Structural, optical and electrical properties of WO3–Ag nanocomposites for the electro-optical devices

• Published in: Applied physics. A, Materials science & processing Vol. 124; no. 1; pp. 1 - 9
• Main Authors: Najafi-Ashtiani, Hamed, Bahari, Ali, Gholipour, Samira, Hoseinzadeh, Siamak
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.01.2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Absorptivity; Applied physics; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemical bonds; Coatings; Composite materials; Condensed Matter Physics; Electrical properties; Machines; Manufacturing; Materials science; Nanocomposites; Nanotechnology; Optical and Electronic Materials; Optical properties; Particle size; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Processes; Silver; Sodium tungstate; Spectrum analysis; Surfaces and Interfaces; Synthesis; Thin Films; Tungsten oxides; X ray photoelectron spectroscopy
• ISSN: 0947-8396; 1432-0630
• DOI: 10.1007/s00339-017-1412-5

The composites of tungsten trioxide and silver are synthesized by sodium tungstate and silver nitrate precursors. The structural properties of composite coatings are studied by FTIR, XRD, and XPS. The FTIR analysis of synthesized composite powder corroborated the bonds between tungsten and oxygen elements in WO 3 molecules. Furthermore, the XRD spectra show crystalline nature while particle size analysis that is investigated by X-powder software shows average particle size of 24 and 25 nm for samples. The structural analyses show that the addition of silver dopant does not change the stoichiometry of tungsten trioxide and only increase the size of the aggregation in the films. Furthermore, these films have an average approximate roughness of about 10.7, 13.1 and 14.2 nm for sample 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The real and imaginative parts of permittivity are investigated using LCR meter in the frequency range 1 Hz–10 GHz. The optical spectra of composite coatings are characterized in the 300–900 nm wavelength range and the calculation of optical band gaps of them exhibited the directly allowed transition with the values of 3.8 and 3.85 eV. From UV–visible spectroscopy studies, the absorption coefficient of the composite thin films is determined to be of the order of 10 5 cm − 1 and the obtained refraction and extinction indexes indicated normal dispersive coatings. Due to their optical and electrical properties, the synthesized composite material is a promising candidate for use in electro-optical applicants.