Growth and optical properties of CaxCoO2 thin films

The layered cobaltates A(x)CoO(2) (A = Li, Na, Ca, Ba, Sr) are of interest for energy applications such as thermoelectrics and batteries. However, it is challenging to obtain these phases in pure from as thin films. Here, phase-pure CaxCoO2 (x similar to 0.5) thin films were obtained by annealing of Ca(OH)(2)/Co3O4 multilayers made by moisture treatment of sputter-deposited CaO/Co3O4 multilayer films. The pure CaxCoO2 thin films exhibit an average optical transmittance of approximately 36% in the visible region and greater than 70% in the near-infrared (NIR) region. In addition, the electrical conductivity can be increased by incorporating a secondary Ca3Co4O9 phase into the CaxCoO2 thin film without large changes in optical properties and Seebeck coefficient. (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.Funding Agencies|Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation through the Wallenberg Academy Fellows program [KAW 2020.0196]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University [200900971]; Swedish Energy AgencySwedish Energy Agency [46519-1]; China Scholarship CouncilChina Scholarship Council