Transparent films from aluminium-doped zinc oxide fibers prepared by electrospinning method

Aluminium doped zinc oxide films were prepared by electrospinning method through deposition of fibers from sol-gel solution on a substrate. Samples were specially annealed after deposition. Several annealing temperatures and heating and cooling rates are examined. Two preparation routes giving both thin fibers with diameter near 40 nm and thick fibers with diameter near 140 nm are elaborated. Samples were characterized by optical spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Light transmittance of prepared films is 85-90 % in the visible spectral range. However transmittance of samples annealed in air is slightly higher than for samples annealed in vacuum. This slight decrease in transmittance can be associated with higher content of carbon in the samples annealed in vacuum.