Synthesis, characterization and electrical properties of TiO2 modified with SiO2 and antimony-doped tin oxide

The composite with high electrical conductivity have been successfully synthesized by the modification of TiO2 with SiO2 and antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO). X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscopy were employed to characterize the crystal phase and surface morphology. The results revealed that the SiO2 was of amorphous and TiO2 after modification presented a core−shell structure with the shell thickness about 15−17 nm. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results indicated that the SiO2 and ATO particles were well anchored on the surface of TiO2 by the Ti–O–Si and Si–O–Sn bonds. The volume resistivity of the TiO2/SiO2–ATO composite could reach 2.3 Ω cm when the SiO2 content was 10 wt%, which was one-third of the TiO2/ATO composite.