Abstract
Cerium dioxide (CeO2 ) thin films with varying Ce concentrations (0.1 to 0.9 M, metal basis) were deposited on soda‐lime‐silica glass substrates using spin coating. It was found that all films exhibited the cubic fluorite structure after annealing at 500°C for 5 h. The laser Raman microspectroscopy and GAXRD analyses revealed that increasing concentrations of Ce resulted in an increase in the degree of crystallinity. FIB and FESEM images confirmed the laser Raman and GAXRD analyses results owing to the predicted increase in film thickness with increasing Ce concentration. However, porosity and shrinkage (drying) cracking of the films also increased significantly with increasing Ce concentrations. UV‐VIS spectrophotometry data showed that the transmission of the films decreased with increasing Ce concentrations due to the increasing crack formation. Furthermore, a red shift was observed with increasing Ce concentrations, which resulted in a decrease in the optical indirect band gap.
Highlights
During the last few decades, metal oxide semiconductors have become important materials, with numerous publications focusing on different types of these materials namely, In2O3, TiO2, SnO2, and CeO2
There has been growing interest in the use of CeO2 [1,2,3] due to its promising characteristics, including: (i) it is an n-type semiconductor with a band gap of 3.2 eV [4, 5], (ii) it is highly transparent in the visible region (400–800 nm) [4, 5], and (iii) it is inexpensive. ese advantages enhance the potential for CeO2 to be used widely in a range of applications, such as oxygen storage [6], smart windows [7], electrochemical displays [8], UV lters [9], and catalysts [10]
CeO2 thin lms can be prepared by several techniques, including spray pyrolysis [11], pulsed laser deposition [12], sputtering [13], and spin coating [14]. e latter is one of the most advantageous techniques owing to its versatility, effectiveness, and practicality
Summary
During the last few decades, metal oxide semiconductors have become important materials, with numerous publications focusing on different types of these materials namely, In2O3, TiO2, SnO2, and CeO2. There has been growing interest in the use of CeO2 [1,2,3] due to its promising characteristics, including: (i) it is an n-type semiconductor with a band gap of 3.2 eV [4, 5], (ii) it is highly transparent in the visible region (400–800 nm) [4, 5], and (iii) it is inexpensive. Thin lm CeO2 is used most commonly owing to its exibility of use, cost considerations, and ease of preparation. CeO2 thin lms can be prepared by several techniques, including spray pyrolysis [11], pulsed laser deposition [12], sputtering [13], and spin coating [14]. E aim of this work was to prepare CeO2 thin lms on soda-lime-silica glass substrates using spin coating and to investigate the mineralogy, morphology, and optical properties of these lms
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