Preparation of Nanostructured Fluorine Doped Tin Oxide (FTO) by Hydrothermal Method

Abstract

This study demonstrates the fabrication of nanostructured FTO by hydrothermal method. It was directly synthesized on FTO glass substrate by using pentahydrated stannic chloride (SnCl 4 .5H 2 O) and ammonium fluoride (NH 4 F) as precursors. Different synthesis time was applied which were 5h, 10h and 24h. The characteristics of nanostructured FTO were investigated via field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), two-point probe current-voltage test and ultraviolet visible spectrometer (UV-Vis). The FESEM images revealed the growth of nanosized particles layer on the FTO substrate. The electrical properties studied have shown a degeneration of conductivity as the thickness of nanostructured layer increased. UV-Vis results showed the decrement of transmittance as the time duration increased. It was revealed through FESEM characterization that the nanostructured FTO can be improved by using dibutyltin diacetate (DBTA) as a precursor.