The production of thin films of materials has become the attention of a great deal of research throughout academia and industry worldwide owing to the array of applications which utilise them, including electronic devices, gas sensors, solar cells, window coatings and catalytic systems. Whilst a number of deposition techniques are in common use, chemical vapour deposition (CVD) is an attractive process for the production of a wide range of materials due to the control it offers over film composition, coverage and uniformity, even on large scales. Conventional CVD processes can be limited, however, by the need for suitably volatile precursors. Aerosol-assisted (AA)CVD is a solution-based process which relies on the solubility of the precursor, rather than its volatility and thus vastly extends the range of potentially applicable precursors. In addition, AACVD offers extra means to control film morphology and concurrently the properties of the deposited materials. In this perspective we discuss the AACVD process, the influence of deposition conditions on film characteristics and a number of materials and applications to which AACVD has been found beneficial.

High antimicrobial efficacy of Cu and Cu2O films, deposited via aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition, was observed against E. coli and S. aureus.

We report the first antimicrobial study of transparent and robust Cu-doped ZnO coatings that displayed potent antimicrobial activity that resulted in bacterial (Escherichia coli) reduction below detection limits within 6 h of illumination via a white light source that is found in hospital environments. The same bacterial reduction rate was observed even under darkness for 4.0 atom % Cu-doped ZnO films thus providing an efficient 24 h disinfection. All films were produced via a novel, inexpensive, and easily scalable route and were also thoroughly analyzed for their material properties.

Aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) reactions of InMe3 and a mono-functional or donor-functional alcohol have been investigated and the resulting film morphology studied using scanning electron microscopy. AACVD of InMe3 and 6 equivalents of the donor-functionalized alcohol HOCH2CH2NMe2 in toluene resulted in the deposition of transparent indium oxide films, with a slight brown tinge, at 450°C. In contrast, AACVD of InMe3 and 6 equivalents of MeOH in toluene resulted in no film growth. However, use of methanol as both the solvent and oxygen source via AACVD of InMe3 in MeOH at a range of temperatures (350–500°C) afforded crystalline transparent indium oxide films. Similarly, AACVD of InMe3 and 6 equivalents of HOCH2CH2NMe2 in MeOH resulted in transparent indium oxide films with better substrate coverage. The indium oxide films were analyzed by a range of techniques including scanning electron microscopy, glancing-angle X-ray powder diffraction, UV-visible spectroscopy, and wavelength dispersive analysis of X-rays, which confirmed the formation of cubic In2O3 with band-gaps in the range 3.51–3.60 eV. Scanning electron microscopy showed a variation in film morphology and indicated that both temperature and the use of methanol influenced the resulting microstructure. Sheet resistance and Hall effect measurements indicate that the films deposited at 450°C are suitable candidates for transparent conducting oxide materials.