Abstract
Thin films of ZnWO4, a promising photocatalytic and scintillator material, were deposited for the first time using a reactive dual magnetron sputtering procedure. A ZnO target was operated using an RF signal, and a W target was operated using a DC signal. The power on the ZnO target was changed so that it would match the sputtering rate of the W target operated at 25 W. The effects of the process parameters were characterized using optical spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy, including energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy as well as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It was found that stoichiometric microcrystalline ZnWO4 thin films could be obtained, by operating the ZnO target during the sputtering procedure at a power of 55 W and by post-annealing the resulting thin films for at least 10 h at 600 °C. As FTO coated glass substrates were used, annealing led as well to the incorporation of Na, resulting in n+ doped ZnWO4 thin films.
Highlights
ZnWO4 has been studied for the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants [1], for sacrificial water splitting [2] and as a scintillation material [3]
These chemical procedures have the advantage that the morphology of the ZnWO4 particles can be tuned and that they can be produced in larger quantities
The ZnO target (2.0” diameter, 99.99% purity, Mateck, Jülich, Germany) that operated with an RF signal at 13.56 MHz and the W target (2.0” diameter, 99.95% purity, Lesker, Jefferson Hills, PA, USA) that operated with a DC signal were mounted onto 2.0” MEIVAC MAK sputter deposition sources
Summary
ZnWO4 has been studied for the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants [1], for sacrificial water splitting [2] and as a scintillation material [3]. For these purposes, ZnWO4 is most often fabricated as a powder using chemical synthesis procedures, such as hydrothermal [2,4], solvothermal [5], mechano–chemical [6] and sol-gel syntheses [7]. Thin film-based materials prepared by thin-film deposition techniques allow, for a better integration in devices. It is relatively to deposit additional contact materials in a controlled and clean (vacuum) environment. ZnWO4 thin films have already been successfully produced using spray pyrolysis [8] and dip coating [9]
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