Zirconium titanate thin film prepared by an aqueous particulate sol–gel spin coating process using carboxymethyl cellulose as dispersant

This paper deals with the preparation of ZrTiO4 thin film by a novel aqueous particulate sol–gel deposition method using carboxymethyl cellulose as dispersant. The structural characterization was performed by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. According to the results, the amorphous xerogel crystallizes to polycrystalline ZrTiO4 nanoparticles due to structural ordering conducted by calcination at 700 °C. A well-covering, crack-free, and homogeneous ZrTiO4 thin film was processed, which is attributable to the efficient role of the dispersing agent in the aqueous sol. It was also found that the outermost layer of the coating surface consists of nanoparticles with 20 nm in size.

► CMC was used to improve the quality of the ZrTiO4 thin film. ► The film surface contained nanoparticles of 20 nm in size. ► Polycrystalline nanoparticles were prepared by calcination at 700 °C.