity increases with doping concentration and frequency. Magnetization measurements revealed that the Co doping SnO 2 samples exhibits room temperature ferromagnetism. Our results illustrate that (Zn, Co) co-doped SnO 2 nanoparticles have an excellent dielectric, magnetic properties, and high electrical conductivity than those reported previously, indicating that these (Zn, Co) co-doped SnO 2 materials can be used in the field of the ultrahigh dielectric material, high frequency device, and spintronics. (paper)

  6. The magnetic properties of amorphous and nanocrystalline cobalt-rare earth films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Richard Allen

    Magnetic materials are of great technological importance for their use in transformers, electric motors, computer disks and hard drives, etc. Understanding the intrinsic physical properties of magnetic materials is essential in order to develop new and better materials for these applications. Presented here is a study of the magnetic properties of amorphous and nanocrystalline cobalt-rare earth (Co-R, where R = Y, Pr, Gd, and Dy) films composed of very small crystalline grains, about 2--200 nm in size. The films are produced by co-sputtering two single element targets onto a single substrate. Many are then annealed briefly to produce magnetic films composed of nanoscale crystallites. The magnetic properties of these films depend largely on the relative strengths of the exchange interaction, which tends to align the spins within a group of crystallites, and the magnetocrystalline anisotropy, which tends to align the spins within each crystallite to an easy direction defined by the crystal lattice. The ratio of these two competing interactions varies strongly with grain size as predicted by the random magnetic anisotropy model. The coercivity, remanent magnetization, initial magnetization, etc., are discussed in light of the predictions made by the models of Callen et al (1977), Chi and Alben (1977), Chudnovsky (1986), and Fukunaga and Inoue (1992).

  7. Influence of the gas phase composition on nanocrystalline diamond films prepared by MWCVD

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Popov, C.; Jelínek, Miroslav; Boycheva, S.; Vorlíček, Vladimír; Kulisch, W.

    2005-01-01

    Roč. 23, - (2005), s. 31-34 ISSN 1422-6375 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR(CZ) IAA1010110 Grant - others:European Community Marie Curie Fellowship(XE) HPMF-CT-2002-01713 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z1010914 Keywords : microwave plasma CVD * nanocrystalline diamond films * characterization Subject RIV: BL - Plasma and Gas Discharge Physics

  8. Synthesis, characterization and catalytic application of silica supported tin oxide nanoparticles for synthesis of 2,4,5-tri and 1,2,4,5-tetrasubstituted imidazoles under solvent-free conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ashok V. Borhade

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Highly efficient and eco-friendly, one pot synthesis of 1,2,4,5-tetra substituted imidazoles and 2,4,5-trisubstituted imidazoles was reported under solvent free conditions using nanocrystalline silica supported tin oxide (SiO2:SnO2 as a catalyst with excellent yield. The present methodology offers several advantages such as mild reaction conditions, short reaction time, good yield, high purity of product, recyclable catalyst without a noticeable decrease in catalytic activity and can be used for large scale synthesis. The synthesized SiO2:SnO2 nanocrystalline catalyst was characterized by XRD, BET surface area and TEM techniques.

  9. Excimer laser processing of inkjet-printed and sputter-deposited transparent conducting SnO2:Sb for flexible electronics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cranton, Wayne M.; Wilson, Sharron L.; Ranson, Robert; Koutsogeorgis, Demosthenes C.; Chi Kuangnan; Hedgley, Richard; Scott, John; Lipiec, Stephen; Spiller, Andrew; Speakman, Stuart

    2007-01-01

    The feasibility of low-temperature fabrication of transparent electrode elements from thin films of antimony-doped tin oxide (SnO 2 :Sb, ATO) has been investigated via inkjet printing, rf magnetron sputtering and post-deposition excimer laser processing. Laser processing of thin films on both glass and plastic substrates was performed using a Lambda Physik 305i excimer laser, with fluences in the range 20-100 mJ cm -2 reducing sheet resistance from as-deposited values by up to 3 orders of magnitude. This is consistent with TEM analysis of the films that shows a densification of the upper 200 nm of laser-processed regions

  10. Nanocrystalline-diamond thin films with high pH and penicillin sensitivity prepared on a capacitive Si-SiO{sub 2} structure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Poghossian, A. [Institute of Nano- and Biotechnologies (INB), Aachen University of Applied Sciences, Campus Juelich, Juelich (Germany); Institute of Bio- and Nanosystems (IBN-2), Research Centre Juelich GmbH, Juelich (Germany)], E-mail: a.poghossian@fz-juelich.de; Abouzar, M.H.; Razavi, A.; Baecker, M. [Institute of Nano- and Biotechnologies (INB), Aachen University of Applied Sciences, Campus Juelich, Juelich (Germany); Institute of Bio- and Nanosystems (IBN-2), Research Centre Juelich GmbH, Juelich (Germany); Bijnens, N. [Institute for Materials Research, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek (Belgium); Williams, O.A.; Haenen, K. [Institute for Materials Research, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek (Belgium); Division IMOMEC, IMEC vzw., Diepenbeek (Belgium); Moritz, W. [Humboldt University Berlin, Berlin (Germany); Wagner, P. [Institute for Materials Research, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek (Belgium); Schoening, M.J. [Institute of Nano- and Biotechnologies (INB), Aachen University of Applied Sciences, Campus Juelich, Juelich (Germany); Institute of Bio- and Nanosystems (IBN-2), Research Centre Juelich GmbH, Juelich (Germany)

    2009-10-30

    A capacitive field-effect EDIS (electrolyte-diamond-insulator-semiconductor) sensor with improved pH and penicillin sensitivity has been realised using a nanocrystalline-diamond (NCD) film as sensitive gate material. The NCD growth process on SiO{sub 2} as well as an additional surface treatment in oxidising medium have been optimised to provide high pH-sensitive, non-porous O-terminated films without damage of the underlying SiO{sub 2} layer. The surface morphology of O-terminated NCD thin films and the layer structure of EDIS sensors have been studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) methods. To establish the relative coverage of the surface functional groups generated by the oxidation of NCD surfaces, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis was carried out. The hydrophilicity of NCD thin films has been studied by water contact-angle measurements. A nearly Nernstian pH sensitivity of 54-57 mV/pH has been observed for O-terminated NCD films treated in an oxidising boiling mixture for 80 min and in oxygen plasma. The high pH-sensitive properties of O-terminated NCD have been used to develop an EDIS-based penicillin biosensor. A freshly prepared penicillin biosensor possesses a high sensitivity of 85 mV/decade in the concentration range of 0.1-2.5 mM penicillin G. The lower detection limit is 5 {mu}M.

  11. Preparation of nanocrystalline Ni doped ZnS thin films by ammonia-free chemical bath deposition method and optical properties

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sahraei, Reza, E-mail: r.sahraei@ilam.ac.ir; Darafarin, Soraya

    2014-05-01

    Nanocrystalline Ni doped ZnS thin films were deposited on quartz, silicon, and glass substrates using chemical bath deposition method in a weak acidic solution containing ethylenediamine tetra acetic acid disodium salt (Na{sub 2}EDTA) as a complexing agent for zinc ions and thioacetamide (TAA) as a sulfide source at 80 °C. The films were characterized by energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX), inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometry, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. UV–vis transmission data showed that the films were transparent in the visible region. The X-ray diffraction analysis showed a cubic zinc blend structure. FE-SEM revealed a homogeneous morphology and dense nanostructures. The PL spectra of the ZnS:Ni films showed two characteristic bands, one broad band centered at 430 and another narrow band at 523 nm. Furthermore, concentration quenching effect on the photoluminescence intensity has been observed. - Highlights: • Nanocrystalline ZnS:Ni thin films were prepared by the chemical bath deposition method. • The size of ZnS:Ni nanocrystals was less than 10 nm showing quantum size effect. • SEM images demonstrated a dense and uniform surface that was free of pinholes. • The deposited films were highly transparent (>70%) in the visible region. • The PL spectra of ZnS:Ni thin films showed two emission peaks at 430 and 523 nm.

  12. Solvothermal Synthesis of Zn2SnO4 Nanocrystals and Their Photocatalytic Properties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guang Sun

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Crystalline Zn2SnO4 nanoparticles were successfully synthesized via a simple solvothermal route by using Zn(CH3COO2·2H2O and SnCl4·5H2O as source materials, NaOH as mineralizing agent, and water and ethanol as mixed solvents. The used amount of NaOH was found to have an important influence on the formation of Zn2SnO4. When the molar ratio of OH− : Zn2+ : Sn4+ was set in the range from 4 : 2 : 1 to 8 : 2 : 1, Zn2SnO4 nanoparticles with different shape and size were obtained. However, when the molar ratio of OH− : Zn2+ : Sn4+ was set as 10 : 2 : 1, a mixture phase of ZnO and ZnSn(OH6 instead of Zn2SnO4 was obtained. Photodegradation measurements indicated that the Zn2SnO4 nanoparticles own better photocatalytic property to depredate methyl orange than the Zn2SnO4 nanopolyhedrons. The superior photocatalytic properties of Zn2SnO4 nanoparticles may be contributed to their small crystal size and high surface area.

  13. Controlling the Performance of P-type Cu2O/SnO Bilayer Thin-Film Transistors by Adjusting the Thickness of the Copper Oxide Layer

    KAUST Repository

    Al-Jawhari, Hala A.

    2014-11-11

    The effect of copper oxide layer thickness on the performance of Cu2O/SnO bilayer thin-film transistors was investigated. By using sputtered Cu2O films produced at an oxygen partial pressure, Opp, of 10% as the upper layer and 3% Opp SnO films as the lower layer we built a matrix of bottom-gate Cu2O/SnO bilayer thin-film transistors of different thickness. We found that the thickness of the Cu2O layer is of major importance in oxidation of the SnO layer underneath. The thicker the Cu2O layer, the more the underlying SnO layer is oxidized, and, hence, the more transistor mobility is enhanced at a specific temperature. Both device performance and the annealing temperature required could be adjusted by controlling the thickness of each layer of Cu2O/SnO bilayer thin-film transistors.

  14. Effect of annealing on the structure of chemically synthesized SnO_2 nanoparticles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, Kulwinder; Kumar, Akshay; Kumar, Virender; Vij, Ankush; Kumari, Sudesh; Thakur, Anup

    2016-01-01

    Tin oxide (SnO_2) nanoparticles have been synthesized by co-precipitation method. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. XRD analysis confirmed the single phase formation of SnO_2 nanoparticles. The Raman shifts showed the typical feature of the tetragonal phase of the as-synthesized SnO_2 nanoparticles. At low annealing temperature, a strong distortion of the crystalline structure and high degree of agglomeration was observed. It is concluded that the crystallinity of SnO_2 nanoparticles improves with the increase in annealing temperature.

  15. Hardness enhancement and oxidation resistance of nanocrystalline TiN/Mo xC multilayer films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Q.; Wang, X.P.; Liang, F.J.; Wang, J.X.; Fang, Q.F.

    2006-01-01

    In this paper the influence of the layer's microstructure on the hardness enhancement in multilayer nanocrystalline films and the oxidation resistance are studied. The TiN/Mo x C multilayer films at different modulation period, and Mo x C and TiN monolayer films were deposited on the (0 0 1) silicon wafers and molybdenum sheets by rf and dc magnetron sputtering. The monolayer TiN films with a thickness of about 2 μm are of pure face-center cubic TiN phase, while the monolayer Mo x C films consist of two phases, one of which is body-center cubic Mo and the other is hexagonal Mo 2 C as determined by XRD. The coarse columnar grains of about 200 nm in the monolayer TiN films become much smaller or disappear in the multilayer films. The hardness enhancement of the multilayer films takes place at the modulation period of 320 nm, which can reach to 26 GPa and is much higher than the values of Mo x C and TiN monolayer films. This enhancement in hardness can be explained as the decrease in the size and/or disappearance of columnar grains in the TiN layer. The Young's modulus in the temperature range from 100 to 400 deg. C increases with decreasing modulation period. It is found that about 100 nm thick TiN films can increase largely the oxidation resistance of Mo x C films

  16. Flexible pressure sensor based on graphene aerogel microstructures functionalized with CdS nanocrystalline thin film

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plesco, Irina; Dragoman, Mircea; Strobel, Julian; Ghimpu, Lidia; Schütt, Fabian; Dinescu, Adrian; Ursaki, Veaceslav; Kienle, Lorenz; Adelung, Rainer; Tiginyanu, Ion

    2018-05-01

    In this paper, we report on functionalization of graphene aerogel with a CdS thin film deposited by magnetron sputtering and on the development of flexible pressure sensors based on ultra-lightweight CdS-aerogel nanocomposite. Analysis by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis disclose the uniform deposition of nanocrystalline CdS films with quasi-stoichiometric composition. The piezoresistive response of the aforementioned nanocomposite in the pressure range from 1 to 5 atm is found to be more than one order of magnitude higher than that inherent to suspended graphene membranes, leading to an average sensitivity as high as 3.2 × 10-4 kPa-1.

  17. A novel method for massive synthesis of SnO2 nanowires

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Compositions of three reaction systems for synthesizing SnO2 nanowires by thermite reaction. Constituents (g) ... ing voltage and at a magnification of 3000. .... nanowires to obtain the distribution shown in figure 7. SnO2 ... The Sn drop sprayed ...

  18. Sputtered tungsten-based ternary and quaternary layers for nanocrystalline diamond deposition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walock, Michael J; Rahil, Issam; Zou, Yujiao; Imhoff, Luc; Catledge, Shane A; Nouveau, Corinne; Stanishevsky, Andrei V

    2012-06-01

    Many of today's demanding applications require thin-film coatings with high hardness, toughness, and thermal stability. In many cases, coating thickness in the range 2-20 microm and low surface roughness are required. Diamond films meet many of the stated requirements, but their crystalline nature leads to a high surface roughness. Nanocrystalline diamond offers a smoother surface, but significant surface modification of the substrate is necessary for successful nanocrystalline diamond deposition and adhesion. A hybrid hard and tough material may be required for either the desired applications, or as a basis for nanocrystalline diamond film growth. One possibility is a composite system based on carbides or nitrides. Many binary carbides and nitrides offer one or more mentioned properties. By combining these binary compounds in a ternary or quaternary nanocrystalline system, we can tailor the material for a desired combination of properties. Here, we describe the results on the structural and mechanical properties of the coating systems composed of tungsten-chromium-carbide and/or nitride. These WC-Cr-(N) coatings are deposited using magnetron sputtering. The growth of adherent nanocrystalline diamond films by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition has been demonstrated on these coatings. The WC-Cr-(N) and WC-Cr-(N)-NCD coatings are characterized with atomic force microscopy and SEM, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and nanoindentation.

  19. Sensitization of Nanocrystalline Metal Oxides with a Phosphonate-Functionalized Perylene Diimide for Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation with a CoOx Catalyst.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirner, Joel T; Finke, Richard G

    2017-08-23

    A planar organic thin film composed of a perylene diimide dye (N,N'-bis(phosphonomethyl)-3,4,9,10-perylenediimide, PMPDI) with photoelectrochemically deposited cobalt oxide (CoO x ) catalyst was previously shown to photoelectrochemically oxidize water (DOI: 10.1021/am405598w). Herein, the same PMPDI dye is studied for the sensitization of different nanostructured metal oxide (nano-MO x ) films in a dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cell architecture. Dye adsorption kinetics and saturation decreases in the order TiO 2 > SnO 2 ≫ WO 3 . Despite highest initial dye loading on TiO 2 films, photocurrent with hydroquinone (H 2 Q) sacrificial reductant in pH 7 aqueous solution is much higher on SnO 2 films, likely due to a higher driving force for charge injection into the more positive conduction band energy of SnO 2 . Dyeing conditions and SnO 2 film thickness were subsequently optimized to achieve light-harvesting efficiency >99% at the λ max of the dye, and absorbed photon-to-current efficiency of 13% with H 2 Q, a 2-fold improvement over the previous thin-film architecture. A CoO x water-oxidation catalyst was photoelectrochemically deposited, allowing for photoelectrochemical water oxidation with a faradaic efficiency of 31 ± 7%, thus demonstrating the second example of a water-oxidizing, dye-sensitized photoelectrolysis cell composed entirely of earth-abundant materials. However, deposition of CoO x always results in lower photocurrent due to enhanced recombination between catalyst and photoinjected electrons in SnO 2 , as confirmed by open-circuit photovoltage measurements. Possible future studies to enhance photoanode performance are discussed, including alternative catalyst deposition strategies or structural derivatization of the perylene dye.

  20. One-Dimensional SnO2 Nano structures: Synthesis and Applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pan, J.; Shen, H.; Mathur, S.; Pan, J.

    2012-01-01

    Nano scale semiconducting materials such as quantum dots (0-dimensional) and one-dimensional (1D) structures, like nano wires, nano belts, and nano tubes, have gained tremendous attention within the past decade. Among the variety of 1D nano structures, tin oxide (SnO 2 ) semiconducting nano structures are particularly interesting because of their promising applications in optoelectronic and electronic devices due to both good conductivity and transparence in the visible region. This article provides a comprehensive review of the recent research activities that focus on the rational synthesis and unique applications of 1D SnO 2 nano structures and their optical and electrical properties. We begin with the rational design and synthesis of 1D SnO 2 nano structures, such as nano tubes, nano wires, nano belts, and some heterogeneous nano structures, and then highlight a range of applications (e.g., gas sensor, lithium-ion batteries, and nano photonics) associated with them. Finally, the review is concluded with some perspectives with respect to future research on 1D SnO 2 nano structures

  1. Results from SNO

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chan, Yuen-dat

    2001-01-01

    The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) is an underground heavy water Cherenkov detector for studying solar neutrinos. SNO is capable of performing both flavor sensitive and flavor blind measurements of the solar neutrino flux. The first charged current (CC) measurement is found to be: ψ SNO CC (ν e ) = 1.75 ± 0.07(stat.) -0.11 +0.12 (sys.) ± 0.05 (theor.) x 10 6 cm -2 s -1 and the elastic scattering fluxes (ES) is: ψ SNO ES (ν x ) = 2.39 ± 0.34(stat.) -0.14 +0.16 (sys.) x 10 6 cm -2 s -1 . The ψ SNO CC (ν e ) result, when combined with the high statistics elastic scattering (ES) measurement from Super-Kamiokande, provide a strong evidence for solar neutrino flavor transformation (3.3σ). The deduced total solar neutrino flux is in good agreement with standard solar model predictions. No significant distortion in the energy spectrum is observed

  2. Conductive framework supported high rate performance of SnO2 hollow nanofibers for lithium battery anodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pham-Cong, De; Kim, Ji Yoon; Park, Jung Soo; Kim, Jae Hyun; Kim, Jong-Pil; Jeong, Euh-Duck; Kim, Jinwoo; Jeong, Se-Young; Cho, Chae-Ryong

    2015-01-01

    We synthesized an electrospun SnO 2 hollow nanofibers (SnO 2 hNFs) coated with carbon and wrapped with graphene oxide layer by simple hydrothermal and electrostatic force method, respectively. Thin carbon layer as electrolyte blocking layer was formed on the SnO 2 hNFs by using glucose as a carbon source (SnO 2 @C hNFs). Also, layers of graphene oxide are wrapped on SnO 2 @C hNFs by the electrostatic interaction force (SnO 2 @C@G hNFs). At high C rate, the average capacity of the SnO 2 @C@G hNFs still kept high capacity comparing with the SnO 2 hNFs and SnO 2 @C hNFs and then increased above 250% at 3 C. It also exhibits a greatly enhanced synergic effect with an extremely high lithium storage capability up to 1,600 mA h g −1 and kept 900 mA h g −1 after 50 cycles benefiting from the advanced structural features

  3. Microscopic studies of a SnO2/α-Fe2O3 architectural nanocomposite using Moessbauer spectroscopic and magnetic measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hayashi, Naoaki; Muranaka, Shigetoshi; Yamamoto, Shinpei; Takano, Mikio; Zhang Dongfeng; Sun Lingdong; Yan Chunhua

    2008-01-01

    A SnO 2 /α-Fe 2 O 3 architectural nanocomposite, which was evidenced as SnO 2 nanorod arrays assembled on the surface of α-Fe 2 O 3 nanotubes in our previous study, was investigated microscopically by means of Moessbauer spectroscopic and magnetic measurements. It was found for the SnO 2 nanorods that Fe 3+ ions substituted slightly to Sn 0.998 Fe 0.002 O 2 . Concerning the α-Fe 2 O 3 tubes, the Morin transition, which was completely suppressed in the mother, SnO 2 -free α-Fe 2 O 3 nanotubes, was found to be recovered locally. We speculate that it takes place in the interface area as a result of structural modification needed for the connection with the SnO 2 nanorods. - Graphic abstract: 57 Fe Moessbauer spectrum of SnO 2 /α-Fe 2 O 3 architectural nanocomposite evidenced as SnO 2 nanorod arrays assembled on the surface of α-Fe 2 O 3 nanotubes. (I: Fe-doped SnO 2 nanorods, II: α-Fe 2 O 3 nanotubes) It was found for the SnO 2 nanorods that Fe 3+ ions substituted slightly to Sn 0.998 Fe 0.002 O 2

  4. 2D SnO2 Nanosheets: Synthesis, Characterization, Structures, and Excellent Sensing Performance to Ethylene Glycol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenjin Wan

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Two dimensional (2DSnO2 nanosheets were synthesized by a substrate-free hydrothermal route using sodium stannate and sodium hydroxide in a mixed solvent of absolute ethanol and deionized water at a lower temperature of 130 °C. The characterization results of the morphology, microstructure, and surface properties of the as-prepared products demonstrated that SnO2 nanosheets with a tetragonal rutile structure, were composed of oriented SnO2 nanoparticles with a diameter of 6–12 nm. The X-ray diffraction (XRD and high-resolution transmission electron microscope (FETEM results demonstrated that the dominant exposed surface of the SnO2 nanoparticles was (101, but not (110. The growth and formation was supposed to follow the oriented attachment mechanism. The SnO2 nanosheets exhibited an excellent sensing response toward ethylene glycol at a lower optimal operating voltage of 3.4 V. The response to 400 ppm ethylene glycol reaches 395 at 3.4 V. Even under the low concentration of 5, 10, and 20 ppm, the sensor exhibited a high response of 6.9, 7.8, and 12.0 to ethylene glycol, respectively. The response of the SnO2 nanosheets exhibited a linear dependence on the ethylene glycol concentration from 5 to 1000 ppm. The excellent sensing performance was attributed to the present SnO2 nanoparticles with small size close to the Debye length, the larger specific surface, the high-energy exposed facets of the (101 surface, and the synergistic effects of the SnO2 nanoparticles of the nanosheets.

  5. Structural, electrical and optical properties of nanostructured ZrO2 thin film deposited by SILAR method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salodkar, R. V.; Belkhedkar, M. R.; Nemade, S. D.

    2018-05-01

    Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR) method has been employed to deposit nanocrystalline ZrO2 thin film of thickness 91 nm onto glass substrates using ZrOCl2.8H2O and NaOH as cationic and anionic precursors respectively. The structural and surface morphological characterizations have been carried out by means of X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy confirms the nanocrystalline nature of ZrO2 thin film. The direct optical band gap and activation energy of the ZrO2 thin film are found to be 4.74 and 0.80eV respectively.

  6. Facile synthesis and optical property of SnO2 flower-like architectures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao Qingrui; Li Zhengquan; Wu Changzheng; Bai Xue; Xie Yi

    2006-01-01

    Two-dimensional (2D) hierarchical tin dioxide (SnO 2 ) flower-like architectures consisting of sheet-like nanoparticles have been successfully prepared by a simply mild hydrothermal method based on the reaction between tin foil, NaOH and KBrO 3 . The photoluminescence (PL) spectrum exhibit that the flower-like architectures of SnO 2 have strong PL emission, which suggest its possible applications in nanoscaled optoelectronic devices. The formation process of SnO 2 architectures is investigated and the corresponding mechanism is also proposed

  7. Carbon encapsulated ultrasmall SnO2 nanoparticles anchoring on graphene/TiO2 nanoscrolls for lithium storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Xinlu; Zhang, Yonglai; Li, Tongtao; Zhong, Qineng; Li, Hongyi; Huang, Jiamu

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Highly-dispersive ultrasmall SnO 2 nanoparticles (4∼8 nm) are anchored on the substrate of graphene/TiO 2 nanoscrolls. • The encapsulated glucose-derived carbon layer effectively immobilizes SnO 2 nanoparticles. • The enhanced cycling performance is owing to the synergetic effects between the multicomposites. - Abstract: Amorphous carbon is coated on the surface of ultrasmall SnO 2 nanoparticles which are anchored on graphene/TiO 2 nanoscrolls via hydrothermal treatment, followed by annealing process. Transmission electron microscope images show that ultrasmall SnO 2 nanoparticles are anchored on graphene/TiO 2 nanoscrolls and further immobilized by the outermost amorphous carbon layer. The carbon encapsulated SnO 2 @graphene/TiO 2 nanocomposites deliver high reversible capacities around 1131, 793, 621 and 476 mAh g −1 at the current densities of 100, 250, 500, and 1000 mA g −1 , respectively. It is found that SnO 2 nanoparticles play a dominant role in the contributions of reversible capacity according to the cyclic voltammetry curves, voltage-capacity curves and dQ/dV vs. potential curves. The substrate of graphene/TiO 2 nanoscrolls provides sufficient transport channels for lithium ions and high electron conductivity. While the outermost amorphous carbon layer prevents the peeling of SnO 2 nanoparticles from the substrate, therefore making them desirable alternative anode materials for lithium ion batteries

  8. Transient Photoinduced Absorption in Ultrathin As-grown Nanocrystalline Silicon Films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lioutas Ch

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available AbstractWe have studied ultrafast carrier dynamics in nanocrystalline silicon films with thickness of a few nanometers where boundary-related states and quantum confinement play an important role. Transient non-degenerated photoinduced absorption measurements have been employed to investigate the effects of grain boundaries and quantum confinement on the relaxation dynamics of photogenerated carriers. An observed long initial rise of the photoinduced absorption for the thicker films agrees well with the existence of boundary-related states acting as fast traps. With decreasing the thickness of material, the relaxation dynamics become faster since the density of boundary-related states increases. Furthermore, probing with longer wavelengths we are able to time-resolve optical paths with faster relaxations. This fact is strongly correlated with probing in different points of the first Brillouin zone of the band structure of these materials.

