Preparation of delafossite-type CuCrO2 films by sol-gel method

High-quality c-axis oriented delafossite-type CuCrO2 films were successfully prepared by a simple sol-gel method. The microstructure, optical properties as well as room temperature resistivity were studied. It was found that the grain sizes of CuCrO2 films pretreated with different temperatures are different; the films were smooth and consisted of fine particles. The maximal transmittance of CuCrO2 films can reach 70% in the visible region. Optical transmission data of CuCrO2 films indicate a direct band gap and an indirect-gap of about 3.15 eV and 2.66 eV, respectively. The carrier mobility of the films pretreated at 300 degrees C is smaller than that of the films pretreated at a higher temperature, because of the stronger carrier scattering. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.