Effect of Withdrawal Speed on the Structural, Optical and Morphological Properties of NiO Thin Films Obtained by Sol-Gel Dip Coating Method

Abstract

In this study, pure nickel oxide thin films were prepared by a sol-gel dip coating method with different withdrawal speeds, onto glass substrates and their structural, optical and morphological properties were investigated. The structural properties of NiO films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Polycrystalline structures of the prepared films were detected. The optical properties of the films were studied by UV–visible spectrophotometer and the optical transmittance of the films within the visible and near infrared region was found to be more than 75% and decrease when the withdrawal speed increase. The surface morphology of the films was observed by atomic force microscopy and it was found that the root mean square (RMS) roughness increases from 3.78 to 15 nm when the withdrawal speed increased from 30 to70 mm/min. Thus, the withdrawal speed is a key factor to change the NiO thin films properties.