Fabrication of negative thermal expansion ZrMo2O8 film by sol-gel method

► Cubic β-ZrMo2O8 film was first prepared via the sol-gel method. ► Crystalline precursor film transformed to amorphous gel film. ► The lattice parameters of the ZrMo2O8 film were a = b = c = 8.976 Å. ► Cubic β-ZrMo2O8 film shows good negative thermal expansion (CTE = −8.66 × 10−6 K−1). ► Cubic β-ZrMo2O8 film transformed to trigonal phase at 480 °C.