The influence of annealing temperature on the slip plane activity and optical properties of nanostructured ZnO films

► ZnO thin films were prepared by sol-gel method. ► CMWP procedures were used to evaluate the microstructure of films at different annealing temperatures. ► The optical band gap of films was determined as a function of annealing temperature. ► The optical band gap increases with crystallite size but decreases with strain and dislocation density.