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Low temperature synthesis of Ni-doped SnO2 thin films by spin coating route

L. S. CHUAH1,* , M. S. YAACOB1, Z. HASSAN2

Affiliation

  1. Physics Section, School of Distance Education, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia
  2. School Of Physics, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia

Abstract

Ni-doped thin films were prepared by sol-gel spin-coating method with thermal annealing in air atmosphere. In this study, Ni-doped tin (II) oxide (SnO2) thin films were deposited by a simple spin coating method. The precursor solutions were deposited on the decontaminated glass substrate by sol-gel spin coating technique. Nickel (Ni) as impurities is chosen due to its corrosion resistance and its ductile properties. Precursor solution was prepared using a 0.05M Tin (II) Chloride (SnCl4.2H2O) in de-ionized water and then being added in 100 ml ethanol to get equal proportions or to obtain a consistent balance of water and ethanol, then soaked in an ultrasonic bath (300 W and 60 kHz) about 10 min. Followed by 1.5 wt% of nickel chloride 6-hydrate (NiCl2.6H2O) was added as a doped source into the solution and then soaked in an ultrasonic bath for another 5 min. The precursor solutions were deposited with 10 drops onto the substrate. The solutions were spin-coated on a glass slide substrates at 750 rpm speed. The spin coating duration for all samples were 2 minutes. Finally, the samples were annealed for 30 minutes at various temperature in air atmosphere. We prepared five kinds of samples annealed at 100 °C, 200 °C, 300 °C, 400 °C, and 500 °C, respectively. For comparison, we also prepared the as-deposited samples. Ni-doped thin films with wurtzite structure were synthesized in all the samples. The morphology of the Ni-doped SnO2 thin films was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The sample annealed at low temperature showed the smooth surface morphology, and it gradually became rough with increase in annealing temperature. On the other hands, optical properties were studied using UV-visible spectroscopy and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy..

Keywords

Tin oxide, Thin films, Spin-coating, Low temperature.

Citation

L. S. CHUAH, M. S. YAACOB, Z. HASSAN, Low temperature synthesis of Ni-doped SnO2 thin films by spin coating route, Optoelectronics and Advanced Materials - Rapid Communications, 6, 1-2, January-February 2012, pp.149-153 (2012).

Submitted at: Dec. 16, 2011

Accepted at: Feb. 20, 2012