Characterization of nanostructured Mn3O4 thin films grown by SILAR method at room temperature

A novel successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction method has been successfully employed to grow nanostructured conducting nearly transparent thin films of Mn3O4 on to glass substrates at room temperature using MnCl2 and NaOH as cationic and anionic precursors. The structural and morphological characterizations of the as deposited Mn3O4 films have been carried out by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Micrograph (FESEM), EDAX, Atomic Fore Microscopy (AFM) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrum (FTIR) analysis. The optical absorption and electrical resistivity measurements were carried out to investigate optical band gap and activation energy of Mn3O4 films deposited by SILAR method. The optical band gap and activation energy of the as deposited film is found to be 2.70 and 0.14 eV respectively. The thermo-emf measurements of Mn3O4 thin film confirm its p-type semiconducting nature. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.