Preparation of AlCl3:ITO Films Using Sol-Gel Dip Coating Method

This paper used the sol-gel dip-coating method to produce pure indium tin oxide (ITO) and ITO thin films doped with AlCl₃ at varying concentrations (50, 100, and 150 wt.%). Precursors such as InCl3 and SnCl4 were used in the synthesis. The synthesized ITO samples underwent thorough characterization using UV-Vis, atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (FE-SEM/EDX), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The XRD analysis revealed a strong peak for the (222) plane, showing that the indium oxide in the thin films is very well-organized. EDX analysis confirmed the presence of elements, including indium (In), oxygen (O), tin (Sn), aluminum (Al), and chlorine (Cl), within the deposited layers. According to the FE-SEM images, the average particle diameters were 45.47nm for pure ITO, 62.48, 42.72, and 35.25 nm for ITO with a 50, 100, and 150wt.% AlCl3 ratio, respectively. The AFM analysis indicated that the pure ITO film had an average particle size of 61 nm. In comparison, the films mixed with AlCl3 at 50, 100, and 150 wt.% ratios had average particle sizes of 17, 21, and 68 nm. In addition, the optical band gap of the ITO was measured at 4.5 eV. For films with AlCl3 at 50, 100, and 150 wt.% ratios, the energy gaps were found to be 1.5, 1.73, and 1.83 eV, respectively. The measured contact angle for the ITO film was 332.57°; those with AlCl3 at 50, 100, and 150% were 65.39°, 85.99°, and 78.12°, respectively.