  9. Thermal behavior of the amorphous precursors of the ZrO2-SnO2 system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stefanic, Goran; Music, Svetozar; Ivanda, Mile

    2008-01-01

    Thermal behavior of the amorphous precursors of the ZrO 2 -SnO 2 system on the ZrO 2 -rich side of the concentration range, prepared by co-precipitation from aqueous solutions of the corresponding salts, was monitored using differential thermal analysis, X-ray powder diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS). The crystallization temperature of the amorphous precursors increased with an increase in the SnO 2 content, from 405 deg. C (0 mol% SnO 2 ) to 500 deg. C (40 mol% SnO 2 ). Maximum solubility of Sn 4+ ions in the ZrO 2 lattice (∼25 mol%) occurred in the metastable products obtained upon crystallization of the amorphous precursors. A precise determination of unit-cell parameters, using both Rietveld and Le Bail refinements of the powder diffraction patterns, shows that the incorporation of Sn 4+ ions causes an asymmetric distortion of the monoclinic ZrO 2 lattice. The results of phase analysis indicate that the incorporation of Sn 4+ ions has no influence on the stabilization of cubic ZrO 2 and negligible influence on the stabilization of tetragonal ZrO 2 . Partial stabilization of tetragonal ZrO 2 in products having a tin content above its solid-solubility limit was attributed to the influence of ZrO 2 -SnO 2 surface interactions. In addition to phases closely structurally related to cassiterite, monoclinic ZrO 2 and tetragonal ZrO 2 , a small amount of metastable ZrSnO 4 phase appeared in the crystallization products of samples with 40 and 50 mol% of SnO 2 calcined at 1000 deg. C. Further temperature treatments caused a decrease in and disappearance of metastable phases. The results of the micro-structural analysis show that the sinterability of the crystallization products significantly decreases with an increase in the SnO 2 content

  10. Growth of nanocrystalline silicon thin film with layer-by-layer technique for fast photo-detecting applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin, C.-Y.; Fang, Y.-K.; Chen, S.-F.; Lin, P.-C.; Lin, C.-S.; Chou, T.-H; Hwang, J.S.; Lin, K.I.

    2006-01-01

    High mobility nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) films with layer-by-layer technique for fast photo-detecting applications were studied. The structure and morphology of films were studied by means of XRD, micro-Raman scattering, SEM and AFM. The Hall mobility and absorption properties have been investigated and found they were seriously affected by the number of layers in growing, i.e., with increasing of layer number, Hall mobility increased but absorption coefficient decreased. The optimum layer number of nc-Si films for fast near-IR photo-detecting is 7 with film thickness of 1400 nm, while that for fast visible photo-detecting is 17 with film thickness of 3400 nm

  11. SnO2/CNT nanocomposite supercapacitors fabricated using scanning atmospheric-pressure plasma jets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Chang-Han; Chiu, Yi-Fan; Yeh, Po-Wei; Chen, Jian-Zhang

    2016-08-01

    SnO2/CNT electrodes for supercapacitors are fabricated by first screen-printing pastes containing SnO2 nanoparticles and CNTs on carbon cloth, following which nitrogen atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) sintering is performed at various APPJ scan rates. The APPJ scan rates change the time intervals for which the reactive plasma species and the heat of the nitrogen APPJs influence the designated sintering spot on the carbon cloth, resulting in APPJ-sintered SnO2/CNT nanocomposites with different properties. The water contact angle decreases with the APPJ scan rate. The improved wettability can facilitate the penetration of the electrolyte into the nanopores of the SnO2/CNT nanocomposites, thereby improving the charge storage and specific capacitance of the supercapacitors. Among the three tested APPJ scan rates, 1.5, 3, and 6 mm s-1, the SnO2/CNT supercapacitor sintered by APPJ under the lowest APPJ scan rate of 1.5 mm s-1 shows the best specific capacitance of ˜90 F g-1 as evaluated by cyclic voltammetry under a potential scan rate of 2 mV s-1. A high APPJ scan rate may result in low degree of materials activation and sintering, leading to poorer performance of SnO2/CNT supercapacitors. The results suggest the feasibility of an APPJ roll-to-roll process for the fabrication of SnO2/CNT nanocomposite supercapacitors.

  12. P-type Cu2O/SnO bilayer thin film transistors processed at low temperatures

    KAUST Repository

    Al-Jawhari, Hala A.

    2013-10-09

    P-type Cu2O/SnO bilayer thin film transistors (TFTs) with tunable performance were fabricated using room temperature sputtered copper and tin oxides. Using Cu2O film as capping layer on top of a SnO film to control its stoichiometry, we have optimized the performance of the resulting bilayer transistor. A transistor with 10 nm/15 nm Cu2O to SnO thickness ratio (25 nm total thickness) showed the best performance using a maximum process temperature of 170 C. The bilayer transistor exhibited p-type behavior with field-effect mobility, on-to-off current ratio, and threshold voltage of 0.66 cm2 V-1 s-1, 1.5×10 2, and -5.2 V, respectively. The advantages of the bilayer structure relative to single layer transistor are discussed. © 2013 American Chemical Society.

  13. Review: Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition of nanocrystalline diamond

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katsuyuki Okada

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Nanocrystalline diamond films have attracted considerable attention because they have a low coefficient of friction and a low electron emission threshold voltage. In this paper, the author reviews the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD of nanocrystalline diamond and mainly focuses on the growth of nanocrystalline diamond by low-pressure PE-CVD. Nanocrystalline diamond particles of 200–700 nm diameter have been prepared in a 13.56 MHz low-pressure inductively coupled CH4/CO/H2 plasma. The bonding state of carbon atoms was investigated by ultraviolet-excited Raman spectroscopy. Electron energy loss spectroscopy identified sp2-bonded carbons around the 20–50 nm subgrains of nanocrystalline diamond particles. Plasma diagnostics using a Langmuir probe and the comparison with plasma simulation are also reviewed. The electron energy distribution functions are discussed by considering different inelastic interaction channels between electrons and heavy particles in a molecular CH4/H2 plasma.

  14. Incorporation of graphene into SnO2 photoanodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batmunkh, Munkhbayar; Dadkhah, Mahnaz; Shearer, Cameron J.; Biggs, Mark J.; Shapter, Joseph G.

    2016-11-01

    In dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) photoanodes, tin dioxide (SnO2) structures present a promising alternative semiconducting oxide to the conventional titania (TiO2), but they suffer from poor photovoltaic (PV) efficiency caused by insufficient dye adsorption and low energy value of the conduction band. A hybrid structure consisting of SnO2 and reduced graphene oxide (SnO2-RGO) was synthesized via a microwave-assisted method and has been employed as a photoanode in DSSCs. Incorporation of RGO into the SnO2 photoanode enhanced the power conversion efficiency of DSSC device by 91.5%, as compared to the device assembled without RGO. This efficiency improvement can be attributed to increased dye loading, enhanced electron transfer and addition of suitable energy levels in the photoanode. Finally, the use of RGO addresses the major shortcoming of SnO2 when employed as a DSSC photoanode, namely poor dye adsorption and slow electron transfer rate.

  15. Ultraviolet emission from low resistance Cu2SnS3/SnO2 and CuInS2/Sn:In2O3 nanowires

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Karageorgou

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available SnO2 and Sn:In2O3 nanowires were grown on Si(001, and p-n junctions were fabricated in contact with p-type Cu2S which exhibited rectifying current–voltage characteristics. Core-shell Cu2SnS3/SnO2 and CuInS2/Sn:In2O3 nanowires were obtained by depositing copper and post-growth processing under H2S between 100 and 500 °C. These consist mainly of tetragonal rutile SnO2 and cubic bixbyite In2O3. We observe photoluminescence at 3.65 eV corresponding to band edge emission from SnO2 quantum dots in the Cu2SnS3/SnO2 nanowires due to electrostatic confinement. The Cu2SnS3/SnO2 nanowires assemblies had resistances of 100 Ω similar to CuInS2/In2O3 nanowires which exhibited photoluminescence at 3.0 eV.

  16. Synthesis and photocatalytic properties of different SnO2 microspheres on graphene oxide sheets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wei, Jia; Xue, Shaolin; Xie, Pei; Zou, Rujia

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Different SnO 2 microspheres were grown on GOs by hydrothermal method. • The morphology was influenced by volume ratio of ethanol and concentrations of precursor. • The shape of SnO 2 microspheres looks like dandelion. • The photocatalytic property is strongly influenced by the SnO 2 morphology on GOs. - Abstract: Different SnO 2 microspheres like dandelions, silkworm cocoons and urchins have been synthesized on graphene oxide sheets (GOs) by hydrothermal method at 190 °C for 24 h. The morphologies, structures, chemical compositions and optical properties of the as-grown SnO 2 microspheres on GOs (SMGs) were characterized by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), Raman spectra and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) techniques. The results of XRD revealed that the as-grown SnO 2 microspheres have tetragonal rutile structure. The results of Raman spectra, EDS, XRD, XPS and SEM showed that the SnO 2 microspheres were grown on GOs and the average diameter of dandelion-like microsphere was about 1.5 μm. The formation mechanism of SnO 2 microspheres grown on GOs was discussed. The photocatalytic activity of the SMGs composites was evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (Rh B) aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic results showed that the dandelion-like SMGs exhibited a much better photocatalytic activity than those of smooth and rough SMGs.

  17. SnO2 quantum dots with rapid butane detection at lower ppm-level

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Pan; Dong, Chengjun; Jiang, Ming; Shen, Yuanyuan; Tao, You; Wang, Yude

    2018-04-01

    SnO2 quantum dots (QDs) were successfully synthesized by a facile approach employing benzyl alcohol and ammonium hydroxide at lower temperature of 130 °C. It is revealed that the SnO2 QDs is about 3 nm in size to form clusters. The gas sensor based on SnO2 QDs shows a high potential for detecting low-ppm-level butane at 400 °C, exhibiting a high sensitivity, short response and rapid recovery time, and effective selectivity. The sensing mechanism is understood in terms of adsorbed oxygen species. Significantly, the excellent sensing performance is attributed to the smaller size of SnO2 and larger surface area (204.85 m2/g).

  18. Results from SNO

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chan, Yuen-dat

    2001-10-01

    The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) is an underground heavy water Cherenkov detector for studying solar neutrinos. SNO is capable of performing both flavor sensitive and flavor blind measurements of the solar neutrino flux. The first charged current (CC) measurement is found to be: {psi}{sub SNO}{sup CC}({nu}{sub e}) = 1.75 {+-} 0.07(stat.){sub -0.11}{sup +0.12}(sys.) {+-} 0.05 (theor.) x 10{sup 6} cm{sup -2}s{sup -1} and the elastic scattering fluxes (ES) is: {psi}{sub SNO}{sup ES}({nu}{sub x}) = 2.39 {+-} 0.34(stat.){sub -0.14}{sup +0.16} (sys.) x 10{sup 6} cm{sup -2}s{sup -1}. The {psi}{sub SNO}{sup CC}({nu}{sub e}) result, when combined with the high statistics elastic scattering (ES) measurement from Super-Kamiokande, provide a strong evidence for solar neutrino flavor transformation (3.3{sigma}). The deduced total solar neutrino flux is in good agreement with standard solar model predictions. No significant distortion in the energy spectrum is observed.

  19. Sintering of undoped SnO2 Sinterização de SnO2 não dopado

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. R. Leite

    2003-04-01

    Full Text Available Pure SnO2 sintering was studied by constant heating rate and isothermal sintering. The constant heating rate study showed no macroscopic shrinkage during the sintering process up to 1500 ºC. Pore size distribution measurements, using gas desorption, and grain size and crystallite size measurements of isothermally sintered samples showed no formation of non-densifying microstructures during the sintering process. These results are a strong indication that densification was prevented by thermodynamic factors, mainly the high ratio of gammaGB/gSV. An explanation, based on the nature of covalent bonding and the balance between attractive and repulsive forces, was proposed to explain the high gammaGB/gammaSV ratio in SnO2.A sinterização de SnO2 puro foi estudado por taxa constante de aquecimento e por sinterização isotérmica. O estudo de taxa constante de aquecimento mostrou que não ocorre retração macroscópica durante o processo de sinterização até temperaturas de 1500 ºC. Medidas de distribuição de tamanho de poros, usando adsorção de gás, tamanho de grão e tamanho de cristalito para amostras sinterizadas isotermicamente mostrou a não formação de uma microestrutura não-densificante durante o processo de sinterização. Estes resultados são um forte indicativo que a densificação foi inibida por fatores termodinâmicos, principalmente o alto valor da razão de gamaGB/gSV. Uma explicação, baseada na natureza covalente da ligação química e no balanço entre forças atrativas e repulsivas, é apresentada para explicar o alto valor da razão gamaGB/gamaSV no SnO2.

  20. Crystal phase analysis of SnO2-based varistor ceramic using the Rietveld method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moreira, M.L.; Pianaro, S.A.; Andrade, A.V.C.; Zara, A.J.

    2006-01-01

    A second addition of l mol% of CoO to a pre calcined SnO 2 -based ceramic doped with 1.0 mol% of CoO, 0.05 mol% of Nb 2 O 5 and 0.05 mol% of Cr 2 O 3 promotes the appearance of a secondary phase, Co 2 SnO 4 , besides the SnO 2 cassiterite phase, when the ceramic was sintered at 1350 deg. C/2 h. This was observed using X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray techniques. Rietveld refinement was carried out to quantify the phases present in the ceramic system. The results of the quantitative analysis were 97 wt.% SnO 2 and 3 wt.% Co 2 SnO 4 . The microstructural analysis showed that a certain amount of cobalt ion remains into cassiterite grains

  1. Structural, morphological, optical and photoluminescence properties of HfO2 thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ma, C.Y.; Wang, W.J.; Wang, J.; Miao, C.Y.; Li, S.L.; Zhang, Q.Y.

    2013-01-01

    Nanocrystalline monoclinic HfO 2 films with an average crystal size of 4.2–14.8 nm were sputter deposited under controlled temperatures and their structural characteristics and optical and photoluminescence properties have been evaluated. Structural investigations indicate that monoclinic HfO 2 films grown at higher temperatures above 400 °C are highly oriented along the (− 111) direction. The lattice expansion increases with diminishing HfO 2 crystalline size below 6.8 nm while maximum lattice expansion occurs with highly oriented monoclinic HfO 2 of crystalline size about 14.8 nm. The analysis of atomic force microscopy shows that the film growth at 600 °C can be attributed to the surface-diffusion-dominated growth. The intensity of the shoulderlike band that initiates at ∼ 5.7 eV and saturates at 5.94 eV shows continued increase with increasing crystalline size, which is intrinsic to nanocrystalline monoclinic HfO 2 films. Optical band gap varies in the range 5.40 ± 0.03–5.60 ± 0.03 eV and is slightly decreased with the increase in crystalline size. The luminescence band at 4.0 eV of HfO 2 films grown at room temperature can be ascribed to the vibronic transition of excited OH · radical while the emission at 3.2–3.3 eV for the films grown at all temperatures was attributed to the radiative recombination at impurity and/or defect centers. - Highlights: • Nanocrystalline monoclinic HfO 2 films were sputter deposited. • Structural, optical and photoluminescence properties were studied. • To analyze the scaling behavior using the power spectral density • Optical and photoluminescence properties strongly depend on film growth temperature

  2. Hierarchical Graphene-Encapsulated Hollow SnO2@SnS2 Nanostructures with Enhanced Lithium Storage Capability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Wangwang; Xie, Zhiqiang; Cui, Xiaodan; Zhao, Kangning; Zhang, Lei; Dietrich, Grant; Dooley, Kerry M; Wang, Ying

    2015-10-14

    Complex hierarchical structures have received tremendous attention due to their superior properties over their constitute components. In this study, hierarchical graphene-encapsulated hollow SnO2@SnS2 nanostructures are successfully prepared by in situ sulfuration on the backbones of hollow SnO2 spheres via a simple hydrothermal method followed by a solvothermal surface modification. The as-prepared hierarchical SnO2@SnS2@rGO nanocomposite can be used as anode material in lithium ion batteries, exhibiting excellent cyclability with a capacity of 583 mAh/g after 100 electrochemical cycles at a specific current of 200 mA/g. This material shows a very low capacity fading of only 0.273% per cycle from the second to the 100th cycle, lower than the capacity degradation of bare SnO2 hollow spheres (0.830%) and single SnS2 nanosheets (0.393%). Even after being cycled at a range of specific currents varied from 100 mA/g to 2000 mA/g, hierarchical SnO2@SnS2@rGO nanocomposites maintain a reversible capacity of 664 mAh/g, which is much higher than single SnS2 nanosheets (374 mAh/g) and bare SnO2 hollow spheres (177 mAh/g). Such significantly improved electrochemical performance can be attributed to the unique hierarchical hollow structure, which not only effectively alleviates the stress resulting from the lithiation/delithiation process and maintaining structural stability during cycling but also reduces aggregation and facilitates ion transport. This work thus demonstrates the great potential of hierarchical SnO2@SnS2@rGO nanocomposites for applications as a high-performance anode material in next-generation lithium ion battery technology.

  3. The potential application of ultra-nanocrystalline diamond films for heavy ion irradiation detection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Huang-Chin [Department of Physics, Tamkang University, Tamsui, New-Taipei, Taiwan 251 (China); Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, 300 (China); Chen, Shih-Show [Department of Physics, Tamkang University, Tamsui, New-Taipei, Taiwan 251 (China); Department of Information Technology and Mobile Communication, Taipei College of Maritime Technology, Tamsui, New-Taipei, Taiwan 251 (China); Wang, Wei-Cheng; Lin, I-Nan; Chang, Ching-Lin [Department of Physics, Tamkang University, Tamsui, New-Taipei, Taiwan 251 (China); Lee, Chi-Young [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, 300 (China); Guo, Jinghua [Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)

    2013-06-15

    The potential of utilizing the ultra-nanocrystalline (UNCD) films for detecting the Au-ion irradiation was investigated. When the fluence for Au-ion irradiation is lower than the critical value (f{sub c}= 5.0 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 12} ions/cm{sup 2}) the turn-on field for electron field emission (EFE) process of the UNCD films decreased systematically with the increase in fluence that is correlated with the increase in sp{sup 2}-bonded phase ({pi}{sup *}-band in EELS) due to the Au-ion irradiation. The EFE properties changed irregularly, when the fluence for Au-ion irradiation exceeds this critical value. The transmission electron microscopic microstructural examinations, in conjunction with EELS spectroscopic studies, reveal that the structural change preferentially occurred in the diamond-to-Si interface for the samples experienced over critical fluence of Au-ion irradiation, viz. the crystalline SiC phase was induced in the interfacial region and the thickness of the interface decreased. These observations implied that the UNCD films could be used as irradiation detectors when the fluence for Au-ion irradiation does not exceed such a critical value.

  4. Nanocrystalline nickel films with lotus leaf texture for superhydrophobic and low friction surfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shafiei, Mehdi; Alpas, Ahmet T.

    2009-11-01

    Nanostructured Ni films with high hardness, high hydrophobicity and low coefficient of friction (COF) were fabricated. The surface texture of lotus leaf was replicated using a cellulose acetate film, on which a nanocrystalline (NC) Ni coating with a grain size of 30 ± 4 nm was electrodeposited to obtain a self-sustaining film with a hardness of 4.42 GPa. The surface texture of the NC Ni obtained in this way featured a high density (4 × 10 3 mm -2) of conical protuberances with an average height of 10.0 ± 2.0 μm and a tip radius of 2.5 ± 0.5 μm. This structure increased the water repellency and reduced the COF, compared to smooth NC Ni surfaces. The application of a short-duration (120 s) electrodeposition process that deposited "Ni crowns" with a larger radius of 6.0 ± 0.5 μm on the protuberances, followed by a perfluoropolyether (PFPE) solution treatment succeeded in producing a surface texture consisting of nanotextured protuberances that resulted in a very high water contact angle of 156°, comparable to that of the superhydrophobic lotus leaf. Additionally, the microscale protuberances eliminated the initial high COF peaks observed when smooth NC Ni films were tested, and the PFPE treatment resulted in a 60% reduction in the steady-state COFs.

  5. Nanoscale Cross-Point Resistive Switching Memory Comprising p-Type SnO Bilayers

    KAUST Repository

    Hota, Mrinal Kanti

    2015-02-23

    Reproducible low-voltage bipolar resistive switching is reported in bilayer structures of p-type SnO films. Specifically, a bilayer homojunction comprising SnOx (oxygen-rich) and SnOy (oxygen-deficient) in nanoscale cross-point (300 × 300 nm2) architecture with self-compliance effect is demonstrated. By using two layers of SnO film, a good memory performance is obtained as compared to the individual oxide films. The memory devices show resistance ratio of 103 between the high resistance and low resistance states, and this difference can be maintained for up to 180 cycles. The devices also show good retention characteristics, where no significant degradation is observed for more than 103 s. Different charge transport mechanisms are found in both resistance states, depending on the applied voltage range and its polarity. The resistive switching is shown to originate from the oxygen ion migration and subsequent formation/rupture of conducting filaments.

  6. Thermal evolution of nanocrystalline co-sputtered Ni–Zr alloy films: Structural, magnetic and MD simulation studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bhattacharya, Debarati; Rao, T.V. Chandrasekhar; Bhushan, K.G.; Ali, Kawsar; Debnath, A.; Singh, S.; Arya, A.; Bhattacharya, S.; Basu, S.

    2015-01-01

    Monophasic and homogeneous Ni 10 Zr 7 nanocrystalline alloy films were successfully grown at room temperature by co-sputtering in an indigenously developed three-gun DC/RF magnetron sputtering unit. The films could be produced with long-range crystallographic and chemical order in the alloy, thus overcoming the widely acknowledged inherent proclivity of the glass forming Ni–Zr couple towards amorphization. Crystallinity of these alloys is a desirable feature with regard to improved efficacy in applications such as hydrogen storage, catalytic activity and nuclear reactor engineering, to name a few. Thermal stability of this crystalline phase, being vital for transition to viable applications, was investigated through systematic annealing of the alloy films at 473 K, 673 K and 923 K for various durations. While the films were stable at 473 K, the effect of annealing at 673 K was to create segregation into nanocrystalline Ni (superparamagnetic) and amorphous Ni + Zr (non-magnetic) phases. Detailed analyses of the physical and magnetic structures before and after annealing were performed through several techniques effectual in analyzing stratified configurations and the findings were all consistent with each other. Polarized neutron and X-ray reflectometry, grazing incidence x-ray diffraction, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to gauge phase separation at nanometer length scales. SQUID based magnetometry was used to investigate macroscopic magnetic properties. Simulated annealing performed on this system using molecular dynamic calculations corroborated well with the experimental results. This study provides a thorough understanding of the creation and thermal evolution of a crystalline Ni–Zr alloy. - Highlights: • Nanocrystalline Ni 10 Zr 7 alloy thin films deposited successfully by co-sputtering. • Creation of a crystalline alloy in a binary system with a tendency to amorphize. • Quantitative

  7. Thermal evolution of nanocrystalline co-sputtered Ni–Zr alloy films: Structural, magnetic and MD simulation studies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bhattacharya, Debarati, E-mail: debarati@barc.gov.in [Solid State Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085 (India); Rao, T.V. Chandrasekhar; Bhushan, K.G. [Technical Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085 (India); Ali, Kawsar [Material Science Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085 (India); Debnath, A. [Technical Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085 (India); Singh, S. [Solid State Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085 (India); Arya, A. [Material Science Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085 (India); Bhattacharya, S. [Technical Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085 (India); Basu, S. [Solid State Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085 (India)

    2015-11-15

    Monophasic and homogeneous Ni{sub 10}Zr{sub 7} nanocrystalline alloy films were successfully grown at room temperature by co-sputtering in an indigenously developed three-gun DC/RF magnetron sputtering unit. The films could be produced with long-range crystallographic and chemical order in the alloy, thus overcoming the widely acknowledged inherent proclivity of the glass forming Ni–Zr couple towards amorphization. Crystallinity of these alloys is a desirable feature with regard to improved efficacy in applications such as hydrogen storage, catalytic activity and nuclear reactor engineering, to name a few. Thermal stability of this crystalline phase, being vital for transition to viable applications, was investigated through systematic annealing of the alloy films at 473 K, 673 K and 923 K for various durations. While the films were stable at 473 K, the effect of annealing at 673 K was to create segregation into nanocrystalline Ni (superparamagnetic) and amorphous Ni + Zr (non-magnetic) phases. Detailed analyses of the physical and magnetic structures before and after annealing were performed through several techniques effectual in analyzing stratified configurations and the findings were all consistent with each other. Polarized neutron and X-ray reflectometry, grazing incidence x-ray diffraction, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to gauge phase separation at nanometer length scales. SQUID based magnetometry was used to investigate macroscopic magnetic properties. Simulated annealing performed on this system using molecular dynamic calculations corroborated well with the experimental results. This study provides a thorough understanding of the creation and thermal evolution of a crystalline Ni–Zr alloy. - Highlights: • Nanocrystalline Ni{sub 10}Zr{sub 7} alloy thin films deposited successfully by co-sputtering. • Creation of a crystalline alloy in a binary system with a tendency to amorphize.

  8. Thin films of preparation SnOx by evaporation and pulverization reactive in vapor phase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Solis, J.; Estrada, W.; Soares, M.; Schreiner, W.

