International Journal of Minerals, Metallurgy and Materials
Volume 22, Number 5, May 2015, Page 543
DOI: 10.1007/s12613-015-1105-z
Corresponding author: Li-ping Wang E-mail: lpwang@mater.ustb.edu.cn
© The Author(s) 2015. This article is published with open access at SpringerLink.com
Preparation and characterization of oil-soluble In
2
O
3
nanoparticles and
In
2
O
3
–SnO
2
nanocomposites and their calcined thin films
Li-ping Wang, Xu-dong Xu, and Jia-xing Wang
Department of Materials Physics and Chemistry, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
(Received: 25 October 2014; revised: 5 March 2015; accepted: 6 March 2015)
Abstract: Oil-soluble In
2
O
3
nanoparticles and In
2
O
3
–SnO
2
nanocomposites were prepared in oleylamine via decomposition of metal acety-
lacetonate precursors. Thin films of In
2
O
3
and In
2
O
3
–SnO
2
were obtained by spin-coating solutions of the oil-soluble In
2
O
3
nanoparticles and
In
2
O
3
–SnO
2
nanocomposites onto substrates and then calcining them. Transmission electron microspectroscopy, scanning electron mi-
crospectroscopy, atomic force microspectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet–visible absorption, and photoluminescence spectroscopy
were used to investigate the properties of the nanoparticles and thin films. The In
2
O
3
nanoparticles were cubic-phased spheres with a diame-
ter of ~8 nm; their spectra exhibited a broad emission peak centered at 348 nm. The In
2
O
3
–SnO
2
nanocomposites were co-particles composed
of smaller In
2
O
3
particles and larger SnO
2
particles; their spectra exhibited a broad emission peak at 355 nm. After the In
2
O
3
–SnO
2
nano-
composites were calcined at 400°C, the obtained thin films were highly transparent and conductive, with a thickness of 30–40 nm; the sur-
faces of the thin films were smooth and crack-free.
Keywords: indium trioxide; tin dioxide; nanoparticles; nanocomposites; thin films; calcination
1. Introduction
In
2
O
3
is an important n-type transparent semiconductor
with a wide band gap (3.5–3.7 eV); it is widely used in solar
cells, optoelectronic devices, and gas sensors [1–4]. Differ-
ent phase structures, morphologies, and sizes of In
2
O
3
nanostructures can result in property variations. For instance,
the cubic phase of In
2
O
3
, which is one of the two crystal
structures of In
2
O
3
, usually exhibits high electrical conduc-
tivity [5]. As another example, the gas-sensing ability of
In
2
O
3
can increase dramatically with decreasing particle size
[6]. Hence, numerous investigations which are focused on
the phase, morphology, and size control of In
2
O
3
have been
reported [7–8].
The properties of In
2
O
3
can also be tuned by adding an-
other semiconductor component to form indium-based bi-
nary semiconductors as either doped nanoparticles or nano-
composites. On the one hand, as an important n-type semi-
conductor for gas sensing [9], SnO
2
is a good dopant candi-
date [10]. The doping of Sn into In
2
O
3
is a promising way to
improve the properties of In
2
O
3
, including its conducting
and sensing characteristics [11]. Sn-doped In
2
O
3
is an out-
standing transparent conducting oxide material with various
applications; it has been used as a transparent electrode ma-
terial in flat panel displays, light-emitting diodes, solar cells,
and sensors, and has been studied extensively [12–14]. On
the other hand, In
2
O
3
–SnO
2
nanocomposites exhibit superior
sensing properties, showing improved selectivity and sensi-
tivity for different toxic gases [15]. However, the literature
contains relatively few reports focused on the In
2
O
3
–SnO
2
nanocomposite system and further investigation is still needed.
In various applications, In
2
O
3
and In-based binary semi-
conductors are used in the form of thin films. For instance,
the properties of Sn-doped In
2
O
3
films rely primarily on the
preparation parameters of the films, such as their thickness
and particle size. Thin-film and thick-film devices respond
mainly to oxidizing and reducing gases, respectively [16].
Thin films can be prepared directly by various deposition
techniques, including pulsed laser deposition [17], magne-
tron sputtering [18], spray pyrolysis [19], and chemical va-
por deposition (CVD) [20]. Recently, film preparation by
means of previously obtained nanoparticles using solution