Preparation, characterization and optical properties of α-Fe2O3 films by sol-spinning process

alpha-Fe2O3 films were prepared by sol-spinning process using ferric nitrate as a precursor and 2-methoxy ethanol as the solvent. The films were grown on various substrates by spin coating and,were subjected to different annealing temperatures. These were characterized using X-ray and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The films showed crystallinity at about 500 degrees C. The surface morphology of these films was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) which revealed cracks for films having thickness of the order of 2 mu m. The band gap of these films was observed to be 2.1 eV from UV-vis spectroscopy.