    1993-01-01

    In this work we obtained SnO x thin films by reactive evaporation. The structure and composition of the films were characterized by x-ray diffraction and Moessbauer spectroscopy. The samples as deposited present different kind of microstructures depending on the parameters deposition, such as substrate temperature and oxygen pressure. In general the samples present three pushes: Sn, SnO and SnO 2 . When the samples are subjected to heat treatment, the as deposited SnO x finally converts to SnO 2 . (authors) 10 refs., 4 figs

  9. Fabrication of novel SnO2 nanofibers bundle and their optical properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Butt, Faheem K.; Cao, Chuanbao; Khan, Waheed S.; Ali, Zulfiqar; Mahmood, Tariq; Ahmed, R.; Hussain, Sajad; Nabi, Ghulam

    2012-01-01

    Here we report on the synthesis of novel SnO 2 nanofibers bundle (NFB) by using ball milled Fe powders via chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The reaction was carried out in a horizontal tube furnace (HTF) at 1100 °C under Ar flow. The as prepared product was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction (SAED). The microscopy analysis reveals the existence of tubular structure that might be formed by the accumulation of nanofibers. The Raman spectrum reveals that the product is rutile SnO 2 with additional peaks ascribed to defects or oxygen vacancies. Room temperature Photoluminescence (PL) spectrum exhibits three emission bands at 369, 450 and 466.6 nm. Using optical absorbance data, a direct optical bandgap of 3.68 eV was calculated. -- Graphical abstract: Novel SnO 2 nanofibers bundle (NFB) fabricated via CVD method. Field emission scanning electron microscopy image of novel SnO 2 NFB and their room temperature PL emission. Highlights: ► Synthesis of novel SnO 2 nanofibers bundle at 1100 °C under partial flow of Ar gas. ► A VLS mechanism is proposed for the formation of SnO 2 nanofibers. ► The PL spectrum exhibits three emission bands at 369, 450 and 466.6 nm. ► A direct optical bandgap of 3.68 eV was calculated.

  10. Room temperature ferromagnetism in nano-crystalline Co:ThO2 powders

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bhide, M.K.; Kadam, R.M.; Godbole, S.V.; Tyagi, A.K.; Salunke, H.G.

    2012-01-01

    The major interest in dilute magnetic semiconductors (DMS's) had been directed towards the synthesis of room temperature ferromagnetic (RTF) materials for their potential applications in spintronic devices. Room temperature (RT) ferromagnetism was initially reported in Co doped TiO 2 , ZnO 2 and SnO 2 thin films and in the recent past in transition metal doped wide band gap materials. In the present paper we report the synthesis of Co doped ThO 2 nano powders by urea combustion method. The XRD characterization of 300℃ annealed samples confirmed formation of ThO 2 in the cubic phase and the average crystallite size obtained using Scherrer's formula was around 6 nm

  11. Efficient photocatalytic degradation of phenol in aqueous solution by SnO2:Sb nanoparticles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Hamdi, Abdullah M.; Sillanpää, Mika; Bora, Tanujjal; Dutta, Joydeep

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Sb doped SnO 2 nanoparticles were synthesized using sol–gel process. • Photocatalytic degradation of phenol were studies using SnO 2 :Sb nanoparticles. • Under solar light phenol was degraded within 2 h. • Phenol mineralization and intermediates were investigated by using HPLC. - Abstract: Photodegradation of phenol in the presence of tin dioxide (SnO 2 ) nanoparticles under UV light irradiation is known to be an effective photocatalytic process. However, phenol degradation under solar light is less effective due to the large band gap of SnO 2 . In this study antimony (Sb) doped tin dioxide (SnO 2 ) nanoparticles were prepared at a low temperature (80 °C) by a sol–gel method and studied for its photocatalytic activity with phenol as a test contaminant. The catalytic degradation of phenol in aqueous media was studied using high performance liquid chromatography and total organic carbon measurements. The change in the concentration of phenol affects the pH of the solution due to the by-products formed during the photo-oxidation of phenol. The photoactivity of SnO 2 :Sb was found to be a maximum for 0.6 wt.% Sb doped SnO 2 nanoparticles with 10 mg L −1 phenol in water. Within 2 h of photodegradation, more than 95% of phenol could be removed under solar light irradiation.

  12. Enhanced luminescence in Eu-doped ZnO nanocrystalline films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Suzuki, Keigo, E-mail: ksuzuki@murata.com; Murayama, Koji; Tanaka, Nobuhiko [Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd., 10-1, Higashikotari 1-chome, Nagaokakyo, Kyoto 617-8555 (Japan)

    2015-07-20

    We found an enhancement of Eu{sup 3+} emissions in Eu-doped ZnO nanocrystalline films fabricated by microemulsion method. The Eu{sup 3+} emission intensities were increased by reducing annealing temperatures from 633 K to 533 K. One possible explanation for this phenomenon is that the size reduction enhances the energy transfer from ZnO nanoparticles to Eu{sup 3+} ions. Also, the shift of the charge-transfer band into the low-energy side of the absorption edge is found to be crucial, which seems to expedite the energy transfer from O atoms to Eu{sup 3+} ions. These findings will be useful for the material design of Eu-doped ZnO phosphors.

  13. Effect of phase interaction on catalytic CO oxidation over the SnO_2/Al_2O_3 model catalyst

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chai, Shujing; Bai, Xueqin; Li, Jing; Liu, Cheng; Ding, Tong; Tian, Ye; Liu, Chang; Xian, Hui; Mi, Wenbo; Li, Xingang

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Activity for CO oxidation is greatly enhanced by interaction between SnO_2 and Al_2O_3. • Interaction between SnO_2 and Al_2O_3 phases can generate oxygen vacancies. • Oxygen vacancies play an import role for catalytic CO oxidation. • Sn"4"+ cations are the effective sites for catalytic CO oxidation. • Langmuir-Hinshelwood model is preferred for catalytic CO oxidation. - Abstract: We investigated the catalytic CO oxidation over the SnO_2/Al_2O_3 model catalysts. Our results show that interaction between the Al_2O_3 and SnO_2 phases results in the significantly improved catalytic activity because of the formation of the oxygen vacancies. The oxygen storage capacity of the SnO_2/Al_2O_3 catalyst prepared by the physically mixed method is nearly two times higher than that of the SnO_2, which probably results from the change of electron concentration on the interface of the SnO_2 and Al_2O_3 phases. Introducing water vapor to the feeding gas would a little decrease the activity of the catalysts, but the reaction rate could completely recover after removal of water vapor. The kinetics results suggest that the surface Sn"4"+ cations are effective CO adsorptive sites, and the surface adsorbed oxygen plays an important role upon CO oxidation. The reaction pathways upon the SnO_2-based catalysts for CO oxidation follow the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model.

  14. Grain size and lattice parameter's influence on band gap of SnS thin nano-crystalline films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gupta, Yashika [Department of Electronics, S.G.T.B. Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007 (India); Department of Electronic Science, University of Delhi-South Campus, New Delhi 110021 (India); Arun, P., E-mail: arunp92@physics.du.ac.in [Department of Electronics, S.G.T.B. Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007 (India); Naudi, A.A.; Walz, M.V. [Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos, 3101 Oro Verde (Argentina); Albanesi, E.A. [Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos, 3101 Oro Verde (Argentina); Instituto de Física del Litoral (CONICET-UNL), Guemes 3450, 3000 Santa Fe (Argentina)

    2016-08-01

    Tin sulphide nano-crystalline thin films were fabricated on glass and Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) substrates by thermal evaporation method. The crystal structure orientation of the films was found to be dependent on the substrate. Residual stress existed in the films due to these orientations. This stress led to variation in lattice parameter. The nano-crystalline grain size was also found to vary with film thickness. A plot of band-gap with grain size or with lattice parameter showed the existence of a family of curves. This implied that band-gap of SnS films in the preview of the present study depends on two parameters, lattice parameter and grain size. The band-gap relation with grain size is well known in the nano regime. Experimental data fitted well with this relation for the given lattice constants. The manuscript uses theoretical structure calculations for different lattice constants and shows that the experimental data follows the trend. Thus, confirming that the band gap has a two variable dependency. - Highlights: • Tin sulphide films are grown on glass and ITO substrates. • Both substrates give differently oriented films. • The band-gap is found to depend on grain size and lattice parameter. • Using data from literature, E{sub g} is shown to be two parameter function. • Theoretical structure calculations are used to verify results.

  15. Hybrid composite thin films composed of tin oxide nanoparticles and cellulose

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mahadeva, Suresha K; Nayak, Jyoti; Kim, Jaehwan

    2013-01-01

    This paper reports the preparation and characterization of hybrid thin films consisting of tin oxide (SnO 2 ) nanoparticles and cellulose. SnO 2 nanoparticle loaded cellulose hybrid thin films were fabricated by a solution blending technique, using sodium dodecyl sulfate as a dispersion agent. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy studies revealed uniform dispersion of the SnO 2 nanoparticles in the cellulose matrix. Reduction in the crystalline melting transition temperature and tensile properties of cellulose was observed due to the SnO 2 nanoparticle loading. Potential application of these hybrid thin films as low cost, flexible and biodegradable humidity sensors is examined in terms of the change in electrical resistivity of the material exposed to a wide range of humidity as well as its response–recovery behavior. (paper)

  16. Electrochemical properties of SnO2/carbon composite materials as anode material for lithium-ion batteries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Jie; Zhao Hailei; Liu Xiaotong; Wang Jing; Wang Chunmei

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → SnO 2 /carbon powders with a cauliflower-like particle structure were synthesized. → Post-annealing can improve the electrochemical properties of SnO 2 /C composite. → The 500 deg. C-annealed SnO 2 /C shows the best electrochemical performance. → The lithium ion diffusion coefficients of the SnO 2 /C electrodes were calculated. - Abstract: SnO 2 /carbon composite anode materials were synthesized from SnCl 4 .5H 2 O and sucrose via a hydrothermal route and a post heat-treatment. The synthesized spherical SnO 2 /carbon powders show a cauliflower-like micro-sized structure. High annealing temperature results in partial reduction of SnO 2 . Metallic Sn starts to emerge at 500 deg. C. High Sn content in SnO 2 /carbon composite is favorable for the increase of initial coulombic efficiency but not for the cycling stability. The SnO 2 /carbon annealed at 500 deg. C exhibits high specific capacity (∼400 mAh g -1 ), stable cycling performance and good rate capability. The generation of Li 2 O in the first lithiation process can prevent the aggregation of active Sn, while the carbon component can buffer the big volume change caused by lithiation/delithiation of active Sn. Both of them make contribution to the better cycle stability.

  17. SnO2-Based Nanomaterials: Synthesis and Application in Lithium-Ion Batteries and Supercapacitors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qinqin Zhao

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Tin dioxide (SnO2 is an important n-type wide-bandgap semiconductor, and SnO2-based nanostructures are presenting themselves as one of the most important classes due to their various tunable physicochemical properties. In this paper, we firstly outline the syntheses of phase-pure SnO2 hierarchical structures with different morphologies such as nanorods, nanosheets, and nanospheres, as well as their modifications by doping and compositing with other materials. Then, we reviewed the design of SnO2-based nanostructures with improved performance in the areas of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs and supercapacitors.

  18. A feasibility study on SnO2/NiFe2O4 nanocomposites as anodes for Li ion batteries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balaji, S.; Vasuki, R.; Mutharasu, D.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► The morphological analysis performed has shown the existence of nanocomposite. ► Sp. capacity after 50 cycles of pure NiFe 2 O 4 , 5 and 10 wt.% SnO 2 are 450, 750 and 780 mA h/g. ► The results are higher than the theoretical capacity of graphite (374 mA h/g). ► The capacity retention is also found to increase with SnO 2 addition in the NiFe 2 O 4 . ► Charge and discharge capacities of LiMn 2 O 4 vs. 10 wt.% SnO 2 /NiFe 2 O 4 are 232 and 138 mA h/g. -- Abstract: The SnO 2 /NiFe 2 O 4 nanocomposite samples with varying concentration of SnO 2 such as 5 wt.% and 10 wt.% were synthesized via urea assisted combustion synthesis. The kinetics of the combustion reactions were studied using thermo gravimetry analysis and from which the compound formation temperature of all the samples were observed to be below 400 °C. From the morphological analysis the grain size of NiFe 2 O 4 , 5 wt.% SnO 2 /NiFe 2 O 4 and 10 wt.% SnO 2 /NiFe 2 O 4 samples were observed to be around 1.7, 2.3 and 3.5 μm. The chrono potentiometry analyses of the samples were performed against lithium metal electrode. The capacity retention was found to be higher for composite with 10 wt.% SnO 2 . The discharge capacity of 10 wt.% SnO 2 sample with respect to Li metal and LiMn 2 O 4 electrode was observed to be around 980 mA h/g and 138 mA h/g respectively

  19. Nanoscale Cross-Point Resistive Switching Memory Comprising p-Type SnO Bilayers

    KAUST Repository

    Hota, Mrinal Kanti; Hedhili, Mohamed N.; Wang, Qingxiao; Melnikov, Vasily; Mohammed, Omar F.; Alshareef, Husam N.

    2015-01-01

    Reproducible low-voltage bipolar resistive switching is reported in bilayer structures of p-type SnO films. Specifically, a bilayer homojunction comprising SnOx (oxygen-rich) and SnOy (oxygen-deficient) in nanoscale cross-point (300 × 300 nm2

  20. Terbium doped SnO2 nanoparticles as white emitters and SnO2:5Tb/Fe3O4 magnetic luminescent nanohybrids for hyperthermia application and biocompatibility with HeLa cancer cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Laishram Priyobarta; Singh, Ningthoujam Premananda; Srivastava, Sri Krishna

    2015-04-14

    SnO2:5Tb (SnO2 doped with 5 at% Tb(3+)) nanoparticles were synthesised by a polyol method and their luminescence properties at different annealing temperatures were studied. Characterization of nanomaterials was done by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). XRD studies indicate that the prepared nanoparticles were of tetragonal structures. Upon Tb(3+) ion incorporation into SnO2, Sn(4+) changes to Sn(2+) and, on annealing again at higher temperature, Sn(2+) changes to Sn(4+). The prepared nanoparticles were spherical in shape. Sn-O vibrations were found from the FTIR studies. In photoluminescence studies, the intensity of the emission peaks of Tb(3+) ions increases with the increase of annealing temperature, and emission spectra lie in the region of white emission in the CIE diagram. CCT calculations show that the SnO2:5Tb emission lies in cold white emission. Quantum yields up to 38% can be obtained for 900 °C annealed samples. SnO2:5Tb nanoparticles were well incorporated into the PVA polymer and such a material incorporated into the polymer can be used for display devices. The SnO2:5Tb/Fe3O4 nanohybrid was prepared and investigated for hyperthermia applications at different concentrations of the nanohybrid. This achieves a hyperthermia temperature (42 °C) under an AC magnetic field. The hybrid nanomaterial SnO2:5Tb/Fe3O4 was found to exhibit biocompatibility with HeLa cells (human cervical cancer cells) at concentrations up to 74% for 100 μg L(-1). Also, this nanohybrid shows green emission and thus it will be helpful in tracing magnetic nanoparticles through optical imaging in vivo and in vitro application.

  1. Synthesis and Characterization of Highly Sensitive Hydrogen (H2 Sensing Device Based on Ag Doped SnO2 Nanospheres

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhaorui Lu

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, pure and Ag-doped SnO2 nanospheres were synthesized by hydrothermal method and characterized via X-ray powder diffraction (XRD, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS, and X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS, respectively. The gas sensing performance of the pure, 1 at.%, 3 at.%, and 5 at.% Ag-doped SnO2 sensing devices toward hydrogen (H2 were systematically evaluated. The results indicated that compared with pure SnO2 nanospheres, Ag-doped SnO2 nanospheres could not only decrease the optimum working temperature but also significantly improve H2 sensing such as higher gas response and faster response-recovery. Among all the samples, the 3 at.% Ag-doped SnO2 showed the highest response 39 to 100 μL/L H2 at 300 °C. Moreover, its gas sensing mechanism was discussed, and the results will provide reference and theoretical guidance for the development of high-performance SnO2-based H2 sensing devices.

  2. Increased charge storage capacity of titanium nitride electrodes by deposition of boron-doped nanocrystalline diamond films

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Meijs, Suzan; McDonald, Matthew; Sørensen, Søren

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of depositing a thin layer of boron-doped nanocrystalline diamond (B-NCD) on titanium nitride (TiN) coated electrodes and the effect this has on charge injection properties. The charge storage capacity increased by applying the B-NCD film...

  3. Spray Pyrolyzed Polycrystalline Tin Oxide Thin Film as Hydrogen Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ganesh E. Patil

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Polycrystalline tin oxide (SnO2 thin film was prepared by using simple and inexpensive spray pyrolysis technique (SPT. The film was characterized for their phase and morphology by X-ray diffraction (XRD and scanning electron microscopy (SEM, respectively. The crystallite size calculated from the XRD pattern is 84 nm. Conductance responses of the polycrystalline SnO2 were measured towards gases like hydrogen (H2, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG, ethanol vapors (C2H5OH, NH3, CO, CO2, Cl2 and O2. The gas sensing characteristics were obtained by measuring the sensor response as a function of various controlling factors like operating temperature, operating voltages (1 V, 5 V, 10 V 15 V, 20 V and 25 V and concentration of gases. The sensor response measurement showed that the SnO2 has maximum response to hydrogen. Furthermore; the SnO2 based sensor exhibited fast response and good recovery towards hydrogen at temperature 150 oC. The result of response towards H2 reveals that SnO2 thin film prepared by SPT would be a suitable material for the fabrication of the hydrogen sensor.

  4. Hybrid nanocomposite based on cellulose and tin oxide: growth, structure, tensile and electrical characteristics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mahadeva, Suresha K; Kim, Jaehwan

    2011-01-01

    A highly flexible nanocomposite was developed by coating a regenerated cellulose film with a thin layer of tin oxide (SnO 2 ) by liquid-phase deposition. Tin oxide was crystallized in solution and formed nanocrystal coatings on regenerated cellulose. The nanocrystalline layers did not exfoliate from cellulose. Transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy suggest that SnO 2 was not only deposited over the cellulose surface, but also nucleated and grew inside the cellulose film. Current-voltage characteristics of the nanocomposite revealed that its electrical resistivity decreases with deposition time, with the lowest value obtained for 24 h of deposition. The cellulose-SnO 2 hybrid nanocomposite can be used for biodegradable and disposable chemical, humidity and biosensors.

  5. The effect of solution pH on the electrochemical performance of nanocrystalline metal ferrites MFe2O4 (M=Cu, Zn, and Ni) thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elsayed, E. M.; Rashad, M. M.; Khalil, H. F. Y.; Ibrahim, I. A.; Hussein, M. R.; El-Sabbah, M. M. B.

    2016-04-01

    Nanocrystalline metal ferrite MFe2O4 (M=Cu, Zn, and Ni) thin films have been synthesized via electrodeposition-anodization process. Electrodeposited (M)Fe2 alloys were obtained from aqueous sulfate bath. The formed alloys were electrochemically oxidized (anodized) in aqueous (1 M KOH) solution, at room temperature, to the corresponding hydroxides. The parameters controlling the current efficiency of the electrodeposition of (M)Fe2 alloys such as the bath composition and the current density were studied and optimized. The anodized (M)Fe2 alloy films were annealed in air at 400 °C for 2 h. The results revealed the formation of three ferrite thin films were formed. The crystallite sizes of the produced films were in the range between 45 and 60 nm. The microstructure of the formed film was ferrite type dependent. The corrosion behavior of ferrite thin films in different pH solutions was investigated using open circuit potential (OCP) and potentiodynamic polarization measurements. The open circuit potential indicates that the initial potential E im of ZnFe2O4 thin films remained constant for a short time, then sharply increased in the less negative direction in acidic and alkaline medium compared with Ni and Cu ferrite films. The values of the corrosion current density I corr were higher for the ZnFe2O4 films at pH values of 1 and 12 compared with that of NiFe2O4 and CuFe2O4 which were higher only at pH value 1. The corrosion rate was very low for the three ferrite films when immersion in the neutral medium. The surface morphology recommended that Ni and Cu ferrite films were safely used in neutral and alkaline medium, whereas Zn ferrite film was only used in neutral atmospheres.

  6. A novel snowflake-like SnO2 hierarchical architecture with superior gas sensing properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yanqiong

    2018-02-01

    Snowflake-like SnO2 hierarchical architecture has been synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method and followed by calcination. The SnO2 hierarchical structures are assembled with thin nanoflakes blocks, which look like snowflake shape. A possible mechanism for the formation of the SnO2 hierarchical structures is speculated. Moreover, gas sensing tests show that the sensor based on snowflake-like SnO2 architectures exhibited excellent gas sensing properties. The enhancement may be attributed to its unique structures, in which the porous feature on the snowflake surface could further increase the active surface area of the materials and provide facile pathways for the target gas.

  7. SnO2@C@VO2 Composite Hollow Nanospheres as an Anode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Wenbin; Wang, Yong; Li, Qingyuan; Wang, Dongxia; Zhang, Fanchao; Yang, Yiqing; Yu, Yang

    2018-05-02

    Porous SnO 2 @C@VO 2 composite hollow nanospheres were ingeniously constructed through the combination of layer-by-layer deposition and redox reaction. Moreover, to optimize the electrochemical properties, SnO 2 @C@VO 2 composite hollow nanospheres with different contents of the external VO 2 were also studied. On the one hand, the elastic and conductive carbon as interlayer in the SnO 2 @C@VO 2 composite can not only buffer the huge volume variation during repetitive cycling but also effectively improve electronic conductivity and enhance the utilizing rate of SnO 2 and VO 2 with high theoretical capacity. On the other hand, hollow nanostructures of the composite can be consolidated by the multilayered nanocomponents, resulting in outstanding cyclic stability. In virtue of the above synergetic contribution from individual components, SnO 2 @C@VO 2 composite hollow nanospheres exhibit a large initial discharge capacity (1305.6 mAhg -1 ) and outstanding cyclic stability (765.1 mAhg -1 after 100 cycles). This design of composite hollow nanospheres may be extended to the synthesis of other nanomaterials for electrochemical energy storage.

  8. Grain-size effect on the electrical properties of nanocrystalline indium tin oxide thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Jong Hoon [Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, 267 Gajeong-Ro, Yuseong-Gu, Daejeon 305-340 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Young Heon, E-mail: young.h.kim@kriss.re.kr [Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, 267 Gajeong-Ro, Yuseong-Gu, Daejeon 305-340 (Korea, Republic of); University of Science & Technology, 217 Gajeong-Ro, Yuseong-Gu, Daejeon 305-350 (Korea, Republic of); Ahn, Sang Jung [Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, 267 Gajeong-Ro, Yuseong-Gu, Daejeon 305-340 (Korea, Republic of); University of Science & Technology, 217 Gajeong-Ro, Yuseong-Gu, Daejeon 305-350 (Korea, Republic of); Ha, Tae Hwan [University of Science & Technology, 217 Gajeong-Ro, Yuseong-Gu, Daejeon 305-350 (Korea, Republic of); Future Biotechnology Research Division, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), 125 Gwahak-ro, Yuseong-Gu, Daejeon 305-806 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Hong Seung [Department of Nano Semiconductor Engineering, Korea Maritime and Ocean University, 727 Taejong-Ro, Busan 606-791 (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-09-15

    Highlights: • Nanometer-sized small grains were observed in the ITO thin films. • The grain size increased as the post-thermal annealing temperature increased. • The mobility of ITO thin films increased with increasing grain size. • The ITO film annealed at 300 °C was an amorphous phase, while the others were polycrystalline structure. - Abstract: In this paper, we demonstrate the electrical properties, depending on grain size, of nanocrystalline indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films prepared with a solution process. The size distributions of nanometer-sized ITO film grains increased as the post-annealing temperature increased after deposition; the grain sizes were comparable with the calculated electron mean free path. The mobility of ITO thin films increased with increasing grain size; this phenomenon was explained by adopting the charge-trapping model for grain boundary scattering. These findings suggest that it is possible to improve mobility by reducing the number of trapping sites at the grain boundary.

  9. SnO2 Nanostructure as Pollutant Gas Sensors: Synthesis, Sensing Performances, and Mechanism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brian Yuliarto

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available A significant amount of pollutants is produced from factories and motor vehicles in the form of gas. Their negative impact on the environment is well known; therefore detection with effective gas sensors is important as part of pollution prevention efforts. Gas sensors use a metal oxide semiconductor, specifically SnO2 nanostructures. This semiconductor is interesting and worthy of further investigation because of its many uses, for example, as lithium battery electrode, energy storage, catalyst, and transistor, and has potential as a gas sensor. In addition, there has to be a discussion of the use of SnO2 as a pollutant gas sensor especially for waste products such as CO, CO2, SO2, and NOx. In this paper, the development of the fabrication of SnO2 nanostructures synthesis will be described as it relates to the performances as pollutant gas sensors. In addition, the functionalization of SnO2 as a gas sensor is extensively discussed with respect to the theory of gas adsorption, the surface features of SnO2, the band gap theory, and electron transfer.

  10. Epitaxial TiO 2/SnO 2 core-shell heterostructure by atomic layer deposition

    KAUST Repository

    Nie, Anmin

    2012-01-01

    Taking TiO 2/SnO 2 core-shell nanowires (NWs) as a model system, we systematically investigate the structure and the morphological evolution of this heterostructure synthesized by atomic layer deposition/epitaxy (ALD/ALE). All characterizations, by X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction and Raman spectra, reveal that single crystalline rutile TiO 2 shells can be epitaxially grown on SnO 2 NWs with an atomically sharp interface at low temperature (250 °C). The growth behavior of the TiO 2 shells highly depends on the surface orientations and the geometrical shape of the core SnO 2 NW cross-section. Atomically smooth surfaces are found for growth on the {110} surface. Rough surfaces develop on {100} surfaces due to (100) - (1 × 3) reconstruction, by introducing steps in the [010] direction as a continuation of {110} facets. Lattice mismatch induces superlattice structures in the TiO 2 shell and misfit dislocations along the interface. Conformal epitaxial growth has been observed for SnO 2 NW cores with an octagonal cross-section ({100} and {110} surfaces). However, for a rectangular core ({101} and {010} surfaces), the shell also derives an octagonal shape from the epitaxial growth, which was explained by a proposed model based on ALD kinetics. The surface steps and defects induced by the lattice mismatch likely lead to improved photoluminescence (PL) performance for the yellow emission. Compared to the pure SnO 2 NWs, the PL spectrum of the core-shell nanostructures exhibits a stronger emission peak, which suggests potential applications in optoelectronics. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2012.

