The Effect of Annealing on the Optoelectronic Properties and Energy State of Amorphous Pyrochlore Y2Ti2O7 Thin Layers by Sol–Gel Synthesis

Abstract

Pyrochlore titanate (Y2Ti2O7) is a promising material for a wide range of applications in optoelectronics and photocatalysis due to its advantageous chemical, mechanical, and optical properties. To enhance its potential for such uses, however, a high-quality and scalable synthesis method is required. We here investigate the crystallization of sol–gel produced Y2Ti2O7 layers. We observe a transition of the amorphous pyrochlore phase at annealing temperatures below 700 °C. The transmittances of the Y2Ti2O7 thin layers annealed at 400 to 700 °C are approximately 92.3%. The refractive indices and packing densities of Y2Ti2O7 thin layers annealed at 400–700 °C/1 h vary from 1.931 to 1.954 and 0.835 to 0.846, respectively. The optical bandgap energies of Y2Ti2O7 thin layers annealed at 400–700 °C/1 h reduce from 4.356 to 4.319 eV because of the Moss–Burstein effect. These good electronic and optical properties make Y2Ti2O7 thin layers a promising host material for many potential applications.