Sol–gel nanocrystalline ZnO:Ag films: Structural and optical properties

• Sol–gel ZnO:Ag films deposited by spin coating and annealed at 500–800 °C range in nitrogen and oxygen ambients.
• The formation of silver nanoparticles is proved by XRD study.
• No silver oxide phases are traced by XRD and FTIR analyses.
• ZnO:Ag films reveal plasmonic absorption features.

The paper presents a sol–gel approach for deposition of ZnO:Ag composite films. The films are obtained by spin coating method on quartz and Si substrates. The effect of the annealing temperatures (500–800 °C) and the gas ambient (oxygen and nitrogen) has been studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Optical properties are investigated by UV–VIS spectroscopy. The transmittance spectra of ZnO:Ag films are differed from ZnO spectra and manifest absorption features due to silver nanoparticles formation.