  11. Synthesis of nanocrystalline molybdenum disulfide films and studies of their structure, spectral and photoelectrical properties

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhuravleva, Tatyana S., E-mail: zhur@deom.chph.ras.ru [N.M. Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Kosygina 4, Moscow 119334 (Russian Federation); Krinichnaya, Elena P.; Ivanova, Olga P.; Klimenko, Inna V. [N.M. Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Kosygina 4, Moscow 119334 (Russian Federation); Golub, Alexandre S.; Lenenko, Natalia D. [A.N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Vavilova 28, Moscow 119991 (Russian Federation); Misurkin, Igor' A.; Titov, Sergey V. [L.Ya. Karpov Research Institute of Physical Chemistry, ul. Vorontsovo pole 10, Moscow 105064 (Russian Federation)

    2012-01-31

    An approach for preparing MoS{sub 2} films in mild conditions is described, which is based on producing the suspensions of nanocrystalline MoS{sub 2} particles in organic solvent via exfoliation of MoS{sub 2} crystals, followed by the deposition of these suspensions onto substrate. According to X-Ray diffraction data, acetonitrile suspensions yield highly oriented films with the basal planes of MoS{sub 2} crystallites being mainly oriented in the plane parallel to the substrate. Atomic force microscopy examination revealed changes in the film surface topography under variation of the film thickness, which varied in the range of 0.03-2.2 {mu}m. The optical absorption spectra of the obtained MoS{sub 2} films were found to resemble those of thin natural MoS{sub 2} single crystals. Dark conductivity of the films with the thickness of d = 0.12-2.2 {mu}m was determined to be {approx} 10{sup -3} S Bullet-Operator cm{sup -1} at 300 K. Experimental data on the conductivity in the temperature range of 10-300 K were fitted to Mott function for 3D variable-range hopping. The synthesized MoS{sub 2} films were found to be photosensitive in the range of 300-800 nm. They provided the value of reduced photocurrent density of about 7 Bullet-Operator 10{sup -4} (A Bullet-Operator cm)/(WV) under photoexcitation at 575 nm. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The method of the MoS{sub 2} film preparation in mild conditions has been developed. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Basal planes of the MoS{sub 2} crystallites are mainly oriented parallel to the substrate. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Optical absorption spectra of the films are similar to MoS{sub 2} single crystals. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Film dark conductivity is {approx} 10{sup -3} S Bullet-Operator cm{sup -1} at 300K and corresponds to hopping mechanism. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Films are photosensitive.

  12. SnO2/ZnO composite structure for the lithium-ion battery electrode

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmad, Mashkoor; Yingying, Shi; Sun, Hongyu; Shen, Wanci; Zhu, Jing

    2012-01-01

    In this article, SnO 2 /ZnO composite structures have been synthesized by two steps hydrothermal method and investigated their lithium storage capacity as compared with pure ZnO. It has been found that these composite structures combining the large specific surface area, stability and catalytic activity of SnO 2 micro-crystals, demonstrate the higher initial discharge capacity of 1540 mA h g −1 with a Coulombic efficiency of 68% at a rate of 120 mA h g −1 between 0.02 and 2 V and found much better than that of any previously reported ZnO based composite anodes. In addition, a significantly enhanced cycling performance, i.e., a reversible capacity of 497 mA h g −1 is retained after 40 cycles. The improved lithium storage capacity and cycle life is attributed to the addition of SnO 2 structure, which act as good electronic conductors and better accommodation of the large volume change during lithiation/delithiation process. - Graphical abstract: SnO 2 /ZnO composite structures demonstrate the improved lithium storage capacity and cycle life as compared with pure ZnO nanostructure. Highlights: ► Synthesis of SnO 2 /ZnO composite structures by two steps hydrothermal approach. ► Investigation of lithium storage capacity. ► Excellent lithium storage capacity and cycle life of SnO 2 /ZnO composite structures.

  13. Study on preparation of SnO2-TiO2/Nano-graphite composite anode and electro-catalytic degradation of ceftriaxone sodium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Xiaolei; Wan, Jiafeng; Yu, Xiujuan; Lin, Yuhui

    2016-12-01

    In order to improve the electro-catalytic activity and catalytic reaction rate of graphite-like material, Tin dioxide-Titanium dioxide/Nano-graphite (SnO 2 -TiO 2 /Nano-G) composite was synthesized by a sol-gel method and SnO 2 -TiO 2 /Nano-G electrode was prepared in hot-press approach. The composite was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, fourier transform infrared, Raman, N 2 adsorption-desorption, scanning electrons microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The electrochemical performance of the SnO 2 -TiO 2 /Nano-G anode electrode was investigated via cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The electro-catalytic performance was evaluated by the degradation of ceftriaxone sodium and the yield of ·OH radicals in the reaction system. The results demonstrated that TiO 2 , SnO 2 and Nano-G were composited successfully, and TiO 2 and SnO 2 particles dispersed on the surface and interlamination of the Nano-G uniformly. The specific surface area of SnO 2 modified anode was higher than that of TiO 2 /Nano-G anode and the degradation rate of ceftriaxone sodium within 120 min on SnO 2 -TiO 2 /Nano-G electrode was 98.7% at applied bias of 2.0 V. The highly efficient electro-chemical property of SnO 2 -TiO 2 /Nano-G electrode was attributed to the admirable conductive property of the Nano-G and SnO 2 -TiO 2 /Nano-G electrode. Moreover, the contribution of reactive species ·OH was detected, indicating the considerable electro-catalytic activity of SnO 2 -TiO 2 /Nano-G electrode. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. The influence of interfacial barrier engineering on the resistance switching of In2O3:SnO2/TiO2/In2O3:SnO2 device

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Zi-Yu; Zhang Pei-Jian; Meng Yang; Li Dong; Meng Qing-Yu; Li Jian-Qi; Zhao Hong-Wu

    2012-01-01

    The I—V characteristics of In 2 O 3 :SnO 2 /TiO 2 /In 2 O 3 :SnO 2 junctions with different interfacial barriers are investigated by comparing experiments. A two-step resistance switching process is found for samples with two interfacial barriers produced by specific thermal treatment on the interfaces. The nonsynchronous occurrence of conducting filament formation through the oxide bulk and the reduction in the interfacial barrier due to the migration of oxygen vacancies under the electric field is supposed to explain the two-step resistive switching process. The unique switching properties of the device, based on interfacial barrier engineering, could be exploited for novel applications in nonvolatile memory devices. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

  15. Polar catastrophe at the MgO(100)/SnO2(110) interface

    KAUST Repository

    Albar, Arwa

    2016-11-14

    First principles calculations, based on density functional theory, are used to investigate the structural and electronic properties of the epitaxial MgO(100)/SnO2(110) interface of wide band gap insulators. Depending on the interface termination, nonmagnetic metallic and half-metallic interface states are observed. The formation of these states is explained by a polar catastrophe model for nonpolar-polar interfaces. Strong lattice distortions and buckling develop in SnO2, which influence the interface properties as the charge discontinuity is partially screened. Already a single unit cell of SnO2 is sufficient to drive the polar catastrophe scenario. © 2016 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

  16. In situ synthesized SnO2 nanorod/reduced graphene oxide low-dimensional structure for enhanced lithium storage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Wei; Xiao, Xuezhang; Zhang, Yiwen; Li, Junpeng; Zhong, Jiayi; Li, Meng; Fan, Xiulin; Wang, Chuntao; Chen, Lixin

    2018-03-09

    A unique SnO 2 nanorod (NR)/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composite morphology has been synthesized using the in situ hydrothermal method, for use as an anode material in lithium-ion batteries. The SnO 2 NR adhering to the RGO exhibits a length of 250-400 nm and a diameter of 60-80 nm without any obvious aggregation. The initial discharge/charge capacities of the SnO 2 NR/RGO composite are 1761.3 mAh g -1 and 1233.1 mAh g -1 , with a coulombic efficiency (CE) of 70% under a current density of 200 mA g -1 , and a final capacity of 1101 mAh g -1 after 50 cycles. The rate capability of the SnO 2 NR/RGO is also improved compared to that of bare SnO 2 NR. The superior electrochemical performance is ascribed to the special morphology of the SnO 2 NRs-which plays a role in shorting the transmission path-and the sheet-like 2D graphene, which prevents the agglomeration of SnO 2 and enhances conductivity during the electrochemical reaction of SnO 2 NR/RGO.

  17. In situ synthesized SnO2 nanorod/reduced graphene oxide low-dimensional structure for enhanced lithium storage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Wei; Xiao, Xuezhang; Zhang, Yiwen; Li, Junpeng; Zhong, Jiayi; Li, Meng; Fan, Xiulin; Wang, Chuntao; Chen, Lixin

    2018-03-01

    A unique SnO2 nanorod (NR)/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composite morphology has been synthesized using the in situ hydrothermal method, for use as an anode material in lithium-ion batteries. The SnO2 NR adhering to the RGO exhibits a length of 250-400 nm and a diameter of 60-80 nm without any obvious aggregation. The initial discharge/charge capacities of the SnO2 NR/RGO composite are 1761.3 mAh g-1 and 1233.1 mAh g-1, with a coulombic efficiency (CE) of 70% under a current density of 200 mA g-1, and a final capacity of 1101 mAh g-1 after 50 cycles. The rate capability of the SnO2 NR/RGO is also improved compared to that of bare SnO2 NR. The superior electrochemical performance is ascribed to the special morphology of the SnO2 NRs—which plays a role in shorting the transmission path—and the sheet-like 2D graphene, which prevents the agglomeration of SnO2 and enhances conductivity during the electrochemical reaction of SnO2 NR/RGO.

  18. Silicon surface passivation by PEDOT: PSS functionalized by SnO2 and TiO2 nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Tecedor, M; Karazhanov, S Zh; Vásquez, G C; Haug, H; Maestre, D; Cremades, A; Taeño, M; Ramírez-Castellanos, J; González-Calbet, J M; Piqueras, J; You, C C; Marstein, E S

    2018-01-19

    In this paper, we present a study of silicon surface passivation based on the use of spin-coated hybrid composite layers. We investigate both undoped poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly-(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), as well as PEDOT:PSS functionalized with semiconducting oxide nanomaterials (TiO 2 and SnO 2 ). The hybrid compound was deposited at room temperature by spin coating-a potentially lower cost, lower processing time and higher throughput alternative compared with the commonly used vacuum-based techniques. Photoluminescence imaging was used to characterize the electronic properties of the Si/PEDOT:PSS interface. Good surface passivation was achieved by PEDOT:PSS functionalized by semiconducting oxides. We show that control of the concentration of semiconducting oxide nanoparticles in the polymer is crucial in determining the passivation performance. A charge carrier lifetime of about 275 μs has been achieved when using SnO 2 nanoparticles at a concentration of 0.5 wt.% as a filler in the composite film. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy dispersive x-ray in an SEM, and μ-Raman spectroscopy have been used for the morphological, chemical and structural characterization. Finally, a simple model of a photovoltaic device based on PEDOT:PSS functionalized with semiconducting oxide nanoparticles has been fabricated and electrically characterized.

  19. Gas Sensing of Fluorine Doped Tin Oxide Thin Films Prepared by Spray Pyrolysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. A. YADAV

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available Fluorine doped tin oxide (F: SnO2 films have been prepared onto the amorphous glass substrates by a spray pyrolysis. XRD studies reveal that the material deposited is polycrystalline SnO2 and have tetragonal structure. It is observed that films are highly orientated along (200 direction. The direct optical band gap energy for the F: SnO2 films are found to be 4.15 eV. Gas sensing properties of the sensor were checked against combustible gases like H2, CO2 CO, C3H8, CH4.The H2 sensitivity of the F-doped SnO2 sensor was found to be increased. The increase in the sensitivity is discussed in terms of increased resistivity and reduced permeation of gaseous oxygen into the underlying sensing layer due to the surface modification of the sensor.

  20. Chip-to-chip SnO2 nanowire network sensors for room temperature H2 detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Köck, A.; Brunet, E.; Mutinati, G. C.; Maier, T.; Steinhauer, S.

    2012-06-01

    The employment of nanowires is a very powerful strategy to improve gas sensor performance. We demonstrate a gas sensor device, which is based on silicon chip-to-chip synthesis of ultralong tin oxide (SnO2) nanowires. The sensor device employs an interconnected SnO2 nanowire network configuration, which exhibits a huge surface-to-volume ratio and provides full access of the target gas to the nanowires. The chip-to-chip SnO2 nanowire device is able to detect a H2 concentration of only 20 ppm in synthetic air with ~ 60% relative humidity at room temperature. At an operating temperature of 300°C a concentration of 50 ppm H2 results in a sensitivity of 5%. At this elevated temperature the sensor shows a linear response in a concentration range between 10 ppm and 100 ppm H2. The SnO2-nanowire fabrication procedure based on spray pyrolysis and subsequent annealing is performed at atmospheric pressure, requires no vacuum and allows upscale of the substrate to a wafer size. 3D-integration with CMOS chips is proposed as viable way for practical realization of smart nanowire based gas sensor devices for the consumer market.

  1. Determinação de diagramas de bandas de energia e da borda de absorção em SnO2, depositado via sol-gel, sobre quartzo Determination of the band energy diagram and absorption fundamental edge in SnO2, deposited via sol-gel, on quartz

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. A. Floriano

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available Propriedades ópticas e estruturais de filmes finos de SnO2, depositados sobre substratos de quartzo, são apresentadas. Os filmes são preparados pela técnica de molhamento via sol-gel. Uma avaliação das propriedades eletrônicas do cristal (bulk e das superfícies (110 e (101 do material é também efetuada, através de cálculos baseados em um método mecânico-quântico que utiliza a Teoria do Funcional da Densidade (DFT em conjunto com o funcional hibrido B3LYP. A borda fundamental de absorção, obtida experimentalmente, é então comparada com os diagramas de bandas de energia do bulk e superfícies (110 e (101, calculadas.Optical and structural properties of SnO2 thin films, deposited on quartz substrates, are presented. Films are prepared by the sol-gel-dip-coating technique. An evaluation of the electronic properties of bulk and surfaces (110 and (101 of the material is also carried out, through calculation based on a quantum-mechanical method using the Density Functional Theory (DFT in conjunction with the hybrid functional B3LYP. The absorption fundamental edge, experimentally obtained, is compared to the calculated band energy diagram of bulk and surfaces (110 and (101.

  2. Controllable synthesis of SnO2 nanowires and nanobelts by Ga catalysts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xie Xing; Shao Zhibin; Yang Qianhui; Shen Xiaoshuang; Zhu Wei; Hong Xun; Wang Guanzhong

    2012-01-01

    We report the morphology control of one-dimensional (1D) SnO 2 nanostructures by Ga catalysts using thermal evaporation method. Gallium (Ga), either from decomposition of GaN powder or from Ga metal, is adopted as a catalyst for the growth of long SnO 2 nanowires and nanobelts. At similar experimental conditions, quantities of nanobelts are formed instead of nanowires when the temperature and reaction time are increased. Such approach enables us to synthesize various morphologies of SnO 2 nanobelts with different side facets. Novel nanobelts with [0 0 1] growth direction with high energy side facets are obtained for the first time, which is attributed to the large amount of oxygen vacancies introduced in the nanobelts by the Ga catalysts. - Graphical abstract: Morphology control of one-dimensional SnO 2 nanostructures are realized via a thermal evaporation method. Novel nanobelts along [0 0 1] direction having high energy side facets were fabricated for the first time. Highlights: ► Morphology control of one-dimensional SnO 2 nanostructures are realized by Ga catalysts using thermal evaporation method. ► Oxygen vacancies influenced the growth directions in order to neutralize thermodynamic instability. ► Novel nanobelts with [0 0 1] growth direction with high energy side facets are obtained for the first time.

  3. Characterization of Nanocrystalline SiGe Thin Film Solar Cell with Double Graded-Dead Absorption Layer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chao-Chun Wang

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The nanocrystalline silicon-germanium (nc-SiGe thin films were deposited by high-frequency (27.12 MHz plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (HF-PECVD. The films were used in a silicon-based thin film solar cell with graded-dead absorption layer. The characterization of the nc-SiGe films are analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared absorption spectroscopy. The band gap of SiGe alloy can be adjusted between 0.8 and 1.7 eV by varying the gas ratio. For thin film solar cell application, using double graded-dead i-SiGe layers mainly leads to an increase in short-circuit current and therefore cell conversion efficiency. An initial conversion efficiency of 5.06% and the stabilized efficiency of 4.63% for an nc-SiGe solar cell were achieved.

  4. Controlling Directional Liquid Motion on Micro- and Nanocrystalline Diamond/β-SiC Composite Gradient Films.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Tao; Handschuh-Wang, Stephan; Huang, Lei; Zhang, Lei; Jiang, Xin; Kong, Tiantian; Zhang, Wenjun; Lee, Chun-Sing; Zhou, Xuechang; Tang, Yongbing

    2018-01-30

    In this Article, we report the synthesis of micro- and nanocrystalline diamond/β-SiC composite gradient films, using a hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) technique and its application as a robust and chemically inert means to actuate water and hazardous liquids. As revealed by scanning electron microscopy, the composition of the surface changed gradually from pure nanocrystalline diamond (hydrophobic) to a nanocrystalline β-SiC surface (hydrophilic). Transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy were employed to determine the presence of diamond, graphite, and β-SiC phases. The as-prepared gradient films were evaluated for their ability to actuate water. Indeed, water was transported via the gradient from the hydrophobic (hydrogen-terminated diamond) to the hydrophilic side (hydroxyl-terminated β-SiC) of the gradient surface. The driving distance and velocity of water is pivotally influenced by the surface roughness. The nanogradient surface showed significant promise as the lower roughness combined with the longer gradient yields in transport distances of up to 3.7 mm, with a maximum droplet velocity of nearly 250 mm/s measured by a high-speed camera. As diamond and β-SiC are chemically inert, the gradient surfaces can be used to drive hazardous liquids and reactive mixtures, which was signified by the actuation of hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide solution. We envision that the diamond/β-SiC gradient surface has high potential as an actuator for water transport in microfluidic devices, DNA sensors, and implants, which induce guided cell growth.

  5. Facile fabrication of hollow mesosphere of crystalline SnO2 nanoparticles and synthesis of SnO2@SWCNTs@Reduced Graphene Oxide nanocomposite as efficient Pt-Free counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Muhammad Wasim; Yao, Jixin; Zhang, Kang; Zuo, Xueqin; Yang, Qun; Tang, Huaibao; Ur Rehman, Khalid Mehmood; Li, Guang; Wu, Mingzai; Zhu, Kerong; Zhang, Haijun

    2018-06-01

    In this research, SnO2@SWCNTs@Reduced Graphene Oxide based nanocomposite was synthesized by a one step hydrothermal method and reported new cost effective platinum-free counter-electrodes (CEs) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The CEs were formed by using the nanocomposites with the help of a pipette using a doctor-blade technique. The efficiency of this nanocomposite revealed significant elctrocatalytic properties upon falling the triiodide, possessing to synergistic effect of SnO2 nano particles and improved conductivity when SWCNTs dispersed on graphene sheet. Therefore, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of prepared SnO2@SWCNTs@RGO nanocomposite CE attained of (6.1%) in DSSCs which is equivalent to the value (6.2%) which attained to the value (6.2%) with pure Pt CE as a reference. SnO2@SWCNTs@RGO nanocomposite CEs give more stable catalytic activities for triiodide reduction than SnO2 and SWCNTs CEs in the cyclic voltammetry (CV) analysis. Furthermore, to the subsistence of graphene oxide, the nanocomposite acquired both higher stability and efficiency in the nanocomposite.

  6. Facile template-directed synthesis of carbon-coated SnO2 nanotubes with enhanced Li-storage capabilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu, Xiaoshu; Zhu, Jingyi; Yao, Yinan; Zhou, Yiming; Tang, Yawen; Wu, Ping

    2015-01-01

    Herein, a novel type of carbon-coated SnO 2 nanotubes has been designed and synthesized through a facile two-step hydrothermal approach by using ZnO nanorods as templates. During the synthetic route, SnO 2 nanocrystals and carbon layer have been uniformly deposited on the rod-like templates in sequence, meanwhile ZnO nanorods could be in situ dissolved owing to the generated alkaline and acidic environments during hydrothermal coating of SnO 2 nanocrystals and hydrothermal carbonization of glucose, respectively. When utilized as an anode material in lithium-ion batteries, the carbon-coated SnO 2 nanotubes manifests markedly enhanced Li-storage capabilities in terms of specific capacity and cycling stability in comparison with bare SnO 2 nanocrystals. - Graphical abstract: Display Omitted - Highlights: • C-coated SnO 2 nanotubes prepared via facile ZnO-nanorod-templated hydrothermal route. • Unique morphological and structural features toward lithium storage. • Enhanced Li-storage performance in terms of specific capacity and cycling stability

  7. Structural Stability and Performance of Noble Metal-Free SnO2-Based Gas Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio Tricoli

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available The structural stability of pure SnO2 nanoparticles and highly sensitive SnO2-SiO2 nanocomposites (0–15 SiO2 wt% has been investigated for conditions relevant to their utilization as chemoresistive gas sensors. Thermal stabilization by SiO2 co-synthesis has been investigated at up to 600 °C determining regimes of crystal size stability as a function of SiO2-content. For operation up to 400 °C, thermally stable crystal sizes of ca. 24 and 11 nm were identified for SnO2 nanoparticles and 1.4 wt% SnO2-SiO2 nanocomposites, respectively. The effect of crystal growth during operation (TO = 320 °C on the sensor response to ethanol has been reported, revealing possible long-term destabilization mechanisms. In particular, crystal growth and sintering-neck formation were discussed with respect to their potential to change the sensor response and calibration. Furthermore, the effect of SiO2 cosynthesis on the cross-sensitivity to humidity of these noble metal-free SnO2-based gas sensors was assessed.

  8. Synthesis, structural and luminescent aspect of Tb3+ doped Sr2SnO4 phosphor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taikar, Deepak R.

    2016-01-01

    A novel green emitting, Tb 3+ doped Sr 2 SnO 4 phosphor was synthesized by the co-precipitation method and its photoluminescence characterization was performed. Sr 2 SnO 4 has an ordered tetragonal K 2 NiF 4 -type structure with space group I4/mmm. The structure of Sr 2 SnO 4 consists of SnO 6 octahedra. From the structure of Sr 2 SnO 4 , it was observed that the sites of Sn 4+ ions have inverse symmetry while the Sr 2+ ions have the low symmetry. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the formation of Sr 2 SnO 4 :Tb 3+ . Photoluminescence measurements showed that the phosphor exhibited bright green emission at about 543 nm attributed to 5 D 4 à 7 F 5 transition of Tb 3+ ion under UV excitation. The emission spectra did not exhibit conventional blue emission peaks of Tb 3+ ions due to 5 D 3 → 7 F J transitions in the spectral region 350-470 nm. The excitation spectra indicate that this compound may be useful as a lamp phosphor. (author)

  9. Synthesis and lithium storage properties of Zn, Co and Mg doped SnO2 Nano materials

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Palaniyandy, Nithyadharseni

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we show that magnesium and cobalt doped SnO2 (Mg-SnO2 and Co-SnO2) nanostructures have profound influence on the discharge capacity and coulombic efficiency of lithium ion batteries (LIBs) employing pure SnO2 and zinc doped SnO2 (Zn-Sn...

  10. Room-temperature synthesis of ultraviolet-emitting nanocrystalline GaN films using photochemical vapor deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamazaki, Shunsuke; Yatsui, Takashi; Ohtsu, Motoichi; Kim, Taw-Won; Fujioka, Hiroshi

    2004-01-01

    We fabricated UV-emitting nanocrystalline gallium nitride (GaN) films at room temperature using photochemical vapor deposition (PCVD). For the samples synthesized at room temperature with V/III ratios exceeding 5.0x10 4 , strong photoluminescence peaks at 3.365 and 3.310 eV, which can be ascribed to transitions in a mixed phase of cubic and hexagonal GaN, were observed at 5 K. A UV emission spectrum with a full width at half-maximum of 100 meV was observed, even at room temperature. In addition, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurement revealed that the film deposited by PCVD at room temperature was well nitridized

  11. Physical and photoelectrochemical properties of Sb-doped SnO2 thin films deposited by chemical vapor deposition: application to chromate reduction under solar light

    Science.gov (United States)

    Outemzabet, R.; Doulache, M.; Trari, M.

    2015-05-01

    Sb-doped SnO2 thin films (Sb-SnO2) are prepared by chemical vapor deposition. The X-ray diffraction indicates a rutile phase, and the SEM analysis shows pyramidal grains whose size extends up to 200 nm. The variation of the film thickness shows that the elaboration technique needs to be optimized to give reproducible layers. The films are transparent over the visible region. The dispersion of the optical indices is evaluated by fitting the diffuse reflectance data with the Drude-Lorentz model. The refractive index ( n) and absorption coefficient ( k) depend on both the conditions of preparation and of the doping concentration and vary between 1.4 and 2.0 and 0.2 and 0.01, respectively. Tin oxide is nominally non-stoichiometric, and the conduction is dominated by thermally electrons jump with an electron mobility of 12 cm2 V-1 s-1 for Sb-SnO2 (1 %). The ( C 2- V) characteristic in aqueous electrolyte exhibits a linear behavior from which an electrons density of 4.15 × 1018 cm-3 and a flat-band potential of -0.83 V SCE are determined. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy shows a semicircle attributed to a capacitive behavior with a low density of surface states. The center lies below the real axis with a depletion angle (12°), due to a constant phase element, i.e., a deviation from a pure capacitive behavior, presumably attributed to the roughness and porosity of the film. The straight line at low frequencies is attributed to the Warburg diffusion. The energy diagram reveals the photocatalytic feasibility of Sb-SnO2. As application, 90 % of the chromate concentration (20 mg L-1, pH ~3) disappears after 6 h of exposure to solar light.

  12. thin films

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    microscopy (SEM) studies, respectively. The Fourier transform ... Thin films; chemical synthesis; hydrous tin oxide; FTIR; electrical properties. 1. Introduction ... dehydrogenation of organic compounds (Hattori et al 1987). .... SEM images of (a) bare stainless steel and (b) SnO2:H2O thin film on stainless steel substrate at a ...

