Structural, electrical, and optical properties of carbon nanotube-incorporated Aldopedzinc oxide thin films prepared by sol-gel method

Abstract

Aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films incorporated with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have beenprepared by sol-gel technique on glass substrates. The ratio of the MWCNT in sol-gel solution ranges from 0.01 to 1.0 wt.%.This study investigates the effects of MWCNT ratio on structural, electrical, and optical properties of AZO:MWCNT thinfilms. The XRD analysis showed a strong (0 0 2) peak along the c axis at 2θ ~ 34.4 o indicating a hexagonal wurtzite structurefor the AZO:MWCNT thin films. The intensity of (0 0 2) peak decreased with the increasing MWCNT ratio, revealing thatAZO were bounding with the MWCNTs. The sheet resistance of AZO:MWCNT thin films significantly decreased from1.38 × 104 to 10.5 Ω/□ with increasing the MWCNT ratio from 0.01 to 1.0 wt.%; meanwhile, the optical transmittance in thevisible wavelength region decreased from 87.9% to 12.1%, respectively. The figure of merit showed that the developedAZO : MWCNT thin film with the MWCNT ratio of 0.01 wt.% has the optimal electro-optical properties for transparentconducting electrode applications