Ultraviolet-shielding and conductive double functional films coated on glass substrates by sol-gel process

Ultraviolet-shielding and conductive double functional films were composed of CeO2-TiO2 film and SnO2:Sb film deposited on glass substrates using sol-gel process.Ce(NO3)3·6H2O and Ti(C4H9O4),SnCl4 and SbCl3 were used as precursors of the two different functional films respectively.The CeO2-TiO2 films were deposited on glass substrates by sol-gel dip coating method,and then the SnO2:Sb films with different thickness were deposited on the pre-coated CeO2-TiO2 thin film glass substrates,finally,the substrates coated with double functional films were annealed at different temperatures.The optical and electrical properties of the CeO2-TiO2 films and the double films were measured by UV-Vis spectrometer and four probe resistance measuring instrument.The crystal structures and surface morphology of the films were characterized using XRD and optical microscope,respectively.The obtained results show that the ultraviolet-shielding rate of the glass substrates with CeO2-TiO2 films is not less than 90%,and transmittance in visible lights can reach 65%.With the thickness of the SnO2:Sb film increasing,its conductivity became better,and the surface resistance is about 260 Ω/ when the SnO2:Sb films were deposited 11 cycles of the dip on the pre-coated CeO2-TiO2 glass.The ultraviolet-shielding rate of the glass substrates with double functional films is higher than 97%,and the peak transmittance in the visible lights is 72%.Additionally,with increasing the heat treatment time,the Na+ of the glass substrates diffuses into the films,resulting in the particle size of SnO2 crystal smaller.     

Structure and chemical states of highly eptiaxial CeO2（001） films grown on SrTiO_3 substrate by laser molecular beam epitaxy

Highly epitaxial and pure（001）-oriented CeO2 films were grown on SrTiO3（001） substrates by laser molecular beam epitaxy method without any gas ambient.Layer-by-layer epitaxial growth mode of CeO2 was confirmed by in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction（RHEED） observations.High-resolution X-ray diffraction（HRXRD） and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy（HRTEM） results indicated the STO（100）//CeO2（100）,STO[100]//CeO2 [110] epitaxial relationship for out-of-plane and in-plane,respectively.The formation mechanism of the epitaxial film was also discussed in the light of a theoretical model.Chemical states of the LMBE ceria films were evaluated and evidences for the existence of Ce3＋and oxygen vacancies were presented.     

Structural and mechanical properties of La_(1/3)NbO_3 and La_(1/3)TaO_3 thin films prepared by chemical solution deposition

In this work, properties of perovskite lanthanum niobate La_(1/3)NbO_3(LN) and tantalate La_(1/3)TaO_3(LT)transparent thin films(~200 nm thickness) prepared by chemical solution deposition on Pt/SiO_2/Si substrates were described. The precursors and films were analyzed using FTIR and XPS spectra, XRD and SEM imaging. The both films after annealing at 1100 ℃ contained perovskite phase with a small fraction of pyrochlore LaNb_5 O_(14)(in LN). The heterogeneous micro structure of LN film was composed from spherical or needle-like particles and homogeneous LT film that resulted in significant changes of their mechanical properties. The elastic modulus and hardness of these films were characterized for the first time by conventional and continuous stiffness(CSM) nanoindentation. The LT film modulus(E) and hardness(H) were higher(~105.7 and 5.3 GPa) than LN(~91.5 and 3.8 GPa). The effect of microstructure on mechanical properties is significant. In addition, the average Derjaguin-Muller-Toporov(DMT)-based elastic modulus of LN film surface were estimated ~50 GPa using AFM PeakForce QNM elastic mapping. The findings presented here can contribute to the fabrication of LN and LT films for the application to electrolytic thin film devices.     