  13. SnO2-Based Nanomaterials: Synthesis and Application in Lithium-Ion Batteries and Supercapacitors

    OpenAIRE

    Zhao, Qinqin; Ma, Lisha; Zhang, Qiang; Wang, Chenggang; Xu, Xijin

    2015-01-01

    Tin dioxide (SnO2) is an important n-type wide-bandgap semiconductor, and SnO2-based nanostructures are presenting themselves as one of the most important classes due to their various tunable physicochemical properties. In this paper, we firstly outline the syntheses of phase-pure SnO2 hierarchical structures with different morphologies such as nanorods, nanosheets, and nanospheres, as well as their modifications by doping and compositing with other materials. Then, we reviewed the design of ...

  14. Thermoelectric Properties of SnO2 Ceramics Doped with Sb and Zn

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yanagiya, S.; Van Nong, Ngo; Xu, Jianxiao Jackie

    2011-01-01

    Polycrystalline SnO2-based samples (Sn0.97−x Sb0.03Zn x O2, x = 0, 0.01, 0.03) were prepared by solid-state reactions. The thermoelectric properties of SnO2 doped with Sb and Zn were investigated from 300 K to 1100 K. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed all XRD peaks of all the samples...

  15. Graphene nanoribbon and nanostructured SnO2 composite anodes for lithium ion batteries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Jian; Peng, Zhiwei; Xiang, Changsheng; Ruan, Gedeng; Yan, Zheng; Natelson, Douglas; Tour, James M

    2013-07-23

    A composite made from graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) and tin oxide (SnO2) nanoparticles (NPs) is synthesized and used as the anode material for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). The conductive GNRs, prepared using sodium/potassium unzipping of multiwall carbon nanotubes, can boost the lithium storage performance of SnO2 NPs. The composite, as an anode material for LIBs, exhibits reversible capacities of over 1520 and 1130 mAh/g for the first discharge and charge, respectively, which is more than the theoretical capacity of SnO2. The reversible capacity retains ~825 mAh/g at a current density of 100 mA/g with a Coulombic efficiency of 98% after 50 cycles. Further, the composite shows good power performance with a reversible capacity of ~580 mAh/g at the current density of 2 A/g. The high capacity, good power performance and retention can be attributed to uniformly distributed SnO2 NPs along the high-aspect-ratio GNRs. The GNRs act as conductive additives that buffer the volume changes of SnO2 during cycling. This work provides a starting point for exploring the composites made from GNRs and other transition metal oxides for lithium storage applications.

  16. Carbon-coated SnO2 nanotubes: template-engaged synthesis and their application in lithium-ion batteries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Ping; Du, Ning; Zhang, Hui; Yu, Jingxue; Qi, Yue; Yang, Deren

    2011-02-01

    This paper reports the synthesis of carbon-coated SnO2 (SnO2-C) nanotubes through a simple glucose hydrothermal and subsequent carbonization approach by using Sn nanorods as sacrificial templates. The as-synthesized SnO2-C nanotubes have been applied as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, which exhibit improved cyclic performance compared to pure SnO2 nanotubes. The hollow nanostructure, together with the carbon matrix which has good buffering effect and high electronic conductivity, can be responsible for the improved cyclic performance.

  17. Surface properties and dye loading behavior of Zn2SnO4 nanoparticles hydrothermally synthesized using different mineralizers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Annamalai, Alagappan; Eo, Yang Dam; Im, Chan; Lee, Man-Jong

    2011-01-01

    We present for the first time the influence of different mineralizers on the isoelectric point (IEP) of zinc stannate (Zn 2 SnO 4 ) nanoparticles hydrothermally prepared using three different mineralizers, viz., Na 2 CO 3 , KOH and tert-butyl amine, and the effect of the IEPs on the dye loading behavior of Zn 2 SnO 4 based photoelectrodes in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). To produce highly crystalline, uniform sized Zn 2 SnO 4 nanoparticles, hydrothermal processing parameters, such as reaction temperature, time, and the mineralizers used have been critically adjusted. The structural and morphological features of the as-synthesized Zn 2 SnO 4 nanoparticles have been observed using both scanning and transmission electron microscopy. For the surface state characterization of shape- and size-controlled Zn 2 SnO 4 nanoparticles, the IEPs of Zn 2 SnO 4 surfaces were determined through zeta potential measurements. The IEPs were found to be 5.7, 7.4 and 8.1 for Zn 2 SnO 4 nanoparticles formed using Na 2 CO 3 , KOH and tert-butyl amine, respectively, suggesting that the surface properties of Zn 2 SnO 4 nanoparticles can be manipulated through the choice of the mineralizers used during the hydrothermal reaction. The amount of N719 dye loading on the surfaces of Zn 2 SnO 4 electrodes having different IEPs was also evaluated. It was revealed that the higher the IEP, the higher the dye loading amount, which means that the IEP mainly affects the dye loading at the dye-metal oxide interface. - Highlights: → The effect of various mineralizers on the isoelectric point of Zn 2 SnO 4 was discussed. → The IEP of Zn 2 SnO 4 can be modified by the choice of mineralizer. → Change in IEP affects the surface properties and the morphology of Zn 2 SnO 4 particles. → Modified surface affects the N719 dye loading behaviour of the Zn 2 SnO 4 based DSSCs.

  18. Spectral and ion emission features of laser-produced Sn and SnO2 plasmas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hui, Lan; Xin-Bing, Wang; Du-Luo, Zuo

    2016-03-01

    We have made a detailed comparison of the atomic and ionic debris, as well as the emission features of Sn and SnO2 plasmas under identical experimental conditions. Planar slabs of pure metal Sn and ceramic SnO2 are irradiated with 1.06 μm, 8 ns Nd:YAG laser pulses. Fast photography employing an intensified charge coupled device (ICCD), optical emission spectroscopy (OES), and optical time of flight emission spectroscopy are used as diagnostic tools. Our results show that the Sn plasma provides a higher extreme ultraviolet (EUV) conversion efficiency (CE) than the SnO2 plasma. However, the kinetic energies of Sn ions are relatively low compared with those of SnO2. OES studies show that the Sn plasma parameters (electron temperature and density) are lower compared to those of the SnO2 plasma. Furthermore, we also give the effects of the vacuum degree and the laser pulse energy on the plasma parameters. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11304235) and the Director Fund of WNLO, China.

  19. Ternary SnO2@PANI/rGO nanohybrids as excellent anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ding, Hongmei; Jiang, Hao; Zhu, Zhengju; Hu, Yanjie; Gu, Feng; Li, Chunzhong

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • A three-dimensional ternary SnO 2 @PANI/rGO nanohybrids has been synthesized via dip-coating method. • PANI acts as the conductive matrix as well as a good binding agent of SnO 2 nanoparticles and graphene sheets, greatly improving the electrochemical performance. • The nanohybtrids, when applied as LIBs,exhibit a high reversible specific capacity of 772 mA h g −1 at 100 mA g −1 with excellent rate capability and high cycling stability. - Abstract: A three-dimensional (3D) nanostructure composed of ternary polyaniline/SnO 2 /graphene (SnO 2 @PANI/rGO) nanohybrids were successfully developed and prepared as anode materials for lithium ion batteries (LIBs) by a simple dip-coating of SnO 2 @polyaniline (SnO 2 @PANI) and graphene dispersion on Cu foam. In such smart nanostructures, polyaniline (PANI) acts as the conductive matrix as well as a good binding agent of SnO 2 nanoparticles and graphene sheets, greatly improving the rate performance to a great extent. The as-prepared ternary nanohybrids exhibit a high reversible specific capacity of 772 mA h g −1 at 100 mA g −1 with excellent rate capability (268 mA h g −1 at 1000 mA g −1 ), more significantly, after 100 cycles at 100 mA g −1 , our ternary nanohybrids still maintain a high specific capacity of 749 mA h g −1 , which is much better than SnO 2 /rGO(458 mA h g −1 at 100 mA g −1 ), SnO 2 @PANI (480 mA h g −1 at 100 mA g −1 ) and pure SnO 2 nanoparticles (300 mA h g −1 at 100 mA g −1 ). Such intriguing electrochemical performance is mainly attributed to the strong synergistic effects among SnO 2 , polyaniline and graphene. It is reckoned that the present 3D SnO 2 @PANI/rGO nanohybrids can serve as a promising anode material for LIBs

  20. Synthesis of polymer/inorganic nanocomposite films using highly porous inorganic scaffolds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Huanjun; Popp, Matthias; Hartwig, Andreas; Mädler, Lutz

    2012-04-07

    Polymeric/inorganic nanocomposite films have been fabricated through a combination of flame-spray-pyrolysis (FSP) made inorganic scaffold and surface initiated polymerization of cyanoacrylate. The highly porous structure of pristine SnO(2) films allows the uptake of cyanoacrylate and the polymerization is surface initiated by the water adsorbed onto the SnO(2) surface. Scanning electron microscopy study reveals a nonlinear increase in the composite particle size and the film thickness with polymerization time. The structural change is rather homogeneous throughout the whole layer. The composite is formed mainly by an increase of the particle size and not by just filling the existing pores. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy imaging shows SnO(2) nanoparticles embedded in the polymeric matrix, constituting the nanocomposite material. Thermogravimetric analysis indicates that the porosity of the nanocomposite films decreases from 98% to 75%, resulting in a significant enhancement of the hardness of the films. DC conductivity measurements conducted in situ on the nanocomposite layer suggest a gradual increase in the layer resistance, pointing to a loss of connectivity between the SnO(2) primary particles as the polymerization proceeds. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2012

  1. Role of high microwave power on growth and microstructure of thick nanocrystalline diamond films: A comparison with large grain polycrystalline diamond films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, C. J.; Fernandes, A. J. S.; Girão, A. V.; Pereira, S.; Shi, Fa-Nian; Soares, M. R.; Costa, F.; Neves, A. J.; Pinto, J. L.

    2014-03-01

    In this work, we study the growth habit of nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) films by exploring the very high power regime, up to 4 kW, in a 5 kW microwave plasma chemical vapour deposition (MPCVD) reactor, through addition of a small amount of nitrogen and oxygen (0.24%) into 4% CH4 in H2 plasma. The coupled effect of high microwave power and substrate temperature on NCD growth behaviour is systematically investigated by varying only power, while fixing the remaining operating parameters. When the power increases from 2 kW to 4 kW, resulting also in rise of the Si substrate temperature higher than 150 °C, the diamond films obtained maintain the NCD habit, while the growth rate increases significantly. The highest growth rate of 4.6 μm/h is achieved for the film grown at 4 kW, which represents a growth rate enhancement of about 15 times compared with that obtained when using 2 kW power. Possible factors responsible for such remarkable growth rate enhancement of the NCD films are discussed. The evolution of NCD growth characteristics such as morphology, microstructure and texture is studied by growing thick films and comparing it with that of large grain polycrystalline (PCD) films. One important characteristic of the NCD films obtained, in contrast to PCD films, is that irrespective of deposition time (i.e. film thickness), their grain size and surface roughness remain in the nanometer range throughout the growth. Finally, based on our present and previous experimental results, a potential parameter window is established for fast growth of NCD films under high power conditions.

  2. Synthesis and properties of Li2SnO3/polyaniline nanocomposites as negative electrode material for lithium-ion batteries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Qiufen; Huang Ying; Miao Juan; Zhao Yang; Wang Yan

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Li 2 SnO 3 /polyaniline nanocomposite (40–50 nm) was synthesized by micro emulsion polymerization. ► Li 2 SnO 3 /PANI exhibits lower initial irreversible capacities than Li 2 SnO 3 . ► Its capacity retains 569.2 mAh g −1 after 50 cycles. - Abstract: The nanocomposites Li 2 SnO 3 /polyaniline (Li 2 SnO 3 /PANI) have been synthesized by a micro emulsion polymerization method. The structure, morphology and electrochemical properties of the as-prepared materials are characterized by XRD, FTIR, Raman, XPS, TGA, TEM and electrochemical measurements. Results show that Li 2 SnO 3 /PANI nanocomposites are composed of uniform and blocky nano-sized particles (40–50 nm) with clear lattice fringes. Electrochemical measurement suggests that Li 2 SnO 3 /PANI exhibits better cycling properties and lower initial irreversible capacities than Li 2 SnO 3 as negative electrodes materials for lithium-ion batteries. At a current density of 60 mA g −1 in the voltage about 0.05–2.0 V, the initial irreversible capacity of Li 2 SnO 3 /PANI is 563 mAh g −1 while it is 687.5 mAh g −1 to Li 2 SnO 3 . The capacity retained of Li 2 SnO 3 /PANI (569.2 mAh g −1 ) is higher than that of Li 2 SnO 3 (510.2 mAh g −1 ) after 50 cycles. The PANI in the Li 2 SnO 3 /PANI nanocomposites can buffer the released stress caused by the drastic volume variation during the alloying/de-alloying process of Li–Sn.

  3. Integration of High-Performance Nanocrystalline TiO2 Photoelectrodes for N719-Sensitized Solar Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ke-Jian Jiang

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available We report on enhanced performance of N719-sensitized TiO2 solar cells (DSCs incorporating size and photoelectron diffusion-controlled TiO2 as sensitizer-matched light-scatter layers on conventional nanocrystalline TiO2 electrodes. The double-layered N719/TiO2 composite electrode with a high dye-loading capacity exhibits the diffused reflectance of more than 50% in the range of λ = 650–800 nm, even when the films are coupled with the titania nanocrystalline underlayer in the device. As a result, the increased near-infrared light-harvesting produces a high light-to-electricity conversion efficiency of over 9% mainly due to the significant increase of Jsc. Such an optical effect of the NIR-light scattering TiO2 electrodes will be beneficial when the sensitizers with low molar extinction coefficients, such as N719, are introduced in the device.

  4. A facile hydrothermal strategy for synthesis of SnO2 nanorods-graphene nanocomposites for high performance photocatalysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Lu-Ya; Zhang, Wei-De; Xu, Bin; Yu, Yu-Xiang

    2012-09-01

    In this study, we report a facilely hydrothermal process for synthesizing SnO2 nanorods-graphene (SnO2 nanorods-GR) composite using graphite oxide and SnCl4 as raw materials. The SnO2 nanorods-GR composite was characterized by X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, Xray photoelectron spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. Compared to commercial TiO2 nanoparticles P25 and neat SnO2 nanorods, the SnO2 nanorods-GR composite exhibits higher photocatalytic activity under UV light irradiation. The mechanism of its high photocatalytic activity is mainly ascribed to the synergy effect between SnO2 and graphene, in which graphene acts as an adsorbent and electron acceptor due to its large structure of pi-pi conjugation from sp2 hybrid carbon atoms. The results demonstrated in this study provide a promising way to enhance the photocatalytic activity by compounding semiconductive nanocrystals with graphene.

  5. Carbon-coated mesoporous SnO2 nanospheres as anode material for lithium ion batteries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Fei; Song, Xiaoping; Yao, Gang; Zhao, Mingshu; Liu, Rui; Xu, Minwei; Sun, Zhanbo

    2012-01-01

    In this paper mesoporous SnO 2 nanospheres with an average diameter of about 83 nm, composed of many tiny primary particles (∼10 nm) and holes, are synthesized on a large scale by a simple hydrothermal route. The as-prepared mesoporous SnO 2 nanospheres were uniformly coated with carbon by a further hydrothermal treatment in glucose aqueous solution. As anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, the core–shell SnO 2 /C nanocomposites exhibit a markedly improved cycling performance.

  6. Hierarchical SnO2-Graphite Nanocomposite Anode for Lithium-Ion Batteries through High Energy Mechanical Activation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ng, Vincent Ming Hong; Wu, Shuying; Liu, Peijiang; Zhu, Beibei; Yu, Linghui; Wang, Chuanhu; Huang, Hui; Xu, Zhichuan J.; Yao, Zhengjun; Zhou, Jintang; Que, Wenxiu; Kong, Ling Bing

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: •A simple and scalable process to concomitant downsizing to nanoscale, carbon coating, inclusion of voids and conductive network of graphite. •Using tungsten carbide milling media and 80:1 ball to powder ratio, micron SnO 2 particles are comminuted to nanosized SnO 2 crystallites. •Hierarchical structure of carbon-coated SnO2 nanoclusters anchored on thin graphite sheets are prepared. •Impressive reversible capacity of 725 mAh g −1 is achieved by ball milling a mixture of SnO 2 with 20 wt. % graphite for 20 h. •Synthesis parameters such as graphite content and milling time are systematically examined. -- Abstract: Development of novel electrode materials with unique architectural designs is necessary to attain high power and energy density lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). SnO 2 , with high theoretical capacity of 1494 mAh g −1 , is a promising candidate anode material, which has been explored with various strategies, such as dimensional reduction, morphological modifications and composite formation. Unfortunately, most of the SnO 2 -based electrodes are prepared by using complex chemical synthesis methods, which are not feasible to scale up for practical applications. In addition, concomitant irrecoverable initial capacity loss and consequently poor initial Coulombic efficiency still persistently plagued these SnO 2 -based anodes. To overcome hitherto conceived irreversible formation of Li 2 O by conversion reaction, to fully harness its theoretical capacity, this work demonstrates that a hierarchical structured SnO 2 -C nanocomposite with 68.5% initial Coulombic efficiency and reversible capacity of 725 mAh g −1 can be derived from the mixtures of SnO 2 and graphite, by using low cost industrial compatible high energy ball milling activation.

  7. Highly sensitive electrochemical determination of 1-naphthol based on high-index facet SnO2 modified electrode

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang Xiaofeng; Zhao Guohua; Liu Meichuan; Li Fengting; Qiao Junlian; Zhao Sichen

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► It is the first time to employ high-index faceted SnO 2 in electrochemical analysis. ► High-index faceted SnO 2 has excellent electrochemical activity toward 1-naphthol. ► Highly sensitive determination of 1-naphthol is realized on high-index faceted SnO 2 . ► The detection limit of 1-naphthol is as low as 5 nM on high-index faceted SnO 2 . ► Electro-oxidation kinetics for 1-napthol on the novel electrode is discussed. - Abstract: SnO 2 nanooctahedron with {2 2 1} high-index facet (HIF) was synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method, and was firstly employed to sensitive electrochemical sensing of a typical organic pollutant, 1-naphthol (1-NAP). The constructed HIF SnO 2 modified glassy carbon electrode (HIF SnO 2 /GCE) possessed advantages of large effective electrode area, high electron transfer rate, and low charge transfer resistance. These improved electrochemical properties allowed the high electrocatalytic performance, high effective active sites and high adsorption capacity of 1-NAP on HIF SnO 2 /GCE. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) results showed that the electrochemical oxidation of 1-NAP obeyed a two-electron transfer process and the electrode reaction was under diffusion control on HIF SnO 2 /GCE. By adopting differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), electrochemical detection of 1-NAP was conducted on HIF SnO 2 /GCE with a limit of detection as low as 5 nM, which was relatively low compared to the literatures. The electrode also illustrated good stability in comparison with those reported value. Satisfactory results were obtained with average recoveries in the range of 99.7–103.6% in the real water sample detection. A promising device for the electrochemical detection of 1-NAP with high sensitivity has therefore been provided.

  8. Mechanical alloying of an immiscible α-Fe2O3-SnO2 ceramic

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jiang, Jianzhong; Lin, Rong; Mørup, Steen

    1997-01-01

    in the immiscible ceramic oxide system. X-ray diffraction and Mossbauer spectroscopy investigations show that mechanical milling of alpha-Fe2O3 and SnO2 involves alloying on an atomic scale and that true solid solution formation occurs. We suggest that the high defect concentration and the chemical enthalpy of Fe3......+-O2--Sn4+ interfaces between nanostructured alpha-Fe2O3 and SnO2 regions may serve as a driving force for the formation of a solid solution in the immiscible ceramic system....

  9. Thermoelectric Properties in the TiO2/SnO2 System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dynys, F.; Sayir, A.; Sehirlioglu, A.; Berger, M.

    2009-01-01

    Nanotechnology has provided a new interest in thermoelectric technology. A thermodynamically driven process is one approach in achieving nanostructures in bulk materials. TiO2/SnO2 system exhibits a large spinodal region with exceptional stable phase separated microstructures up to 1400 C. Fabricated TiO2/SnO2 nanocomposites exhibit n-type behavior with Seebeck coefficients greater than -300 .V/K. Composites exhibit good thermal conductance in the range of 7 to 1 W/mK. Dopant additions have not achieved high electrical conductivity (<1000 S/m). Formation of oxygen deficient composites, TixSn1-xO2-y, can change the electrical conductivity by four orders of magnitude. Achieving higher thermoelectric ZT by oxygen deficiency is being explored. Seebeck coeffcient, thermal conductivity, electrical conductance and microstructure will be discussed in relation to composition and doping.

  10. Ultrathin SnO2 nanosheets: Oriented attachment mechanism, nonstoichiometric defects and enhanced Lithium-ion battery performances

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Cen; Du, Gaohui; Ståhl, Kenny

    2012-01-01

    investigations of tin oxides as well as their intertransition processes. Finally, we investigated the lithium-ion storage of the SnO2 NSs as compared to SnO2 hollow spheres and NPs. The results showed superior performance of SnO2 NSs sample over its two counterparts. This greatly enhanced Li-ion storage...

  11. Synthesis of hierarchical worm-like SnO2@C aggregates and their enhanced lithium storage properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Zhen-Guo; Li, Jun-Tao; Zhong, Yan-Jun; Liu, Jie; Guo, Xiao-Dong; Huang, Ling; Zhong, Ben-He; Sun, Shi-Gang

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • The hierarchical worm-like SnO 2 @C aggregates were synthesized. • The hierarchical worm-like SnO 2 @C unit is assembled by nanowires. • The cycling performances of SnO 2 @C aggregates are improved. • A capacity of 477.0 mA h g −1 at 400 mA g −1 could be obtained after 60 cycles. - Abstract: The present paper reports a synthetic strategy of hierarchical worm-like SnO 2 @C aggregates with enhanced electrochemical performances. Specifically, a glucose-assisted hydrothermal treatment of the intermediate Co–Sn alloy nanoparticles, which were formed by carbothermal reduction of mixed commercial SnO 2 and Co 3 O 4 nanoparticles. The SnO 2 @C sample exhibits enhanced cycling performance in comparison with raw commercial SnO 2 nanoparticles and intermediate Co–Sn alloy nanoparticles when used as anode of lithium ion battery. A stable capacity of 533.6 mA h g −1 at 100 mA g −1 and 477.0 mA h g −1 at 400 mA g −1 remains after 60 cycles. When the current density increases to 1600 mA g −1 , the SnO 2 @C sample still deliver a high capacity of 384.2 mA h g −1 . The superior electrochemical performances could be attributed to the synergistic effect of unique worm-like aggregates structure and carbon surface-layer, which facilitate the electron transportation and buffer the large volume change

  12. Comparative analysis of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC) having different nanocrystalline TiO2 layer structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Forcade, Fresnel; Gonzalez, Bernardo; Vigil, Elena; Jennings, James R.; Duna, Halina; Wang, Hongxia; Peter, Laurence M.

    2009-01-01

    Full text: Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) are very prospective because of their low cost and comparatively not so low efficiency. This represents an advantage together with the innocuous character of the constituent materials. We study different types of DSSC. The procedure for making them has been the same except for the TiO 2 layer structure. This layer must be porous and nanocrystalline in order to increase light absorption by the sensitizer. On the other hand, this condition causes that the electrolyte contacts the transparent conducting oxide (TCO) underneath the TiO 2 originating undesired recombinations. Also the electrical contact of the Tio to the TCO depends on the technology used to deposit the TiO 2 . In order to avoid possible leakage currents caused by recombinations from the TCO to the electrolyte and improve TiO 2 -TCO electrical contact, a thin TiO 2 film is placed in between the porous TiO 2 layer and the TCO. Different structures are obtained using different technologies to obtain the thin TiO 2 film. These structures are analyzed from their volt-amperic characteristic, external quantum efficiency spectra and voltage decay observed when light is suppressed. Results obtained allow making recommendations regarding nanocrystalline TiO 2 structure to be used in DSSC. (author)

  13. Synthesis and properties of Li2SnO3/polyaniline nanocomposites as negative electrode material for lithium-ion batteries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Qiufen; Huang, Ying; Miao, Juan; Zhao, Yang; Wang, Yan

    2012-10-01

    The nanocomposites Li2SnO3/polyaniline (Li2SnO3/PANI) have been synthesized by a micro emulsion polymerization method. The structure, morphology and electrochemical properties of the as-prepared materials are characterized by XRD, FTIR, Raman, XPS, TGA, TEM and electrochemical measurements. Results show that Li2SnO3/PANI nanocomposites are composed of uniform and blocky nano-sized particles (40-50 nm) with clear lattice fringes. Electrochemical measurement suggests that Li2SnO3/PANI exhibits better cycling properties and lower initial irreversible capacities than Li2SnO3 as negative electrodes materials for lithium-ion batteries. At a current density of 60 mA g-1 in the voltage about 0.05-2.0 V, the initial irreversible capacity of Li2SnO3/PANI is 563 mAh g-1 while it is 687.5 mAh g-1 to Li2SnO3. The capacity retained of Li2SnO3/PANI (569.2 mAh g-1) is higher than that of Li2SnO3 (510.2 mAh g-1) after 50 cycles. The PANI in the Li2SnO3/PANI nanocomposites can buffer the released stress caused by the drastic volume variation during the alloying/de-alloying process of Li-Sn.

  14. Interplay between O2 and SnO2: oxygen ionosorption and spectroscopic evidence for adsorbed oxygen.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gurlo, Alexander

    2006-10-13

    Tin dioxide is the most commonly used material in commercial gas sensors based on semiconducting metal oxides. Despite intensive efforts, the mechanism responsible for gas-sensing effects on SnO(2) is not fully understood. The key step is the understanding of the electronic response of SnO(2) in the presence of background oxygen. For a long time, oxygen interaction with SnO(2) has been treated within the framework of the "ionosorption theory". The adsorbed oxygen species have been regarded as free oxygen ions electrostatically stabilized on the surface (with no local chemical bond formation). A contradiction, however, arises when connecting this scenario to spectroscopic findings. Despite trying for a long time, there has not been any convincing spectroscopic evidence for "ionosorbed" oxygen species. Neither superoxide ions O(2)(-), nor charged atomic oxygen O,(-) nor peroxide ions O(2)(2-) have been observed on SnO(2) under the real working conditions of sensors. Moreover, several findings show that the superoxide ion does not undergo transformations into charged atomic oxygen at the surface, and represents a dead-end form of low-temperature oxygen adsorption on reduced metal oxide.

