Band gap tunability and optical properties of sol-gel derived Fe-doped CeO2 films

In this study, CeO2 films incorporating different amounts of Fe (3 %, 5 %, 10 %) were deposited on glass substrates by using the sol-gel method. The physical properties of the films were scrutinized by employing characterization techniques such as X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), respectively. The change of structural parameters was examined using Scherrer, W–H and SSP methods. A decrease in crystallite size was observed with Fe incorporation in all three methods. SEM images presented the homogeneity on the surface increased with increasing Fe doping. Optical measurements showed that the band gap decreased from 3.17 eV to 2.55 eV and at the same time all optical constants decreased with increasing Fe content. These results suggest that the optical properties of CeO2 films can be tuned by Fe doping. It means that Fe-doped CeO2 films will play an important role in optoelectronic device applications.