Low-Cost One-Step Fabrication of Highly Conductive ZnO:Cl Transparent Thin Films with Tunable Photocatalytic Properties via Aerosol-Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition

Abstract

Low-cost, high-efficiency, and high quality Cl-doped ZnO (ZnO:Cl) thin films that can simultaneously function as transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) and photocatalysts are described. The films have been fabricated by a facile and inexpensive solution-source aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition technique using NH 4 Cl as an effective, cheap, and abundant source of Cl. Successful Cl O substitutional doping in the ZnO films was evident from powder X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry results, while scanning electron microscopy reveals the impact of Cl doping on the ZnO thin film morphology. All ZnO:Cl films deposited were transparent and uncolored; optical transmittance in the visible region (400−700 nm) exceeded 80% for depositions using 5−20 mol % Cl. Optimal electrical properties were achieved when using 5 mol % Cl with a minimum measured resistivity of (2.72 ± 0.04) × 10 −3 Ω•cm, in which the charge carrier concentration and mobility were measured at (8.58 ± 0.16) × 10 19 cm −3 and 26.7 ± 0.1 cm 2 V −1 s −1 respectively, corresponding to a sheet resistance (R sh ) of 41.9 Ω□ −1 at a thickness of 650 nm. In addition to transparent conducting properties, photocatalytic behavior of stearic acid degradation in the ZnO:Cl films was also observed with an optimal Cl concentration of 7 mol % Cl, with the highest formal quantum efficiency (ξ) measured at (1.63 ± 0.03) × 10 −4 molecule/photon, while retaining a visible transparency of 80% and resistivity ρ = (9.23 ± 0.13) × 10 −3 Ω•cm. The dual functionality of ZnO:Cl as both a transparent conductor and an efficient photocatalyst is a unique combination of properties making this a particularly unusual material.

Easy One-Pot Low-Temperature Synthesized Ag-ZnO Nanoparticles and Their Activity Against Clinical Isolates of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

“…The oxidation state of the chemical elements present in the AZO sample was evaluated by XPS analysis, and the binding energy signals of the Zn 2p and Ag 3d core levels are shown in Figure 3. Two strong signals were observed in the binding energy signals of Zn 2p at 1021.4 and 1044.4 eV (Figure 3A), which can be assigned to the binding energies of Zn 2p 3/2 and Zn 2p 1/2 , respectively (Jiamprasertboon et al, 2019). The presence of zinc as Zn 2+ in the nanomaterial was also confirmed by the energy difference calculated between Zn 2p 3/2 and Zn 2p 1/2 binding energy levels, which was ∼23.0 eV (Jiamprasertboon et al, 2019).…”

“…Two strong signals were observed in the binding energy signals of Zn 2p at 1021.4 and 1044.4 eV (Figure 3A), which can be assigned to the binding energies of Zn 2p 3/2 and Zn 2p 1/2 , respectively (Jiamprasertboon et al, 2019). The presence of zinc as Zn 2+ in the nanomaterial was also confirmed by the energy difference calculated between Zn 2p 3/2 and Zn 2p 1/2 binding energy levels, which was ∼23.0 eV (Jiamprasertboon et al, 2019). Furthermore, the formation of Ag nanoparticles was also evaluated by the binding energy signals of Ag 3d (Figure 3B).…”

Deposition Mechanism and Thickness Control of CVD SiC Coatings on NextelTM440 Fibers

“…Element analysis of the coated fibers revealed that the content of C increased while the contents of Al, Si and O decreased greatly. Moreover, the Cl 2p3/2 (~198 eV) peak and Cl 2s (~271 eV) peak were detected [18], indicating the absorption of HCl. As shown in Figure 4b, the C 1s peak could be fitted into two sub peaks, C-Si bond (282.6 eV) and C-C bond (283.2 eV) [19], which was attributed to SiC and carbon, respectively.…”

Net-Patterned Fluorine-Doped Tin Oxide to Accelerate the Electrochromic and Photocatalytic Interface Reactions

“…Moreover, the TCO can be used for photocatalysis application due to its advantageous electronic properties and conductivity [10][11][12][13]. For example, Khalaf et al demonstrated the photocatalytic behavior of Co-doped TiO2, and Jiamprasertboon et al reported the optimized photocatalytic properties of Cl-doped ZnO films with enhanced electrical and optical properties [14,15]. At this point, enhancing the electrical conductivity and transmittance of the TCO is suggested as one of the most effective strategies for improving the electro-chromic and photocatalytic performances.…”