Structural and morphological characterizations of glass based composites in thin films form

Heliyon. 2023 Apr 3;9(4):e14967. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14967. eCollection 2023 Apr.

Abstract

By using a low-cost sol gel method, neat and loaded phosphate glass containing Cr, Co, Ni, and Zn was synthesized and then placed on a silica glass substrate. Cr, Ni, Co, and Zn loading amounts were diluted inside the matrix using rates varying from 0 wt% to 16 wt% in order to study the impact of loading elements on glass characteristics. By using XRD and SEM, it was determined how loading factors affected the structural and morphological characteristics of glass thin layers. When the annealing temperature was maintained at 250 °C, X-ray diffractograms revealed that the deposited glass films had an amorphous nature, whilst also X-ray pattern results revealed that the loaded films had a low crystalline nature. Morphology studies indicated the homogeneity and the edge of crystallinity of the obtained thin films. All results were described in detail and they indicated that the films prepared in this study can be used in many nanotechnology applications.

Keywords: Loaded; SEM; Sol gel technique; Unloaded; XRD.