Photocatalytic and electrically conductive transparent Cl-doped ZnO thin films via aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition

Arreerat Jiamprasertboon; Michael J. Powell; Sebastian C. Dixon; Raul Quesada-Cabrera; Abdullah M. Alotaibi; Yao Lu; Aoyun Zhuang; Sanjayan Sathasivam; Theeranun Siritanon; Ivan P. Parkin; Claire J. Carmalt

doi:10.1039/C8TA01420E

Photocatalytic and electrically conductive transparent Cl-doped ZnO thin films via aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition†

Arreerat Jiamprasertboon,^ab Michael J. Powell,

^b Sebastian C. Dixon,

^b Raul Quesada-Cabrera,^b Abdullah M. Alotaibi,^b Yao Lu,

^c Aoyun Zhuang,

^b Sanjayan Sathasivam,^b Theeranun Siritanon,^a Ivan P. Parkin

^b and Claire J. Carmalt

*^b

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a School of Chemistry, Institute of Science, Suranaree University of Technology, 111 University Avenue, Muang, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
E-mail: c.j.carmalt@ucl.ac.uk

^b Material Chemistry Centre, Department of Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London, UK

^c Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, London, UK

Abstract

A simple, economical and effective solution-based chemical vapour deposition (CVD) technique, aerosol-assisted CVD, has been successfully applied to produce inexpensive Cl-doped ZnO films using Zn acetate dihydrate and FeCl₃. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and the increase in cell parameters from powder X-ray diffraction determined that Cl had been doped into the wurtzite ZnO lattice. The Cl-doping had a significant effect on the morphology of the thin films synthesised and resulted in an improvement in the visible light transmission and lower electrical resistance (typical resistivities of doped films ∼10⁻² Ω cm). The highest transmittance (% T) of 85% was obtained when 7 mol% FeCl₃ was used in the precursor solution and the lowest resistivity of 4.28 ± 0.41 × 10⁻² Ω cm was obtained with 5 mol% FeCl₃. The greatest photocatalytic activity of stearic acid degradation under UVA irradiation was obtained on using 10 mol% FeCl₃, resulting in the highest formal quantum efficiency (FQE) of 3.0 ± 0.1 × 10⁻⁴ molecule per photon. These films, therefore, display transparent conducting oxide and photocatalytic properties, giving multifunctional characteristics and promising applications.

This article is part of the themed collection: Celebrating Excellence in Research: Women of Materials Science

Journal of Materials Chemistry A

Photocatalytic and electrically conductive transparent Cl-doped ZnO thin films via aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition†

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Photocatalytic and electrically conductive transparent Cl-doped ZnO thin films via aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition

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