Deposition and characterization of metal oxide thin films using a customized spin coater

Metal oxide sols of silica dioxide (Si02) and magnetite (Fe304) were prepared by the sol-gel method and the co-precipitation method respectively. Silica dioxide sols was prepared by the hydrolysis of TEOS with ammonia as catalyst while magnetite sols was prepared from a molar ratio of 1:2 of FeCI2.4H20 and FeCh. Thin films of Si02 and FeJ04 were deposited on stainless steel plates by using a customized spin coater. AAS was used to characterize the concentration of Fe in magnetite sols. SEM and FTIR spectrometry were employed to characterize the physical properties of metal oxide thin films. Based on AAS result, the total concentration of Fe in the magnetite sol was about 164.48 mglL. SEM micrographs showed changes in the surface morphology of metal oxide thin films at different spinning speed and number of coatings. FTIR spectra showed the presence of Si-O-Si, Si-H, OH and Fe-O groups in silica dioxide and magnetite thin films respectively