1. Investigation of the physical, optical, and chemical properties of phase segregated AlCoOx thin films from a novel hexol-type cluster
- Author
-
William H. Casey, David A. Marsh, Meredith C. Sharps, Darren W. Johnson, Jordan D. Levine, and Elizabeth A. Cochran
- Subjects
Materials science ,chemistry.chemical_element ,02 engineering and technology ,010402 general chemistry ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,01 natural sciences ,0104 chemical sciences ,Amorphous solid ,Inorganic Chemistry ,chemistry ,Chemical engineering ,Aluminium ,Phase (matter) ,Cluster (physics) ,Crystallite ,Thin film ,0210 nano-technology ,Nanoscopic scale ,Cobalt oxide - Abstract
The use of a novel inorganic nanoscale cluster (Al[(μ-OH)2Co(NH3)4]3(NO3)6) was investigated for its utility as a precursor for AlCoOx films. Mixed-metal aluminum and cobalt oxide thin films were solution deposited from the novel cluster solution via the spin-coating method on Si (100) and quartz substrates. The films were annealed at increasing temperatures up to 800 °C, and characterization of these films via TEM and XRD confirms binary Co3O4 crystalline phase present in an amorphous Al2O3 network. Films are relatively smooth (Rrms < 4 nm), polycrystalline, and demonstrate a tunable optical response dominated by Co3O4 with two electronic transitions.
- Published
- 2021