Optimization of SnCl2:NH4F-Derived Sols for Preparation of Thin Transparent Conductive Crystallized SnO2 Films
Kovalenko A.S. Kushakova A.I. Nikolaev A.M. Gubanova N.N. Matveev V.A. Bondar E.A. Myakin S.V. Zagrebelnyy O.A. Ivanova A.G. Shilova O.A.
February 2026Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
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2026#16Issue 2
Transparent conductive SnO2 films, promising for application in electronic engineering, were obtained by sol–gel synthesis via mixing SnCl2∙2H2O and NH4F solutions, followed by deposition onto glass substrates by centrifugation and heat treatment at 450 °C. The physicochemical processes of SnO2 crystallization in water–alcohol solutions of SnCl2 were analyzed depending on the concentration of the crystallization initiator NH4F and the alcohols used. The sol–gel processing of the thin films was investigated using a Latin square approach. Three factors affecting the film formation conditions were varied at three levels to determine the best combination of film properties involving the maximum transparency and lowest specific electrical resistance. The effect of solvent type (ethanol, 1-butanol and isopropanol), the amount of introduced fluorine (5, 10, and 15 at. %) and the number of deposited layers (10, 15, and 20) on the composition, morphology, crystallization features, transparency and specific surface resistance of the synthesized thin films was studied. The obtained films of ~200–340 nm thickness exhibited ~78%–95% transparency in the visible spectrum range and specific surface resistance (ρs) from ~109 to >1012 Ω/sq. The optimal combination of thin (~250 μm) SnO2 film target performances including transparency 84% and specific surface resistance ~109 Ω/sq. was achieved in the case of their preparation in isopropanol with an average concentration of NH4F (10 at. % F) and spin-on deposition of 20 layers.
crystallization initiator NH4F , Latin square , phase composition , silica sols , SnO2 crystallization , surface morphology , surface resistivity , tin dioxide , transparency
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Institute of Silicate Chemistry, Branch of Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute named by B.P. Konstantinov of National Research Centre “Kurchatov Institute”, Saint-Petersburg, 199034, Russian Federation
Department of Chemistry, Physics, and Biology of Nanoscale Environments, Saint-Petersburg State Institute of Technology, Saint-Petersburg, 190013, Russian Federation
Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Saint-Petersburg State Institute of Technology, Saint-Petersburg, 190013, Russian Federation
Basic Department of Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials in Radioelectronics, Saint-Petersburg Electrotechnical University “LETI”, Saint-Petersburg, 197022, Russian Federation
Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute named by B.P. Konstantinov of National Research Centre “Kurchatov Institute”, Leningrad Region, Gatchina, 188300, Russian Federation
Institute of Physics and Technology, Satpayev University, Almaty, 050013, Kazakhstan
Department of Theoretical Foundations of Materials Science, Saint-Petersburg State Institute of Technology, Saint-Petersburg, 190013, Russian Federation
Institute of Silicate Chemistry
Department of Chemistry
Department of Inorganic Chemistry
Basic Department of Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials in Radioelectronics
Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute named by B.P. Konstantinov of National Research Centre “Kurchatov Institute”
Institute of Physics and Technology
Department of Theoretical Foundations of Materials Science
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