  15. Metal-Organic Frameworks Derived Okra-like SnO2 Encapsulated in Nitrogen-Doped Graphene for Lithium Ion Battery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Xiangyang; Chen, Sanmei; Yang, Juan; Bai, Tao; Ren, Yongpeng; Tian, Hangyu

    2017-04-26

    A facile process is developed to prepare SnO 2 -based composites through using metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as precursors. The nitrogen-doped graphene wrapped okra-like SnO 2 composites (SnO 2 @N-RGO) are successfully synthesized for the first time by using Sn-based metal-organic frameworks (Sn-MOF) as precursors. When utilized as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries, the SnO 2 @N-RGO composites possess a remarkably superior reversible capacity of 1041 mA h g -1 at a constant current of 200 mA g -1 after 180 charge-discharge processes and excellent rate capability. The excellent performance can be primarily ascribed to the unique structure of 1D okra-like SnO 2 in SnO 2 @N-RGO which are actually composed of a great number of SnO 2 primary crystallites and numerous well-defined internal voids, can effectively alleviate the huge volume change of SnO 2 , and facilitate the transport and storage of lithium ions. Besides, the structural stability acquires further improvement when the okra-like SnO 2 are wrapped by N-doped graphene. Similarly, this synthetic strategy can be employed to synthesize other high-capacity metal-oxide-based composites starting from various metal-organic frameworks, exhibiting promising application in novel electrode material field of lithium-ion batteries.

  16. One-Pot Synthesis of Carbon-Coated SnO 2 Nanocolloids with Improved Reversible Lithium Storage Properties

    KAUST Repository

    Lou, Xiong Wen

    2009-07-14

    We report a simple glucose-mediated hydrothermal method for gram-scale synthesis of nearly monodisperse hybrid SnO 2 nanoparticles. Glucose is found to play the dual role of facilitating rapid precipitation of polycrystalline SnO 2 nanocolloids and in creating a uniform, glucose-derived, carbon-rich polysaccharide (GCP) coating on the SnO 2 nanocores. The thickness of the GCP coating can be facilely manipulated by varying glucose concentration in the synthesis medium. Carbon-coated SnO 2 nanocolloids obtained after carbonization of the GCP coating exhibit significantly enhanced cycling performance for lithium storage. Specifically, we find that a capacity of ca. 440 mA h/g can be obtained after more than 100 charge/discharge cycles at a current density of 300 mA/g in hybrid SnO 2-carbon electrodes containing as much as 1/3 of their mass in the low-activity carbon shell. By reducing the SnO 2-carbon particles with H 2, we demonstrate a simple route to carbon-coated Sn nanospheres. Lithium storage properties of the latter materials are also reported. Our results suggest that large initial irreversible losses in these materials are caused not only by the initial, presumably irreversible, reduction of SnO 2 as generally perceived in the field, but also by the formation of the solid electrolyte interface (SEI). © 2009 American Chemical Society.

  17. Electrospinning direct preparation of SnO2/Fe2O3 heterojunction nanotubes as an efficient visible-light photocatalyst

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu, Chengquan; Li, Yuren; Su, Qing; Lu, Bingan; Pan, Jiaqi; Zhang, Jiawang; Xie, Erqing; Lan, Wei

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: •SnO 2 /Fe 2 O 3 nano-heterojunction-tubes are prepared by a facile electrospinning technique. •The formation mechanism of heterojunction tubes is proposed for self-polymer-templates action. •SnO 2 /Fe 2 O 3 nano-heterojunction-tubes show high photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation. •The reasons for the high photocatalytic activity are investigated in detail. -- Abstract: Herein SnO 2 /Fe 2 O 3 heterojunction nanotubes are prepared by a facile electrospinning technique. The heterojunction nanotubes with a diameter of about 200 nm uniformly distribute SnO 2 and Fe 2 O 3 nanocrystals and present the obvious interfaces between them, which form perfect SnO 2 /Fe 2 O 3 nano-heterojunctions. A possible mechanism based on self-polymer-templates is proposed to explain the formation of SnO 2 /Fe 2 O 3 heterojunction nanotubes. The heterojunction nanotubes show high photocatalytic activity for the degradation of RhB dye under visible light irradiation. The prepared SnO 2 /Fe 2 O 3 heterojunction nanotubes can also be applied to other fields such as sensor, lithium-ion batteries

  18. Microstructure factor and mechanical and electronic properties of hydrogenated amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon thin-films for microelectromechanical systems applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mouro, J.; Gualdino, A.; Chu, V.; Conde, J. P.

    2013-01-01

    Thin-film silicon allows the fabrication of MEMS devices at low processing temperatures, compatible with monolithic integration in advanced electronic circuits, on large-area, low-cost, and flexible substrates. The most relevant thin-film properties for applications as MEMS structural layers are the deposition rate, electrical conductivity, and mechanical stress. In this work, n + -type doped hydrogenated amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon thin-films were deposited by RF-PECVD, and the influence of the hydrogen dilution in the reactive mixture, the RF-power coupled to the plasma, the substrate temperature, and the deposition pressure on the structural, electrical, and mechanical properties of the films was studied. Three different types of silicon films were identified, corresponding to three internal structures: (i) porous amorphous silicon, deposited at high rates and presenting tensile mechanical stress and low electrical conductivity, (ii) dense amorphous silicon, deposited at intermediate rates and presenting compressive mechanical stress and higher values of electrical conductivity, and (iii) nanocrystalline silicon, deposited at very low rates and presenting the highest compressive mechanical stress and electrical conductivity. These results show the combinations of electromechanical material properties available in silicon thin-films and thus allow the optimized selection of a thin silicon film for a given MEMS application. Four representative silicon thin-films were chosen to be used as structural material of electrostatically actuated MEMS microresonators fabricated by surface micromachining. The effect of the mechanical stress of the structural layer was observed to have a great impact on the device resonance frequency, quality factor, and actuation force

  19. Microstructure factor and mechanical and electronic properties of hydrogenated amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon thin-films for microelectromechanical systems applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mouro, J.; Gualdino, A.; Chu, V. [Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores – Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias (INESC-MN) and IN – Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, 1000-029 Lisbon (Portugal); Conde, J. P. [Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores – Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias (INESC-MN) and IN – Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, 1000-029 Lisbon (Portugal); Department of Bioengineering, Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), 1049-001 Lisbon (Portugal)

    2013-11-14

    Thin-film silicon allows the fabrication of MEMS devices at low processing temperatures, compatible with monolithic integration in advanced electronic circuits, on large-area, low-cost, and flexible substrates. The most relevant thin-film properties for applications as MEMS structural layers are the deposition rate, electrical conductivity, and mechanical stress. In this work, n{sup +}-type doped hydrogenated amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon thin-films were deposited by RF-PECVD, and the influence of the hydrogen dilution in the reactive mixture, the RF-power coupled to the plasma, the substrate temperature, and the deposition pressure on the structural, electrical, and mechanical properties of the films was studied. Three different types of silicon films were identified, corresponding to three internal structures: (i) porous amorphous silicon, deposited at high rates and presenting tensile mechanical stress and low electrical conductivity, (ii) dense amorphous silicon, deposited at intermediate rates and presenting compressive mechanical stress and higher values of electrical conductivity, and (iii) nanocrystalline silicon, deposited at very low rates and presenting the highest compressive mechanical stress and electrical conductivity. These results show the combinations of electromechanical material properties available in silicon thin-films and thus allow the optimized selection of a thin silicon film for a given MEMS application. Four representative silicon thin-films were chosen to be used as structural material of electrostatically actuated MEMS microresonators fabricated by surface micromachining. The effect of the mechanical stress of the structural layer was observed to have a great impact on the device resonance frequency, quality factor, and actuation force.

  20. Synthesis and photocatalytic properties of different SnO2 microspheres on graphene oxide sheets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Jia; Xue, Shaolin; Xie, Pei; Zou, Rujia

    2016-07-01

    Different SnO2 microspheres like dandelions, silkworm cocoons and urchins have been synthesized on graphene oxide sheets (GOs) by hydrothermal method at 190 °C for 24 h. The morphologies, structures, chemical compositions and optical properties of the as-grown SnO2 microspheres on GOs (SMGs) were characterized by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), Raman spectra and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) techniques. The results of XRD revealed that the as-grown SnO2 microspheres have tetragonal rutile structure. The results of Raman spectra, EDS, XRD, XPS and SEM showed that the SnO2 microspheres were grown on GOs and the average diameter of dandelion-like microsphere was about 1.5 μm. The formation mechanism of SnO2 microspheres grown on GOs was discussed. The photocatalytic activity of the SMGs composites was evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (Rh B) aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic results showed that the dandelion-like SMGs exhibited a much better photocatalytic activity than those of smooth and rough SMGs.

  1. Modification of SnO2 Anodes by Atomic Layer Deposition for High Performance Lithium Ion Batteries

    KAUST Repository

    Yesibolati, Nulati

    2013-05-01

    Tin dioxide (SnO2) is considered one of the most promising anode materials for Lithium ion batteries (LIBs), due to its large theoretical capacity and natural abundance. However, its low electronic/ionic conductivities, large volume change during lithiation/delithiation and agglomeration prevent it from further commercial applications. In this thesis, we investigate modified SnO2 as a high energy density anode material for LIBs. Specifically two approaches are presented to improve battery performances. Firstly, SnO2 electrochemical performances were improved by surface modification using Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD). Ultrathin Al2O3 or HfO2 were coated on SnO2 electrodes. It was found that electrochemical performances had been enhanced after ALD deposition. In a second approach, we implemented a layer-by-layer (LBL) assembled graphene/carbon-coated hollow SnO2 spheres as anode material for LIBs. Our results indicated that the LBL assembled electrodes had high reversible lithium storage capacities even at high current densities. These superior electrochemical performances are attributed to the enhanced electronic conductivity and effective lithium diffusion, because of the interconnected graphene/carbon networks among nanoparticles of the hollow SnO2 spheres.

  2. Ferromagnetism in reactive sputtered Cu0.96Fe 0.04O1-δ nanocrystalline films evidenced by anomalous Hall effect

    KAUST Repository

    Mi, Wenbo

    2011-03-14

    Cu0.96Fe0.04O1-δ nanocrystalline films were fabricated using reactive sputtering at different oxygen partial pressures (PO2). The electrical transport properties of the films were measured in a broad temperature range (10-300 K) under magnetic fields of up to 5T. Anomalous Hall effect (AHE) of up to 0.4μΩ cm was observed at 10 K and decreased to 0.2μΩ cm at 300 K. The characteristic AHE clearly indicated the existence of ferromagnetism in these materials. The AHE weakened as PO2 increased because the increasing PO2 reduced the fraction of Fe2+ ions, and consequently weakened the double exchange coupling between Fe2+-O2--Cu2+ in the materials. © 2011 The Japan Society of Applied Physics.

  3. Characteristics of nano Ti-doped SnO2 powders prepared by sol-gel method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, X.M.; Wu, S.L.; Chu, Paul K.; Zheng, J.; Li, S.L.

    2006-01-01

    Ti 4+ -doped SnO 2 nano-powders were prepared by the sol-gel process using tin tetrachloride and titanium tetrachloride as the starting materials. The crystallinity and purity of the powders were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the size and distribution of Ti 4+ -doped SnO 2 grains were studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that Ti 4+ has been successfully incorporated into the SnO 2 crystal lattice and the electrical conductivity of the doped materials improves significantly

  4. Ultrasensitive NO2 Sensor Based on Ohmic Metal-Semiconductor Interfaces of Electrolytically Exfoliated Graphene/Flame-Spray-Made SnO2 Nanoparticles Composite Operating at Low Temperatures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tammanoon, Nantikan; Wisitsoraat, Anurat; Sriprachuabwong, Chakrit; Phokharatkul, Ditsayut; Tuantranont, Adisorn; Phanichphant, Sukon; Liewhiran, Chaikarn

    2015-11-04

    In this work, flame-spray-made undoped SnO2 nanoparticles were loaded with 0.1-5 wt % electrolytically exfoliated graphene and systematically studied for NO2 sensing at low working temperatures. Characterizations by X-ray diffraction, transmission/scanning electron microscopy, and Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated that high-quality multilayer graphene sheets with low oxygen content were widely distributed within spheriodal nanoparticles having polycrystalline tetragonal SnO2 phase. The 10-20 μm thick sensing films fabricated by spin coating on Au/Al2O3 substrates were tested toward NO2 at operating temperatures ranging from 25 to 350 °C in dry air. Gas-sensing results showed that the optimal graphene loading level of 0.5 wt % provided an ultrahigh response of 26,342 toward 5 ppm of NO2 with a short response time of 13 s and good recovery stabilization at a low optimal operating temperature of 150 °C. In addition, the optimal sensor also displayed high sensor response and relatively short response time of 171 and 7 min toward 5 ppm of NO2 at room temperature (25 °C). Furthermore, the sensors displayed very high NO2 selectivity against H2S, NH3, C2H5OH, H2, and H2O. Detailed mechanisms for the drastic NO2 response enhancement by graphene were proposed on the basis of the formation of graphene-undoped SnO2 ohmic metal-semiconductor junctions and accessible interfaces of graphene-SnO2 nanoparticles. Therefore, the electrolytically exfoliated graphene-loaded FSP-made SnO2 sensor is a highly promising candidate for fast, sensitive, and selective detection of NO2 at low operating temperatures.

  5. Self-assembled 3-D flower-shaped SnO2 nanostructures with improved electrochemical performance for lithium storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Rong; Gu Yingan; Li Yaoqi; Zheng Jie; Li Xingguo

    2010-01-01

    Flower-shaped SnO 2 nanoplates were successfully synthesized via a simple hydrothermal treatment of a mixture of tin(II) dichloride dihydrate (SnCl 2 .2H 2 O) and sodium citrate (Na 3 C 6 H 5 O 7 .2H 2 O) in alkali solution. The obtained SnO 2 nanoplates were less than 5 nm thick and self-assembled into flower-shaped nanostructures. The introduction of citrate was essential for the preparation of the SnO 2 nanoplates. The nanoscale shape and self-assembled architecture of SnO 2 nanoparticles were mainly controlled by the alkalinity of the solution. When the self-assembled SnO 2 nanostructures were used as anode materials in Li-ion batteries, they exhibit a reversible capacity of 670 mA h g -1 after 30 cycles and an average capacity fading of 0.95% per cycle after the second cycle. The good electrochemical performance of the SnO 2 sample prepared via the hydrothermal synthesis indicates the possibility of fabricating specific self-assembled three-dimensional nanostructures for Li-ion batteries.

  6. Soft Magnetic Properties of Nanocrystalline Fe-M-(B and/or O)(M=Group IV A, V A Elements) Alloy Films

    OpenAIRE

    Hayakawa, Y.; Makino, A.; Inoue, A.; Masumoto, T.

    1996-01-01

    In Fe-M-(B and/or O)(M=group IV A, V A elements) alloy films, nanocrystalline bcc phase are formed by annealing the amorphous single phase for Fe-M-B films, whereas the bcc nanocrystals are already formed in an as-deposited state for Fe-M-O or Fe-M-B-O) films. Among Fe-M-B films with various M elements, Fe-(Zr, Hf, Nb, Ta)-B alloy films exhibit high saturation magnetization (Is) above 1.4 T and high relative permeability (|μ|) above 1000 at 1MHz. The highest |μ| of 3460 at 1MHz is obtained fo...

  7. Structural and optical properties of nanocrystalline CdSe and Al:CdSe thin films for photoelectrochemical application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gawali, Sanjay A. [Electrochemical Materials Laboratory, Department of Physics, Shivaji University, Kolhapur - 416 004 (India); Bhosale, C.H., E-mail: bhosale_ch@yahoo.com [Electrochemical Materials Laboratory, Department of Physics, Shivaji University, Kolhapur - 416 004 (India)

    2011-10-03

    Highlights: {yields} The CdSe and Al:CdSe thin films have been successfully deposited by SPT. {yields} Hexagonal cubic structured CdSe and Al: CdSe thin films are observed. {yields} Large number of fine grains, Uniform and compact growth morphology. {yields} Hydrophilic surface nature. {yields} Al:CdSe have better PEC performance than CdSe. - Abstract: Nanocrystalline CdSe and Al:CdSe semiconductor thin films have been successfully synthesized onto amorphous and FTO glass substrates by spray pyrolysis technique. Aqueous solutions containing precursors of Cd and Se have been used to obtain good quality films. The optimized films have been characterized for their structural, morphological, wettability and optical properties. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies show that the films are polycrystalline in nature with hexagonal crystal structure. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies show that the film surface is smooth, uniform and compact in nature. Water wettability study reveals that the films are hydrophilic behavior. The formation of CdSe and Al:CdSe thin film were confirmed with the help of FTIR spectroscopy. UV-vis spectrophotometric measurement showed a direct allowed band gap lying in the range 1.673-1.87 eV. Output characteristics were studied by using cell configuration n- CdSe/Al:CdSe |1 M (NaOH + Na{sub 2} + S)|C. An efficient solar cell having a power conversion efficiency of 0.38% at illumination 25 mW cm{sup -2} was fabricated.

  8. Ultra-high wear resistance of ultra-nanocrystalline diamond film: Correlation with microstructure and morphology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rani, R.; Kumar, N.; Lin, I.-Nan

    2016-05-01

    Nanostructured diamond films are having numerous unique properties including superior tribological behavior which is promising for enhancing energy efficiency and life time of the sliding devices. High wear resistance is the principal criterion for the smooth functioning of any sliding device. Such properties are achievable by tailoring the grain size and grain boundary volume fraction in nanodiamond film. Ultra-nanocrystalline diamond (UNCD) film was attainable using optimized gas plasma condition in a microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (MPECVD) system. Crystalline phase of ultra-nanodiamond grains with matrix phase of amorphous carbon and short range ordered graphite are encapsulated in nanowire shaped morphology. Film showed ultra-high wear resistance and frictional stability in micro-tribological contact conditions. The negligible wear of film at the beginning of the tribological contact was later transformed into the wearless regime for prolonged sliding cycles. Both surface roughness and high contact stress were the main reasons of wear at the beginning of sliding cycles. However, the interface gets smoothened due to continuous sliding, finally leaded to the wearless regime.

  9. Magnetism tuned by the charge states of defects in bulk C-doped SnO2 materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Ying-Bo; Ling, Z C; Cong, Wei-Yan; Zhang, Peng

    2015-10-21

    To analyze the controversial conclusions on the magnetism of C-doped SnO2 (SnO2:C) bulk materials between theoretical calculations and experimental observations, we propose the critical role of the charge states of defects in the geometric structures and magnetism, and carry out a series of first principle calculations. By changing the charge states, we can influence Bader charge distributions and atomic orbital occupancies in bulk SnO2:C systems, which consequently conduct magnetism. In all charged SnO2:C supercells, C-2px/py/pz electron occupancies are significantly changed by the charge self-regulation, and thus they make the C-2p orbitals spin polarized, which contribute to the dominant magnetic moment of the system. When the concentration of C dopant in the SnO2 supercell increases, the charge redistribution assigns extra electrons averagely to each dopant, and thus effectively modulates the magnetism. These findings provide an experimentally viable way for controlling the magnetism in these systems.

  10. Sol–gel synthesis of SnO2–MgO nanoparticles and their photocatalytic activity towards methylene blue degradation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bayal, Nisha; Jeevanandam, P.

    2013-01-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • A simple sol–gel method for the synthesis of SnO 2 –MgO nanoparticles is reported. • Band gap of SnO 2 can be tuned by varying the magnesium content in SnO 2 –MgO. • SnO 2 –MgO shows good photocatalytic activity towards degradation of methylene blue. - Abstract: SnO 2 –MgO mixed metal oxide nanoparticles were prepared by a simple sol–gel method. The nanoparticles were characterized by power X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray analysis, transmission electron microscopy and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The XRD results indicate the formation of mixed metal oxide nanoparticles and also a decrease of SnO 2 crystallite size in the mixed metal oxide nanoparticles with increasing magnesium oxide content. The reflectance spectroscopy results show a blue shift of the band gap of SnO 2 in the mixed metal oxide nanoparticles. The photocatalytic activity of the SnO 2 –MgO nanoparticles was tested using the photodegradation of aqueous methylene blue in the presence of sunlight. The results indicate that the mixed metal oxide nanoparticles possess higher efficiency for the photodegradation of methylene blue compared to pure SnO 2 nanoparticles

  11. Enhancing Performance of SnO2-Based Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Using ZnO Passivation Layer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    W. M. N. M. B. Wanninayake

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Although liquid electrolyte based dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs have shown higher photovoltaic performance in their class, they still suffer from some practical limitations such as solvent evaporation, leakage, and sealing imperfections. These problems can be circumvented to a certain extent by replacing the liquid electrolytes with quasi-solid-state electrolytes. Even though SnO2 shows high election mobility when compared to the semiconductor material commonly used in DSCs, the cell performance of SnO2-based DSCs is considerably low due to high electron recombination. This recombination effect can be reduced through the use of ultrathin coating layer of ZnO on SnO2 nanoparticles surface. ZnO-based DSCs also showed lower performance due to its amphoteric nature which help dissolve in slightly acidic dye solution. In this study, the effect of the composite SnO2/ZnO system was investigated. SnO2/ZnO composite DSCs showed 100% and 38% increase of efficiency compared to the pure SnO2-based and ZnO-based devices, respectively, with the gel electrolyte consisting of LiI salt.

  12. Synthesis and characterization of vanadium doped SnO2 diluted magnetic semiconductor nanoparticles with enhanced photocatalytic activities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mazloom, J.; Ghodsi, F.E.; Golmojdeh, H.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Pure and V-doped SnO 2 nanoparticles were synthesized using a facile sol–gel route. • The V 4+ ions were incorporated into the SnO 2 lattice and located at the Sn 4+ sites. • TEM images reveled that by increasing the doping content, average grain size decreased. • We show that the V-doped SnO 2 is more photoactive than undoped SnO 2 . • The V-doped SnO 2 nanoparticles exhibited ferromagnetism at room temperature. - Abstract: Vanadium doped SnO 2 nanoparticles were synthesized by a facile sol–gel method. Different analytical techniques including TG/DTG, XRD, XPS, VSM and PL were used to investigate the influence of dopant concentration on structural, morphological, compositional, magnetic and optical properties of prepared nanoparticles. The XRD study showed a dominant tetragonal structure. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy proved the presence of vanadium as V 4+ species. TEM image revealed that particle size decrease by doping. It was found that room temperature ferromagnetic (RTFM) behavior is strongly dependent on vanadium dopant content and the magnetic saturation dropped rapidly with increasing V content, which can be explained reasonably through bound magnetic polaron (BMP) model. A quenching in green luminescence intensity was observed in V-doped SnO 2 compared to undoped sample. The 5% V-doped SnO 2 sample showed better photocatalytic activity than undoped one in decomposing methylene blue and rhodamine B

  13. Influence of annealing temperature on the nanostructure TiO2-SnO2 prepared by electron gun method on the glass substrate and the aluminum/glass

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N Beigmohammadi

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available  TiO2-SnO2 thin films were coated on glass and Al / glass substrates by electron gun method. In coating process, the vacuum was 1.5×10-5 torr. Then, films were annealed at 450, 500 and 550 ˚ C. The crystallographic structure and film morphology were investigated by means of XRD and SEM. The electrical (I-V and optical properties were studied by the two point props system and UV/Vis/NIR spectrophotometer. The results showed the films under 550 ˚ C were crystalline. The thickness and grain size were 350 and 50 nm respectively. The electrical conductivity in the sample with Al / glass substrate under 550 ˚ C was better than the other samples. When temperature increased, the energy gap decreased from 4.05 to 4.03 eV for direct cases.

  14. Preparation and electrochemical characterization of size controlled SnO2-RuO2 composite powder for monolithic hybrid battery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jeon, Young-Ah; No, Kwang-Soo; Choi, Sun Hee; Ahn, Jae pyong; Yoon, Young Soo

    2004-01-01

    Tin oxide (SnO 2 ) powders with a particle size of ∼20 nm were synthesized by a gas condensation method. Ruthenium oxide was loaded by an incipient-wetness method, in which an aqueous solution of RuCl 3 was added to the manufactured SnO 2 powder in an amount that was just sufficient to wet completely the powder. And then, the resulting solution was obtained after freeze-drying to synthesis the smallest particle. The as-synthesized SnO 2 powder with 1.5 wt.% ruthenium oxide (RuO 2 ) exhibited well-developed facets and had a very uniform particle size. The first discharge capacity was lower than comparing to commercial powder because of forming the second phase, but showed good cyclability. A maximum specific electrode capacitance of ∼20 F/g and a maximum specific power of ∼80 W/kg were achieved by manufactured SnO 2 with 1.5 wt.% RuO 2 . This result indicated that the synthesized SnO 2 -RuO 2 composite powder of nano-size scale is candidate for use in fabricating monolithic hybrid batteries using suitable electrolyte as well

  15. A Fast Humidity Sensor Based on Li+-Doped SnO2 One-Dimensional Porous Nanofibers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Min Yin

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available One-dimensional SnO2- and Li+-doped SnO2 porous nanofibers were easily fabricated via electrospinning and a subsequent calcination procedure for ultrafast humidity sensing. Different Li dopant concentrations were introduced to investigate the dopant’s role in sensing performance. The response properties were studied under different relative humidity levels by both statistic and dynamic tests. The best response was obtained with respect to the optimal doping of Li+ into SnO2 porous nanofibers with a maximum 15 times higher response than that of pristine SnO2 porous nanofibers, at a relative humidity level of 85%. Most importantly, the ultrafast response and recovery time within 1 s was also obtained with the 1.0 wt % doping of Li+ into SnO2 porous nanofibers at 5 V and at room temperature, benefiting from the co-contributions of Li-doping and the one-dimensional porous structure. This work provides an effective method of developing ultrafast sensors for practical applications—especially fast breathing sensors.

