Effect of annealing on the properties of zinc oxide nanofiber thin films grown by spray pyrolysis technique

Zinc oxide nanofiber thin films have been deposited on glass substrate by spray pyrolysis technique. The X-ray diffraction studies revealed that the films are polycrystalline with the hexagonal structure and a preferred orientation along (002) direction for films annealed for 1 h at 450 °C. Further increase in annealing time changes the preferred orientation to (100) direction. The scanning electron microscopic analysis showed the formation of ZnO nanofiber with an average diameter of approximately 800 nm for annealed films. The compositional analysis of nanofiber ZnO thin films were studied by time of flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy, which indicated oxygen deficiency in the films. The optical properties of annealed films have shown a variation in the band gap between 3.29 and 3.20 eV. The electrical conductivity of the as grown and annealed films showed an increase in the conductivity by two orders of magnitude with increase in annealing duration.