Preparation of La MnO_3/graphene thin films and their photocatalytic activity

A novel photocatalyst of La MnO3/graphene thin films with the perovskite-type was synthesized by sol-gel process assisted with spin-coating methods on glass substrates.The prepared samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM), transmission electron microscopy(TEM), X-ray diffraction(XRD), Brumauer-Emmett-Teller(BET) surface area analyzer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy.Results showed that after the introduction of graphene, the perovskite structure was unchanged and the size of La MnO3 particles was about 22 nm, which uniformed growth in graphene sheet.Determination of contact angle indicated that the contact angle of glass substrate decreased and the hydrophilicity improved after treating with H2SO4 and APTES.The UV-Vis photocatalytic activity of the photocatalysts was evaluated by the degradation of diamine green B.La MnO3/graphene thin films had better photocatalytic ability than La MnO3 and Ti O2 films.The obtained k was 0.5627 and 0.3441 h–1 corresponding to La MnO3/graphene films and Ti O2 films, respectively.     

Humidity sensing properties of La^3＋ and K^＋ co-doped Ti0.9Sn0.1O2 thin films

The humidity sensing properties of La3+ and K+ co-doped Ti0.9Sn0.1O2 thin films were investigated. The humidity sensitive thin films were prepared by sol-gel method on alumina substrates. The sensing behaviors of thin films were inspected at different sintering temperatures by constructing a humidity-impedance measuring system. It was found that the addition of rare earth ion La3+ and alkali ion K+ was beneficial for improving the humidity sensitive properties of the samples and La0.003K0.5Ti0.9Sn0.1O2 sintered at 500 ℃ for 4 h showed the best humidity sensing properties. The impedance of this thin film decreased from 109 to 104 Ω with excellent linearity in the humidity range of 11%-95%. Narrow hysteresis loop, prominent stability and high sensitivity were obtained. The effects of dopant con-tent and doping mechanism on humidity sensitivity were also discussed in terms of segregation of rare earth ions at grain boundaries and granularity of crystalline and influence of K+ on the decrease in the intrinsic resistance of the materials, and increase in the number of wa-ter adsorption sites.     

Preparation,characterization and catalytic oxidation property of CeO2/Cu2+-attapulgite （ATP） nanocomposites

Cerium oxide(CeO2) coated on copper modified attapulgite clay nanocomoposite(CeO2/Cu2+-ATP) was prepared by homogeneous deposition method.The microstructures of the as-prepared CeO2/Cu2+-ATP nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD),energy-dispersive spectrometer(EDS) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM).The results indicated that CeO2 particles with average size of about 5 nm were loaded onto the Cu2+-ATP and were widely dispersed.Comparing the catalytic activity of ATP/CeO2 and CeO2/Cu2+-ATP,the catalytic activity was improved when a small quantity of Cu2+ was introduced.The loading amount of CeO2 and reaction temperature had important effects on decolorization ratio of methyl orange(MO).When the loading amount and reaction temperature were 70% and 338 K,respectively,the decolorization ratio of MO reached over 99%,which showed excellent catalytic activity.     

Preparation and Characterization of Nanocrystalline CeO2 by Precipitation Method

CeO2 nanocrystalline particulates with different sizes were prepared by precipitation method using ethanol as dispersive and protective reagent. XRD spectra show that the synthesized CeO2 has cubic crystalline structure of space group OH^H-FM3M, when calcination temperature is in the range of 250 - 800 ℃. TEM images reveal that CeO2 particles are spherical in shape. The average size of the particles increases with the increase of calcination temperature. Thermogravimetric analysis indicates that the weight loss of precursor mainly depends on the calcination temperature, and little depends on the calcination time. Measurements of CeO2 relative density show that the relative density of CeO2 nanocrystalline powders increases with increasing CeO2 particle size.     

