Spray pyrolysis of nm grain sized powders for thin films

Contact: Daniel Beckel, Ulrich Mücke und Jennifer Rupp

Spray pyrolysis is a versatile and effective technique to deposit metal oxide powders and thin films for various industrial applications. Metal oxide, chalcogenide and even metal films have been deposited using this technique. Spray pyrolysis opens up the possibility to control the film morphology and powder particle size in the nm range. The quality and properties of the films and powders depend largely on the process parameters.

The most important parameter for film formation is the substrate surface temperature. At higher substrate temperatures, the films become rougher and exhibit a more porous microstructure. If the temperature is too low, the films are cracked. The deposition temperature also influences the crystallinity, texture and other physical properties of the deposited films.

The precursor solution is the other important spray parameter, which affects the morphology and the properties of the deposited films. In addition, various additives in the precursor solution influence the film morphology and properties.

We research the deposition process as well as the quality of films. We use these films to investigate the mechanical and physical properties, such as ionic and electronic conductivity of oxides with nano-scaled microstructures. We also use these films in their porous and dense modifications to evaluate their applications in solid oxide fuel cells and sensors.

For further information, consult the papers from Bohac, Perednis, Rupp, Beckel and Mücke in our literature database.