Electrical Properties of Highly Conducting SnO 2 :Sb Nanocrystals Synthesized using a Nonaqueous Sol–Gel Method

This work describes the synthesis of highly conducting antimony‐doped tin oxide (ATO) nanocrystals prepared via a nonaqueous sol–gel route in the size range of 4–6 nm and provides insights into its electrical properties. The antimony composition was varied from 1 to 18 mol% and the lowest resistivity (4.0 × 10 −4 Ω·cm) was observed at room temperature in the SnO 2 :8.8 mol% Sb composition. The samples were evaluated by X‐ray diffraction, high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy, energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscope, and resistivity measurements were taken in the four‐probe mode in the temperature range of 13–300 K. The results show highly crystalline nanoparticles in a monodisperse colloidal system, dependence on the shape of ATO nanoparticles as a function of Sb distribution, low resistivity, and semiconductor–metal transition.