Films of Sn-doped ZrO2 were prepared using the sol–gel based dip-coating technique. The X-ray diffraction patterns showed a tetragonal structure with a preferential orientation along the (111) plane. The average grain size of the samples varies from 9.53 to 12.64 nm. Thermal analysis revealed endothermic peaks in the range 84–90 °C and exothermic peaks appearing in the range 489–531 °C. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra depicted bands located at 612 and 736 cm−1, which are attributed to stretching mode and asymmetric vibrations of Zr–O and O–Zr–O bonds respectively. All films exhibited high transmittance in the visible range above 60% and the optical band gap (Eg) decreases from 4.085 to 4.061 eV. The impedance measurements show that the equivalent circuit of the samples is an RpCp where Cp is the capacitance of the layer and Rp its resistance. The electrical conductivity was found to follows an Arrhenius law with two activation energies.

The present work is carried out within the framework of a research project launched within the physical engineering laboratory at the University of Tiaret in Algeria. The objective is to optimize the conditions for producing thin films of pure spinel oxides doped with different metallic elements. Thus, in this part, we prepared thin films of pure CuMn2O4 and doped with Bi and Cd at rates of 6 and 9% by the sol-gel Dip-coating method. The materials obtained exhibit acceptable crystallinity, excellent optical transmittance with bandgap energies of between 1.64 eV and 1.9 eV and good electrical conductivity.