Optical and Electrochemical Properties of SnO2:Sb Thin Films Prepared by the Sol-Gel Process

Abstract

The sol-gel route offers the advantages of large area deposition in controlling the microstructure of films and producing films containing multiple cations. Tin oxide semiconductors with metal and/or oxide dopants and additives are widely used as transparent-electronically conductive electrodes in electrochromic devices (ECD). The aim of this research is to improve the ion storage capacity of the SnO2 film by adding antimony. The Sn-doped SnO2 solutions were prepared using SnCl2. 2H2O and SbCl3 as precursor materials. The films were dip-coated at speed of 12 cm/min and thermally treated at 500°C for 5 min. The electrochemical responses of the films were determined from the cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry measurements using LiClO4 in propylene carbonate (1.0 M) as electrolyte. X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique was used to analyze the structure of the prepared film.