In
this contribution, the structural and electronic effects of
fluoride doping in both crystalline and amorphous indium oxides are
investigated by both experimental and theoretical techniques. Pristine
crystalline and amorphous fluoride-doped indium oxide (F:In–O)
phases were prepared by solution-based combustion synthesis and sol–gel
techniques, respectively. The chemical composition, environment, and
solid-state microstructure of these materials were extensively studied
with a wide array of state-of-the-art techniques such as UV–vis,
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, 19F and 115In solid-state NMR, high-resolution transmission
electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and extended X-ray absorption fine structure
(EXAFS) as well as by density functional theory (DFT) computation
combined with MD simulations. Interestingly, the UV–vis data
reveal that while the band gap increases upon F–-doping in the crystalline phase, it decreases in the amorphous phase.
The 19F solid-state NMR data indicate that upon fluorination,
the InO3F3 environment predominates in the crystalline
oxide phase, whereas the InO4F2 environment
is predominant in the amorphous oxide phase. The HR-TEM data indicate
that fluoride doping inhibits crystallization in both crystalline
and amorphous In–O phases, a result supported by the 115In solid-state NMR, EXAFS, and DFT-MD simulation data. Thus, this
study establishes fluoride as a versatile anionic agent to induce
disorder in both crystalline and amorphous indium oxide matrices,
while modifying the electronic properties of both, but in dissimilar
ways.