Synthesis and Advanced Structural Characterization of BaSnO3 Films by Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS) and Electron Diffraction Pair Distribution Function (ePDF)

• Grant number: 23/00906-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): June 01, 2023
• Effective date (End): July 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Edson Roberto Leite
• Grantee: Derik Tilly Machado
• Host Institution: Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais (CNPEM). Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (Brasil). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Transparent conductive oxides are compounds widely used in electronic devices because they have a rare combination of high optical transparency and high electrical conductivity. Indium oxides (In2O3) doped with Sn (ITO) or F (FTO) are the most studied and implemented compounds, but due to the low natural availability and increasing prices of In and the failure when its thin films are bent, new transparent materials conductors must be developed for new generation of flexible optoelectronic devices. In this context, barium stannate (BSO) and its doped version La (LBSO) are compounds with interesting properties to replace ITO and/or FTO but there are still challenges regarding its colloidal synthesis and processing. These have a cubic perovskite structure, with n-type semiconductor behavior, high electronic mobility (320 cm² V-1 s-1) and structural stability, being applied in the detection of gases, water breaking by sunlight and solar cells. In this project, we intend to develop the colloidal synthesis of BaSnO3 in order to control and/or modify its structure and defects to optimize its mobility and transparency properties, in order to select particles for photoelectrochemical applications.