On the sol pH and the structural, optical and electrical properties of ZnO thin films

•A high crystallinity for an optimal pH value 9.5.•Better transmittance as higher as 80% was obtained.•A huge increase in resistivity and a large drop in the free carriers' density were observed.•A minimum residual intrinsic electrons' density suitable for p-type ZnO was reached.

Zinc oxide thin films were prepared by the sol-gel method and deposed on glass substrate using spin coating technique. The variation of the structural, optical and electrical properties with various pH values is investigated. pH values of the sol were adjusted with glacial acetic acid and ammonia. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the films with alkaline sol are crystallized while those with acidic sol are amorphous. High values of texture coefficient and a high diffraction intensity of the (002) peak, ensuring better growth along c-axis, were obtained for an optimal pH value of 9.5. The crystallite size of the obtained films strongly depends on the sol pH. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images confirm that the morphology and grain size of the films are affected significantly by pH. The optical transmission was recorded to analyze the optical properties of the studied films. It was found that the optical gap increased with pH. The electrical properties were measured by Hall-effect and reveal an increase of the resistivity when the sol pH increases. A minimum residual intrinsic electrons density suitable for p-type ZnO was reached.