Solution combustion synthesis: towards a sustainable approach for metal oxides.

Solution combustion synthesis (SCS) has been widely used to produce simple and complex oxides with a desired morphology (size and shape). SCS is valuable due to low cost, simplicity and energy efficiency synthesis. To guarantee the best molecular-level mixing of reactants in an aqueous or solvent-based solution some parameters need to be controlled, such as fuel type, metal cations precursors, stoichiometry ratio (ɸ), pH effect, atmosphere and initiation type. These determine the final properties of the oxide materials, having the potentiality to reach different morphologies, which are essential for their final applications. This review focuses on the crucial parameters in SCS and how these affect the overall materials properties from nanostructures to thin films. To finalize, special attention is given to the application of SCS to form metal oxide thin films at low temperature and their application in thin film transistors (TFTs).