The effects of micro and macro structure on electronic properties of bismuth oxyiodide thin films

Bismuth oxyiodide (BiOI) thin film was deposited using successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique under the same molar ratio of bismuth (III) nitrate pentahydrate (Bi(NO 3 )5H 2 O) and potassium iodide (KI). The effects of micro and macro structures due to the post-annealing treatment has been studied towards the improved electronic properties of BiOI films. BiOI thin film was perfectly coated without any cracks or pinholes. The as-deposited BiOI film displayed small flakes with flower shape microstructure. The flakes size has increased from ∼0.8 μ m to ∼3.2 μ m upon annealing at 350 °C, thenceforth shattered with increasing annealing temperature. BiOI films annealed at 350 °C showed a sharper band edge slope with an energy bandgap ∼1.61 eV compared to others annealing temperatures. The single crystalline BiOI film has transformed from tetragonal to tetragonal-orthorhombic polycrystalline with mix Bi 5 O 7 I 3 and Bi 7 O 9 I 3 phases after being annealed ≥450 °C. Electronic properties of BiOI were studied in terms of average resistance and conductivity measured using four-probe hall effect measurement. The conductivity value has reached the maximum for sample annealed at 350 °C, owing to the formation of ordered phase in material structure, higher crystallinity, larger flakes sizes, as well as reduction of defects and grain boundaries resistance. When the annealing temperature exceeded 450 °C, the electrical conductivity decreased due to the particle aggregation, sublimation of materials, formation of mix-phase and polycrystalline structure that generated grain boundaries and provided more resistance for electrons flow. The work has demonstrated a better understanding of material issues and some clues on the effect of the thickness, microstructure and structural properties on the electronic properties of BiOI thin film.