Preparation and electrical conductivity of three types of antimonic acid films

Abstract

Three types of antimonic acid (Sb2O5 · nH2O) films, (111)-oriented and nonoriented polycrystalline films of cubic Sb2O5 · nH2O and amorphous Sb2O5 · nH2O films, were prepared on quartz glass substrates with a spin-coating technique using aqueous slurries, which were formed by reacting H2O2 with metallic Sb powder or Sb(O-n-C3H7)3. The morphologies and structures of the films were observed, and the electrical conductivity of the films was determined at 20 °C in the relative humidity range 9–100%. The electrical conductivity of the (111)-oriented film, which increases from 1.69 × 10−5 to 2.89 × 10−3 S cm−1 as the relative humidity changes from 11 to 85%, is approximately one order of magnitude larger than those of the nonoriented and amorphous films.