  16. Azadirachta indica (neem) leaves mediated synthesis of SnO2/NiO nanocomposite and assessment of its photocatalytic activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varshney, Bhaskar; Shoeb, Mohd; Siddiqui, M. J.; Azam, Ameer; Mobin, Mohammad

    2018-05-01

    SnO2/NiO nanocomposite are prepared by using a simple cost effective and ecofriendly green soft template method followed by ultrasonication treatment further by calcination at 300 °C. The resulting nanocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Visible spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The SnO2-NiO photocatalyst was made of a mesoporous network of aggregated NiO and cassiterite SnO2 nanocrystallites, the size of which was estimated to be 16.68 nm and 13.17 nm, respectively, after calcination. According to UV-visible spectroscopy, the evident energy band gap value of the SnO2-NiO photocatalyst was estimated to be 3.132 eV to be compared with those of pure SnO2, that is, 3.7 eV. Moreover, the heterostructure SnO2-NiO photocatalyst showed much higher photocatalytic activities for the degradation of methylene blue than those of individual SnO2 and NiO nanomaterials. This behaviour was rationalized in terms of better charge separation and the suppression of charge recombination in the SnO2-NiO photocatalyst because of the energy difference between the conduction band edges of SnO2 and NiO as evidenced by the band alignment determination. Finally, this mesoporous SnO2-NiO heterojunction nanocatalyst was stable and could be easily recycled several times opening new avenues for potential industrial applications.

  17. Effect of Annealing Temperature and Oxygen Flow in the Properties of Ion Beam Sputtered SnO—2x Thin Films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chun-Min Wang

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Tin oxide (SnO2—x thin films were prepared under various flow ratios of O2/(O2 + Ar on unheated glass substrate using the ion beam sputtering (IBS deposition technique. This work studied the effects of the flow ratio of O2/(O2 + Ar, chamber pressures and post-annealing treatment on the physical properties of SnO2 thin films. It was found that annealing affects the crystal quality of the films as seen from both X-ray diffraction (XRD and transmission electron microscopy (TEM analysis. In addition, the surface RMS roughness was measured with atomic force microscopy (AFM. Auger electron spectroscopy (AES analysis was used to obtain the changes of elemental distribution between tin and oxygen atomic concentration. The electrical property is discussed with attention to the structure factor.

  18. Co+ -ion implantation induced doping of nanocrystalline CdS thin films: structural, optical, and vibrational properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chandramohan, S.; Sarangi, S.N.; Majumder, S.; Som, T.; Kanjilal, A.; Sathyamoorthy, R.

    2009-01-01

    Full text: Transition metal (Mn, Fe, Co and Ni) doped CdS nanostructures and nanocrystalline thin films have attracted much attention due to their anticipated applications in magneto-optical, non-volatile memory and future spintronics devices. Introduction of impurities in substitutional positions is highly desirable for such applications. Ion implantation is known to provide many advantages over conventional methods for efficient doping and possibility of its seamless integration with device processing steps. It is not governed by equilibrium thermodynamics and offers the advantages of high spatial selectivity and to overcome the solubility limits. In this communication, we report on modifications of structural morphological, optical, and vibrational properties of 90 keV Co + -ion implanted CdS thin films grown by thermal evaporation. Co + -ion implantation was performed in the fluence range of 0.1-3.6x10 16 ions cm -2 These fluences correspond to Co concentration in the range of 0.34-10.8 at % at the peak position of profile. Implantation was done at an elevated temperature of 573 K in order to avoid amorphization and to enhance the solubility of Co ions in the CdS lattice. Films were characterized by glancing angle X-ray diffraction (GAXRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), optical absorption, and micro-Raman spectroscopy. Implantation does not lead to any secondary phase formation either in the form of impurity or the metallic clusters. However, implantation improves the crystalline quality of the samples and leads to supersaturation of Co ions in the CdS lattice. Thus, nanocrystalline CdS thin films can be considered as a good radiation- resistant material, which can be employed for prolonged use in solar cells for space applications. The optical band gap is found to decrease systematically with increasing ion fluence from 2.39 to 2.28 eV. Implantation leads to agglomeration of grains and a systematic increase in the surface roughness. Both GAXRD and micro

  19. SnO2 nanosheets grown on graphene sheets with enhanced lithium storage properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Shujiang; Luan, Deyan; Boey, Freddy Yin Chiang; Chen, Jun Song; Lou, Xiong Wen David

    2011-07-07

    We demonstrate a new hydrothermal method to directly grow SnO(2) nanosheets on a graphene oxide support that is subsequently reduced to graphene. This unique SnO(2)/graphene hybrid structure exhibits enhanced lithium storage properties with high reversible capacities and good cycling performance. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2011

  20. Effect of sputtered titanium interlayers on the properties of nanocrystalline diamond films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Cuiping, E-mail: licp226@126.com, E-mail: limingji@163.com; Li, Mingji, E-mail: licp226@126.com, E-mail: limingji@163.com; Wu, Xiaoguo; Yang, Baohe [Tianjin Key Laboratory of Film Electronic and Communicate Devices, School of Electronics Information Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384 (China); Dai, Wei; Xu, Sheng [Tianjin Key Laboratory of Film Electronic and Communicate Devices, School of Electronics Information Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384 (China); College of Precision Instrument and Optoelectronics Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072 (China); Li, Hongji [Tianjin Key Laboratory of Organic Solar Cells and Photochemical Conversion, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384 (China)

    2016-04-07

    Ti interlayers with different thicknesses were sputtered on Si substrates and then ultrasonically seeded in a diamond powder suspension. Nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) films were deposited using a dc arc plasma jet chemical vapor deposition system on the seeded Ti/Si substrates. Atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy tests showed that the roughness of the prepared Ti interlayer increased with increasing thickness. The effects of Ti interlayers with various thicknesses on the properties of NCD films were investigated. The results show nucleation, growth, and microstructure of the NCD films are strongly influenced by the Ti interlayers. The addition of a Ti interlayer between the Si substrate and the NCD films can significantly enhance the nucleation rate and reduce the surface roughness of the NCD. The NCD film on a 120 nm Ti interlayer possesses the fastest nucleation rate and the smoothest surface. Raman spectra of the NCD films show trans-polyacetylene relevant peaks reduce with increasing Ti interlayer thickness, which can owe to the improvement of crystalline at grain boundaries. Furthermore, nanoindentation measurement results show that the NCD film on a 120 nm Ti interlayer displays a higher hardness and elastic modulus. High resolution transmission electron microscopy images of a cross-section show that C atoms diffuse into the Ti layer and Si substrate and form TiC and SiC hard phases, which can explain the enhancement of mechanical properties of NCD.

  1. Mesoporous Zn2SnO4 as effective electron transport materials for high-performance perovskite solar cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bao, Sha; Wu, Jihuai; He, Xin; Tu, Yongguang; Wang, Shibo; Huang, Miaoliang; Lan, Zhang

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: •Large grain and mesoporous Zn 2 SnO 4 are synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. •Perovskite device with Zn 2 SnO 4 electron transport layer get efficiency of 17.21%. •While the device with TiO 2 electron transport layer obtain an efficiency of 14.83%. •Superior photovoltaic performance stems from the intrinsic characteristics of Zn 2 SnO 4 . -- Abstract: Electron transport layer with higher carrier mobility and suitable band gap structure plays a significant role in determining the photovoltaic performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Here, we report a synthesis of high crystalline zinc stannate (Zn 2 SnO 4 ) by a facile hydrothermal method. The as-synthesized Zn 2 SnO 4 possesses particle size of 20 nm, large surface area, mesoporous hierarchical structure, and can be used as a promising electron-transport materials to replace the conventional mesoporous TiO 2 material. A perovskite solar cell with structure of FTO/blocking layer/Zn 2 SnO 4 /CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 /Spiro-OMeOTAD/Au is fabricated, and the preparation condition is optimized. The champion device based on Zn 2 SnO 4 electron transport material achieves a power conversion efficiency of 17.21%, while the device based on TiO 2 electron transport material gets an efficiency of 14.83% under the same experimental conditions. The results render Zn 2 SnO 4 an effective candidate as electron transport material for high performance perovskite solar cells and other devices.

  2. Polyaniline assisted by TiO2:SnO2 nanoparticles as a hydrogen gas sensor at environmental conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasirian, Shahruz; Milani Moghaddam, Hossain

    2015-02-01

    In the present research, polyaniline assisted by TiO2:SnO2 nanoparticles was synthesized and deposited onto an epoxy glass substrate with Cu-interdigited electrodes for gas sensing application. To examine the efficiency of the polyaniline/TiO2:SnO2 nanocomposite (PTS) as a hydrogen (H2) gas sensor, its nature, stability, response, recovery/response time have been studied with a special focus on its ability to work at environmental conditions. H2 gas sensing results demonstrated that a PTS sensor with 20 and 10 wt% of anatase-TiO2 and SnO2 nanoparticles, respectively, has the best response time (75 s) with a recovery time of 117 s at environmental conditions. The highest (lowest) response (recovery time) was 6.18 (46 s) in PTS sensor with 30 and 15 wt% of anatase- (rutile-)TiO2 and SnO2 nanoparticles, respectively, at 0.8 vol.% H2 gas. Further, the H2 gas sensing mechanism of PTS sensor has also been studied.

  3. Large-area SnO2: F thin films by offline APCVD

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Yan; Wu, Yucheng; Qin, Yongqiang; Zhang, Zhihai; Shi, Chengwu; Zhang, Qingfeng; Li, Changhao; Xia, Xiaohong; Sun, Stanley; Chen, Leon

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → Large-area (1245 mm x 635 mm) FTO thin films were successfully deposited by offline APCVD process. → The as-prepared FTO thin films with sheet resistance 8-11 Ω/□ and direct transmittance more than 83% exhibited better than that of the online ones. → The maximum quantum efficiency of the solar cells based on offline FTO substrate was 0.750 at wavelength 540 nm. → The power of the solar modules using the offline FTO as glass substrates was 51.639 W, higher than that of the modules based on the online ones. -- Abstract: In this paper, we reported the successful preparation of fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) thin films on large-area glass substrates (1245 mm x 635 mm x 3 mm) by self-designed offline atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) process. The FTO thin films were achieved through a combinatorial chemistry approach using tin tetrachloride, water and oxygen as precursors and Freon (F-152, C2H4F2) as dopant. The deposited films were characterized for crystallinity, morphology (roughness) and sheet resistance to aid optimization of materials suitable for solar cells. We got the FTO thin films with sheet resistance 8-11 Ω/□ and direct transmittance more than 83%. X-ray diffraction (XRD) characterization suggested that the as-prepared FTO films were composed of multicrystal, with the average crystal size 200-300 nm and good crystallinity. Further more, the field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) images showed that the films were produced with good surface morphology (haze). Selected samples were used for manufacturing tandem amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin film solar cells and modules by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Compared with commercially available FTO thin films coated by online chemical vapor deposition, our FTO coatings show excellent performance resulting in a high quantum efficiency yield for a-Si:H solar cells and ideal open voltage and short circuit current for a-Si:H solar

  4. Formation, structure, and phonon confinement effect of nanocrystalline Si1-xGex in SiO2-Si-Ge cosputtered films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Y.M.; Wu, X.L.; Siu, G.G.; Huang, G.S.; Shen, J.C.; Hu, D.S.

    2004-01-01

    Using magnetron cosputtering of SiO 2 , Ge, and Si targets, Si-based SiO 2 :Ge:Si films were fabricated for exploring the influence of Si target proportion (P Si ) and annealing temperature (Ta) on formation, local structure, and phonon properties of nanocrystalline Si 1-x Ge x (nc-Si 1-x Ge x ). At low P Si and Ta higher than 800 deg. C, no nc-Si 1-x Ge x but a kind of composite nanocrystal consisting of a Ge core, GeSi shell, and amorphous Si outer shell is formed in the SiO 2 matrix. At moderate P Si , nc-Si 1-x Ge x begins to be formed at Ta=800 deg. C and coexists with nc-Ge at Ta=1100 deg. C. At high P Si , it was disclosed that both optical phonon frequency and lattice spacing of nc-Si 1-x Ge x increase with raising Ta. The possible origin of this phenomenon is discussed by considering three factors, the phonon confinement, strain effect, and composition variation of nc-Si 1-x Ge x . This work will be helpful in understanding the growth process of ternary GeSiO films and beneficial to further investigations on optical properties of nc-Ge 1-x Si x in the ternary matrix

  5. Polydopamine-modified nanocrystalline diamond thin films as a platform for bio-sensing applications

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Pop-Georgievski, Ognen; Neykova, Neda; Proks, Vladimír; Houdková, Jana; Ukraintsev, Egor; Zemek, Josef; Kromka, Alexander; Rypáček, František

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 543, 30 September (2013), s. 180-186 ISSN 0040-6090. [International Conference on NANO-structures self-assembly - NANOSEA 2012 /4./. S. Margherita di Pula - Sardinie, 25.06.2012-29.06.2012] R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP108/11/1857; GA ČR(CZ) GBP108/12/G108 Grant - others:ČVUT(CZ) SGS10/297/OHK4/3T/14 Institutional support: RVO:61389013 ; RVO:68378271 Keywords : nanocrystalline diamond films * NCD * polydopamine Subject RIV: CD - Macromolecular Chemistry; BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism (FZU-D) Impact factor: 1.867, year: 2013

  6. Nanoindentation and micro-mechanical fracture toughness of electrodeposited nanocrystalline Ni–W alloy films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Armstrong, D.E.J.; Haseeb, A.S.M.A.; Roberts, S.G.; Wilkinson, A.J.; Bade, K.

    2012-01-01

    Nanocrystalline nickel–tungsten alloys have great potential in the fabrication of components for microelectromechanical systems. Here the fracture toughness of Ni–12.7 at.%W alloy micro-cantilever beams was investigated. Micro-cantilevers were fabricated by UV lithography and electrodeposition and notched by focused ion beam machining. Load was applied using a nanoindenter and fracture toughness was calculated from the fracture load. Fracture toughness of the Ni–12.7 at.%W was in the range of 1.49–5.14 MPa √m. This is higher than the fracture toughness of Si (another important microelectromechanical systems material), but considerably lower than that of electrodeposited nickel and other nickel based alloys. - Highlights: ► Micro-scale cantilevers manufactured by electro-deposition and focused ion beam machining. ► Nanoindenter used to perform micro-scale fracture test on Ni-13at%W micro-cantilevers. ► Calculation of fracture toughness of electrodeposited Ni-13at%W thin films. ► Fracture toughness values lower than that of nanocrystalline nickel.

  7. Nanoindentation and micro-mechanical fracture toughness of electrodeposited nanocrystalline Ni-W alloy films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Armstrong, D.E.J., E-mail: david.armstrong@materials.ox.ac.uk [Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PH (United Kingdom); Haseeb, A.S.M.A. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia); Roberts, S.G.; Wilkinson, A.J. [Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PH (United Kingdom); Bade, K. [Institut fuer Mikrostrukturtechnik (IMT), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen (Germany)

    2012-04-30

    Nanocrystalline nickel-tungsten alloys have great potential in the fabrication of components for microelectromechanical systems. Here the fracture toughness of Ni-12.7 at.%W alloy micro-cantilever beams was investigated. Micro-cantilevers were fabricated by UV lithography and electrodeposition and notched by focused ion beam machining. Load was applied using a nanoindenter and fracture toughness was calculated from the fracture load. Fracture toughness of the Ni-12.7 at.%W was in the range of 1.49-5.14 MPa {radical}m. This is higher than the fracture toughness of Si (another important microelectromechanical systems material), but considerably lower than that of electrodeposited nickel and other nickel based alloys. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Micro-scale cantilevers manufactured by electro-deposition and focused ion beam machining. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Nanoindenter used to perform micro-scale fracture test on Ni-13at%W micro-cantilevers. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Calculation of fracture toughness of electrodeposited Ni-13at%W thin films. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Fracture toughness values lower than that of nanocrystalline nickel.

  8. Synthesis of Co 2SnO 4@C core-shell nanostructures with reversible lithium storage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Yue; Du, Ning; Zhang, Hui; Wu, Ping; Yang, Deren

    This paper reports the synthesis of Co 2SnO 4@C core-shell nanostructures through a simple glucose hydrothermal and subsequent carbonization approach. The as-synthesized Co 2SnO 4@C core-shell nanostructures have been applied as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, which exhibit improved cyclic performance compared to pure Co 2SnO 4 nanocrystals. The carbon matrix has good volume buffering effect and high electronic conductivity, which may be responsible for the improved cyclic performance.

  9. SnO2 nanocrystals anchored on N-doped graphene for high-performance lithium storage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Wei; Wang, Jinxian; Zhang, Feifei; Liu, Shumin; Wang, Jianwei; Yin, Dongming; Wang, Limin

    2015-02-28

    A SnO2-N-doped graphene (SnO2-NG) composite is synthesized by a rapid, facile, one-step microwave-assisted solvothermal method. The composite exhibits excellent lithium storage capability and high durability, and is a promising anode material for lithium ion batteries.

  10. SnO2/Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite as Anode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries with Enhanced Cyclability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Wenjuan; Zhao, Xike; Ma, Zengsheng; Lin, Jianguo; Lu, Chunsheng

    2016-04-01

    SnO2 is considered as one of the most promising anode materials for next generation lithium-ion batteries, however, how to build energetic SnO2-based electrode architectures has still remained a big challenge. In this article, we developed a facile method to prepare SnO2/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanocomposite for an anode material of lithium-ion batteries. It is shown that, at the current density of 0.25 A.g-1, SnO2/RGO has a high initial capacity of 1705 mAh.g-1 and a capacity retention of 500 mAh . g-1 after 50 cycles. The total specific capacity of SnO2/RGO is higher than the sum of their pure counterparts, indicating a positive synergistic effect on the electrochemical performance.

  11. Application of sol-gel process on the elaboration of SnO2 based ceramics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prescatan, R.T.; Silva, D.V. da; Hiratsuka, R.S.; Santilli, C.V.; Pulcinelli, S.H.

    1990-01-01

    The electrical, optical and chemical peculiar properties of SnO 2 confers it-self some potential application. The densification difficulty during sintering of SnO 2 compromises its elaboration by ceramic conventional process. In this work the preparation of SnO 2 ceramics by sol-gel process was investigated. Some parameters envolved on the colloidal stability, sol-gel transition and drying process were analysed. The obtained materials were characterized by rheological, X-ray diffraction, infra-red spectroscopy and pores size distribution measurements. The results show that a considerable densification during sintering at 400 and 600 0 C was obtained. (author) [pt

  12. Synthesis of nanocrystalline TiO2 thin films by liquid phase ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    WINTEC

    goes degradation efficiently in presence of TiO2 thin films by exposing its aqueous solution to .... Figure 6. Photodegradation of IGOR organic dye by a. bare TiO2 thin film and b. ... Meng L-J and Dos Santos M P 1993 Thin Solid Films 226 22.

  13. UV-laser treatment of nanodiamond seeds - a valuable tool for modification of nanocrystalline diamond films properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vlček, J; Fitl, P; Vrňata, M; Fekete, L; Taylor, A; Fendrych, F

    2013-01-01

    This work aimed to study the UV-laser treatment of precursor (i.e. nanodiamond (ND) seeds on silicon substrates) and its influence on the properties of grown nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) films. Pulsed Nd:YAG laser operating at the fourth harmonic frequency (laser fluence E L = 250 mJ cm -2 , pulse duration 5 ns) was used as a source, equipped with an optical system for focusing laser beam onto the sample, allowing exposure of a local spot and horizontal patterning. The variable parameters were: number of pulses (from 5 to 400) and the working atmosphere (He, Ar and O 2 ). Ablation and/or graphitization of seeded nanodiamond particles were observed. Further the microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition was employed to grow NCD films on exposed and non-exposed areas of silicon substrates. The size, shape and density distribution of laser-treated nanodiamond seeds were observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and their chemical composition by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The resulting NCD films (uniform thickness of 400 nm) were characterized by: Raman spectroscopy to analyse occurrence of graphitic phase, and AFM to observe morphology and surface roughness. The highest RMS roughness (∼85 nm) was achieved when treating the precursor in He atmosphere. Horizontal microstructures of diamond films were fabricated.

  14. The effect of low platinum loading on the efficiency of PEMFC’s electrocatalysts supported on TiO2–Nb, and SnO2–Nb: An experimental comparison between active and stable conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shahgaldi, Samaneh; Hamelin, Jean

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • SnO 2 –Nb, and TiO 2 –Nb thin films synthesized via sputtering. • SnO 2 –Nb, and TiO 2 –Nb thin films applied as a Pt support in PEMFC. • Low amount of Pt sputtered on supports as catalyst in cathode side. • Fabricate a single cell and plot I–V curves. - Abstract: Electrocatalyst supports have been demonstrated to strongly influence the cost, performance and durability of PEMFC systems, which have been among the heated research topics in the course of the past decades. However, the present support materials used in fuel cell stack are not adequately durable for commercialization. Development of active electrocatalyst with cost effectiveness and high durability is one of the main challenges. In this paper, titania and tin oxide nanoparticles doped nobidium were selected as thermo chemically stable and carbonless electrocatalyst supports. Low Pt loading (0.05 mg/cm 2 ) is deposited on supports through sputtering method, and the structure, the distribution of nanoparticles, and the electrical resistivity were systematically analyzed. To make the studies of oxygen reduction reaction activity, catalytic stability and performance of PEMFC more precise, rotation disk electrode (RDE), cyclic voltammetry (CV), and single cell test were utilized. The data analysis of this study highlighted that SnO 2 –Nb–Pt depicted higher stability and better fuel cell performance in comparison with TiO 2 –Nb–Pt

  15. Structural, optical and electrical characterization of vacuum-evaporated nanocrystalline CdSe thin films for photosensor applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kumar, Vipin; Sharma, D.K.; Sharma, Kapil [Krishna Institute of Engineering and Technology, Department of Physics, Ghaziabad (India); Dwivedi, D.K. [M.M.M University of Technology, Department of Physics, Gorakhpur (India)

    2016-11-15

    II-VI nanocrystalline semiconductors offer a wide range of applications in electronics, optoelectronics and photonics. Thin films of CdSe were deposited onto ultra-clean glass substrates by vacuum evaporation method. The as-deposited films were annealed in vacuum at 350 K. The structural, elemental, morphological, optical and electrical investigations of annealed films were carried out. The X-ray diffraction pattern of the films shows that films were polycrystalline in nature having hexagonal structure with preferential orientation of grains along (002) plane. SEM image indicates that the films were uniform and well covered to the glass substrate. EDAX analysis confirms the stoichiometric composition of the film. Raman spectra were used to observe the characteristic vibrational modes of CdSe. The energy band gap of these films was obtained by absorption spectra. The films were found to have a direct type of transition of band gap occurring at 1.75 eV. The dark electrical conductivity and photoconductivity reveals that the films were semiconducting in nature indicating the suitability of these films for photosensor applications. The Hall effect measurement reveals that the films have n-type electrical conductivity. (orig.)

  16. Sensing mechanism of SnO2/ZnO nanofibers for CH3OH sensors: heterojunction effects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang, Wei

    2017-01-01

    SnO 2 /ZnO composite nanofibers were synthesized by a simple electrospinning method. The prepared SnO 2 /ZnO gas sensors exhibited good linear and high response to methanol. The enhanced sensing behavior of SnO 2 /ZnO might be associated with the homotypic heterojunction effects formed in n -SnO 2 / n -ZnO nanograins boundaries. In addition, the possible sensing mechanisms of methanol on SnO 2 /ZnO surface were investigated by density functional theory in order to make the methanol adsorption and desorption process clear. Zn doped SnO 2 model was adopted to approximate the SnO 2 /ZnO structure because of the calculation power limitations. Calculation results showed that when exposed to methanol, the methanol would react with bridge oxygen O 2c , planar O 3c and pre adsorbed oxygen vacancy on the lattice surface. The –CH 3 and –OH of methanol molecule would both lose one H atom. The lost H atoms bonded with oxygen at the adsorption sites. The final products were HCHO and H 2 O. Electrons were transferred from methanol to the lattice surface to reduce the resistance of semiconductor gas sensitive materials, which is in agreement with the experimental phenomena. More adsorption models of other interfering gases, such as ethanol, formaldehyde and acetone will be built and calculated to explain the selectivity issue from the perspective of adsorption energy, transferred charge and density of states in the future work. (paper)

  17. Fluorine incorporation into SnO2 nanoparticles by co-milling with polyvinylidene fluoride

    Science.gov (United States)

    Senna, Mamoru; Turianicová, Erika; Šepelák, Vladimír; Bruns, Michael; Scholz, Gudrun; Lebedkin, Sergei; Kübel, Christian; Wang, Di; Kaňuchová, Mária; Kaus, Maximilian; Hahn, Horst

    2014-04-01

    Fluorine was incorporated into SnO2 nanoparticles from polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF) by co-milling. The incorporation process was triggered by an oxidative partial decomposition of PVdF due to the abstraction of oxygen atoms, and began soon after milling with a simultaneous decrease in the crystallite size of SnO2 from 56 nm to 19 nm, and increase in the lattice strain by a factor 7. Appearance of D and G Raman peaks indicated that the decomposition of PVdF was accompanied by the formation of nanometric carbon species. Decomposing processes of PVdF were accompanied by the continuous change in the states of F, with a decrease of C-F in PVdF and increase in Sn-F. This indicates the gradual incorporation of F into SnO2, by replacing a part of oxygen in the oxide with fluorine. These serial mechanochemical reaction processes were discussed on the basis of X-ray diffractometry, FT-IR, Raman and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, F1s, Sn3d and C1s X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Auger electron spectra, as well as magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy of 19F and 119Sn. The present findings serve as an initial stage of incorporating fluorine into SnO2 via a solvent-free solid-state process, toward the rational fabrication of fluorine doped SnO2 powders.