Influence of concentration and sintering temperature on luminescence properties of Eu^3＋：SnO2 nanocrystallites

The nanopowders of SnO2 doped with different Eu3+ concentrations were synthesized using the modified Pechini method. The Eu3+ concentrations were high above solubility limit. The average size of crystallites was controlled by the sintering temperatures. The structure and the morphology of obtained powders were examined using the XRD (X-ray diffraction) and TEM (transmission electron microscopy) analyses. The Eu2Sn2O7 phase separation was observed at relatively high concentration of Eu3+ ions. The ZnS:Ag micropowders were mixed with the Eu3+:SnO2 powders and their normalized emission was used to measure a relative efficiency of Eu3+:SnO2. The photoluminescence spectra of mixed powders were measured in function of Eu3+ concentration and average size of nanocrystallites. The reference peak method was used for comparison of intensities of the samples and selection of optimal one. The influence of the average grain size and Eu3+ concen-tration on the phosphor’s efficiency was discussed. The presented results confirmed the rightness of synthesis of the Eu3+:SnO2 in form of nanocrystalites with relatively high Eu3+ concentration.     

Preparation,characterization and infrared emissivity study of Ce-doped ZnO films

Ce-doped ZnO films were prepared by the sol-gel method with spin coating onto glass substrates.Zinc acetate dihydrate,ethanol,diethanolamine and cerium nitrate hexahydrate were used as starting material,solvent,stabilizer and dopant source,respectively.Structure and microstructure of the films were characterized with X-ray diffraction(XRD),field emission-scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM) and the energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry(EDS).The infrared properties were also investigated.It was found that Ce-...     

Modification of ZnS∶Mn Phosphors by Sb-Doped SnO2 Coating

The coating of ZnS∶Mn by Sb-doped SnO2 using an co-precipitation process was reported. ZnS∶Mn phosphor particles were prepared by solid reaction with ZnS and MnCl2·4H2O. Surface modification of the ZnS∶Mn powders was carried out by coating transparent conductive films of Sb-doped tin oxides which were formed by co-precipitation and heat treatment process. Tin tetrachloride and antimony trichloride were used as the precursor materials for the co-precipitation. The influences of coating molar ratio, Sb concentration in the coatings, annealing temperature and time on the resistivity of coated ZnS∶Mn phosphors were investigated. The optimum co-precipitation processing parameters and annealing conditions were determined. The phosphors were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), photoluminescence(PL) observation and conductance measurements. An improvement in phosphors conductivity was observed while the respective photoluminescence intensity is analogous to the as-prepared ZnS∶Mn phosphors.     

Optical properties and irradiation resistance of novel high-entropy oxide glasses La2O3-TiO2-Nb2O5-WO3-M2O3(M=B/Ga/In)

A new class of high-entropy oxide glasses 20LaO_3/2-20TiO₂-20NbO_5/2-20WO₃-20MO_3/2(M=B/Ga/In)were designed and successfully fabricated by aerodynamic containerless processing.The results show that one can control the properties and increase the functionality of glass by changing the type of M.The Vicker’s hardness reaches the highest value of 6.45 GPa for glass M=B.The best thermal stability and the glass forming ability,measured using the gla...     

Sol-gel preparation of La-doped bismuth ferrite thin film and its low-temperature ferromagnetic and ferroelectric properties

Bi0.85La0.15FeO3 thin film was prepared on ATO glass substrates by sol-gel technique. The effect of La doping on phase structure, film surface quality, ion valence, and ferroelectric/magnetic properties of Bi0.85La0.15FeO3 film were investigated. La dop-ing suppressed the formation of impurity phases and the transition of Fe3+ to Fe2+ ions at room temperature. Compared with the un-doped BiFeO3, La-doping also increased the average grain size and the film density, which resulted in the decrease of film leakage current density. The remanent polarization and saturation magnetization were enhanced significantly by La doping. The remanent polarization of Bi0.85La0.15FeO3 films gradually decreased while saturation magnetization increased with the decrease of measuring temperature within a range from 50 to 300 K.     

