Synthesis and structural/microstructural characteristics of antimony doped tin oxide (Sn₁₋ₓSbₓO₂₋δ)

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Bulk samples of (Sn₁₋ₓSbₓO₂₋δ) with x = 0.00, 0.10, 0.20, 0.30 are synthesized by solid-state reaction route. Samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The x-ray diffraction patterns indicate that the gross structure/phase of (Sn₁₋ₓ SbₓO₂₋δ) do not change with the substitution of antimony (Sb) up to x = 0.30. The surface morphological examination with SEM revealed the fact that the grain size in the antimony doped sample is larger than that of undoped one and hence pores/voids between the grains increase with Sb concentration up to 0.30. TEM image of undoped sample indicates that the SnO₂ grains have diameters ranging from 25 to 120 nm and most grains are in cubic or spherical shape. As antimony content increases, the nanocubes/spheres are converted into microcubes/spheres. The reflectance of Sn₁₋ₓSbₓO₂₋δ samples increases whereas absorbance of these samples decreases with the increased concentration of antimony (Sb) for the wavelength range 360 - 800 nm. The energy bandgap of Sb doped - SnO₂ samples were obtained from optical absorption spectra by UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy. Upon increasing the Sb concentration the bandgap of the samples was found to increase from 3.367 eV to 3.558 eV.