Physical Investigations on Ti:ZnO Thin Films by Sol-Gel Spin Coating to Detect Acetone

Abstract

The ZnO and Ti:ZnO thin films were deposited on ordinary glass, quartz glass, substrates by sol‐gel spin coating. The atomic percent (at.%) of Titanium (Ti) in ZnO is varied from 1 to 6. The deposited thin films were characterized by Grazing Incidence X‐ray diffraction (GIXRD) for structural determination, High ‐ resolution Scanning Electron Microscopy (HRSEM) to determine microstructure, optical transmittance to know the type of optical transition in the films. The structure of the ZnO and Ti:ZnO films was determined by Grazing Incidence X‐ray diffraction (GIXRD). The ZnO films were observed to be crystallizes in Hexagonal wurtzite structure with (002) orientation, where as Ti:ZnO films were amorphous. The intensity of (002) decrease with increasing Ti at.%. The grain size is 20 nm and is decreasing to 10 nm with increasing Ti at.%. The HRSEM images of Ti (1%):ZnO and Ti (6%):ZnO thin films reveals that the films contain nanoflakes of uniform size. These flakes contain spherical nanoparticles of uniform size. The samples were tested for their sensitivity for 300 and 600 ppm of acetone and is maximum for films contain 1 at. % of Titanium.