Thermal Stability and Tribological Properties of Fluorinated Amorphous Carbon Thin Films Doped With Nitrogen

Nitrogen doped fluorinated amorphous carbon thin films（a-C:N:F）were prepared by radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition（rf-PECVD）under different deposited condition using CH4,CF₄,and N₂ as source gases.The thin films were annealed at different temperature.The influence of doped nitrogen on the chemical structure,tribological and thermal properties of thin films were investigated by Atomic force microscopy（AFM）,Fourier transform infrared absorption spectrometry（FTIR）,X-ray photoelectron spectrum spectra（XPS）,and thermogravimetry（TG）.The results indicated that the thin films presence a compact and smooth morphology surface after the nitrogen doped.After incorporation of nitrogen,the H atoms are replaced partially by the N atoms in the thin films.The degree of cross-linking of the carbon network in the thin films is enhanced.The chemical bonds of C=N,C≡N,and C-Nx（x=1,2,3）have formed in the films.The relative content of sp² graphite phase increases.The thermal stability temperature of the films deposited atγ=0.5（γ=N₂/[CF₄+CH₄+N₂]）is 420℃.The tribological properties improve greatly,and the friction coefficient of the a-C:N:F thin films ranges approximately from 0.20 to 0.36.     

Preparation and morphology of nano-size ceria by a stripping precipitation using oxalic acid as a precipitating agent

The precursors organic cerium deposits were obtained by a stripping precipitation method from cerium-loaded P507 organic phase using oxalic acid as a precipitating agent and nano-sized ceria particles were prepared by calcining the precursors at 500 °C. The morpholo-gies, phase structure of the precursors and ceria particles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TG-DSC) and infrared spectroscopy analysis (FTIR). The results indicated that the concentration of oxalic acid had a little impact on the morphology of the precursors, which was blocky-shape Ce2(C2O4)3·10H2O with a monoclinic lattice structure. With the volume ratio of organic phase and oxalic acid aqueous solution (aqueous phase) varied from 1:3 to 1:6, the morphologies of the precursors Ce2(C2O4)3·10H2O precipitates gradually changed from inhomogeneous blocky-shape to uniform spherical particles. The precursors could be turned to CeO2 crystal particles with a fluorite structure by calcining, and the products ceria particles were similar in the size and morphology to the precursors.     

Magnetic and magnetostrictive properties of amorphous TbFefFeAl multilayer thin film

Exchange coupling multilayer thin films, which combined giant magnetostriction and soft magnetic properties, were of growing interest for applications. The TbFe/FeAl multilayer thin films were prepared by dc magnetron sputtering onto glass substrates. The microstructure, magnetic, and magnetostrictive properties of TbFe/FeAl multilayer thin film was investigated at different annealing temperatures. The results indicated that the soft magnetic and magnetostrictive properties for TbFe/FeAlmultilayer thin film compared with TbFe single layer film were obviously improved./n comparison with the intrinsic coercivity JHo of 59.2 kA/m for TbFe single layer film, the intrinsic coercivity jHc for TbFe/FeAl multilayer thin films rapidly dropped to 29.6 kA/m. After optimal annealing （350 ℃×60 min）, magnetic properties of Hs=96 kA/m and jHc=16 kA/m were obtained, and magnetostrictive coefficient could reach to 574×10^-6 under an external magnetic field of 400 kA·m^-1 for the TbFe/FeA1 multilayer thin film.     

La3＋-doped SrBi2Ta209 thin films for FRAM synthesized by sol-gel method

This paper discusses the possibility of synthesis of SBTL sol-gel films for use as active layers for non-volatile memory （FRAM）. La-doped SrBi2Ta209 thin films were synthesized by sol-gel method on Pt/TiO2/BPSG/SiO2/Si substrates. The structural features of the surface （AFM）, crystallization behavior （XRD） during the heating and ferroelectric properties of synthesized films were discussed. It was shown that an optimum surface structure and a high share of perovskite phase of SBTL-films were compared to SBT-films （Theating=800 ℃）. Achieved ferroelectric parameters suggested the possibility of using synthesized SBTL sol-gel films in non-volatile memory devices.     

