TITLE:
Viscosity Effects of the Precursor Solution and Surface Structure of Gadolinium Oxide (Gd2O3) and Gadolinium Oxide Europium Doped (Gd2O3:Eu3+) Sol-Gel Films
AUTHORS:
Quianna S. Johnson, Matthew Edwards, Josh Herring, Michael Curley
KEYWORDS:
Gadolinium Oxide Thin Film, Sol-Gel, Dip Coating, Viscosity, SEM, FTIR
JOURNAL NAME:
Materials Sciences and Applications,
Vol.5 No.14,
December
4,
2014
ABSTRACT: The sol-gel method is a novel technique for the preparation of thin films. In this research, gadolinium oxide (Gd2O3) and gadolinium oxide europium doped (Gd2O3:Eu3+) films prepared via the sol-gel and dip coating methods were investigated. In addition to the elaboration on the sol-gel preparation routes and additional observations of the films’ surface morphology as characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), we determined via viscosity measurements that the sols were stable for 398 days. FTIR analysis of the Gd2O3 and Gd2O3:Eu3+ dip coated films was made to monitor the decomposition and oxidation reactions that occurred during processing as well as process stability.