Synthesis and Characterisation Of Sol-gel Derived Nanostructured Composite of ZnO/PVP Thin Films

Pure ZnO films and ZnO nanoparticle dispersed polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) films were prepared on a Pyrex glass substrate by sol-gel dip coating using a zinc acetate precursor. The thin film is extensively characterised for its surface morphology, chemistry, thickness and nanocrystallite size, using various advanced analytical techniques such as SEM, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. Under the given processing conditions, ZnO semiconductor thin films with nanocrystallite size 20-30 nm were obtained, and the ZnO nanoparticle size in the PVP matrix increased with increase in ZnO content.