Effect of sol concentration on the structural, morphological, optical and photoluminescence properties of zirconia thin films

► ZrO2 thin films were deposited on quartz substrates by sol-gel method. ► Control of grain size with sol concentration. ► Microstructure studies showed a change in growth mode from vertical to lateral mode. ► The optical band gap decreased with increase in grain size and sol concentration. ► Dependence of photoluminescence on particle size leads to tailoring emission colour.