Electronic and structural properties of doped and non-stoichiometric PbO2 thin films

• Grant number: 16/26013-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: March 06, 2017
• End date: May 05, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: João Manuel Marques Cordeiro
• Grantee: João Manuel Marques Cordeiro
• Host Investigator: Armando Beltran Flors
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia (FEIS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Ilha Solteira. Ilha Solteira , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universitat Jaume I, Spain

Abstract

Initially, transparent conducting oxides (TCO)-based technologies were heavily dependent on In2O3. Due to its high price, cheaper substitutes were soon sought after. ZnO and SnO2 are two of the most used TCO nowadays. Very recently it has been reported important properties of PbO2 that make it potential alternative as TCO, both as bulk and films. In addition, application of lead PbO2 films in catalysis has also been investigated, with very promising results. PbO2 has two polymorphs, ± and ² (respectively orthorhombic and tetragonal), is a narrow band gap semiconductor, which usually presents type n conductivity associated to oxygen vacancies. Both polymorphs have been object of study in our laboratory in the last three years. Structural and electronic properties of bulk and thin films of pure stoichiometric material have been investigated. Ab initio calculations in the framework of the DFT methodology have been performed, rising very promising results. In this proposal it is planned to deepen those studies with the collaboration of more experienced researchers. It is intended to study the characteristics of ± and ² PbO2 thin films with different percentages of anionic vacancies, as s function of the film thickness, exposed surface and doping with some elements (i.e. Sn, Sb or Bi).