Preparation and characterization of nanostructured Gd doped cerium oxide thin films by pulsed laser deposition for acetone sensor application

Abstract

10mol% Gd doped cerium oxide nanostructured films were deposited on quartz substrate by pulsed laser deposition technique at different substrate temperatures. X-ray diffraction studies indicated polycrystalline nature of the thin films with fluorite type structure. Atomic force microscopy results indicated the presence of nanocrystallites over the thin film surface. The root mean square (rms) roughness of the thin films increased with increasing substrate temperature. Morphological studies were carried out with scanning electron microscope. Raman Spectra was recorded using micro Raman spectrometer. Energy band gaps of Gd doped cerium oxide thin films at various substrate temperatures were determined by using Tauc’s relationship. The sensing properties of the nanostructured thin films towards acetone vapor were investigated for various concentrations of acetone in air at different operating temperatures in the range 273–523K.