Physicochemical properties of SnO2-Sb2O5 films prepared by the spray pyrolysis technique

The properties of SnO2-Sb2O5 mixed-oxide films prepd. by the spray pyrolysis method were studied under different synthesis conditions. The film d., measured by profilometry and by a spectrophotometric method, was close to that reported in the literature for cryst. tin dioxide. Anal. by energy dispersive spectrometry and x-ray photo-electron spectroscopy showed that the Sb/Sn atom ratio in the films was in all cases about 2.5 times larger with respect to that in the precursor soln. Microstructural characterization by wide-angle x-ray scattering indicates that the deposits consist of large sized crystallites. The influence of the substrate temp. (T) on the av. crystallite size (l) has shown that l decreases linearly with T. SEM showed that the surface of films thinner than 0.5-0.8 mm is flat with only a limited no. of emerging particles. [on SciFinder (R)]