Zinc doped cerium oxide thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis method

Zinc doped Cerium Oxide thin films were prepared by spray pyrolysis technique. The CeO2 and Zn doped CeO2 thin films were deposited on the glass substrates (350°C) with two different Zn concentrations (4 and 8%). The prepared film has been characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Ultraviolet-Visible Spectroscopy (UV-Vis), and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). XRD analysis revealed that the films are well crystallized in nature having cubic fluorite structure with a grain orientation along (111) plane. CeO2 thin films exhibits transparent in visible region and strong absorbance in the UV-Vis region. It was also observed that significant effect of Zn content on the transmittance and band gap energy of CeO2 thin films. SEM micrograph shows that the particles are spherical in shape.