Bandgap modification of TiO₂ sol–gel films by Fe and Ni doping

Nickle and iron doped TiO₂ thin films were prepared on glass substrates by sol–gel dip coating process. Indirect and direct optical energy gaps were calculated with the incorporation of different concentrations of both the ions. Indirect bandgap was found to be a strong function of the dopant concentration, whereas direct energy gap has negligible dependence on the nature of dopant and its concentration. Direct energy gap has always been found to retain a value higher than the indirect energy gap. Variation of observed energy gap properties shows a trend similar to that reported on the basis of numerical calculations or the samples obtained by other techniques. Increase in refractive index and corresponding density of the film sample does not support the change in turn over frequency. The influence of crystalline phase change is also ruled out by XRD investigations. It is concluded that red shift of band edge absorption takes place by incorporation of dopant and sol–gel dip coating technique offers an effective low cost route to the production of these coatings.