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Effects of grain refinement and disorder on the electronic properties of nanocrystalline NiO

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Abstract

Nanocrystalline NiO thin films have been grown on different substrates by RF magnetron sputtering with mixed O2−Ar plasma composition. The oxygen content of the plasma was varied between 0 and 100 %. The films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS). SEM results reveal a grain refinement when oxygen is added to the plasma. This effect can also be observed by XRD, where an analysis of the peak width confirms this decrease in the grain size. The analysis of EXAFS data shows that the presence of O2 in the plasma induces lattice disorder, as evidenced by the observed increase of the Debye–Waller factor. These microstructural changes modify the electronic structure of the NiO thin films. The spectral line shape in Ni 2p XPS spectra shows clear differences between samples grown with and without O2 in the plasma. These differences can be explained in terms of the observed structural changes.

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Acknowledgements

This work has been supported by the Spanish MICINN, under projects ENE2010-21198-C04-04, MAT2011-27573-C04-04, and CSD2008-0023. We acknowledge the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) and the SpLine CRG beamline staff for provision of synchrotron radiation and for assistance during X-ray absorption experiments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Física Aplicada & Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales Nicolás Cabrera, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain

    G. Domínguez-Cañizares, A. Gutiérrez, D. Díaz-Fernández & L. Soriano

  2. Departamento de Física de la Materia Condensada & Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Aragón (CSIC), Universidad de Zaragoza, 50009, Saragossa, Spain

    J. Chaboy

  3. SpLine CRG BM25 Beamline, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, BP 220, 6 rue Jules Horowitz, 38043, Grenoble, France

    G. R. Castro

  4. Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, 3, 28049, Madrid, Spain

    G. R. Castro

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  1. G. Domínguez-Cañizares
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  2. A. Gutiérrez
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  3. J. Chaboy
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  4. D. Díaz-Fernández
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  5. G. R. Castro
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  6. L. Soriano
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Correspondence to A. Gutiérrez.

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Domínguez-Cañizares, G., Gutiérrez, A., Chaboy, J. et al. Effects of grain refinement and disorder on the electronic properties of nanocrystalline NiO. J Mater Sci 49, 2773–2780 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-013-7980-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-013-7980-7

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