Exploration of impact of ammonia concentration on the surface morphology, optical and wettability performance of SiO2 thin film

Abstract An effective sol-gel technique that yields conformal coatings with amorphous silica (SiO₂) is the Stöber method. In the present manuscript, we have synthesis SiO₂ thin film using the solgel-based Stober method and deposited on glass substrates by spin coating technique. We have examined the impact of ammonia concentration during the synthesis process of silica thin films on the structural, morphological, optical, and wetting characteristics. XRD analysis confirmed the presence of amorphous silica phase for all thin film samples. Elemental analysis illustrated the presence of Si and O element in the sample without any impurity. Moreover, the average diameter of silica nanoparticles has been obtained by utilizing Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The variation of optical bandgap of silica thin films prepared at different ammonia concentration was investigated via UV-Vis spectrum. The wetting properties of silica thin films have been studied from the contact angle measurement concerning to variation in ammonia concentration.