Structure and Waveguide Properties of Sol-Gel Derived Gd2O3 Films

Pure and rare earth doped gadolinium oxide (Gd2O3) waveguide films were prepared by a simple sol-gel process and dip-coating method. Structure of Gd2O3 films annealed at different temperature was investigated by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Oriented growth of (400) face of Gd2O3 has been observed when the films were deposited on amorphous substrate. The refractive index and thickness of films were determined by m-lines spectroscopy. The laser beam (λ= 632.8 nm) was coupled into the film by a prism coupler and the propagation length is about 3.5 cm. Luminescence properties of europium ions doped films were measured by waveguide fluorescence spectroscopy, which shows disordered environment for Eu^3 at 400℃.     

Effect of hydroxyl groups on hydrophilic and photocatalytic activities of rare earth doped titanium dioxide thin films

Rare earth(Y, La and Nd) doped TiO2 thin films were prepared on glass slides by sol-gel method. The photocatalytic decomposition of methylene blue in aqueous solution was used as a probe reaction to evaluate their photocatalytic activities. The effects of hydroxyl groups on hydrophilic and photocatalytic activities were investigated by means of techniques such as X-ray diffraction(XRD), atomic force microscopy(AFM), Fourier transform infrared(FTIR), optical contact angle, UV-Visible spectroscopy and VIS spectroscopy. The results showed that an appropriate doping of rare earth could cause the TiO2 lattice distortion, inhibited phase transition from anatase to rutile, accelerated surface hydroxylation and produced more hydroxyl groups, which resulted in a denser surface and smaller grains(40–60 nm), and a significant improvement in the hydrophilicity and photoreactivity of TiO2 thin films. The optimal content of rare earth was between 0.1 wt.% and 0.3 wt.%. Moreover, the modification mechanism of rare earth doping was also discussed.     

Effect of Post Annealing on the Microstructure and Magnetic Properties of NdFeB/α-Fe/NdFeB Thin Films

A series of nanocomposite thin films, composed of Nd2Fe14B and α-Fe, has been prepared by DC-magnetron sputtering combined ion beam sputtering onto Si (100) substrates. The effects of post annealing on the microstructure and magnetic properties of [NdFeB/α-Fe/NdFeB]-type thin films have been investigated. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) study showed that annealing of the films for 30min at temperatures 550,600,650,700℃ resulted in the appearance of diffraction peaks, characteristic for Nd2Fe14B tetragonal structure, α-Fe and Nd2O3 phases. The investigation using the Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) with a maximum applied field of 2 T indicated that with the increase of the annealing temperature, the magnetic properties of the multilayer films were improved and reached peak value at 650℃ (Hci=41.72kA·m-1, Mr/Ms=0.4, (BH)max=30.35kJ·m-3), after which the magnetic properties were decreased greatly. Along with the increase of the thickness of α-Fe layer from Tα-Fe16nm, the coercivity Hci, saturation magnetization Ms, and remanence ratio Mr/Ms all declined. As the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) indicated, after being annealed at 650℃ for 30min, the sample was showed fine surface morphology with grain size 60nm≤dα-Fe≤80nm and 100nm≤dNdFeB≤150nm.     

Structures and oxygen storage capacities of CeO2-ZrO2-Al2O3 ternary oxides prepared by a green route： supercritical anti-solvent precipitation

CeO2-ZrO2-Al2O3 ternary oxides were successfully prepared by a green route of supercritical anti-solvent precipitation with supercritical CO2 as anti-solvent and methanol as solvent.The structures and oxygen storage capacities of these ternary oxides were characterized by XRD,Raman spectra and oxygen storage capacity measurements.It was found that Al 3+ and Zr 4+ inserted into CeO2 lattice,forming CeO2-ZrO2-Al2O3 solid solution.The concentration of aluminium isopropoxide in the solution affected the concentration of oxygen vacancy and the distortion of oxygen sublattice which were responsible for the oxygen storage capacity.The rapidest oxygen uptake/release rate and maximum total oxygen storage capacity(122.0 mmolO2/molCeO2)were obtained with the aluminium isopropoxide concentration at 0.2 wt.% in the solution.