A Comprehensive Investigation of Structural and Electrical Characteristics of Fluorine-Doped Tin Oxide Nanoparticles for Future Optoelectronic Applications.

This study establishes a comprehensive correlation among structural, electrical, and dielectric analyses of fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were synthesized through the modified sol–gel method under ethyl supercritical conditions. The investigation into the electrical transport, influenced by the microstructure and grain size of FTO nanoparticles, prompted an exploration of charge carrier transport mechanisms and the impact of doping on this behavior. Both structural and electrical analyses were performed on the samples. The x-ray diffraction results reveal a tetragonal rutile structure in the nanoparticles, as validated by Raman analysis. Particle size and strain values were determined using the Williamson–Hall method, complemented by morphological observations using transmission electron microscopy images. Electrical studies revealed semiconducting behavior in all samples, with conductivity analyzed using Jonscher's law. The small polaron hopping and correlated barrier hopping process models are appropriate for describing the conduction process in the prepared sample. The observed behaviors of the imaginary components of impedance (Z″) and modulus (M″) signify a dielectric relaxation phenomenon within the sample, with activation energies closely matching those derived from the conductivity study. The results strongly suggest that our samples hold great promise for future electronic device applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]