Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
1788436 Current Applied Physics 2010 6 Pages PDF
Abstract

Thin bismuth oxide films have been prepared by a modified Pechini route on glass substrate and annealed at temperatures ranging between 400 °C and 700 °C using bismuth nitrate as raw material. The thin films were then characterized for structural, surface morphological, optical and electrical properties by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical absorption and d.c. two-probe, respectively. Structural investigations indicated that as-prepared bismuth oxide films were polycrystalline and multiphase, and annealing temperatures played a key role in the composition and optical properties of these films. AFM and SEM images revealed well defined particles which are highly influenced by annealing temperatures. The optical studies showed a direct band gap which varied with annealing temperatures between 3.63 eV and 3.74 eV. The electrical measurement showed that the electrical resistivity increased with annealing temperatures and the films were typical semiconductors. As catalyst, bismuth oxide films annealed at 550 °C had the best photocatalytic performance for photodegradation of methyl orange.

Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Physics and Astronomy Condensed Matter Physics
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