Fabrication of Al-Doped ZnO Film with High Conductivity Induced by Photocatalytic Activity

Abstract

We have fabricated Al-doped ZnO films by a spin-spray method, achieving high conductivity by Al-ion doping and photocatalytic activity of the ZnO. The surface morphology of the as-deposited films was varied by changing the Al concentration and addition of citrate ions. As-deposited Al-doped ZnO film without citrate ions showed rod array structure with increasing rod width as the Al concentration was increased. Meanwhile, Al-doped ZnO film deposited with addition of citrate ions changed to exhibit dense and continuous surface morphology with high transmittance of 85%. The lowest resistivity recorded for undoped and Al-doped ZnO film was 2.1 9 10 À2 X cm and 5.9 9 10 À3 X cm, after ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. The reason for the decreased resistivity is thought to be that Al-ion doping and the photocatalytic activity of ZnO contributed to improve the conductivity.

Regulating Interfacial Desolvation and Deposition Kinetics Enables Durable Zn Anodes with Ultrahigh Utilization of 80%

“…In general, the electrical conduction behavior of materials can be regulated by heteroatomic doping, AZO has been extensively investigated as a transparent conductive oxide alternative for photovoltaics owing to its metallic conductivity and low-cost. [62][63][64][65] Inspired by its merits, AZO was chosen as a multifunctional protective layer to ensure the reversibility and durability of Zn anodes particularly under harsh service conditions (e.g., ultrahigh current density/areal capacity and high Zn utilization) (Figure 1b). The AZO is deposited on the Zn surface via magnetron sputtering to fabricate AZO@Zn anode.…”

Zn-Al Layered Double Hydroxide Thin Film Fabricated by the Sputtering Method and Aqueous Solution Treatment

“…Therefore, we focused on the previous metal oxide-based LDH synthesis study [14] and we aim to fabricate LDH containing a host layer, which corresponds to Al doped ZnO (AZO). If a host layer of AZO is present, the organic decomposition reaction occurs via the photocatalytic reaction of ZnO, and the band energy can be controlled using UV irradiation [15]. When applied to the field of photocatalysts, the wide absorbance of Zn-Al LDH can be expected to increase the efficiency of light energy.…”

Influence of Surface Morphology and Conductivity on Photocatalytic Performance of Solution‐Processed Zinc Oxide Film

“…However, ZnO film fabricated by solution processing, such as sol–gel and hydrothermal methods, contains a large amount of organic substances in the film that result in degradation of electrical conductivity . Thus, postannealing processes at high temperature are used to improve the electrical conductivity after deposition of the film .…”

“…[10] However,Z nO film fabricated by solution processing, such as sol-gel and hydrothermal methods, contains al arge amount of organics ubstances in the film that result in degradation of electrical conductivity. [11] Thus,p ostannealing processes at high temperature are used to improve the electrical conductivity after deposition of the film. [12,13] However,t his causes changes to the crystallographic property,a nd the process is difficult to apply in flexible electronicd evices that use plastic substrates.…”