  18. Binding SnO2 nanocrystals in nitrogen-doped graphene sheets as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Xiaosi; Wan, Li-Jun; Guo, Yu-Guo

    2013-04-18

    Hybrid anode materials for Li-ion batteries are fabricated by binding SnO2 nanocrystals (NCs) in nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (N-RGO) sheets by means of an in situ hydrazine monohydrate vapor reduction method. The SnO2NCs in the obtained SnO2NC@N-RGO hybrid material exhibit exceptionally high specific capacity and high rate capability. Bonds formed between graphene and SnO2 nanocrystals limit the aggregation of in situ formed Sn nanoparticles, leading to a stable hybrid anode material with long cycle life. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  19. Three-dimensional mesoporous graphene aerogel-supported SnO2 nanocrystals for high-performance NO2 gas sensing at low temperature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Lei; He, Shuijian; Liu, Minmin; Zhang, Chunmei; Chen, Wei

    2015-02-03

    A facile and cost-efficient hydrothermal and lyophilization two-step strategy has been developed to prepare three-dimensional (3D) SnO2/rGO composites as NO2 gas sensor. In the present study, two different metal salt precursors (Sn(2+) and Sn(4+)) were used to prepare the 3D porous composites. It was found that the products prepared from different tin salts exhibited different sensing performance for NO2 detection. The scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy characterizations clearly show the macroporous 3D hybrids, nanoporous structure of reduce graphene oxide (rGO), and the supported SnO2 nanocrystals with an average size of 2-7 nm. The specific surface area and porosity properties of the 3D mesoporous composites were analyzed by Braunauer-Emmett-Teller method. The results showed that the SnO2/rGO composite synthesized from Sn(4+) precursor (SnO2/rGO-4) has large surface area (441.9 m(2)/g), which is beneficial for its application as a gas sensing material. The gas sensing platform fabricated from the SnO2/rGO-4 composite exhibited a good linearity for NO2 detection, and the limit of detection was calculated to be as low as about 2 ppm at low temperature. The present work demonstrates that the 3D mesoporous SnO2/rGO composites with extremely large surface area and stable nanostructure are excellent candidate materials for gas sensing.

  20. Preparation of Mesoporous SnO2 by Electrostatic Self-Assembly

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yang Jing

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We report a simple and scalable strategy to synthesize mesoporous SnO2 with tin dioxide nanoparticles of 5-6 nm crystalline walls and 3-4 nm pore diameter with the assistance of Mo7O246- as templating agent at room temperature. The samples were characterized by XRD, TEM, UV-DRS, XPS, and BET. The product has a moderately high surface area of 132 m2 g−1 and a narrow mesoporous structure with an average pore diameter of 3.5 nm. The photocatalytic activities of the mesoporous SnO2 were evaluated by the degradation of methyl orange (MO in aqueous solution under UV light irradiation.

  1. Direct Coating of Nanocrystalline Diamond on Steel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsugawa, Kazuo; Kawaki, Shyunsuke; Ishihara, Masatou; Hasegawa, Masataka

    2012-09-01

    Nanocrystalline diamond films have been successfully deposited on stainless steel substrates without any substrate pretreatments to promote diamond nucleation, including the formation of interlayers. A low-temperature growth technique, 400 °C or lower, in microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition using a surface-wave plasma has cleared up problems in diamond growth on ferrous materials, such as the surface graphitization, long incubation time, substrate softening, and poor adhesion. The deposited nanocrystalline diamond films on stainless steel exhibit good adhesion and tribological properties, such as a high wear resistance, a low friction coefficient, and a low aggression strength, at room temperature in air without lubrication.

  2. Facile sonochemical synthesis of Zn2SnO4-V2O5 nanocomposite as an effective photocatalyst for degradation of Eosin Yellow.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramasamy Raja, V; Rosaline, D Rani; Suganthi, A; Rajarajan, M

    2018-06-01

    This study presents a novel method for the preparation of Zn 2 SnO 4 /V 2 O 5 nanocomposites via a sonochemical aqueous route. This method is mild, convenient, cheap and efficient. The as prepared samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, EDAX, TEM, BET, FT-IR and UV-DRS spectra. DRS spectrum shows the adsorption edge of Zn 2 SnO 4 -V 2 O 5 in visible region of spectrum. The structural and morphological features of the as synthesized Zn 2 SnO 4 -V 2 O 5 nanocomposites have been observed using both scanning and transmission electron microscopy. BET surface area analysis inferred that the prepared hetero-junctions are meso-porous in nature. The photocatalytic activity of Zn 2 SnO 4 -V 2 O 5 nanocomposites for the degradation of Eosin Yellow (EY) dye under visible light was investigated in detail. 3% Zn 2 SnO 4 -V 2 O 5 nanocomposite exhibited the highest photocatalytic performance (92% of EY degradation) when compared with 2% Zn 2 SnO 4 -V 2 O 5 and 5% Zn 2 SnO 4 -V 2 O 5 . The adsorption of Eosin Yellow followed the pseudo-first order kinetic model. Simultaneously, high stability of the sample was also investigated by four successive photodegradation of EY under visible light. The relationship between photocatalytic activity and the structure of 3% Zn 2 SnO 4 -V 2 O 5 nanocomposite is discussed, and possible reaction mechanisms are also proposed. Therefore, the facile sonochemical preparation process provides some insight into the application of Zn 2 SnO 4 -V 2 O 5 nanocomposites in photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  3. Core shell structured nanoparticles of Eu3+ doped SnO2 with SiO2 shell: luminescence studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ningthoujam, R.S.; Sudarsan, V.; Kulshreshtha, S.K.

    2005-01-01

    Re dispersible SnO 2 nanoparticles with and without Eu 3+ doping nanoparticles were prepared at 185 deg C by the urea hydrolysis of Sn 4+ in ethylene glycol medium. X-ray diffraction and 119 Sn MAS NMR studies of these particles revealed that these nanoparticles are crystalline with Cassiterite structure having an average crystallite size of 7 nm. Undoped SnO 2 gave a emission peak centered around 470 nm characteristic of the traps present in the nanoparticles. For Eu 3+ doped samples, emission around 590 and 615 nm was observed on both direct excitation as well as indirect excitation through traps, indicating that there is an energy transfer between the traps present in the nanoparticles and Eu 3+ ions. The asymmetric ratio of luminescence (relative intensity ratio of 590 to 615 nm transitions) has been found to be 1.2. For SnO 2 :Eu(5%)-SiO 2 nanoparticles, the asymmetric ratio of luminescence change significantly indicating the formation of nanoparticles with SnO 2 :Eu(5%) core covered with SiO 2 shell. (author)

  4. Characterization of Reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO-Loaded SnO2 Nanocomposite and Applications in C2H2 Gas Detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lingfeng Jin

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Acetylene (C2H2 gas sensors were developed by synthesizing a reduced graphene oxide (rGO-loaded SnO2 hybrid nanocomposite via a facile two-step hydrothermal method. Morphological characterizations showed the formation of well-dispersed SnO2 nanoparticles loaded on the rGO sheets with excellent transparency and obvious fold boundary. Structural analysis revealed good agreement with the standard crystalline phases of SnO2 and rGO. Gas sensing characteristics of the synthesized materials were carried out in a temperature range of 100–300 °C with various concentrations of C2H2 gas. At 180 °C, the SnO2–rGO hybrid showed preferable detection of C2H2 with high sensor response (12.4 toward 50 ppm, fast response-recovery time (54 s and 23 s, limit of detection (LOD of 1.3 ppm and good linearity, with good selectivity and long-term stability. Furthermore, the possible gas sensing mechanism of the SnO2–rGO nanocomposites for C2H2 gas were summarized and discussed in detail. Our work indicates that the addition of rGO would be effective in enhancing the sensing properties of metal oxide-based gas sensors for C2H2 and may make a contribution to the development of an excellent ppm-level gas sensor for on-line monitoring of dissolved C2H2 gas in transformer oil.

  5. The Application of Metal Oxide Nanomaterials for Chemical Sensor Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Jennifer C.; Hunter, Gary W.; Evans, Laura J.; VanderWal, Randy L.; Berger, Gordon M.

    2007-01-01

    NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) has been developing miniature chemical sensors for a variety of applications including fire detection, emissions monitoring, fuel leak detection, and environmental monitoring. Smart Lick and Stick sensor technology which integrates a sensor array, electronics, telemetry, and power into one microsystem are being developed. These microsystems require low power consumption for long-term aerospace applications. One approach to decreasing power consumption is the use of nanotechnology. Nanocrystalline tin oxide (SnO2) carbon monoxide (CO) sensors developed previously by this group have been successfully used for fire detection and emissions monitoring. This presentation will briefly review the overall NASA GRC chemical sensor program and discuss our further effort in nanotechnology applications. New carbon dioxide (CO2) sensing material using doped nanocrystalline SnO2 will be discussed. Nanocrystalline SnO2 coated solid electrolyte CO2 sensors and SnO2 nanorod and nanofiber hydrogen (H2) sensors operated at reduced or room temperatures will also be discussed.

  6. A rapid hydrothermal synthesis of rutile SnO2 nanowires

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lupan, O.; Chow, L.; Chai, G.; Schulte, A.; Park, S.; Heinrich, H.

    2009-01-01

    Tin oxide (SnO 2 ) nanowires with rutile structure have been synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method at 98 deg. C. The morphologies and structural properties of the as-grown nanowires/nanoneedles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The SEM images reveal tetragonal nanowires of about 10-100 μm in length and 50-100 nm in radius. The Raman scattering peaks indicate a typical rutile phase of the SnO 2 . The effects of molar ratio of SnCl 4 to NH 4 OH on the growth mechanism are discussed

  7. Large-scale synthesis of macroporous SnO2 with/without carbon and their application as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Fei; Yao Gang; Xu Minwei; Zhao Mingshu; Sun Zhanbo; Song Xiaoping

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → A new hard template prepared from glucose was used to synthesize macroporous SnO 2 . → SnO 2 and SnO 2 /C were prepared in a simple and large-scale synthetic method. → Combining the nanostructure design and active/inactive nanocomposite concept. → The obtained SnO 2 /C composite exhibited superior cycling performance. - Abstract: The macroporous SnO 2 is prepared using close packed carbonaceous sphere template which synthesized from glucose by hydrothermal method. The structure and morphology of the macroporous SnO 2 are evaluated by XRD and FE-SEM. The average pore size of the macroporous SnO 2 is about 190 nm and its wall thickness is less than 10 nm. When the macroporous SnO 2 filled with carbon is used as an anode material for lithium-ion battery, the capacity is about 380 mAh g -1 after 70 cycles. The improved cyclability is attributed to the carbon matrix which is used as an effective physical buffer to prevent the collapse of the well dispersed macroporous SnO 2 .

  8. SHI induced enhancement in green emission from nanocrystalline CdS thin films for photonic applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, Pragati; Saxena, Nupur; Chandra, Ramesh; Gao, Kun; Zhou, Shengqiang; Agarwal, Avinash; Singh, Fouran; Gupta, Vinay; Kanjilal, D.

    2014-01-01

    Intense green emission is reported from nanocrystalline CdS thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition. The effect of ion beam induced dense electronic excitation on luminescence property of CdS films is explored under irradiation using 70 MeV 58 Ni 6+ ions. It is found that swift heavy ion beam irradiation enhances the emission intensity by an order of 1 and broadens the emission range. This feature is extremely useful to enhance the performance of different photonic devices like light emitting diodes and lasers, as well as luminescence based sensors. To examine the role of energy relaxation process of swift heavy ions in creation/annihilation of different defect levels, multi-peaks are fitted in photoluminescence spectra using a Gaussian function. The variation of contribution of different emissions in green emission with ion fluence is studied. Origin of enhancement in green emission is supported by various characterization techniques like UV–visible absorption spectroscopy, glancing angle X-ray diffraction, micro-Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. A possible mechanism of enhanced GE due to ion beam irradiation is proposed on the basis of existing models. -- Highlights: • Room temperature green luminescence nanocrystalline CdS thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition. • Enhanced green emission by means of swift heavy ion irradiation. • Multipeak fitting of photoluminescence spectra using a Gaussian function. • Variation of area contributed by different emissions in green emission is studied with respect to ion fluence. • Mechanism of enhanced green emission is discussed based on creation/annihilation of defects due to ion beam irradiation

  9. SHI induced enhancement in green emission from nanocrystalline CdS thin films for photonic applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kumar, Pragati, E-mail: pkumar.phy@gmail.com [Department of Physics, Bareilly College, Shahmat Ganj Road, Bareilly 243005, Uttar Pradesh (India); Saxena, Nupur [Inter University Accelerator Centre, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, P.O. Box 10502, New Delhi 110067 (India); Chandra, Ramesh [Institute Instrumentation Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee 247667 (India); Gao, Kun; Zhou, Shengqiang [Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), P.O. Box 510119, 01314 Dresden (Germany); Agarwal, Avinash [Department of Physics, Bareilly College, Shahmat Ganj Road, Bareilly 243005, Uttar Pradesh (India); Singh, Fouran [Inter University Accelerator Centre, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, P.O. Box 10502, New Delhi 110067 (India); Gupta, Vinay [Department of Physics and Astrophysics, Delhi University, Delhi 110007 (India); Kanjilal, D. [Inter University Accelerator Centre, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, P.O. Box 10502, New Delhi 110067 (India)

    2014-03-15

    Intense green emission is reported from nanocrystalline CdS thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition. The effect of ion beam induced dense electronic excitation on luminescence property of CdS films is explored under irradiation using 70 MeV {sup 58}Ni{sup 6+} ions. It is found that swift heavy ion beam irradiation enhances the emission intensity by an order of 1 and broadens the emission range. This feature is extremely useful to enhance the performance of different photonic devices like light emitting diodes and lasers, as well as luminescence based sensors. To examine the role of energy relaxation process of swift heavy ions in creation/annihilation of different defect levels, multi-peaks are fitted in photoluminescence spectra using a Gaussian function. The variation of contribution of different emissions in green emission with ion fluence is studied. Origin of enhancement in green emission is supported by various characterization techniques like UV–visible absorption spectroscopy, glancing angle X-ray diffraction, micro-Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. A possible mechanism of enhanced GE due to ion beam irradiation is proposed on the basis of existing models. -- Highlights: • Room temperature green luminescence nanocrystalline CdS thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition. • Enhanced green emission by means of swift heavy ion irradiation. • Multipeak fitting of photoluminescence spectra using a Gaussian function. • Variation of area contributed by different emissions in green emission is studied with respect to ion fluence. • Mechanism of enhanced green emission is discussed based on creation/annihilation of defects due to ion beam irradiation.

  10. Synthesis of Monodisperse Walnut-Like SnO2 Spheres and Their Photocatalytic Performances

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing Wang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Novel walnut-like SnO2 spheres have been synthesized using a one-step hydrothermal reaction with SnCl2·2H2O and KOH as raw materials. The morphology, microstructure, and optical properties of the products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD, Raman spectrum, scanning electron microscopy (SEM, transmission electron microscopy (TEM, selected area electron diffraction (SAED, and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy. The detailed studies revealed that these synthesized spheres are highly monodisperse and have a uniform size of approximately 250 nm. Photocatalytic activity of the prepared SnO2 spheres was evaluated by the degradation of methylene orange. The synthesized SnO2 spheres exhibited excellent photocatalytic degradation. In addition, a possible formation mechanism of the walnut-like nanostructures was proposed based on reaction time-dependent experiments.

  11. Efecto de la naturaleza del precursor sobre las caracteristicas de las nanoparticulas de SnO2 sintetizadas Effect of the precursor's nature on characteristics of synthesized SnO2 nanoparticles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos E. Ararat-Ibarguen

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Tin oxide (SnO2 is widely used in industry as raw material for electronic devices, plating of different types of materials, for dyes and pigments, for electroplating, heterogeneous catalysis, etc. In this work SnO2 was obtained by a controlled precipitation method with special attention to the effects the tin precursor has on the microstructure of the final product. The most appropriate pH for obtaining SnO2 with the rutile structure as the main phase is 6.25 for SnCl2 and 6.40 for SnSO4. After heat treatment at 600 °C, particles of nanometric order (~10 - 30 nm approx were obtained. The characterization of the solid phase was made by X-ray diffraction (XRD, thermal analysis (DTA/TG, transmission electron microscopy (TEM and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR.

  12. FEM numerical analysis of excimer laser induced modification in alternating multi-layers of amorphous and nano-crystalline silicon films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Conde, J.C.; Martín, E.; Stefanov, S.; Alpuim, P.; Chiussi, S.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► nc-Si:H is a material with growing importance for a large-area of nano-electronic, photovoltaic or biomedical devices. ► UV-ELA technique causes a rapid heating that provokes the H 2 desorption from the Si surface and bulk material. ► Next, diffusion of P doped nc-Si films and eventually, for high energy densities would be possible to reach the melting point. ► These multilayer structures consisting of thin alternating a-Si:H(10 nm) and n-doped nc-Si:H(60 nm) films deposited on SiO 2 . ► To optimize parameters involved in this processing, FEM numerical analysis of multilayer structures have been performed. ► The numerical results are compared with exhaustive characterization of the experimental results. - Abstract: UV excimer laser annealing (UV-ELA) is an alternative annealing process that, during the last few years, has gained enormous importance for the CMOS nano-electronic technologies, with the ability to provide films and alloys with electrical and optical properties to fit the desired device performance. The UV-ELA of amorphous (a-) and/or doped nano-crystalline (nc-) silicon films is based on the rapid (nanoseconds) formation of temperature profiles caused by laser radiation that is absorbed in the material and lead to crystallisation, diffusion in solid or even in liquid phase. To achieve the desired temperature profiles and to optimize the parameters involved in the processing of hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) films with the UV-ELA, a numerical analysis by finite element method (FEM) of a multilayer structure has been performed. The multilayer structures, consisting of thin alternating a-Si:H(10 nm) and n-doped nc-Si:H(60 nm) layers, deposited on a glass substrate, has also been experimentally analyzed. Temperature profiles caused by 193 nm radiation with 25 ns pulse length and energy densities ranging from 50 mJ/cm 2 to 400 mJ/cm 2 have been calculated. Numerical results allowed us to estimate the dehydrogenation

  13. Label-free SnO2 nanowire FET biosensor for protein detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jakob, Markus H.; Dong, Bo; Gutsch, Sebastian; Chatelle, Claire; Krishnaraja, Abinaya; Weber, Wilfried; Zacharias, Margit

    2017-06-01

    Novel tin oxide field-effect-transistors (SnO2 NW-FET) for pH and protein detection applicable in the healthcare sector are reported. With a SnO2 NW-FET the proof-of-concept of a bio-sensing device is demonstrated using the carrier transport control of the FET channel by a (bio-) liquid modulated gate. Ultra-thin Al2O3 fabricated by a low temperature atomic layer deposition (ALD) process represents a sensitive layer to H+ ions safeguarding the nanowire at the same time. Successful pH sensitivity is demonstrated for pH ranging from 3 to 10. For protein detection, the SnO2 NW-FET is functionalized with a receptor molecule which specifically interacts with the protein of interest to be detected. The feasibility of this approach is demonstrated via the detection of a biotinylated protein using a NW-FET functionalized with streptavidin. An immediate label-free electronic read-out of the signal is shown. The well-established Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) method is used to determine the optimal experimental procedure which would enable molecular binding events to occur while being compatible with a final label-free electronic read-out on a NW-FET. Integration of the bottom-up fabricated SnO2 NW-FET pH- and biosensor into a microfluidic system (lab-on-a-chip) allows the automated analysis of small volumes in the 400 μl range as would be desired in portable on-site point-of-care (POC) devices for medical diagnosis.

  14. Carrier mobility enhancement of nano-crystalline semiconductor films: Incorporation of redox -relay species into the grain boundary interface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Desilva, L. A.; Bandara, T. M. W. J.; Hettiarachchi, B. H.; Kumara, G. R. A.; Perera, A. G. U.; Rajapaksa, R. M. G.; Tennakone, K.

    Dye-sensitized and perovskite solar cells and other nanostructured heterojunction electronic devices require securing intimate electronic contact between nanostructured surfaces. Generally, the strategy is solution phase coating of a hole -collector over a nano-crystalline high-band gap n-type oxide semiconductor film painted with a thin layer of the light harvesting material. The nano-crystallites of the hole - collector fills the pores of the painted oxide surface. Most ills of these devices are associated with imperfect contact and high resistance of the hole conducting layer constituted of nano-crystallites. Denaturing of the delicate light harvesting material forbid sintering at elevated temperatures to reduce the grain boundary resistance. It is found that the interfacial and grain boundary resistance can be significantly reduced via incorporation of redox species into the interfaces to form ultra-thin layers. Suitable redox moieties, preferably bonded to the surface, act as electron transfer relays greatly reducing the film resistance offerring a promising method of enhancing the effective hole mobility of nano-crystalline hole-collectors and developing hole conductor paints for application in nanostructured devices.

  15. Structural and Optical Properties of Nanocrystalline 3,4,9,10-Perylene-Tetracarboxylic-Diimide Thin Film

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. M. El-Nahhas

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Thin films of nanocrystalline 3,4,9,10-perylene-tetracarboxylic-diimide (PTCDI were prepared on quartz substrates by thermal evaporation technique. The structural properties were identified by transmission electron microscopy (TEM and the X-ray diffraction (XRD. The optical properties for the films were investigated using spectrophotometric measurements of the transmittance and reflectance at normal incidence of light in the wavelength range from 200 to 2500 nm. The optical constants (refractive index n and absorption index k were calculated and found to be independent on the film thickness in the measured film thickness range 117–163 nm. The dispersion energy (Ed, the oscillator energy (Eo, and the high-frequency dielectric constant ε∞ were obtained. The energy band model was applied, and the types of the optical transitions responsible for optical absorption were found to be indirect allowed transition. The onset and optical energy gaps were calculated, and the obtained results were also discussed.

  16. Nano structured TiO2 thin films by polymeric precursor method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stroppa, Daniel Grando; Giraldi, Tania Regina; Leite, Edson Roberto; Varela, Jose Arana; Longo, Elson

    2008-01-01

    This work focuses in optimizing setup for obtaining TiO 2 thin films by polymeric precursor route due to its advantages on stoichiometric and morphological control. Precursor stoichiometry, synthesis pH, solids concentration and rotation speed at deposition were optimized evaluating thin films morphology and thickness. Thermogravimetry and NMR were applied for precursor's characterization and AFM, XRD and ellipsometry for thin films evaluation. Results showed successful attainment of homogeneous nanocrystalline anatase TiO 2 thin films with outstanding control over morphological characteristics, mean grain size of 17 nm, packing densities between 57 and 75%, estimated surface areas of 90 m 2 /g and monolayers thickness within 20 and 128 nm. (author)

  17. Mg Doping Effect on the Microstructural and Optical Properties of ZnO Nanocrystalline Films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    San-Lin Young

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Transparent Zn1-xMgxO (x=0.01, 0.03, and 0.05 nanocrystalline films were prepared by sol-gel method followed by thermal annealing treatment of 700°C. Mg doping effect on the microstructural and optical properties of the Zn1-xMgxO films is investigated. From SEM images of all films, mean sizes of uniform spherical grains increase progressively. Pure wurtzite structure is obtained from the results of XRD. Grain sizes increase from 34.7 nm for x=0.01 and 37.9 nm for x=0.03 to 42.1 nm for x=0.05 deduced from the XRD patterns. The photoluminescence spectra of the films show a strong ultraviolet emission and a weak visible light emission peak. The enhancement of ultraviolet emission and reduction of visible emission are observed due to the increase of Mg doping concentration and the corresponding decrease of oxygen vacancy defects. Besides, the characteristics of the dark/photo currents with n-Zn1-xMgxO/n-Si heterojunction are studied for photodetector application.

  18. SnO2 anode surface passivation by atomic layer deposited HfO2 improves li-ion battery performance

    KAUST Repository

    Yesibolati, Nulati

    2014-03-14

    For the first time, it is demonstrated that nanoscale HfO2 surface passivation layers formed by atomic layer deposition (ALD) significantly improve the performance of Li ion batteries with SnO2-based anodes. Specifically, the measured battery capacity at a current density of 150 mAg -1 after 100 cycles is 548 and 853 mAhg-1 for the uncoated and HfO2-coated anodes, respectively. Material analysis reveals that the HfO2 layers are amorphous in nature and conformably coat the SnO2-based anodes. In addition, the analysis reveals that ALD HfO2 not only protects the SnO2-based anodes from irreversible reactions with the electrolyte and buffers its volume change, but also chemically interacts with the SnO2 anodes to increase battery capacity, despite the fact that HfO2 is itself electrochemically inactive. The amorphous nature of HfO2 is an important factor in explaining its behavior, as it still allows sufficient Li diffusion for an efficient anode lithiation/delithiation process to occur, leading to higher battery capacity. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  19. Structural transition, subgap states, and carrier transport in anion-engineered zinc oxynitride nanocrystalline films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xian, Fenglin; Ye, Jiandong; Gu, Shulin; Tan, Hark Hoe; Jagadish, Chennupati

    2016-01-01

    In this work, anion alloying is engineered in ZnON nanocrystalline films, and the resultant evolution of the structural transition, subgap states, and carrier transport is investigated. A broad distribution of sub-gap states above the valence band maximum is introduced by nitrogen due to the hybridization of N 2p and O 2p orbitals. The phase transition from partially amorphous states to full crystallinity occurs above a characteristic growth temperature of 100 °C, and the localized states are suppressed greatly due to the reduction of nitrogen composition. The electronic properties are dominated by grain boundary scattering and electron transport across boundary barriers through thermal activation at band edge states at high temperatures. The conductivity below 130 K exhibits a weak temperature dependence, which is a signature of variable-range hopping conduction between localized states introduced by nitrogen incorporation.

  20. Controlling the Performance of P-type Cu2O/SnO Bilayer Thin-Film Transistors by Adjusting the Thickness of the Copper Oxide Layer

    KAUST Repository

    Al-Jawhari, Hala A.; Caraveo-Frescas, Jesus Alfonso; Hedhili, Mohamed N.

    2014-01-01

    The effect of copper oxide layer thickness on the performance of Cu2O/SnO bilayer thin-film transistors was investigated. By using sputtered Cu2O films produced at an oxygen partial pressure, Opp, of 10% as the upper layer and 3% Opp SnO films