Abstract
Nanocrystals of Al and Y co-doped SnO2 were successfully synthesized using the sol–gel method. The samples were subjected to different temperatures ranging from 200 to 1,000 °C. The effects of Al and Y combinational do** and temperature on the structural and optical properties of SnO2 nanoparticles as well as morphology were investigated. The characterization techniques used were X-ray powder diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and UV–Visible spectroscopy. In the temperature range studied, the average particle sizes were found to be in the range between 2.6 and 8.0 nm, strains were ranging from 2.57 to 0.53 and the optical band gap between 3.31 and 3.99 eV. Both Raman and X-ray diffraction revealed the formation of yttrium stannate at high temperatures.
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The authors gratefully acknowledge IBSA, NRF and University of Limpopo for financial support and CSIR for providing facilities.
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Ntimane, N.J., Rammutla, K.E. & Mosuang, T.E. Effects of combinational Al and Y do** on the structural and optical properties of nanocrystalline SnO2 . Indian J Phys 89, 671–675 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12648-014-0633-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12648-014-0633-0