Abstract
AbstractThe influence of essential process parameters on the adjustability of specific process and particulate properties of aluminum‐doped zinc oxide (AZO) nanocrystals during synthesis via the benzylamine route at low reaction kinetics is demonstrated by enabling time‐resolved access of the selected measurement technique. It is shown that the validity of the pseudo‐first‐order process kinetics could be extended to the minimum operable reaction kinetics. On the other hand, the impacts of the process temperature and the initial precursor concentration on both the process kinetics and the particle morphology are discussed. The obtained data provide a versatile tool for precise process control by adjusting defined application‐specific particle properties of AZO during synthesis.
Highlights
The n-type semiconductor, aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO), offers versatile applications due to its special properties, e.g. low electrical resistance, good mechanical stability, and high degree of transparency in the visible range
Following on from this, in our current work, the process parameters are to be extended to lower process temperatures (TR £ 120 °C) and initial precursor concentrations (CE £ 25 g L–1), and their influences on the crystal growth kinetics and the particle morphology are to be investigated.1) In detail, we will clarify in a first step whether the already proven pseudo-first-order reaction kinetics of AZO nanocrystal synthesis via the benzylamine route at constant TR = 110 °C from our previous work will be valid by extending to lower process temperatures in the range of 80 °C £ TR £ 120 °C
It could generally be observed that, on the one hand, both the growth kinetics and the crystalline properties of AZO were significantly influenced by the process temperature setting while, on the other hand, the final mesocrystal size was predominantly controlled by the initial precursor concentration
Summary
The n-type semiconductor, aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO), offers versatile applications due to its special properties, e.g. low electrical resistance, good mechanical stability, and high degree of transparency in the visible range Due to these properties, AZO is considered to be a significantly cheaper and non-toxic alternative in order to replace, in the future, existing and finite indium-based oxides in diverse applications, such as thin-film solar modules, touch panels, light-emitting diodes, or printable electronics. In contrast to gas-phase and solidphase processes [6] or co-precipitation [7], solvent-based liquid-phase syntheses result in better process control with moderate reaction rates [8, 9] This synthesis route provides timeresolved access to measurement technologies in terms of particle formation analysis, as will be shown in this work. Quantitative phase analysis (QPA) by X-ray scattering and gravimetric analysis will be used
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call