Effect of adding graphene on structural, surface morphology and optical properties of ZnO:SnO2 composite.

Spray pyrolysis was used to make zinc oxide (ZnO), zinc oxide: SnO2 composite (ZSO), and zinc tin oxide: graphene composite (ZSO: G) thin films from a chloride solution in distilled water.. The results revealed that introducing graphene Nano-plates at a concentration of 1% wt. had a significant impact on the characteristics of ZSO composites. In the mixed sample with the graphene, the XRD shows mixed phases for ZSO composite and an extra peak for (002) planes of graphene.. The porosity structure of the ZnO thin film was revealed by FE-SEM images, which revealed that it is made up of spherical particles with an average diameter of 140.5 nm that are attached to each other. Small particles of SnO2, with an average diameter of 51.6 nm, appeared to grow atop ZnO particles with an average diameter of 193 nm in the ZSO composite. The graphene in the sample has been combined in the ZSO: G composite. The FTIR shows the characteristic bands for ZnO and SnO2, as well as extra bands related to graphene's reactivity with certain atoms in the graphene-reinforced material. The energy gap for ZnO is 3.1 eV, and it has increased for the ZSO composite, while it has decreased for the ZSO: G sample, according to the optical characteristics investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]