Effect of High-Temperature Annealing on Optical Characteristics of Fe2O3 Thin Films Prepared by Spray Pyrolysis

Abstract

Iron oxide (Fe₂O₃) has attracted plenty of interest for usage as photo-electrodes due to its low cost, in addition to its exceptionally stable in water solutions it also has a band gap of approximately 2.1 eV. Chemical pyrolysis through spraying was employed to produce thin films of it on glass surfaces, which were subsequently heated to 500 and 600 degrees for annealing utilizing a UV-visible spectrophotometer, the transmission of light and absorption in the range of wavelengths of (300-900 nm) have been verified in order to investigate the impact of annealing on certain physical characteristics. The optical band gap for thin films has been found to of Fe₂O₃ decreased from 2.86 eV before annealing to 2.78 eV at 500 ^oC. Thus, it is feasible for this substance to be utilized in a wide range of technological applications, including photocatalysts and solar filters.