Abstract
Pristine TiO2 and Sn-doped TiO2 thin films with different Sn doping levels (2, 4, 6 and 8 at.%) were deposited by employing a simplified spray pyrolysis technique. The XRD pattern of the films confirmed tetragonal structure with the polycrystalline nature. The films exhibited a pure anatase titanium dioxide (TiO2) with a strong orientation along (101) plane. The scanning electron microscopy image of 6 at.% Sn-doped TiO2 thin film depicted nanosized grains with porous nature. The atomic force microscopy study had shown the columnar arrangement of grains with the increase in particle size and surface roughness for 6 at.% Sn-doped TiO2 thin films. The optical transmittance was increased with the decrease in the optical energy band gap. The optical constants such as extinction coefficient and refractive index were determined. The intensity of the photoluminescence emission was observed at 398 nm for doped films. The resistivity decreased with the increasing carrier concentration and Hall mobility. The incorporation of Sn into TiO2 matrix yielded a well-pronounced antibacterial activity for Bacillus subtilis.
Highlights
Transparent conducting oxide (TCO) materials are of great interest due to their distinctive physical, chemical, optical and optoelectronic properties
The intensity of peak (101) plane increases along with the appearance of other anatase peaks related to (200) and (004) planes with a low intensity of the film deposited with 6 at.% of Sn doping, which indicates that the Ti and O atoms are accommodated along (101) plane and this may be due to the influence of Sn atoms
The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) study evidenced the nanosized grains with the porous nature for 6 at.% of Sn-doped TiO2 film
Summary
Transparent conducting oxide (TCO) materials are of great interest due to their distinctive physical, chemical, optical and optoelectronic properties. Various TCO materials are ZnO, CdO, SnO, SnO2 and TiO2 Among these materials, TiO2 plays a most promising role in several areas of research because of its high efficient photocatalytic activity, high refractive index, resistance to photo corrosion, chemical stability, low cost and non-toxicity (Malliga et al 2014). Nanocrystalline TiO2 thin films are being used as n type electrode in dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical solar cells and as a promising material for quantum dot-sensitized solar cells (Senthil et al 2010). Another importance of TiO2 in recent years is the specialization of self-sterilizing surfaces and their implementation in hospitals because of its most reliable and stable under irradiation (Svetlana Nikobuna Pleskova et al 2012).
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