Characterizing crystalline chromium oxide thin film growth by sol-gel method on glass substrates

Abstract

In this work, nano-crystalline chromium oxide (Cr2O3) thin film was synthesized using the Sol-gel method. The thin film was deposited on a glass substrate at 50°C by using chromium nitrate, methanol, ethanol, polyvinyl alcohol with a magnetic stirrer device and a hot plate. Each deposited thin film annealed in the microwave oven at 200°C. The structure of the prepared thin film was examined by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD). The Shearer formula was used to calculate the size of the film granules. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to study the surface morphology. UV-Vis measurement was also carried out to study optical properties of a sample by recording transmittance and reflectance data in the range 341-800 nm wavelength. All the tests confirmed the existence of a thin layer of Cr2O3 on the glass substrates.