Studies on the Structure of Gel during Preparing ZnO Thin Films by Sol-gel Method

Transparent thin films of ZnO have been prepared on ordinary glass substrates by the inorganic sol-gel method using citric acid as chelating agent and zinc nitrate as the starting material.A novel structure on zinc citrate complex was put forward by using DTA-TG and FT-IR absorbance spectrum of citrate gels.Phase formation,morphology and optical properties of ZnO films are investigated by XRD,AFM and UV-vis transmittance spectra.The experimental results show that ZnO thin films derived from zinc citrate sol-gel method showed a (002) oriented hexagonal wurtzite structure,good crystalline property,a uniform range of grain size (40 nm),smooth surface of films,band gap of 3.28 eV and optical transmittances ratio over 90% in the visible range.