Crystallite structure, surface morphology and optical properties of In_2O_3-TiO_2 composite thin films by sol-gel method

摘要

The transparent In_2O_3-TiO_2 composite thin films in nanoscales were prepared via sol-gel method on the float glass substrates, and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman scattering microscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV-vis spectrophotometer, and Hall-effect testing. It was found that the addition of In_2O_3 to TiO_2 thin films could suppress the grain growth of TiO_2 crystals and increase the surface smooth degree, the conductivity, carriers' concentration and mobility of the as-prepared TiO_2 films. The band gap energy of the as-prepared In_2O_3-TiO_2 composite thin films increases from 3.36 eV to 3.44 eV with the increment of In-ingredient in the precursor sols, which provides the potential application of the as-prepared composite thin film using as the anode of the dye-sensitized solar cells to improve the open-circuit voltage.