Transparent, conducting ATO thin films by epoxide-initiated sol-gel chemistry: a highly versatile route to mixed-metal oxide films.

A robust synthesis approach to transparent conducting oxide (TCO) materials using epoxide assisted sol-gel chemistry is reported. The new route utilizes simple tin and antimony chloride precursors in aqueous solution, thus eliminating the need for organometallic precursors. Propylene oxide acts as a proton scavenger and drives metal hydroxide formation and subsequent polycondensation reactions. Thin films of antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO) were prepared by dip-coating of mixed metal oxide sols. After annealing at 600 °C in air, structural, electrical and optical properties of undoped and Sb-doped tin oxide films were characterized. Single layer films with 5 mol % Sb doping exhibited an optical transparency which was virtually identical to that of the plain glass substrate and an electrical resistivity of 2.8 × 10(-2) Ω cm. SEM and AFM analysis confirmed the presence of surface defects and cracks which increased with increasing Sb dopant concentration. Multiple depositions of identical ATO films showed a roughly 1 order of magnitude decrease in the film resistivity after the third layer, with typical values below 5 × 10(-3) Ω cm. This suggests that a second and third deposition fill up residual cracks and defects in the first layer and thus brings out the full performance of the ATO material. The epoxide-assisted sol chemistry is a promising technique for the preparation of mixed oxide thin film materials. Its superiority over conventional alkoxide and metal salt-based methods is explained in the context of a general description of the reaction mechanism.