Structural, electrical and optical properties investigation of nano-sized Sb0.1(SnO2)0.9

Abstract

Solid state reaction method was used to prepare Sbx(SnO2)1−x (x = 0 and 0.1) with sintering temperatures, 600 °C and 800 °C. The crystallographic properties of undoped and doped SnO2 materials results showed the tetragonal rutile structure of SnO2. The crystallinity was clear and increased with increasing the heat treatment. For the most diffraction peaks the microstrain is negative because do ˂ ds indicating the generation of residual compressive stress in the surface. Rietveld refinement proved that a good fitting parameters Rp, Rwp, and χ 2 makes the derived samples to be in a high quality, especially Sb0.1(SnO2)0.9 sample. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) indicated that a spherical shape of SnO2 with nanoparticles but plates and nanorods shaped of SnO2 were detected for Sb0.1(SnO2)0.9 compound that was sintered at 800 °C. SnO2 has grain size 67 nm and 86 nm at sintering temperatures 600 °C and 800 °C respectively, but after adding Sb the grain size decreases to be ≈44 nm at the same sintering temperatures. The electrical resistivity, ρ, of Sb0.1(SnO2)0.9 behaved as semiconductor-like. The magnetoresistance, MR, results showed that ρ(0.6 tesla) < ρ(0 tesla) at Tsint = 600 °C where ρ (0.6 tesla) > ρ (0 tesla) at Tsint = 800 °C because the crystallinity increased with increasing of the sintering temperatures. The results of seebeck showed that charge carriers are n-tape at Tsint = 600 °C and p-type at Tsint = 800 °C. The optical energy band, E g of Sb0.1(SnO2)0.9 which were 2.49 eV and 3.21 eV at Tsint = 600 °C and 800 °C respectively and the high values of the transmittance make this compound is candidate to work as window layer in solar cell applications. The results of susceptibility denotes that the Sb0.1(SnO2)0.9 compound is a paramagnetic material.